-James-

"So you're not coming to dinner?" He asked again.

"Dad, no, I told you I'm going to Violet's," I replied. "You never wanted me there before."

He sighed loudly over the phone and it was quiet for a moment. "You haven't even been dating Violet that long," He retorted. "She'll end up just like every—"

"Don't finish that," I snapped and straightened my spine. "I gotta go. I don't want to be late." And I hung up.

If my Dad's idea of guilt tripping is to be an asshole, he really needs to work on that. My dad has more pride than anyone I know, including myself. He'd always find a way to meddle in my life. Before my parents got divorced, he wasn't that bad. Of course, he still never liked anything I did, but that's my dad. Nothing makes him happy unless it's money.

Dinner at Violet's is going to be great. Meredith won't be there because she's going to Damon's, but she said she'd maybe try to stop by if it's not too late. If it's too late, she said she'd meet Violet and I for lunch one weekend. My mom is probably already there to help with the cooking, that's what I was told.

I haven't seen Violet since Sunday after I took her home. Ever since she talked to Reese though she's been better. I could tell. Definitely happier. It's great to see because that's all I want for her. She deserves happiness.

And I do too.

She makes me happy. But it's hard to revel in that happiness when my dad wants to be Dad, and be a complete—

I won't even finish that.

My thoughts closed off and I finished getting ready. Violet said it's nothing fancy, so I just slipped on a pair of dark jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black zip-up jacket. I paired it with black boots and walked into my living room to find Chaos. It didn't take long. He jumped off the couch and sauntered over to me. I snapped the leash onto his collar and we left.

Chaos sat happily in the passenger seat while I drove. I haven't had him in the car for a while and it definitely showed. He stood against the window and all I could think about was cleaning off the paw prints and can't forget the drool. But he looked adorable while doing it, I'll give him that.

I pulled up to Violet's and parked on the side of the road in front of her house. I walked to Chaos's side, opened the door, and grabbed the leash. He jumped down easily. As I closed the door and started walking, I did notice my mom's car was already here.

We trailed up the sidewalk and stopped short of the front door and rang the doorbell. I bent down and picked Chaos up, tucking him under my arm and he licked my jaw. The front door opened and Nic came into view. "I thought we scared you off," He joked, opening the door wider so I could slip in.

I turned to face him. "It's going to take a lot more than that."

"I guess I should try harder next time." He grinned.

"Nic, shut up." Violet came up beside him and nudged him with her elbow. She looked at me and smiled. "Ignore the idiot. He still doesn't know how to act around people. It's why we can't take him anywhere."

Nic threw an arm around her shoulders and squeezed. "But what would you do without me?"

Violet looked up at him and dropped her voice down to a whisper. "I know how to hide a body so no one would ever find it."

Nic glared at her and dropped his arm. "I know where you sleep." He looked to me and then to Chaos. "Oh, is this the infamous Chaos?"

"The one and only," I replied and sat him down.

"It's okay to take the leash off," Violet assured.

I took the leash off and Nic squatted on the floor, and of course, Chaos attacked. But Nic enjoyed it, it seemed.

Violet took the leash from my hand, setting it down on the table next to the door. Then she walked up to me, stood on her toes, and kissed me quick. I cupped her face and brought her back for one more.

"Not in the living room," Gray droned. "My eyes burn."

Violet laughed and looked at her brother. "You act like you're twelve."

"When I see my little sister kissing someone, yes, I'm a twelve year old." He looked to me and nodded once before walking around and going in the kitchen.

Violet took a step back and slipped her fingers through mine. "I want you to meet Mark." She beamed and started tugging me in the direction of the kitchen.

Our mom's were near the sink, talking and laughing about something. Gray was standing next to who I'm assuming is Mark. He's probably close to my height, dark hair sprinkled with gray strands, and glasses that look similar to Violets.

Violet dropped my hand and walked over to Mark. She grabbed his arm and he dropped what he was doing to come and greet me. First, he wiped his hands on a dishcloth and Violet brought him over to me. "It's good to finally meet you, James," He said with a bright smile.

He offered me his hand and I shook it. "Glad to finally meet you, too." My smiled widened a bit. "Thanks for letting me join you guys."

"Of course." He dropped my hand. "The more, the merrier. That's what Caroline always says." He laughed. "It's great to have you and your mom both."

"Uh, Mark," Gray murmured. "I think I did something wrong."

