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What? Now you’re taking sides?
No. But Violet has always, always wanted to know more about Edith. She’s getting too old to shelter, though. If Percy noticed it, then Violet is probably more than aware of how you avoid her questions and is probably hurting.
Bronx ran a hand through his hair and blew out a breath.Fuck, I know I’ve held back. What if once Violet learns of how I didn’t protect her mother, all but signed her death sentence, not to mention what I did shortly after Vi was born? She’ll probably want nothing to do with me, and I don’t think I could handle it.
She would never just walk away. She’s fifteen going on sixteen. She’s old enough to hear and judge for herself. I suspect Violet will view things as I do, but you won’t believe me. So tell her.
He tapped his fingers against his thigh.If I do, it’s for Violet’s sake, not because Percy wants it. I’ll make it clear that Violet may not like what she hears and give her the choice.
At least she’ll have it, which you haven’t given her before.
Fuck, this all made him sound selfish. And to some degree, he might’ve been. He loved his daughter more than life itself, and the last thing he wanted was to hurt her or have her look at him with anger and disgust.
His dragon spoke up.Just talk with her. It’s time.
His beast was right, but Bronx still had to work up the nerve. He cleaned the kitchen, answered some emails, and all around kept busy, waiting for Violet to come home from her school visit.
He only hoped that his daughter would still give him hugs, or ask him to take her out for tea and scones, or want him to watch the silly soap operas on TV once he’d talked with her.
* * *
Percy sat on her bed,clutching her head in her hands, and said to her dragon,Why are you mad with me?
Her beast didn’t come out often and usually only for a few minutes at a time, but it was still amazing to her. She most definitely didn’t want to upset her dragon in any way.
Her dragon paced and finally said,You were mean to Bronx. He’s nice to us.
He is. But I can’t get attached, dragon. I can’t.
She waited to see if her beast would merely disappear. Every time she’d tried to have a conversation, it’d only lasted a minute or two.
But her dragon didn’t morph back into a sphere.But I like him. Why do you want to leave him?
She laughed bitterly.Because while you were missing, I’ve had a fucking awful life. I learned a long time ago to only trust myself. He might be nice now, but he’ll betray us in the end, like everyone else. I’m sure of it.
I’m not.With that, her dragon swirled and shrank back into the shape of a sphere.
Percy cried and begged for her to come back, but the light merely glowed steadily. She clutched her head harder, as if the action would somehow bring her dragon back. But if there was one constant about her beast, it was that she came out sporadically and only when she felt like it. No amount of begging, threatening, or shouting did anything.
Slowly, she lowered herself onto the bed and tucked her hands under her cheek as she stared out the open window.
For days, she’d gone back and forth about telling the doctors about her dragon’s short appearances and chats. But the need to protect her beast, to ensure no one silenced her again, was strong. So strong that she still lied to them, to Violet, and to Bronx.
Although the more she did it, the heavier her heart grew. Everyone else seemed to be able to smile, make plans, and live their lives as if they didn’t expect it to turn to shit in the next second.
Why couldn’t she?
She couldn’t because she was bloody damaged. And Percy was starting to think that if she couldn’t even be nice to someone as patient and tender as Bronx, she never would.
The fact she even cared about being nice to others scared the crap out of her, though.
Percy had no idea how long she lay there, but eventually, her stomach rumbled. And after too many years of not eating enough, she couldn’t ignore it.
Slowly, she sat up, rubbed her face, and went to the door. She listened, but no one was in the hallway. She walked out the door and was nearly to the living room when she heard Violet.
“Hi ya, Dad. You asked me to come home? What did you want?”
Percy knew she should retreat and give them space, and yet she couldn’t seem to move. Was Bronx really sorting things out with his daughter? Had her words impacted him that much?
