I was still thinking about it hours later. My room was clean now, thanks to Violet and Cannon having picked up all my trash, vacuumed, and even changed my bedding. They were both camped out on my floor munching on pizza and flipping through the channels in search of something to watch. But I was more interested in observing them.
Before, Violet would shudder if my brother’s name was even mentioned. He’d done some serious damage to her psyche with the way he’d hurt her with that forced kiss. He’d taken away her control and made her question her judgment in a guy she’d thought would never hurt her. After he went away to military school, she would still come and go like my house was her second home. But once he’d returned, she’d avoided this place like the plague.
Now, she was sitting beside him like nothing had happened. Her leg brushed against his every now and then, and she even shoved his shoulder when he cracked some stupid joke. I was glad she wasn’t scared of him anymore.
But there was something different in their relationship that I was starting to sense. If Cannon said something Violet didn’t like, all it took was a stern look from her purple eyes and he would mumble a quick apology. She was definitely the dominant one in their new friendship, and I got this weird sense that it was what Cannon needed.
Pushing that thought away, I grabbed a slice of pizza from the box on the floor and snatched the remote from my brother’s hand. “If you’re going to stay, then be prepared to watch old movies.”
“How old? We talking chick flicks from the eighties, or those black-and-white Grace Kelly movies you two are addicted to?”
Without answering, I flipped over to one of the streaming services and clicked on The Breakfast Club.
Cannon grunted but didn’t get up to leave. “I’m okay with this one,” he muttered.
“Should have picked Pretty in Pink,” I grumbled to myself, but I didn’t back out of the choice.
Halfway through the movie, Cannon went to the bathroom. While he was gone, Violet moved to lie on the bed with me. When my brother came back, he flopped down between us and stuffed one of my pillows under his head. Violet hesitated for only a moment before laying her head on his shoulder. He reached out to pull me in close like Vi was, but I slapped his hand away.
Undeterred, he wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled my head to his shoulder. “Shut your trap and watch the movie,” he directed when I started to bitch at him to let me go.
After a few minutes, I relaxed, and it actually felt like old times.
Why that made me sad, I wasn’t sure. But it wasn’t all bad.
One movie turned into three, and suddenly, it was two-thirty in the morning and I felt like I was starving. The pizza was long gone, and I wasn’t in the mood to cook for myself.
“I’m so hungry,” Violet complained.
“You want burgers?” Cannon jumped to his feet. “Oreo shake?” My stomach grumbled in anticipation at the thought of a burger, and my brother smirked. “No onions for Vi. Extra pickles for Shaw. Be right back, ladies.”
I watched him leave my room with my mouth gaping open before I turned to my bestie. “Did you perform, like, a lobotomy on my brother or something? Or maybe a personality transplant? Because no way is that the same douchebag from even a week ago.”
Violet shrugged. “Like I said, he’s trying.”
“Huh,” was all I could mutter. “Let’s hope he keeps trying. I could get used to him making a burger run in the middle of the night.”
Chapter 29
Shaw
A few weeks later, I woke up one morning and forced myself to put on makeup. I dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, a baby-blue tank top that matched my eyes, and a pair of heels that made me a good inch taller than my brother. After spritzing a little texture spray in my hair, I scrunched it up and then pulled it into a ponytail before grabbing my bag.
I didn’t have any plans for the day, but I knew I needed to get out of the house. Having locked myself in my room with nothing but junk food for over two weeks, I was in need of some sun and to be around people other than Violet and my dickhead brother.