Chapter Three
1122 Words
Violet’s POV
“You are making the wrong decision, Violet.”
I was sitting on the toilet bowl, with my phone pressed against my ears. It didn’t feel like the wrong decision. Not when he was concerned.
“Harper, I already made up my mind.”
“So, why did you call me then? Looking for someone to validate your actions? I’m not going to be that person, Violet.” She sighed from the other end of the phone. “Violet, you…”
“You have never understood me,” I cut in, wondering why I called her in the first place.
“You are my best friend,” Harper countered. I heard footsteps, and the next time she spoke, her voice echoed just like mine. “Of course, I understand you. I know that you have had a crush on Nate since we were kids, and I get that.”
“But you cannot leave your mother, who is ill, to go to a Christmas engagement party with Nate. You told him you were not going to attend since you already have plans.”
“But those plans are on the verge of getting cancelled. My dad and mom got into an argument yesterday. He cheated on her with someone from work.”
“Oh my God! How is your mom?”
“I don’t know,” I sighed, rubbing my face. “My mom has always been fine. And I don’t think it’s Dad’s first time cheating on her.”
“She’ll need you this holiday, since you might not be going to the Maldives anymore,” Harper muttered. “You don’t want to leave her all alone, Violet.”
“And what about me?” My voice broke. “I have to watch her die, and I really don’t want to. I am in so much pain right now at the thought that everyone has given up, including her. She wants to discontinue the new treatment.”
“Violet…”
“She needs to fight. For me. But she’s giving up.”
“You know how painful these treatments are, Violet. If she had another choice, I’m sure she would have taken it. No mother wants to leave her child all alone.”
I blinked my tears away. What stung was that Nate had no idea this was going on. He was my best friend, but each time I wanted to talk to him, he always seemed to have drama of his own.
“It’s the reason I need this trip, Harper,” I whispered. “I need the weekend to forget that all of this is going on. And Nate…he has just had his heart broken, and I can’t let him spend one weekend all alone.”
“He would have his family.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“You know what?” Harper muttered, her tone losing the softness it had only seconds ago. “Do whatever you want to do, Violet. Just don’t come crying to me when it all blows up in your face.”
The line clicks dead, and I just sit there for a few more minutes, staring at nothing in particular. The bathroom door cracks open, and Nate pushes his head in.
“Hey, Violet,” he yawned. “I was looking for you.”
“Coming,” I whispered with a sad smile he couldn’t see. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”
***
I hugged my coat tighter to my frame, walking down the familiar path for the third time in the last seven hours. Again, I didn’t bother to knock, swinging the gates open and wheeling my suitcase behind me.
Outside was quiet, but I could hear their voices from behind the doors, chatting animatedly. The contrast between our houses, although side-by-side, could not be more apparent. While my father was once rich enough to afford a house in this area, we were down to bank loans and mortgages.
But the Wilsons were flourishing.
They had houses all over the country and even out of it. They were like gods in Chicago, while I was like a goose following them all around.
I knocked once before their butler pulled the door open. He did a double-take, surprised to find me there.
“Miss. Jones, I... the family is….” His eyes took in my suitcase, and he nodded in understanding, stepping aside to let me through.
But Mrs. Wilson was coming out of the hallway at that exact moment. Her eyes narrowed in a condescending manner when she took me in. “Violet, we weren’t expecting you.”
“I changed my mind,” I replied with what I hoped could pass for a smile. “I have never been to London before, so I didn’t think it was great passing up the offer.”
“Hmph!” She gave me another look, her eyes straying to my outfit. She pointed a dainty finger at my jacket. “And you are going in that?”
I looked down at my outfit, wondering what was wrong with it.
“You look like a boy.”
“Who looks like a ….” Nate halted at the entrance in the same way his mother came in through, a wide grin spreading on his face when he saw me.
“Violet!”
He jogged eagerly to my side, pulling me into his broad arms for a hug. He smelled like coffee and wood. “You didn’t tell me you changed your mind this morning.”
I shrugged. “I wanted to surprise you. And besides, I can’t pass up the opportunity to torment you for a whole weekend. It is going to be so great.”
He raised his brows. “And you think I’m just going to let you?”
“Yeah,” I answered, nodding. “And you are going to enjoy every minute of it. Besides, I heard London has the greatest of cathedrals. We can visit them…”
“You do realize Nate has been there a thousand times already, right?” Mrs Wilson muttered from behind him.
Nate winked. “I don’t mind going a thousand more times for you.”
It was moments like this that made me feel like I still had a chance with Nate. That he was fighting his feelings for me, but would come to acknowledge them soon.
“And I’m sure Beckley would love to see some of those, too. You know she’s interested in architecture, right?”
“What?”
As if on cue, the door pushed open behind me, and the redhead waltzed in with a matching luggage and a bright pink fur coat.
- Writer
