Page 17 of Petals of Blue: Part Two
ROMAN
My ears are ringing. Literally fucking cringing in reaction to Violet's meltdown. She didn't go feral about the police confiscating her phone for evidence, as she could see the logic in it.
Our bringing her to Jared's parents' house and forcing her to stay with them was her final straw. Unable to comprehend why she would be safer with Jared's mom and dad, Violet has been fighting us tooth and nail since we got here.
"You can't do this! I won't stay here!" Tears stream down her face, making my heart clench with worry and despair.
"Violet—" Jared's mom, Clara, tries to reach for the frantic eighteen-year-old, but V just rushes toward the front door.
If I didn't know how much trauma Violet probably endured under Linda's fucking roof, I would be moreconcerned about her behavior. Unfortunately, our choices are triggering the poor girl.
Felix blocks the front door, his face stony and tense. "Violet. You're staying here so we can find Blue without worrying about you."
"I can help!" she cries, hiccuping.
Clara holds a hand to her chest as tears coat her cheeks. Derrick is standing by Jared, talking quietly with his son. Both men are keeping an eye on the situation, and their body language looks as if they're ready to fight something.
"You're staying," Felix declares, widening his stance and crossing his arms. Violet chokes on a sob and clenches her fists.
Declan and I make eye contact, both expressing our feelings silently. This is truly heartbreaking, and we're at a loss.
What I do know is that Felix's tough love isn't helping. He may be keeping her in the house, but I'd bet my baking supplies that Violet is plotting a way out of here once we leave.
I can't allow that. Our woman is in danger. There's no way I'm letting her girl suffer the same fate.
"Hey, kid," I call out to Violet and feel a slight hint of amusement when she stiffens at the nickname. "Come here. I need to tell you something."
Felix frowns over the small girl’s head, but he nods and relaxes a little. Declan eyes me in confusion, but I lift my chin at my younger brother and pat my hand on his shoulder.
"Be right back," I mutter and start walking to theliving room. The same place we got our asses handed to us all those weeks ago.
Violet, unable to ignore her curiosity, follows me and settles on the couch opposite me. With a deep breath, I lean forward and rest my elbows on my knees. Looking at the young woman in front of me, I see a bit of Blue in her. Their noses are similar, and when they're happy, they both smile with their entire faces.
There are so many differences, but one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt is that Violet needs security and love just like her ma.
"Roman. Please let me come with you. She needs me, you know that," she begs and yanks on my empathy.
Unfortunately for Violet, though, my mental game is strong. "What I know, V, is that Blue needs you safe and protected. What we're going to do is not something she would want you to be a part of."
"That's not?—"
I stand with a sigh, cutting her off. Moving to sit on the cushion beside her, I give her quite a bit of space for comfort. Violet eyes me with caution, but I just let her see the truth in my face. With my body angled toward her, I grab her hand.
"Listen to me, please," I plead, softening my tone and relaxing my anxious muscles.
Violet's eyes flicker between mine as if gauging how serious I'm being. The answer isvery. She nods, and I take the opportunity to offer her some vulnerability.
"Blue would want you to stay here with Derrick and Clara.And," I rush on when she tries to interject, "weneed you to stay. Felix, Declan, Jared, and I are fucking terrified, okay? If you come with us, our attention will be split between you and Blue."
She frowns at me. "Why? I would be just fine."
I chew the inside of my cheek, feeling slightly off-kilter at the prospect of opening up to another individual. My depression digs its nails into my sides, stealing my breath for a moment, but when Violet squeezes my hand, I snap back to reality.
"You may be Blue's family by blood, but you've become ours too." I swallow and just allow the words to come out. "You think of Blue as your mom, and we think of her as our future wife. We will forever be family, whether we are your friends, pseudo-cousins, or some young and hip father figures."
She snorts, and more laughter joins in from behind me. "Didn't realize you assholes were listening," I grumble, narrowing my eyes at the three men watching us.
"Terrible speech, brother," Declan teases and leans over the back of the couch near me. "But he's right, Violet. We've adopted you into our little pack, which means you're staying here so we can focus on finding your ma. ‘Kay?"
