Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

ZANE

I love our California road trips. The warm weather welcomes us every time. Plus, we always take time to play a little beach volleyball, which unfortunately I’m not partaking in. My shoulder’s feeling a little off after practice, so I’ve been ordered to take it easy.

“Loser buys my dinner,” Marco taunts. It’s unfortunate that he tends to frequently be on the winning teams. It only adds to his confidence. Cal sits next to me, deciding to sit out and keep me company, I guess.

We watch the team play and at some point, Cal surprises me by breaking the silence.

“How’s it going with Violet?” he asks.

“Good, I think.”

“You happy to leave hookups behind?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t really care for those in the first place. You happy with Tori?”

Cal shrugs.

“You don’t know?” I ask incredulously.

“It’s easy being with her and that works for me right now.”

“Woo!” Marco hoots as his group takes the lead, distracting me for a moment.

“I thought it was supposed to be better,” Cal admits quietly.

“The girl might be the problem.”

He doesn’t say anything to that and I don’t add to it. Cal doesn’t normally talk about anything personal with me, so I don’t want to overstep or carry on if he really doesn’t want to talk.

“Shoulder feeling okay?” he asks, effectively changing the subject.

“Yeah; it’ll be fine.”

“Boys, I’m thinking steak and lobster,” Marco hollers with a laugh after scoring a point.

Even though I’m not actively playing, this is just another reminder of why I love my job. There’s not a lot better than camaraderie that comes with a job like ours. Combine that with getting to know everyone’s families too, and it feels like a ton of extended family at times. I can’t wait to show Violet more of this side of my life.

I’m a little concerned about Violet. It’s been three days since I’ve seen her or talked to her. I’ve called and texted, but no answer. Have I done something to upset her? I can’t imagine what. Things have been going well between us, surprisingly. It makes sense that something has gone wrong.

Her brother worries me too. He’s so hateful when he talks to her and it sounds like he’s relying on her income to live, which pisses me off like I’ve never felt before. He’s old enough to take care of himself; my parents’ love for me goes to the ends of the earth, but they had me working at sixteen. I appreciate that they did too. Graham, though…

He should not be mooching off of Violet and treating her like shit. It took all I had not to knock him out the other day with how he was talking to her. I didn’t want to get involved, though. It’s clear he also doesn’t know anything that’s going on with his sister since he thinks I’m having an affair with her.

I might as well add fuel to whatever fire exists. Violet’s car is in her driveway, so she should be home. I’m grateful to see that Graham’s is not. I walk to the front door and knock. I test the doorbell, just in case it’s working again, but I don’t hear it. After a few minutes of no one coming to the door, I test the knob. Uneasiness fills me when it opens easily. He left and didn’t lock the door? What a fucking asshole.

Maybe everything is okay inside. Maybe she’s just having another migraine episode.

“Violet?” I call out.

No one answers.

I call out her name once more as I make my way down the hall. A peek inside her office reveals nothing. Her bedroom, however, reveals a familiar sight, unfortunately. She’s asleep in her bed. As I get closer, I realize she’s still in the same clothes I saw her in last. Has she been in bed this whole time?

As quietly as I enter, I exit her bedroom to snoop. If she’s a super tidy person, then her kitchen doesn’t really reveal much. There’s only two dirty dishes in the sink and her dishwasher is empty. I order her some comfort food to be delivered and then I walk back into her bedroom. It’s completely unnerving that I’m in her house, moving around, and she has no idea I’m here.

Next, I turn her shower on and wait until the steam swirls in her bathroom before I walk over to her bed.

“Violet?” I say softly.

She startles awake, staring at me with wide eyes. It seems to take her a moment to gather her wits.

“How’d you get in here?”

“Door was unlocked. C’mon.” I lean over and scoop her up. “Something tells me you’d enjoy a shower.”

She still seems a little dazed as I set her on her feet, so I assist in shedding her clothes. When she steps into the shower, I hesitate for a moment. Does she still need my help?

“Thanks, Zane,” she says quietly. “I can take it from here.”

While she showers, the food I ordered arrives. I get it ready, setting it on the table, and wait for her. At some point, I no longer hear the shower, but Violet hasn’t appeared yet. When I return to her bedroom, she sits on the edge of her bed, still in a towel, with her hands buried in her face.

“Violet?”

She lifts her head with surprise. “You’re still here?”

I ignore her question. “Are you okay?” She nods, yet I don’t believe her. “I ordered food.”

“I’ll get dressed.”

I give her some privacy by returning to the kitchen. Has she been in bed all this time due to her migraines? I knew they were bad, but had no idea they could knock her down for days.

When Violet comes into the kitchen, she takes a seat and avoids my gaze as she begins to eat. A painstaking fifteen minutes pass without a word spoken between us.

“What’s wrong?” I ask as she gets up to toss the takeout container and put her dirty dishes in the sink.

She’s so still as she stands at the sink with her back to me.

“Violet.”

Her shoulders cave in and shake. I stand and gather her in my arms as she breaks down. I want to know what’s wrong, but at the same time, she has yet to really talk to me. I don’t want to press my luck.