Mark sighed and scratched his brow. "Dinner will be ready soon."

Violet grabbed my hand again and led me out of the kitchen and through the living room. As we were passing through, Blue had joined Nic while playing with Chaos. He was all over Blue while Blue was giggling about it. We walked down the hall and to Violet's room where she closed us in.

The first thing I noticed was that her room was organized. Now it looked like Violet's room. Her bookcase was neat, her bed was made, and he desk was no longer cluttered.

"This break has been good to me." She laughed, noticing the look on my face. "I finally had time to clean up and get back to me."

I smiled. "I'm glad."

She dropped down on the edge of her bed and looked up at me. "Thank you for coming over. It really does mean a lot to me."

"Where else would I be?" I teased. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

Her cheeks turned a shade pinker. "Well thank you."

I walked over to the bed and sat down next to her. "My mom seems to be enjoying herself too."

Violet let out a light laugh. "Yeah, she's been here since this morning. I'm surprised Mark hasn't kicked her or my mom out."

"It looks like he has them under control." I laughed.

Violet leaned against my shoulder. "For now," she mumbled.

I maneuvered my arm from under her head and wrapped it around her shoulders before pulling her to my side. "Is your mom doing okay?"

"For the most part. But a couple nights ago I heard her crying in her room. She was looking at old pictures of Dad again." She sighed. "It doesn't help when his wife called yesterday to tell us that we have to deal with all his stuff because she doesn't care."

"Are you serious? What a—"

"I know. Gray doesn't want to go and to be honest I don't either. But I want to go for my mom and I want to support her. I won't leave her this time." She tilted her head back to gaze up at me. I turned my head slightly to catch her stare. "And they just found out my dad had a will. So we have to stay for the reading of that. It doesn't matter, he probably didn't leave us anything."

I lifted a hand to her cheek, lightly stroking her skin with my thumb. "That won't be easy for you," I said softly. "But in some ways it could be good for you, you know? Tying up more loose ends. That sort of thing."

She nodded. "I'm still worried. Even though he's been gone for seven years now, it doesn't feel like he's really gone. I won't lie and say I'm happy he's gone, because I'm not. I'm not heartless." Her eyes started to well up. "I wanted to see him again. I really did. And now I don't have that chance," She choked on the last word.

"I'm so sorry," I said in a low tone. "I really do wish you had that chance, Vi." I slowly brought her closer into my arms and she nuzzled her face against the side of my neck.

She let out a shaky breath and wrapped her arms around my torso.

"I didn't mean to upset you," I whispered.

"No, it's okay." She lifted her head and placed a hand on my cheek. She turned my head to face her and she smiled. "You didn't upset me. I was going to talk to you about it later."

I leaned forward and kissed the small space between her brows. "I'm here."

"And you're the best." She tilted her head back. "I know I say it a lot, but thank you. For everything."

I smiled and leaned in to kiss her lips softly. "It's an honor."

I felt her smile against my lips.

Then Violet's door opened and Blue came walking in. We both looked at him as he stopped near the edge of the bed and he settled his small hands on his hips.

"What's up, buddy?" Violet asked, playfully poking his cheek.

He glanced at me and back to Violet. "I need to show James something."

"I saw him first," Violet played.

Blue did not look amused.

Violet lightly pushed on my shoulder and said, "Go see what the little runt wants to show you and come back to me."

I looked to her, a small smirk tugging on my lips. "I'll be back then."

When I stood, Blue took my hand and led me out of Violet's room.

* * *

At dinner, we all gathered around the table, squeezing in and almost bumping each other. But it was nice for a family to be this close. I just wish mine were.

I was sat between Violet and my mom as we ate.

Conversation was loud and cheerful around the table. It's the first time I really saw Violet completely in her element. The smile never left her face. It was so refreshing and I felt myself ease when pulled into conversation.

My mom was enjoying herself too. I don't think I've seen her laugh so much. At least not in the past three years. It was a really nice change.

"Remember last Thanksgiving when Violet—"

"Don't you dare!" Violet interrupted Nic and started laughing. "You promised not to mention that again."

Nic grinned and looked at me. "I'm sure James would like to know."

"Oh, yeah," I replied. "Since she now knows an embarrassing story about me, I think it's only fair."

Violet buried her elbow in my side playfully. "I can promise you that you don't want to know."

I looked at her and let a grin tug at my lips before looking back to Nic. "Spill."

