stars ; j.s.

12

V I O L E T

It became difficult to hold back an inevitable rush of tears that threatened to fall from my tired eyes. It took everything in me to stay focused on stocking shelves at the store while my heart was beating erratically. With every chime of the bell over the door, my eyes immediately darted there in hopes that he would stop in to see me. I so desperately wished he was feeling the way I did, but was learning to accept the fact that he was in love with someone else.

Hours later, I was headed home, kicking every rock in my path. The sun was beginning to set as I ventured off to find a new spot to hide out in. A far off pond, one which my father would take me fishing on before his life became otherwise occupied.

The damp grass tickled my feet as my eyes wandered up to the setting sky. Everything was perfect for a moment, before I had realized that the destination I was heading for had already become a temporary safe place for someone else.

And there he was, brown hair a tangled, beautiful mess as he stared into the murky water. I watched him carefully before deciding it would be better to turn back around than to approach him.

"I know you hate me right now, but can we please just put it behind us for a minute," Jacob said, not bothering to look back at me. "Please, Violet. Just sit."

Reluctantly, I went against all of my morals and sat beside him on a small, worn out bench. It was silent at first, but I soon spoke up to make this right.

"I don't hate you if it means anything." I muttered.

"It means everything."

My head turned to look at him, searching every inch of his bright eyes for some sort of reason why he had wanted me to stay.

He sighed, "I miss you, Violet."

On instinct, a smile transformed my gloomy expression. For once, I wasn't scared of what Jacob might say. In fact, I thought if I hadn't kissed him right now in this very moment, I would never get the chance to. I inched closer until our lips nearly touched.

The blaring sounds of sirens startled us both. "What's going on?" I asked.

I looked to try and find the blue and red lights flashing through the trees. My heart sunk in my chest as soon as I saw where they were coming from. My eyes peered at Jacob's worried expression for a quick second before seeing him dart away without a trace.

I followed after him, calling his name repeatedly to make sure he was okay before stopping abruptly in my tracks at the sight in front of me. A group of emergency responders carried his grandfather onto a covered stretcher. My breathing grew heavier as everything started to go wrong following a nearly perfect moment.

"No!" Jacob screamed, sprinting to his grandfather's side. The EMTs made an attempt to urge him away from the scene, but he pushed past each of them with everything he had.

I tried to calm him down the best I could. "Jacob, everything is going to be fine. Just take a deep breath and-"

His head whipped around as he violently pushed my reassuring hand off of his shoulder. "Everything is going to be fine? They're putting him in an ambulance, you idiot."

"Hey listen, I'm only trying to help." I tried to explain.

"Well your 'help' isn't going to fix this, Violet." He began to raise his voice. "Just go!"

I nodded, tears filling my eyes once again. His grandmother was evidently broken as she sobbed on the steps of the porch. I walked away slowly while watching him break down in a fit of loud cries as the responders broke the news to him. I couldn't bear another minute in such a crisis. My feet began to pick up speed as I wondered how things could go so wrong so fast.