Chapters (38)
- one
- two
- three
- four
- five
- six
- seven
- eight
- nine
- ten
- eleven
- twelve
- thirteen
- fourteen
- fifteen
- sixteen
- seventeen
- eighteen
- nineteen
- twenty
- twenty-one
- twenty-two
- twenty-three
- twenty-four
- twenty-five
- twenty-six
- twenty-seven
- twenty-eight
- twenty-nine
- thirty
- thirty-one
- thirty-two
- thirty-three
- thirty-four
- thirty-five
- thirty-six
- thirty-seven
- epilogue
Tolly seated himself and leaned forward until he loomed over her. “Now, darling, you have to let your parents believe you wrecked my car. They can’t know about our argument.” He ran his hands through his hair and closed his eyes. “Have you forgotten your mother’s heart condition? I’ve examined Alice, and I doubt she’d survive such a shock. You might as well pull a gun on her, Violet.” Tolly looked out the window thoughtfully. “If you were to run to your mother with your secrets, you’d need to tell all of them. She certainly couldn’t handle finding out she has a grandchild born when you were nineteen and presumed virginal. I’d hate to have to tell your parents about that. Plus your little girl is out there somewhere, vulnerable and probably willing to trust a stranger, maybe more than ever at the age of fifteen.”
Violet willed herself to stay still, not to respond, to give him no sign of the terror she felt. It had been over a year since her latest attempt to locate her daughter. The clerk in the records bureau had been blunt: “If she wants to contact you, ma’am, your daughter can initiate the process. There’s nothing we can do for you.”
Tolly continued, “You won’t tell them, Violet, because you’d destroy the one thing you care about in the process.” He rose and walked to the door. “The truth is, honey, I scared myself this time. I lost all control of my emotions and truly hurt you, and I’m so sorry. I’ve decided to quit drinking, because I can’t bear the thought of anything like this happening again.”
“I hate you, Tolly. I can’t feel any other way about you.”
“You’ll see, Violet. We’ll be happy again. Take a couple of weeks at your folks’ house, and when you come home things will be fine. I promise you.”
“They’ll be fine until they’re not fine.” Violet turned onto her side, dismissing him.
“Violet,” he said quietly, “I cannot live without you. If you ever leave me, I’ll kill you and then myself.” He closed the door.
The next morning Violet woke with every nerve ending in her upper body screaming for relief. Tolly was sitting in a chair across the room. He walked over and handed her two tablets and a small glass of water.
She sat up slowly and swallowed them. “I want to know why you’re sending me to my parents’ house. I would think they’re the last people you’d want to see me this way.”