Page 97 of Allegiance

“Your mother is very wise.”

Because he liked having Violet around, he pulled a candy bar from his messenger bag and handed it to her.

“I don’t have a lot of friends,” she said. “It’s awkward. I’m not ready yet. Like I said, it’s tough out there.”

Oh, he was aware.

“I know it’s tough out there, Violet, but when you’re ready, there are people who will help you.”

She appreciated that.

“What happened to your face?” she asked. “Did someone punch you?”

He laughed.

“Yeah, you could say that. I had my ass handed to me today by Elizabeth Blackhawk,” he said, pointing to his eye and the lump on his head. “I’m running a little low on friends myself.”

“Uh-oh. What happened?” she asked. “She’s pretty nice. I can’t imagine she got angry.”

He laughed.

“Kiddo, she got hella angry with a side of bitch slappy. Oops. I should probably not curse in front of you.”

She laughed.

“Mom dropped a bowl in the kitchen, and she said about ten curses in a row,” she admitted. “It was impressive.”

He tried not to grin.

“I bet.”

Violet called him out on his shit.

“My therapist says that what you just did is deflecting. What did you do to make her angry?” she asked.

He was honest.

“I did something stupid. I got angry, and I’ve been propagating that stupidity for over three months. Everyone is just about sick of my crap, Violet. Elizabeth especially. I needed to be humbled, and she’s like the sword of God. She’ll knock you on your ass to do just that.”

“Bad, huh?”

He kept working as she held the directions.

“Yeah, bad. I shit all over my friends. I blamed them for my mistakes. I told them I was leaving. I was an all-around jerk.”

Violet handed him the tools.

“Why were you leaving?” she asked. “You said they were like your family.”

He laughed.

Yeah, well, he wished he knew.

“Do you want the long or short version?” he asked. “One has me crying, and one doesn’t.”

“Cry. I like making men weep. Go with the long version.”

He winked at her.

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