Page 268 of No Need to Run
Then she straightens. “Good luck with that.”
She turns and walks away without another word.
We don’t say anything as we move so I can close the door.
I turn to her, leaning my forehead against hers.
“…Well,” I murmur. “I didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
“Mm,” Violet hums, a slow smile curling her lips. She leans into me, calm and unshaken.
“You don’t seem surprised,” I say.
“I’m not.”
“Why?”
“I pay attention.”
I let out a breath.
I pull her closer. Everything else disappears.
“You’re staying,” I say.
“Yes.”
My lips meet hers.
Good.
Because somewhere along the way, she started feeling like home.
56
VIOLET
Julia should’ve never come here.
The thought settles quietly in my mind as her car starts outside, then rips out of the driveway.
Good. She’s gone.
Even so, I still feel her presence lingering in the space, sharp and cold.
She’s so different from me.
My fingers curl slightly at my sides.
She won before.
My chest tightens as I think about seeing him in that hospital.
Withher.
I clocked it right away. She needed someone, so she settled for him.
Julia has lingered over him for years.
