Seeing the confusion on his face, I decided he didn’t need to know I’d beat my ex-best friend unconscious. I wasn’t sure how many people knew about what I’d done, and I didn’t want to talk about it in case Ma got pissed at me.
“Never mind,” I told him as I headed for the stairs, figuring Violet was in her room.
Upstairs, I knocked on her closed door and waited for her to answer. I heard footsteps, and a moment later, Vi stood before me. Her appearance took me by surprise.
She’d changed from her school uniform into a pair of baggy sweats that practically hung off her, making me wonder how much weight she must have lost since I’d last seen her. Plus, her face seemed to have a few sharp angles to it now. Her hair was pulled into a knot on top of her head, but the strands looked dull as if they, like her eyes, had lost their shine. Dark shadows were under her purple eyes, and there was a blankness to her expression that had me lifting my hand to make sure she was real and not a beautiful mannequin that looked like sweet little Vi.
When my fingers touched her cheek, she stepped back. “Hi,” she greeted in a voice that seemed… I couldn’t put my finger on it other than it just seemed off to my ears.
“Hey.” I smiled down at her, hoping to get one in return, but she just stood there without even blinking. “Luca wanted me to check on you, make sure you’re okay. Now I can see why.”
I didn’t miss the way she flinched at the sound of her boyfriend’s name, and I knew something was seriously wrong.
“Are you two arguing?” I asked quietly, afraid to spook her. But she wasn’t talking, and I was worried about her.
“I have homework, Jags,” she murmured.
“It’s Friday,” I reminded her. “You have all weekend to get it done.” Grasping her gently by the arms, I moved her aside and stepped into her bedroom. Once I was inside with her, I closed the door and walked her over to her bed. Urging her to sit, I crouched down in front of her. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She crossed her arms stubbornly in front of her. “If you want to hang out, that’s fine, but I’m not in the mood to talk. Especially about anything concerning Luca.”
“Okay,” I agreed with a nod. “No talking. How about I just camp out on your bed until you get sick of me?”
Her lips twitched in the first sign of emotion from her, and I grinned. “I almost killed a guy for you, Vi. I think you can spare a few hours for me.”
That had her brow scrunching up. “Who did you almost kill?”
“Cannon. Your parents didn’t tell you?” She shook her head. “Huh, I guess they didn’t want that little bit of news spreading around. But yeah, I kicked his ass and would have happily killed him if Barrick hadn’t stopped me.”
“Um…thanks?” I snorted out a laugh, and she shook her head at me. “No, really. Thank you. That makes me feel a little better. Aunt Dallas told me she was sending him to Texas, but… I don’t know…” She glanced toward the window as she lifted one of her hands to touch her mouth. “It just didn’t seem like it was all that harsh of a punishment at the time. I guess I wanted some of his blood spilled.”
“I can assure you it was. Ma said he needed stitches and I may have fractured a few ribs.” I moved to sit on the bed beside her. “Honestly, though, I’m surprised Luca didn’t hunt Cannon down in Texas and finish him off.”
She stiffened, and I could feel her withdrawing completely. Standing, she walked to the door. “I really do need to get this homework done. I have a paper due Monday.”
Sighing, I reluctantly got to my feet and walked to the door where she was waiting. “Whatever’s going on, all you have to do is tell me, and I’ll make whoever put that vacant look in your pretty eyes pay.”
She lowered her gaze to the floor for a moment before straightening her shoulders. “Thanks for stopping by.”
“Ah, Vi.” I wrapped my arms around her. After a small hesitation, she hugged me back. “I don’t like seeing you like this. Just say the word, and I’ll make it all better.”