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“I did.”
She blinks, almost as if she wasn’t expecting that answer. “Okay. Well... are you aware that they now want to close my account due to suspicious activity because of how many times you tried to deposit money?”
“You could’ve just accepted the deposits, and not only would you have money, but you’d have free rein over your bank account.” I cock my head to the side. “Not that it matters either way now. There won’t be any more deposits.”
Turning away, I walk over to the patio, taking a seat in one of the metal chairs. Violet stands in place for several beats, seeming to have some sort of internal battle, then finally gives up and joins me, sitting across the table, crossing one leg over the other.
“Bankruptcy?” she asks in a flat voice, as if already convinced of the answer.
My eyebrows furrow. “What? No, I’m not bankrupt. I have enough money in my personal savings to not ever have to work again.”
“Brag,” she says, laughing softly to herself. “So, what happened to the cash you were so desperate to give me? Tired of me not letting you solve all my problems?”
I shrug, picking at a piece of chipped clear coat on the glass table. “Maybe I realized you were right about my control issues, and decided to work on them.”
She laughs again, this time louder. “Kal, no offense, but you were practically stalking me for the last six years. I don’t feel like you’re the kind of guy who just... turns over a new leaf when someone points out a flaw.”
Her words dig at the empty valley in my chest, razed after a tornado, waiting for something to grow in the place of my love for Elena. I tap my fingers on my knee, humming as the familiar itch to go and bring her home renews itself inside me.
“Some people are worth trying for.”
Violet’s lips twist, and she slides her gaze away, observing the pile of soil that was supposed to be Elena’s garden. “What’s with the dirt?”
“My wife—Elena—tried planting a garden, but clearly her greenhouse abilities are sorely lacking.”
“Hm. Yeah, I don’t think they’re supposed to be so... brown in the summer.”
I grunt noncommittally, staring out at the sun setting over the beach.
“I met her, you know.” She glances back at me, brushing some hair from her eyes. “Your wife. She seemed... interesting. Beautiful, but a strange match for you, I feel. Based on pretty much nothing but your appearance and rumors, of course.”
Smirking, I nod once. “You’re not wrong about that.”
We sit in companionable silence for a few beats, before finally, it gets to be too much, even for me. “What are you still doing on the island, Violet?”
Her fingers curl around the sunflower pendant hanging from her neck, and she sighs. “To be honest, I have no clue. I think that’s why I came to find you today, because every time I leave, I find myself coming back and standing in front of your stupid bar, wanting to go in and talk to you.”
“You fly to Aplana often?”
She blushes. “My best friend’s parents have a lot of frequent flier miles, so I’ve been using them. The kind of people who don’t even notice, you know?”
I just look at her, and she nods.
“Right, you know.” Clearing her throat, she scoots to the end of her seat. “In any case, I wanted to come find you, because I felt bad about how I acted earlier in the spring. You were only trying to help, and I shouldn’t have been such a bitch. It’s just... money is kind of a touchy subject.”
“It usually is.”
“And I’m... sorry I’m not in a place right now where we can... get to know each other. Family is just—”
“A touchy subject.” I hold my hand up, stopping her before the knife drives right through my chest. “I get it, Violet.”
Neither of us says anything else for several beats, and then she’s pushing to her feet, tucking her braids behind her ears. “Well. In any case, that’s all I wanted to say. I’m a firm believer in apologies, even if they do damage your pride.”
She starts to step off the patio, goodbye on her tongue, when another, completely different voice cuts through the air, making her freeze in place.
“What the fuck is this?”
