Unbeknownst to their parents, Violet and Cole had a clandestine 9-month relationship before parting ways following Cole's injury, courtesy of Paige. Despite the messy breakup, Violet managed to maintain a positive connection with the Walters, except...
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The old treehouse groaned under their weight, the wood swollen from years of rain and summers of heat. Once, this place had been their sanctuary: two kids building castles in the air, their laughter echoing through the beams their fathers had nailed by hand. Now, it felt like a coffin — all their memories nailed shut around them.
Violet stood with her arms crossed so tightly her nails dug into her skin. She wasn't giving him softness. Not anymore. Her eyes pinned him down, sharp and unrelenting.
"Well?" Her voice cracked like a whip.
Cole shifted, dragging a hand through his messy hair, eyes skittering from hers like a guilty child. "I just... I blanked, okay? I forgot."
Violet's laugh was sharp, humorless. "You forgot?" She stepped closer, her words slicing. "You forgot a nine-year-old boy who thinks the sun rises and sets on you? My little brother, who's been counting the minutes until you'd keep your promise? You forgot him?"
Cole winced. His chest tightened, shame coiling hot in his gut. "I didn't mean to let him down, Vi. I swear. I screwed up. I know I did. I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" Violet's eyes blazed. "You're always sorry, Cole. You're sorry after Paige. Sorry after Jackie. Sorry after every time you've lied, every time you've chosen yourself over someone who trusted you. Do you even hear yourself anymore?"
Her words struck harder than she intended, but she didn't pull back. If anything, she pressed forward, relentless.
Cole opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He wanted to explain, to beg, to tell her that forgetting Phoenix wasn't forgetting her, but the words tangled on his tongue.
"God," Violet spat, shaking her head. "Do you know what kills me the most? It's not even about us anymore. It's about him. Phoenix thought you were his best friend. He thought you were family. And you proved to him that even family can be temporary, that even the people you love will walk away." Her voice cracked, raw now. "Do you know how much that wrecks a kid?"
Her chest heaved, the air thick, the treehouse closing in. Cole's silence was unbearable, suffocating.
"Say something!" Violet demanded, her voice breaking. "Anything. Just... fight for this. For me. For him. God, Cole, for once in your damn life, don't just stand there. Don't let me go so easily."
Her eyes burned, unshed tears glimmering in the dim light. For a fleeting second, he looked at her like he might — like he might finally say everything she needed him to. His lips parted, his throat worked. But no words came. Nothing.
And that — that silence — was the nail in the coffin.
Violet let out a sound that was half a laugh, half a sob. Her lips curled into a trembling smile, bitter and hollow. "That's it, then. That's all you've got. Silence."
