Page 29 of Come Back to Me

I lick my lips. “Are you seriously giving me the silent treatment? I shake my head. “Violet, we’re not twelve years old anymore.”

I wait for her to answer me, but she doesn’t. She’s insistent on not speaking to me.

“Fine, you want to play this game? The winner decides what we get to talk about next when we get to the apartment.”

I shift the gear into reverse, backing out of the parking space and driving off.

We spendthe fifteen minute car ride to my apartment consumed by silence, and I hate it so much.

Yes, I’m still mad at her, but it’ssomuch worse when she's mad at me. The way she completely ignores me like I’m not even there hurts so damn much.

Since I started our conversation first, I let her have this win.

“I hate it when you don’t talk to me. I’m sorry I made you get in the truck the way I did. I really am.” I inhale and exhale slowly. “Yes, I know I lost the game, but I don’t give a shit. Violet, will you please look at me?”

She gradually turns her head towards me, anger rolling off her body in waves. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

We turn into Oceanside, my apartment complex.

I find a parking space right in front of my building, which is a rare occurrence because the closest parking spaces are always full.

She studies the building, changing the course of our conversation. “So this is where you live, huh?”

“Yeah, I live here with Noah and Xander.”

“How do you like living with them?”

I shrug my shoulders. “It’s great, but I know Noah hates living with Xander and I sometimes.”

She chuckles. “Why do you say that?”

“We like to wrestle with each other a lot. Just your average brotherly love, even though we’re not blood-related.”

Her chuckle gradually turns into a belly laugh, and I’m sure the residents of Oceanside can hear it.

Man, I missed hearing her laugh.

I missed being the one to make her laugh.

Most of all, I missed her.

And I hate myself for missing her because she betrayed me. She broke my heart, but it’s hard to pretend I stopped loving her because I haven’t. I don’t know why it makes me feel guilty.

How do Iforgive the girl I’ve loved since I was a teenager after what she did to me?

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I run over to her side and open the door. I make it onto the step and reach over Violet.

Her eyes move from side to side. “What are you doing?”

“I’m unbuckling your seatbelt…” I study her face. “Unless you want to stay in this truck forever. It’s up to you.”

“Yeah, there’s no way I’m staying in here.”

Once she’s released from her seatbelt, I stick my hand out. She slides her hand into mine, speeding my heart rate up to a million miles an hour.

She steps down onto the ground, a small smile growing on her face before it quickly disappears. “Thanks.”