We Were Lightning (Landslide Book 3: Violet)

Prologue

Wow, hi, hello. It's been like forever. I've been having a hard time writing and finding time to write. I'm not sure how quickly or far I will get through this short story, but I hope I'll be able to get you peoples another chapter soon. 

At the end of Landslide, we left off with Violet finding Emery in the cafe, this story will pick up from there. This prologue is gonna be a bit of a repeat/refresher of the last time the two saw each other. 

THIS WHOLE STORY WILL BE FROM VIOLET'S POINT OF VIEW. 

Enjoy! 

Prologue: Three Years Ago

My mom had sent me outside to distract Tyler as she finished packing up the house. The moving truck was coming in an hour and Tyler was getting upset. He didn't want to leave. He loved his friends and he especially loved Emery. The amount of times she'd sneak ice cream to him when we'd take him out was ridiculous, but he loved it. And I know she did too. He had been asking where she was and when she'd come to say goodbye. I never had a good enough answer for him.

He had me chasing him around the yard when Emery pulled up in front of my house. Tyler knew it was her just by the familiar rattle of her car. I could see his eyes begin to light up, but I knew this was not going to be a conversation he needed to hear.

"It's Emmie!" He said.

"Yeah, bud, it is..." I said in quiet wonder. Emery slammed her car door making my head shoot up and finally look at her. She was pissed. My heart began to hammer wildly in my chest. "I need you to go inside, Ty."

"But I wanna say bye to Emmie." He pouted.

I shook my head, "I'll tell her for you, bud. I promise, please go inside." He looked up at me, his eyes much like mine, filled with tears. "Please, Tyler, we need to speak in private. It's grown up stuff."

He huffed but nodded. "It's always grown up stuff." He ran inside and shut the door leaving Emery and I alone in my yard. Steeling myself, I approached the fence where Emery stood. Instinctively, I reached out to her.

"Em..." I began softly.

"Oh, please, don't act all sweet with me, Violet," She said with a scowl. I deserved that. I did leave her in the coffee shop all alone without an excuse. I hadn't talked to her in days. The last thing she said to me was that she was falling in love with me. Not exactly the most opportune time for me to bolt. But I did. Just not for the reason she thought. So, I played dumb.

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what." I did. "You can't keep leaving me and expecting it to be fine when you come back." I won't be coming back.

"I wasn't expecting that," I said in truth.

"Then what did you want to happen? I told you I loved you and you just left me there. I haven't heard from you in days, where have you been?" I wanted to hug her. Promise her it would be okay, but I think we both knew it wasn't going to be. She was angry, and rightfully so, but I was hurting too. I knew I had to leave her tonight, and she had no goddamn clue. I was hurting knowing how much pain I was putting her through now and how much I would be making her endure after this as well. It wasn't fair. I knew that, but what else could I do?

I felt myself close off to her. Years of practice, years of running away, it was second nature. I shut my emotions off and let myself feel nothing for this beautiful girl standing in front of me who deserved nothing more than to be loved. "We're not dating, Emery, you don't have to constantly know where I am." She flinched at the indifference behind my words.

"Then what do you consider the past couple months, Violet? Has the time we spent together meant so little to you that you can't even call it dating?" Emery moved closer to me. She had the look on her face that I had seen so many times before. It was soft, kind, gently begging me to open up to her. Unlike all the time before I didn't give in.

"You're not my girlfriend, Emery. I don't know what you thought was going on between us, but it was nothing but fun for me," I deadpanned.

"You're lying." Her voice barely audible through the sound of blood rushing through my ears. My hands were clamming up, my heart racing rapidly; inside I was a wreck. But, true to my old self, the version of me before Emery, I didn't let it show. Emery's eyes searching mine for any sign of deceit; her sadness was palpable, but I needed to break her heart for her to let me go.

"I told you, I don't do attachments, you should have known better." It wasn't a lie. I didn't do attachments for this very reason. We never knew when we'd have to leave. He would find us eventually, and I had left enough people broken hearted behind me. None were ever this hard though. Emery was different. From the very beginning she was different.

"Liar!" She screamed. "You promised me! You promised you were going to be open and honest with me! This is such bullshit, Violet! What changed?" She was challenging me to break, to tell the truth.

"Nothing's changed. I didn't want a relationship before, and I don't want one now, I'm not sure where you got any other ideas," I shrugged. My brain was screaming at me. Trying to reason with me. I didn't want to lose her. I didn't want to let her go, not like this. This...this was never my intention.

"Are you serious right now?" She said, her eyes burning with a rage I had never seen before. "You know where I got the idea from, Violet? I got it from the countless hours we spent together cuddling on my bed. Or the numerous kisses we shared both in and out of school. Or the handful of fate we've gone on, and don't even try telling me those weren't dates, because you know damn well they were. Or, how about when we had sex and you told me you had never been happier? Are you really trying to tell me that all meant nothing, that it was a ll a lie?"

I stared at her. This beautiful girl that has struggled so much; that worked so hard to get me to open up to her; that let me in despite all the warnings that I was trouble. I could see her visibly shaking, her hands balled tightly by her side. Her eyes begging me to take it back; daring me to say the three damn words she wants so desperately to hear.

"I'm not, I don't love you, Emery. I don't feel anything for you," I lied, voice even and face stoic. Her eyes were wild, angry, bordering on murderous. I could see her breaking right in front of me, but I couldn't stop the words from spilling from my mouth. I had to remind myself to breathe, remain calm, and know this is for her own good. "You were just something to keep my preoccupied. I didn't think you'd be foolish enough to fall in love with me." I forced a cruel laugh out. I needed her to hate me. I needed her to let me go. I watched the storm pass through her. There was no telling if she was going to cry or scream or hit me. I wouldn't blame her if she wanted to. Every part of me was screaming to take it back, to hug her and tell her I love her. I wanted nothing more than to stay here in this small town with her and show her how much she meant to me. But I couldn't. It wasn't safe for me. It wasn't safe for my family. And I feared that it would not be safe for her either.

"Screw you," Emery said with a bite. "I never want to see you again." Our eyes locked. Hers were dark and tumultuous, daring me to fight her on this. I didn't. I stared back as calmly as I could watching as her heart broke despite her anger. She took one last seething look at me before climbing into her car and speeding away.

When her car disappeared around the corner, I let myself cry. "I'm sorry, Emery. I love you." 

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