“I’m sorry. My migraines have been bad, I got into a bad argument with Graham, and it’s the anniversary of my parents being gone,” she says through her tears. “I don’t really want to talk about it, but I don’t want you to go anywhere either.” Her hands fist into my shirt with her words.

I hug her tighter. I don’t have to say a word. Once her sobs slow, I lead her to the living room. She grabs a throw pillow and the remote, handing the remote to me while placing the pillow on my lap. She lies down and buries her face in my stomach. I find one of my favorite channels to watch and settle in.

After a few minutes, Violet laughs and peeks up at me. “Food Network, really?” she asks with surprise.

“It’s a guilty pleasure, so don’t tell anyone.”

She giggles. I watch the cooking competition show and at some point, Violet falls asleep. I really don’t like how much she’s sleeping. It can’t be normal, but I also know her migraines wear her out. It’s amazing to me that I wasn’t gone all that long yet I missed her like crazy.

My fingers trail a path down her arm and then her side. Down her thigh and as far as I can reach down her calf. And then back up, up, up. It’s such a small thing to be able to touch her, but it brings me such pleasure. And relief, especially after not being able to do so for the past few days.

When I’ve had my fill of that, my fingers run through her hair. Who knew women’s hair could be so soft? I don’t remember anyone else I’ve ever dated having hair this soft. Maybe it’s just Violet. She seems to be so much more in every way than any other woman I’ve been with.

At some point, I pick up Violet and carry her to bed. She stirs as I lay her down.

“Still here?” she mutters.

“Yes, stop being so surprised.”

“Why didn’t it work out with you and Deanna?”

Her question catches me off guard, causing me to falter as I take my shirt off. “What do you mean?” I ask carefully. She already knows what happened. I don’t understand her question.

“You’re so nice; why couldn’t she see that?”

“Being nice isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” I don’t know what it is with women, but I’m absolutely sick of hearing about how nice I am, only to watch them walk away at some point. Am I supposed to be a mean bastard? I don’t get it. “Besides, we were like pieces of the same puzzle, but we didn’t fit together. Brayden’s her missing piece.”

I walk out of the room to get a glass of water. Graham storms into the house and stops short when he sees me.

“You again,” he states.

“Got a problem with that?” I ask, not caring either way.

“Why are you fucking around with my sister?”

“Why do you care?” I counter.

“Because we don’t need some asshole hanging around.”

I raise a brow at him. “Last I checked, the only asshole around was you. Is there a reason you’re twenty years old and having your sister take care of you?” I’m overstepping big time, I know, but Violet doesn’t deserve the way he treats her. And if she won’t say something to him, I certainly will. I can’t seem to help myself, especially after I come home from a trip and she breaks down because of an argument they had.

“You don’t know shit about what happens here. You don’t have room to talk either considering you’re married and fucking my sister.”

Locking down my temper, I simply state, “I’m not having an affair with her.”

Graham snorts. “Yeah, okay. Just stay the fuck out of my way.” He walks past me and rams into my shoulder.

“Get a job and move out and you won’t have to worry about me.” I walk back to Violet’s room before he can respond.

She sleepily opens her eyes at hearing me return. She scoots over to snuggle against me once I join her. “My grandma would’ve loved you.”

Her mentioning her family surprises me. “Yeah?”

“Yeah; she loved watching the Food Network, too.”

I smile and chuckle. I’m not exactly surprised to hear an old lady liked the channel as well.

“Thank you,” Violet whispers.

“For what?”

She lifts her head, appearing a bit embarrassed as her cheeks flush. “For not leaving and not pushing me.” Violet leans forward and presses a soft kiss against my mouth.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I tell her seriously. I earn another smile before she rests her head on my chest again. We’re definitely talking tomorrow, though, so I hope she’s ready for all my questions.

Her body relaxes and her breathing is nearly even when she whispers, “I appreciate nice guys.”

I kiss the top of her head and close my eyes to get some rest.

In the morning, I forewarn Violet that we’re talking this afternoon and ask her to meet me at my house for dinner; I don’t want to chance Graham being around. It’s a relief when she agrees to do so.

Before practice, I find Cal, who frowns when he sees me. “Everyone gets a woman and then vanishes on me. I expected better from you, Z.”

I laugh. “You have a woman too.”

“And yet, I still have time for others.”

Cal would have time regardless. The more I see him with Tori and the way he talks about her, the more confused I am about why he’s with her. He clearly doesn’t give a shit either way.

“I’ll work on it,” I promise.

“Things are good, though?” he asks.

“Yeah. Things are good.”

“Good. I’d offer for y’all to get together with Tori and me, but she’s already jealous of Julie, so I’ll pass.”

I frown. “She’s jealous of Julie? Seriously?”

Cal nods and winces. “Made the mistake of mentioning we dated in high school and she’s been making comments ever since.” He shrugs and shakes his head.

Before I can ask him straight up why he’s with her, Ian walks over.

“Collin’s looking for you, Cal.”

Cal slaps me on the shoulder and walks off. I’m concerned about Cal and his relationship with Tori, but I don’t think saying something to him will be impactful at this point. I also don’t want to overstep. Cal will figure his life out at some point. He doesn’t need my help to do it.