-Violet-

"Stop moving."

"You're the one that doesn't know how to lay still."

"Fight me then."

James huffed against my hair, burying his face further. "Go to sleep."

"I'm trying," I grumbled, wiggling under his arm.

"Violet," James whispered. "You need to, uh, stop doing that."

I stilled and laid my cheek on the top of my hand. "Stop doing what?"

"Moving against me like that," he whispered back urgently. "It's not helping."

My hand flew to my mouth and I stifled a laugh. His hand slipped across my waist, securing around loosely. "Sorry," I replied. "I'm done."

James freed his hand long enough to sweep the hair away from the side of my face and replaced back around my waist. He kissed the delicate spot behind my ear and sighed. "I'm surprised she let me spend the night."

"I know." I breathed. "She's always in a great mood when she gets home from Mark's. It's fantastic." She allowed James to spend the night and I was even allowed to close the door, but leave it open a crack.

"I'm surprised Gray didn't tell her about the shower incident."

I laughed lightly. "We agreed to keep it between us, no worries."

James shifted, his chest molding against my back again. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

It took me a second, but realized he was talking about Reese. I told him about the note, but not the details. Just said he wanted to talk. James wasn't happy about it, I could tell and it made me not want to go. I can understand why he'd be timid about it, because I am too. But it's time. "A little," I admitted. "But that's normal."

"You'll be fine," He assured. "And I'll be there when you're ready."

"Thank you." I placed a hand over his. "I'll stop by your apartment after."

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

I managed to flip on my other side and I lightly reached to touch his jaw. "You're amazing."

James kissed my forehead and then my lips. "I'll always be here."

* * *

I stood in front of the library, thinking about bolting before Reese knew I was here. But I need to do this. My feet need to move.

I've been standing on the steps for five minutes trying to persuade myself to go find him. Finally, I worked up enough courage and climbed the steps and walked around the library.

Of course, the library is closed on a Sunday. But it wasn't inside the library where we shared these moments. Behind the library were a set of tables and chairs where kids liked to come out to read or study. Sometimes both.

I came to this library a lot to study because of the chaos that ensues at my house. Reese would always find me there. Especially when we became friends. That's basically where we hung out, and then he'd walk me home.

As I rounded the corner, I saw him perched on one of the tables.

I stopped a few feet away and he raised his head. The sun caught his eyes perfectly and the green looked brighter than ever. "I didn't think you'd show," He said softly and stood from the table.

"I didn't think I would either," I mumbled.

He was quiet for a moment and then said, "I heard about your dad. I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Then I narrowed my brows. "How'd you find out about that?"

Reese took a step closer. "Your mom still talks to my mom. They did work together for awhile."

"Yeah, I forgot," I said quickly. Truth was I didn't remember. I didn't even know my mom still talked to his mom. She never mentions it. It doesn't bother me though.

"How are you?"

I don't know why the question surprised me, but it did. "I'm fine, thanks. You?"

"Good." He rubbed his cheek. "Can we talk?"

"That's why I'm here."

We moved back to a table and I sat on one of the benches, Reese sat on one across from me. I still felt like I was dreaming. Reese was sitting in front of me, but my pride is getting the best of me. I didn't want to talk to him. I wanted to stick my fingers in my ears like a child.

As tempting as that did sound, I didn't do it.

I leaned over on my elbow and searched his eyes. "Talk."

His expression softened as he leaned over the table. "I'm sorry, Violet. God I'm so sorry. That I can't express enough."

"You told me you'd see me later. You told me you loved me and then you left without a word."

"I know, believe me. I've kicked the shit out of myself for not telling you. But I couldn't, you have to understand that."

I scoffed. "Understand? The only thing I understood was that you left and didn't tell me why. You never even told me you couldn't tell me."

"Because I didn't want you to question it. I know you, Vi. I know you better than you think I do. You would've begged me to stay or begged to go with me so you could help me. But you couldn't. I didn't want to leave, know that. I never thought about leaving you until I had to." He paused and ran a hand through his hair. "I couldn't imagine my life without you in it."

He's said that to me before and it still made me feel hollow. "Why'd you leave, Reese?" I asked softly.

"I was sick, Vi."

My heart swelled and my breath hitched. "Sick?" I choked out.

"I went to stay with my uncle in Seattle. He's one of the most respected oncologists at the hospital. They caught it early enough, but I could relapse."

I finally found my voice. "What did you have?"

"Leukemia."

"That's horrible," I managed in a small breath. "I came here prepared to be mad at you and then I find out you're sick."

