Page 30 of Come Back to Me
Violet walks away from me and heads underneath my apartment building. After I grab my gym bag from the back of the truck, I sling it over my shoulder. I look back, seeing her standing by the staircase and staring at the floor.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi.”
Gesturing to her to follow me, we walk up to the third floor and make it to the front door of my apartment. I pull out the key from my back pocket, unlocking the door and heading inside.
Violet trails behind me, her eyes scanning her surroundings.
Throwing my key on the kitchen table, I drop my gym bag on the floor. I watch Violet as she looks around the apartment.
I can’t believe the love of my life is in my off-campus college apartment right now. This isn’t real. I must be dreaming.
I pinch the skin on the top of my hand. “Ow.”
The corner of her lips curve up. “Why are you pinching yourself?”
“You being here doesn’t feel real.”
“Can I sit downsomewhere?”
I push a slew of papers off the sofa onto the floor. “Yeah.” I point to the sofa.
She sits down, and I sit opposite her with a decent amount of space between us.
Why can’t I stop staring at her?
I have my reasoning behind why I call her Angel. It’s not just because she’s ethereal and the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.
When we were younger, I learned that not all angels are created equal. Violet may look innocent, but appearances can be deceiving.
“I’m confused. You were annoyed that I was here, and you wanted me to leave. You wanted me out of your life for good. And now, I’m sitting here in your apartment because you want to continue talking about the past. What do you really want from me, Gray?”
I want to know the truth.
“It’s pretty self-explanatory.”
“Please feel free to elaborate.”
“I want to know where it all went wrong. I need to know, and I want to understand why you did what you did.”
“Okay.” She closes her eyes, her mouth parting open. “Where did we leave off?”
“Halloween party. Sophomore year.”
“Well, we’re going to fast forward to junior year.”
I squint my eyes. “Why?”
“You’ll find out why soon enough.”
then
VIOLET | AGE 16
Grayson
Happy sweet sixteen, Angel
