stars ; j.s.

10

V I O L E T

Upset or not, I promised my dad I would work at the store today. He insisted I take the day to myself to recover from my little fit this morning, but I didn't want to let him down. I grabbed the black apron with my last name plastered across the front and tied it around my waist. Just as I was about to leave, Bree came barging into my bedroom. There was no way I was speaking to her after what she did a mere few hours ago. In fact, I wasn't sure if I would speak to her until the day she finally packed her bags and went home. So, I pushed right past her and was on my way.

The bell above the door chimed as I walked through it. The only other person in the store was the manager, Pete, who was also my father's best friend since junior high. The two of them had big dreams back then. I find it quite odd that they both ended up taking over a convenient store in a little run-down village. You'd think that they would feel let down by their jobs, but neither of them could ever ask for anything more than the life they lived. I admired that whole-heartedly. They didn't have to have fame or boatloads of money to be happy. All they needed was this little store and a few friendly customers to put them at ease.

I sat behind the register and played with the buttons as I waited for customers to come in. This was the part of the day where almost everyone was at work, so I didn't expect anyone to stroll in.

But of course, one of the two people I didn't want to see came running in.

"Violet," Jacob panted. "I need to talk to you."

I didn't bother to look up at him. "I'm busy."

He looked around the store, noticing there wasn't a single soul roaming the aisles. "There's no one here."

"Fine, you caught me. I just really don't want to talk to you." I admitted.

"Please. Five minutes is all I'm asking for." He pleaded.

I looked over at Pete for approval and he nodded toward the door to let me know I could leave. Jacob smiled and I followed him out the door and behind the store.

"What do you want?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

"Forgiveness," Jacob spoke softly. "Look, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that the little spot was your thing. Bree just took me out there and didn't say a thing about it. Trust me, if I knew that was the case I would've stayed home."

I scoffed. "You know that's not true. Bree controls everything you do and you let her. You wouldn't have missed out on an opportunity to go somewhere with her in a million years."

"Violet-"

"No," I interrupted. "I'm right so don't even try to deny it. If you really cared, you would've said something to me when I was so upset earlier. I was overreacting, I know. But you just sat there and stared because you knew if you tried to defend me, Bree would get mad. You didn't care that I was sobbing to the point where I could barely speak. You didn't care that that shed was my mother's. You didn't care that I was pouring my heart out to the both of you because I was so upset. You didn't care because you didn't want Bree to know you cared. And in fact, if she had any idea you were here right now you wouldn't have come. So don't tell me that you're sorry if you don't mean it."

He looked down. "I do mean it. I do."

"It's funny, how you only seem to mean anything when she's not around."

"It's not like that."

"Yes it is. Why do you let her do this to you?"

"Because I'm trying to hide the fact that I'm in love." Jacob deadpanned.

The words cut deep into my heart and would leave a permanent stain in my thoughts. There was nothing that I had ever felt more hatred for than the words that came out of his mouth. I never knew how much five words could hurt you all at once. I stayed silent.

I nodded at his words that he seemed so confident with saying. "I think you should go."

He looked deep into my watery eyes like he had something else to say. After a few seconds, he sighed and walked away slowly to his grandparent's house.

I thought that was the end. That was officially the final words I would ever exchange with Jacob. And I would never forgive myself for it because he was someone I cared so deeply for. It was too late to fix anything now, because he is already in love with someone that isn't me.