Nic looked victorious. "Last year all we did was put Violet in charge of fixing the rolls. Something you have to know about little Violet is that she can't bake anything to save her life."

Violet groaned beside me.

Nic went on, "They burned so badly and they basically turned into weapons. I'm surprised the oven didn't catch on fire. Oh, my gosh. It was so funny. Like, you had to be there. I remember the look on her face and how it was so red I thought she was going to explode." Nic leaned back in his chair and put a hand over his stomach. "Good times, Vi."

I started laughing and I glanced at Violet. She was glaring hard at Nic.

But everyone else was laughing.

Even my mom.

Mark had a hand over his mouth, but a laugh tumbled out before he could stop it. "I definitely remember that," He muttered.

"You all suck," Violet said and she was fighting her own smile. "But I guess it was pretty funny. And I seriously can't bake anything to save my life."

"That's why there's timers on the oven," Gray piped in.

"I've used the timer before. It still never works out for me." She shrugged. "I guess no one ever expects me to bake anything again."

"True," Caroline replied. "But we love you."

"Really have a funny way of showing it, Mom," Violet remarked. "But I love you too."

I placed a hand on Violet's upper back and rubbed circles. "It's kind of adorable." I laughed lightly.

Violet looked at me with the raise of her brow. "You think me burning stuff is adorable?"

I shrugged a shoulder and smiled at her. "Oddly adorable, yes."

She looked away, a slight blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Maybe we should talk about what we're thankful for," Caroline easily changed the subject to get the attention off of Violet. "Nic, why don't you start?"

Nic sat up straight again and took a sip of his drink before speaking, "Obviously my family and socks."

"Socks?" Violet asked slowly.

Nic nodded. "We should all be grateful for socks, Vi."

Gray snorted. "This got weird fast."

"Did you expect less from Nic?" Mark asked with a small chuckle.

I had to laugh a little. "He does have a good point about the sock thing."

Nic smiled at me. "See, James gets it. Socks are important in everyday life."

"This family is weird," Blue murmured and rolled his eyes.

Violet laughed next to me. "Blue understands."

"Okay," Caroline interrupted. "What about you, James?"

It took me by surprise, I think. And I'm sure it said it all over my face because I felt like a fish out of water. A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed hard. "Um..." I trailed off and looked around the table. Everyone had their eyes on me and it definitely made me nervous. "This. Being surrounded by people I care about. You guys have welcomed me in your home like you've known me for years." My lips tugged into a smile and I reached for Violet's hand. She twined her fingers between mine and squeezed my palm. I looked to my mom and she smiled. "I'm thankful for my mom and sister also of course...and my dad too." The last part probably wasn't smart, but I am thankful for my dad.

Even though we've been through a lot, I still love him. Not because he's my father, but because he has been good to me. He's been there when I was little and he was always caring and loving. Maybe not so much now, but I know he still loves me.

"That's great." Caroline beamed and took Mark's hand into hers. "I have to agree with you, James. I'm thankful for the people surrounding this table."

I returned her smile gratefully.

When it was Violet's turn, she sighed and bit her bottom lip. "Family, books, and food."

"What a shock," Gray droned and grinned sarcastically.

Violet stuck her tongue out at him and his expression never changed.

* * *

After dinner, we had dessert and then started cleaning up. It was a team effort, even though the kitchen was way too small for all of us. We managed.

When it was time to leave, my mom gave everyone a hug. Even Violet's brothers and Blue was all for it. She told Caroline she'd see her soon and hugged Violet before hugging me. "I love you," She whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her tight. "I love you too, Mom."

She pecked my cheek and Blue walked her to the door.

Chaos rose from the couch and jumped down. He walked up to me and nudged my leg. "I guess I should go too." I took his leash from the small table and hooked it onto his collar. "Thank you guys so much for having my mom and I both over tonight. It means a lot."

Caroline smiled. "Anytime, James."

Mark offered me his hand. "It was nice meeting you."

I gave his hand a firm shake and dropped it. "You too, Mark. I'll see you guys soon." But before I could leave, I gave Caroline a tight hug.

As I was about to pull back, she whispered, "Thank you."

Then I stepped back and gave her smile. She didn't need to explain because I already knew what she was talking about. "Sorry Meredith couldn't make it," I apologized. "Maybe we'll have dinner sometime soon."

"Sounds like a good plan," Caroline replied.

