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“Dated, and you didn't know.”
I sighed. "You know what hurts the most?" Kate said nothing, so I continued, "I don't regret coming here. Not after seeing you and Layla, meeting Troy...and Shawn, Leon, and Brady. You guys gave me hope that I could be better.”
She took my hands in hers and rubbed my knuckles gently.
“It hurts that I'm ruining it all. Bothering everyone with my problems.” I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "You all must be so exhausted. That's why I left Shawn before he realized I’m more stress than I'm worth. I don't want Eric to show up and harm the boys. I don't want to ruin their lives."
“Stop, Violet!” Kate squeezed my hands, bringing me back from my rant.
“What?”
"No one's mad at you. Heck, we fucking care about you so much!" she gritted out, eyes holding mine. "I don't mean to yell, but you need to understand no one thinks you're at fault. We don't blame you."
It was hard to believe. None of them had ever expressed any hesitation when I needed help, but how long would it last?
“I know that look...” Kate eyed me. “You’re thinking of all the reasons why I'm wrong.”
Despite myself, I laughed softly.
"Think of it this way," she continued. "Imagine moving to a new city where you don't know anyone. How would you navigate that whole new place?"
“I'll...get a guide.”
"Yeah, right, because those are on every corner, and they collect fifty bucks for their services."
“Ugh, okay. I know it's not practical.”
“Glad we're on the same page,” she said. “Here, you have Layla and me. We’ll support you and house you for however long you need.”
My chin trembled, and tears welled up in my eyes.
“Oh, dear. Don't cry." She wrapped her arms around me and let me sniffle on her shoulder. Once I calmed down, she pulled away. "You have us, Violet, and we'll never abandon you."
"But Eric is still here. Who knows how far he will go? I thought he'd give up once I came to Cape Worth, but he's so persistent."
She chewed on her lower lip thoughtfully. “Truth is, I don't know. We can only keep you as far away from him as...” Her eyes narrowed. “What about Shawn? He hired security to watch over you, right?”
My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly shook my head. I avoided thinking of Shawn almost as much as I did Eric but for entirely different reasons. Where thoughts of Eric sent cold fear through me, thinking of Shawn filled me with a deep longing that made no sense. I had a life before I met him, but it felt like he was the highlight of my entire twenty-eight years.
“Why not?” Kate said.
“Well, first of all, he has kids he needs to take care of. I cannot be a liability to him.”
“Did he complain about it?”
I opened my mouth, then pressed my lips together. All the times when Shawn promised to take care of me and keep me safe came back to me.Anything you need.
“He didn't complain, right?”
“God, I hate how right you are.”
She smiled. “You have him, Violet. He cares about you. Even after you stole away—”
“I didn't steal away.”
“—like a thief in the night, he still cared enough to call and make sure you were fine.” Kate pinned me with a level stare. “He has money. He wants to take care of you and even tried to keep you safe.”
“Jeez, Kate. I don't want to take advantage of him.”
