conversation and definitely needed to process the fact that he called me Violet. But since he was here—with Chase of all people—I didn’t mind putting the conversation on hold. I glanced over to Chase, who was looking really proud of himself. “Did you do this?”
“Yup. I called him last night. We both just really want you to have a happy day. Can you blow out the candles now, please? They’re getting hot.”
I smiled at them, my heart swelling with love for both of them. I closed my eyes to make a wish. I wished that Violet were here to spend the day with us and that wherever she was, she was happy. I blew out the candles. My body filled with a sense of peace, and I knew that Violet wanted me to enjoy my day.
Chase brought the pink cake over to the kitchen table and began slicing it up and handing it out. He grabbed some forks and handed one to me and Kai before diving into his own towering piece.
“Cake? For breakfast?” I asked, letting out a small giggle.
“Yeah, Honeybum. It’s your birthday!” he managed to get out in between forkfuls, his mouth overflowing with vanilla cake. There was icing hanging on Chase’s lip, and Kai gave him a look of disgust.
“So this, huh? Should I be worried?” I asked.
Chase and Kai looked at each other for a brief moment. “What do you mean?” Kai asked.
“I mean. You’re sitting together. And not fighting. No one has a black eye yet. I feel like I’m in an alternate universe. Or it’s the end of times. I’m not really religious, but I’m pretty sure having you two peacefully in the same room is some sort of sign that shit is about to get bad.”
“Ye of little faith,” Chase teased. “We can pretend to like each other for a day.”
I rolled my eyes and looked at Kai, who looked pleased with himself. “Chase admitted his undying love for me last night. Told me I was like the brother he never had,” Kai said, barely containing his smile.
Chase frowned. “I barely even complimented you. Like half a compliment. A ment.”
Kai crossed his arms over his chest proudly. “You said—and I quote—‘Thank you for working with Lex and the police.’”
Chase let out a huff of air, sending cake crumbs flying. “I’m not a total dick. So I said thank you, doesn’t mean we’re suddenly friends.”
I piped in. “Oh, this totally means you’re friends. Now the three of us can hang out.” I clapped my hands. I was actually really excited to see the two of them in the same room and not fighting. They felt like the two sides of myself I needed to reconcile. One of them knew the softer sides of Violet. One of them was coming to terms with the secretive, darker parts of Violet. Both had a lot of love for me.
“You want us to be friends?” Chase asked, a look of genuine confusion on his face.
“Well, duh. I care about you both. Chase, you’re my best friend. And even though Kai was a complete ass yesterday, he’s here to stay. I need you both—in different ways.”
Kai and Chase looked at one another. It was just a split second, but it felt like a decision, somehow. I could see the flicker of a truce building stronger and stronger. Whatever wall was between them had crumbled in that moment. No words were said, but I saw it. A choice was made with a single look, and I couldn’t wait for a future with the two halves of my soul.
“What do you want to do today, Breeze?” Kai asked.
“Mom wants me to stop by the hospital tonight so she can give me a hug and her present, and I thought we’d go see Dad at the surf shop. But I have all day to spend with you two. The first thing I want to do is open that,” I said, eying the little box sitting on the table. “Then I want to go surfing. And then I want you two to take me to a fancy restaurant like Violet would have, so that she can be a part of today too.”
“I think we can handle that,” Kai said as he handed me the present.
I tore the paper off like a kid on Christmas morning, abandoning any kind of ladylike manners. I lifted the lid off the jewelry box and inside on a velvet pillow, was a slender silver necklace with a