Violet came up beside me and took my hand. "I'll walk you out."

I told everyone goodnight and followed Violet outside to my car. I opened the door and let Chaos hop in and climb in the passenger seat. Violet walked around my door to meet me. "Are you going to Juliet's?" She asked and snaked her arms around my waist.

I nodded and cupped her face in my palms. "For a bit. I'll call you when I get home."

Her lips curved into a smile. "Okay and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

I leaned down and kissed her lips softly. "Tonight was really fun."

"I'm glad you had fun," She mumbled against my lips. "My family is a little weird as Blue said."

"Nah," I pecked her lips once more and dropped my hands to drape my arms over her shoulders. "I wish my family was this close."

She smiled slowly. "We can be your family too. The very weird one with the uncle that always has crazy stories."

A small laugh fell from my lips. "Then I can't wait to meet that uncle."

"I actually really do have an uncle like that. My mom's brother. He likes to travel so I think he's in Europe. But every time he visits he always has some crazy story to tell."

"Your uncle sounds awesome actually."

Violet laughed. "He's not bad."

I leaned forward and pressed my forehead to hers. "I'm thankful for the day you stumbled into that meeting room."

She stood on her toes and connected our lips for a second that wasn't long enough. "I am too." She pecked my lips once more before we untangled. "See you in the morning."

I nodded once and smiled. "You will."

Violet backed up and sent me a wave before turning on her heel and walking back inside the house.

I proceeded to get in the car and head to Juliet's house.

When I got there, I climbed out with Chaos still on the leash. He trotted a few feet ahead until we reached the front door. I rang the doorbell and waited until someone opened the door. Juliet was on the other side, a wide smile beaming across her face. "Hey!" She opened the door wider for me to slip in. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it tonight."

I closed the door and turned around. "I had to come over because I don't see you as often anymore," I teased and opened my arms.

She moved into them easily, wrapping her arms around me. "It's good to see you even though I just saw you a month ago." She laughed and stepped back. "Come on, we're just in the living room."

Juliet took Chaos's leash and I fell into step behind her. We emerged into the living room where her grandparents were with Jack, Juliet's Fiancé. Jack stood when he noticed me and greeted me with a firm handshake. "No offense or anything, but I'm more excited to see Chaos," he joked and kneeled down in front of Chaos.

"So that means you're a little bit excited to see me."

Jack glanced at me and grinned. "Only a little."

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "You're so funny."

Jack stood again, a smile still playing on his lips. "I'm going to go see my parents for a bit, my mom wanted to talk about the wedding." He rolled his eyes and looked at me again. "We should definitely meet up for dinner sometime this weekend."

I nodded. "Yeah, for sure."

Jack patted my shoulder as he walked around me and headed for the door.

"We can go up to my room," Juliet offered.

Instead though, I looked at Juliet's grandparents. "It's great to see you guys again."

"You too, James," Her grandpa replied. "As always."

I smiled. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"And same to you," Her grandma said with a giant smile.

I told them goodnight and continued to follow Juliet up the stairs to her old room. I dropped down in her desk chair and Juliet plopped on the edge of her bed, tucking her legs underneath her. "Did you have a good night?" She asked.

"Yeah, just tired I think." I leaned over my knees. "What about you?"

"Great night." Her lips curved into a bright smile.

"How's everything with your dad?"

"Good," She replied. "You just missed him actually. How's everything with Violet?"

My heartbeat skipped. "Better than ever," I said with the most certainty.

"What happened with...Reese is it?"

I nodded. "They talked. Everything seems okay."

Juliet pursed her lips for a moment and eyed me. "But is everything okay with you?"

I scanned her face and my heart started beating harder against my chest. "I don't know," I answered truthfully. "I still worry."

"That's normal," Juliet said softly. "But you have to trust her—"

"I do, Juliet." I sucked in a breath and roughly ran a hand through my hair. "I know she's in this for me and...I don't know. It's new and it's scaring the shit out of me."

"That's normal too. It's a feeling that's new and you don't know what to do with it. In my case, I ignored it and pushed Jack away. Don't do that to Violet."

"I couldn't," I whispered. "I won't."

Juliet smiled. "I'm glad you have her."

I returned her smile. "Me too."

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

I didn't really like this chapter lol. It's almost 4k words but it just felt rushed and idk. I have a block so you'll have to bear with me for a bit.

Please vote and comment? Let me know what you think pleaaaaasee? :)