heart moved up into my throat when my foot immediately slipped, causing a shingle to lift up and then fall off the side of the house. Swallowing my scream, I grabbed on to the window so I could right myself and took a deep breath. “Damn stubborn girl.”
With a grunt, I released the bedroom window and carefully walked the few feet to the bathroom window. It was a considerably smaller window, but plenty big enough for me to crawl through.
If it wasn’t locked.
When I tried it, I was so glad it was indeed unlocked that I did a happy dance and nearly fell again. Two more shingles came loose but thankfully didn’t fall off. I hoped Vi wasn’t planning on making a habit of this, because I was seriously developing a fear of heights from this shit.
By the time I was inside, I was out of breath and freezing. But then I saw Violet. She must have thought I’d left because she was sobbing uncontrollably at that point. Rushing to her, I knelt and touched her arm.
Her head jerked up, and she looked at me in bewilderment, as if she couldn’t understand how I was there.
Still breathing heavily, I pushed the hair back from my face and sat down beside her on the floor. “Your dad needs to replace a few shingles now,” I told her with a grunt as I leaned my back against the bathroom door.
“You’re crazy,” she mumbled, but her tears were still falling in rivers down her pale cheeks.
“Yeah, yeah,” I scoffed, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her head onto my lap. “Now, you pain in the ass, you go ahead and cry all you want. I’m not going to judge you or tell you it’s going to be okay. Maybe it will be one day. Maybe it won’t. And that’s okay. Because I’m not going to leave you. I’ll be right here beside you for however long you need me.”
When she opened her mouth to argue, I’d had enough and pressed my palm over her lips. “Just shut up, Vi. You don’t have to be the strong one all the time. The rest of us won’t break if you cry in front of us. It’s fucking okay not to be okay!”
As if she was beginning to realize what I said was true, she rolled so her face was pressed into my stomach and finally just let go.
We stayed like that for hours. With Violet crying out all the pain she’d let build up for months, and me simply letting her. I didn’t tell her it was going to be okay, because I didn’t know if it ever would be again. I just let her know I was there for her and combed my fingers through her hair the way my mom always did when I needed comforting.
Eventually, Violet fell asleep, but I didn’t dare move. She was exhausted, and I didn’t want to disturb her.
I heard footsteps in the bedroom, followed by a brisk knock. “Girls?” Uncle Shane called out softly. “Are you two okay in there?”
I yawned and stretched the kinks out of my shoulders. Glancing down, I saw Violet’s eyes had fluttered open, and I gave her a tiny smile. “We’re good,” I assured him. “Um, just an FYI, you might need to get someone to check your roof.”
“What?” he practically squawked, and I grimaced.
“It’s a long story. One I’m not sure I have time to tell right now.” If I got in trouble, I got in trouble. But Violet needed me more at the moment, so he would have to wait. I stroked my fingertips over Violet’s forehead, and my heart melted when her eyelids fluttered closed. “Just know that Violet is okay.”
He sighed heavily. “That’s all that matters. I’ll save you girls some dessert,” he promised before I heard his footsteps retreating.
While Violet fell back to sleep, I leaned my head back against the door and closed my eyes but continued to trace my fingertips across her brow.
I wasn’t sure how much time had passed when I heard another knock on the door. My eyes snapped open, and I realized I must have dozed off.
“Shaw?” Jagger’s voice was low and caused my heart to jump. “Baby, are you okay?”
I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat and blinked back the sting of tears. “Yeah,” I murmured softly. “I’m all right.”
“How’s Vi?”
I glanced down at her and saw the tear tracks on her pale cheeks. “I honestly don’t know,” I