His eyes reminded me of a puppy. "I wanted to tell you so badly."

My eyes stung, but I didn't cry. "I wish you would've, but I get why you couldn't. And you're right about the part about me begging to go with you. I would've because I couldn't imagine my life without you either." I got up from my seat and slowly walked to his side, sliding in next to him.

Reese turned to face me. "I was so scared, Vi." He looked down at his hands and back to me. "I was so afraid I was going to die and not come back to you. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to say see you again or say goodbye."

"I would've been there," I whispered. "You know I would've been there."

He nodded. "I do know that, but I didn't want you to worry."

"I was already worried, Reese. I just needed to know you were okay."

"I wasn't okay. I am now, though. I'm okay and I just needed to see you. I needed to hear your voice."

"Are you leaving again?"

This time he shook his head. "I'm going to enroll in college and help my mom and dad out. I need to be with my parents too."

I nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry."

Reese lifted his eyebrows. "About what?"

"For the way I acted towards you and slapping you across the face. I should've listened. I knew you wouldn't leave unless it was important and that was really important. But you know me..."

"I do." He smiled. "It just looks like I'm too late."

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"You have no reason to be sorry, Violet. I never expected you to wait for me, I was just hoping I wasn't too late."

I searched his eyes. "Even after your mom told me you left, it took three months to actually realize you were gone and you weren't coming back. I'd call your mom to ask if you were home or if she talked to you. I was losing my mind. I thought I'd gone crazy."

"I didn't know it would be that bad," He said in a low voice.

"I may have been only sixteen, but I wasn't an idiot. When you left...it felt...empty. When you're around, I knew you were there. Everyone did. I noticed your absence and I hated it. I hated going anywhere that reminded me of you and I still do."

"I should've known."

"I didn't tell you that to make you feel bad, but I cared a lot. Don't think I didn't."

"I know, Vi." He timidly reached for my hand. "Thanks for talking to me."

"I'm glad I did." I returned his smile. "And I'm sorry again, about the slap across the face."

He laughed lightly and rubbed his cheek. "Yeah, that definitely left a mark. My mom just looked at me and shook her head."

I sucked hair in through my teeth. "Sorry about that."

Reese squeezed my palm and dropped my hand. "It's fine. We should go to lunch sometime soon so you can catch me up on everything."

I nodded. "Definitely soon." With a tad of reluctance, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "And I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad you came back."

He snaked his arms around me and held me close. "Thank you, Vi. It's good to see you're doing well and you're family too. I'm sure they'll never want to see me again—"

"No." I pulled back and shook my head. "I'm going to explain everything to them, don't worry. I'll see you soon, Reese."

"See you soon." His smile brightened.

Once I left, it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I wasn't mad and the grudge was gone. Now I felt bad about holding a grudge for so long. In my defense though I had no idea. I felt horrible, but I really did wish he would've told me. I'm glad he's okay more than anything.

If something would've happened to him while he was gone, I probably would've lost it. Knowing he's here and well is enough for me now.

I walked a few blocks from the library and found James's apartment building. Minutes later, I was standing in front of his door. There was a painting on the wall about a foot from his door that hid a key behind it. I pulled it forward and let the key drop into my palm. It didn't take long to unlock the door and slip through.

Chaos greeted my first off, jumping on his hind legs to get me to pet him. I smoothed a palm between his ears, ruffling his ears before dropping my hand. He dropped down and I went to find James.

It didn't surprise me when I found him asleep. It didn't take long.

I walked to the other side of his bed, kicked off my shoes, and climbed in. Scooting closer, I wrapped an arm around him and leaned down to kiss the top of his cheek.

James breathed and turned on his back. His eyes fluttered open and he gazed up at me. "Hey." He smiled sleepily.

"Your bed is more comfortable than mine so I've discovered." I skimmed a finger over his jaw. "And it's quieter here. No noise in the mornings...well, except Chaos. He's your personal alarm clock."

James chuckled. "You wiggle a lot when you sleep. And yes, Chaos is definitely an alarm clock."

"Hey," I said defensively. "Wiggling had nothing to do with it. But while we're on the subject, you move a lot."

"I do not," James protested. "You don't know how to lay still. Once second you're on your back, and another you're on your side—"

I pressed my lips to his and he shut up. It was a small kiss and I pulled back two seconds later. "Are you done?"

"You started it," He retorted and then a slow grin broke onto his lips.

"And I finished it." I kissed his cheek again. "Now get out of bed. I have to be home soon to finish up homework."

