Page 9 of To Obsess

After hours of deliberation, I finally settled on the usual birthday card. On the inside, I scribbled some generic bullshit about well wishes for the upcoming year. Blah, blah, blah. For the first time ever, though, I bought a small present to leave with it.

On one of my recent trips to the store, I overheard her talking about wanting some new earbuds but complaining about the price. Not gonna lie, they were pretty pricey, but she wasn’t going to get them for herself, so I took that option out of the equation.

I place the card, the sunflowers, and the lilac-colored earbuds on the entry table, then make my way to bed for yet another night of fitful sleep.

“Happy birthday, Violet,” I hear him say, handing her a red rose and a card from the grocery store in town.

"Thanks," she says, giving him a one-arm hug as she takes the card and flower. She smiles, but it’s obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that she’s faking it to keep from hurting his feelings.

She’s been ‘going out’ with Sean for a few months now, and he seems to think it’s going well. From what I’ve seen while observing Violet, I can’t say I’ve come to the same conclusion. She really seemed to like him at first, but it’s more of a tolerating him thing now. Prom is coming up and she doesn’t want to be without a date.

Rolling my eyes, I take my lunch tray back to the front of the cafeteria, having heard enough of their conversation.

I make my way down the hall to my math class. It’s always the most boring class of the day, but I don’t mind. This is the only class we share, so I’ll gladly take it.

It’s not long before Violet walks in, surrounded by a small group of her friends. They’re all chatting loudly about Sean’s little declaration of love in the cafeteria, but she doesn’t look amused at all. Instead, she takes me by surprise.

“I just wish he would pay attention. Whoever leaves that card in my mailbox every year actually knows what I like,” she complains. A bolt of electricity shoots down my spine at the words. It was that moment that sealed my fate and forever bound me to her, come hell or high water.

I wake to my phone blaring in my ear. Boss flashes across the screen as the damned thing wails like a stuck pig. Groaning, I try to swipe to answer the call, but of course, it goes to voicemail instead.

“Fuuuuuuck,” I nearly growl, dropping my hand to the bed. When the screen lights up again, I quickly swipe the bar to answer and hit the speakerphone button.

“Good morning,” I say, doing my best to clear the gravel from my throat. Catching a glimpse of the clock, I realize it’s nearly 11 am, meaning I’m currently going on three hours late for work.

“Well good morning, Killian,” he says, not sounding the least bit amused. “I’m sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep, but I was wondering if the office would be graced with your presence today. We do have a meeting with a huge client this afternoon, if you remember.”

Tossing the cover back onto the empty side of my bed, I slide out, shivering as my feet hit the cold floor. “Of course. I’m sorry, sir. I had a rough night and overslept.” With a man like him, the apology won’t do any good, but the alternative would be considerably worse.

“Right,” he says shortly. “When can we expect you?”

“I’ll be there in half an hour, sir,” I say, shimmying into a pair of dress pants and grabbing a white button up shirt from its hanger.

“See you then.” The phone disconnects before I can get another word in. It’s probably better that way.

I had planned to drop by her box on the way to the office, but as soon as I answered that phone call, I knew it would have to wait. The midmorning traffic would make it impossible for me to go to the other side of town, drop off the card, and still make it back to the office in time.

With a pit in my stomach, I turn the car toward town and away from Violet. For the first time ever, she’ll have to wait for her birthday ritual.

Chapter 11

Violet

A loud bang outside the front door jolts me out of my sleep. Squinting against the sunlight streaming in through my open curtains that I apparently forgot to shut yet again last night, I stumble out of bed, slipping my favorite silk robe on over my pajamas.

Hand on the rail to keep my balance, I quickly make my way down the steps to the first floor of the house, suddenly regretting not having black out curtains in every room. Why the fuck is it so bright first thing in the morning, anyway?

Out the door, a vehicle makes its way down the long gravel driveway, dust billowing behind it as it leaves. Unfortunately, the dust completely obstructs my view, so it’s impossible to make out many details of the vehicle. It’s dark, though, and bigger, almost like a van.

My heart races in my chest as I watch it disappear and wait for the dust to settle. I open the front door and peer from side to side, making sure there’s no one out here creeping. After I’m sure I’m at least semi-safe, I find a box on the porch.

Carefully opening it, I find a dozen strawberries, covered in white chocolate with drizzles of milk chocolate and caramel—my absolute favorite. Smiling, I pull out the card that was in the top of the box.

Vi,

Hope you have the best birthday ever! Love you big!

-Abby