Shattered

Chapter 75: Through Your Eyes

Kaden's POV:

"Something about the way that you walked into my living room, casually and confident lookin' at the mess I am, but still you, still you want me." - Imagine Dragons

I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into my room, shaking out my wet hair. Violet said she needed space, but she still hadn't left. Weeks passed since she said she needed space to heal, but she was still here. Still staying at the cabin. Still wanting to spend time with me when I was done working for the day.

It was confusing as hell but I was trying to be patient. She'd been through a lot and Alana said all her emotions were in hyperdrive. I cared for Violet, but the extremes she was taking just about everything was hard to handle. Hard enough I called Alana because it barely even seemed like the Violet I'd gotten to know. She was all over the place, and at times, a little unreasonable. She dropped a plate when we were doing dishes one night and when it broke, her response... Well, saying it was over the top was not even close. She freaked out. It was after that extreme reaction so strong, every single person in the pack felt it, that I called Alana. She was working with Violet from a distance but I was worried it just wasn't enough. Violet's abilities were so powerful, our neighboring packs were occasionally feeling the effects.

"She spent her whole life with her abilities and emotions muted," Alana explained. "But they were there, building up, nearly ready to burst. Imagine you turned on a faucet but blocked its exit, allowing the pressure to build and build but never allowing a relief. We unblocked the faucet, and the pressure coming out is more than she can handle. Her emotions are a mess. She can't figure out what she wants because every want that was blocked up since she was a child are coming out all at once. She's never been allowed to act on her wants, never learned how to control because she was always being controlled. You're not only dealing with a traumatized person, Kaden, you're dealing with an empath who has no idea how to handle the millions of emotions barraging her every day. She can feel every single person within a ten-mile radius, and she doesn't have control."

I didn't need Alana to tell me that. Between our bond and connection... I knew Violet was feeling everyone because I was getting pieces of it too. It was out of control for both of us.

"She found some control when she faced Max," I tried. I was grasping at anything to help Violet. She was cracking under the weight of it all and nothing I did helped. "Maybe she needs to channel that?"

"No," Alana said quickly. "Don't even suggest it. That night was truly awful for her. What she did with Max was impressive and necessary, but very little control was involved. It was powerful, but chaotic. Now the built up pressure is taking over and she can't get ahold of it. I'm trying to help her, Kaden, I am, but we've hit a wall. Something is stopping her from making progress and I can't tell you what it is. She is the only one that can figure out what it is, and she's trying to, but it's like searching for a single needle in a giant haystack of a million other emotions, some of which aren't even hers. I understand this must be so difficult for you. Possibly bordering unbearable because you are right there with her." That statement had me both feeling guilty and relieved. Guilty because I felt like a dick for feeling frustrated, but relieved that Alana understood how hard it was. "Which is why, perhaps it is in the best interest of her and you and everyone else, that she and I go away for a while. Away from people so she's not trying to sort her emotions through others, so she can slowly learn control and eventually be able to come back to you."

Her advice made sense in theory, but... I couldn't even say it to Violet. I didn't want her to be far away, and despite what she said about space, she didn't seem to actually want to be away from me either. But that's how it was with everything. She'd tell me she want something, then five minutes later she'd want the complete opposite. It reminded me of Gina before she got on the right bipolar medication. Extreme highs and extreme lows.