"I wouldn't be tired if you—"

"Don't you dare!"

"What are you going to do about it?" He teased and grabbed my wrist.

"I'll un-invite you to dinner on Thursday." I leaned into him. "You don't want that, do you?"

"Well..." He trailed off.

"You suck." I stuck my tongue out at him and got out of his bed.

As I crossed over his bedroom threshold and into the living room, I heard him behind me. I threw him a look over my shoulder. "At least you're out of bed now."

He leaned against the doorframe of his room and crossed his arms across his chest. His hair was disheveled and his blue eyes were still tired. "You okay?"

At first I was confused, but when I caught on, I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Reese and I talked and we got the closure we needed."

James smiled a little. "I'm glad you're okay and I'm glad you guys talked."

I smiled. "I'm glad too. I definitely needed it."

James lifted off his doorframe and walked up to me. He cupped my face in his palms and I wrapped my fingers around his wrists. His thumbs stroked across the top of my cheeks and I sighed. He tilted his head forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead and then to the tip of my nose.

* * *

The night before Thanksgiving, Mom and Mark had their first sleep over.

It was weird at first, because while we were all huddled in the living room watching a movie, they were cuddling and he would sneak kisses. I'm not even watching them, their sitting next to me and it's hard to ignore. I'm just going to have to get used to it. That won't be a problem because I love Mark and I've always looked up to him.

Blue was excited for have Mark spend the night. He was dragging Mark all over the house, showing Mark his toys and then some. After the movie was over, Nic and Jenny of course snuck off undetected. Of course not by me, because they asked me to cover for them.

That's not weird, right?

While Mom and Mark where in the kitchen, prepping for tomorrow's dinner, I walked off to find Gray in his room.

His door was only open a crack and I pushed it open the rest of the way. He was standing in the middle of his room, slipping a hoodie over his head. He already had his boots on too. "Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Yeah, just going to meet a few friends." He smoothed a hand through his hair. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I whispered. "You haven't really talked to me since last week."

"Just busy, Vi." He picked his phone and wallet off his desk and slipped them into his pockets.

"We live in the same house, Gray. You're mad at me about Reese."

"Violet—"

"I talked to him on Sunday," I said quickly. "He left because he was sick. Really sick and he needed to get better."

Gray looked at me, his features softening. "That doesn't sound good," He said.

"I know and I'm not mad at him anymore. Of course part of me wonders why the hell he didn't just tell me, but he was sick and him getting better was more important than anything."

Gray nodded. "You should've just told me Sunday."

"How could I? Either you were never home or you'd completely avoid me all together. What happened? We used to be so close and now you barely talk to me."

Gray advanced slowly, taking a few steps ahead to wrap me in his arms. "This stuff with Dad has been driving me crazy," He said softly. "I've been trying to get over it. It's just...a lot of stuff is happening all at once and it's a bit overwhelming."

"We're family, Gray." I stepped out of his hold to look up at him. "We're in this together."

"I know that, Vi. I have a hard time letting go, that's all."

So do I. "Then have fun tonight."

He only smiled a little. "I'll see you in the morning."

With that, he left.

I wondered across the hall to my room where Alyssa was. She was sitting on the edge of my bed, texting away on her phone. "Do you have a secret boyfriend too?"

She snorted and lifted her head. "There are no secrets with my dad. He'd find out before me." She dropped her voice down to a whisper and said, "He has eyes everywhere."

I had to laugh. "Mark is a great dad."

Alyssa nodded. "But it would be great if a boy was allowed at least ten feet from me. He's like a little watch dog and his 'boy is about to go near Alyssa' senses start tingling."

"That's actually hilarious," I replied.

She shrugged. "I know he does it because he cares and school comes first." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, is James coming tomorrow?"

I nodded once. "James, his mom, and his sister."

"Ohhh, this is going to be fun. Can't wait for them to start running."

It was quiet and then we both just started laughing. "I already warned James," I clarified. "He says he likes crazy families."

"Well, he hasn't met ours." She waved a pointer finger between us. "I'm excited though and it's going to be fun."

"Yeah, definitely." I smiled.

-----------------

Finally they talked!!!!!!!!!! I don't care if y'all say she forgave him too easily, because she didn't. So don't even SAY THAT! :) Reese will be in it again, and no, he's not going to get between Violet and James. Also, Juliet and Jack will be appearing in the next chapter! :)

Vote and comment? Pleeeeaassee? :) Let me know your thoughts on Reese!

Song: Roger Rabbit by sleeping With Sirens