Page 57 of Friends That Heal Us
“Yes, you are,” my mom pipes in. Violet shifts her gaze over to her. My mom sits on the other side of her, brings her arm toher shoulder and rubs it. “You have always been like a daughter to me.”
Violet’s shoulders shake.
“Oh, honey.” Mom takes her into a hug. She rests her forehead on my mom’s shoulder.
I squeeze her thigh a little tighter for more reassurance. I know she’s not sad but happy.
She lifts her head and wipes her tears. “I should have made you more cookies,” she says, staring at my dad.
Everyone at the table laughs.
“Are those happy tears?” Dad asks.
She nods her head and wipes her eyes again. “Yes. I just…” she trails off. “I don’t know what to say. With everything going on, I can’t seem to stop crying.” She chuckles. “Thank you so much.” She shifts her gaze to me. “And thank you. I couldn’t have done this without you.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder; she leans into me, and I drop a kiss on the top of her head. “You all will have a lifetime of free baked goods.”
My dad rubs his hands together with a wide grin. “Oh yes. We should have done this sooner.”
Everyone chuckles.
“Well, I, for one, am happy for the both of you,” Dani says sternly.
Violet lifts herself off my shoulder as the whole table glances at Dani.
“You both deserve everything that is coming to you. And I am soooo”—She drags out the o’s—“Happy that Rya is finally gone.” All our mouths part open, stunned at her words. She shrugs her shoulders. “Oh, come on. I’m not the only one who thinks so.”
And there it is. My sister can be very blunt at times. I knew she would be the first to break the elephant in the room.
“Thanks, Dani,” Vi says.
“The nerve those two fuckers have is unbelievable,” my sister continues, shaking her head. She turns and glares at me. “And, Ez, why didn’t you tell me anything that was going on? We used to tell each other everything. What happened?”
I shrug my shoulders, eyes dropping away from hers. “I didn’t mean to,” I say, rubbing the back of my neck. “I thought I could figure it out on my own.”
I don’t even know why I never went to her. I used to go to her for everything. But somewhere along the way, I shut down and built a wall around myself without even realizing it.
CHAPTER THIRTY
VIOLET
I stareout the truck’s window as the trees pass us by as we drive back home. There’s silence between us, and it’s making me think if Ezra is second-guessing everything. Ever since Zay cheated on me, I second-guess everything now. I hate it. Is this how it’s always going to be?
Today was heavy. Not in a bad way. I’m still in disbelief about what Ez’s family has done for me. No one has ever gone out of their way like that for me before. I’m the type that tries to do everything myself so I’m not a bother. After everything that has been going on, their generosity is a breath of fresh air.
“Hey,” Ez says, placing his hand on my thigh.
I shift my gaze over to him.
“Stop overthinking this.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
He looks over at me for a brief second and then his gaze goes back to the road. “Because I know you.”
It’s amazing how much more he knows me than Zay ever did. Unless he didn’t care enough about my feelings, like Ez does.
I rest my hand over his, feeling the roughness of his skin. The proof of his hard work and long hours. Beneath those calluses and cracked skin, there’s a softness to his hands, a warmth that catches me off guard. It makes me squeeze his hand a little tighter and hold on to him so I can feel the safeness that he makes me feel. The safety he’s always made me feel.
