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“I mean… she said love ends, right? But maybe she was only describing her relationship with your dad. Did she ever say all love ends?”
Charlie opened his mouth to say yes, of course she did, but then he realized he never actually remembered her saying that. The thing about being a kid was that sometimes things got twisted. Sometimes someone said something, and it was heard in another way.
“Oh no,” he said, his realization hitting him like bricks. “I don’t know what she said.”
“Maybe you need to ask her. But that aside, you can make your own beliefs at this point in your life. Even if she told you all love ends, you have loads of evidence it doesn’t. Like Liv and Lewis. Or maybe this new love between your mom and this woman.”
Or he and Violet.
Shouldn’t he had never fallen for her if love truly ended? She had always held such a big part of him, even when they fought, he doubted he knew how to exist without some part of him belonging to her. He didn’t know how deep her feelings went, but his struck down to his core and rooted within him. He didn’t know if it would blossom or crumble, but she had always been integral to his life.
“Yeah… maybe I should evaluate where I stand on that,” Charlie said slowly. “And I need to talk to her.”
“Yeah, that sounds like it’s for the best," Violet replied. “But this is hard. I’m sorry you found out this way.”
“It is, but she looked happy. And I’ve never seen her look like that.”
“Then talk to her. Tell her what you saw and how you felt. I’m sure she’ll listen to you. She seems levelheaded. Not like my mom.”
“Am I ever going to meet your mom?” Charlie asked. He meant it as a friend, but he realized it came out a little more serious than it probably should have. Violet’s eyes widened for a moment, and a dark blush settled over her cheeks.
“Um, probably not.”
“You never talk about her.”
“It’s not a fun story,” she said, slowly. “My mom and I don’t get along.”
“I figured that. Can I ask why not?”
Violet sighed and was silent for a long moment. “…After my dad left, she became obsessed with money. I would get yelled at for wasting food, or needing any money spent on me. And then she landed a high paying job, but it was never enough. Suddenly everyone was a way to get ahead. We constantly had to have the nicest house, or the nicest phones, and there was nothing else. I disappointed her by becoming a teacher, and she’s always told me I need to be able to support myself. And now I’m not.”
So much more made sense now. Charlie could see why she never wanted to accept help. Why she lived in a shitty apartment rather than get a roommate, how she felt she needed to contribute to everything rather than let someone take care of her.
“Anyways,” Violet continued. “It’s a sad story. I got out when I could and I’m fine now.”
“Violet, that’s terrible.”
She shrugged. “She tells me I need to use my friends to get a job. In her eyes, people are steppingstones, and my friends aren’t doing that for me.”
“And she said all of this to you? Directly?”
Violet nodded. “Yes, all of it directly. I spent a lot of my college years trying to see it some other way and trying to make her words into something they weren’t. But when my dad walked out, I think something in her snapped. All she cares about is money and status. And she’s said that. I’ve given my mom a hundred chances to be anything but what she is, and she hasn’t so… I stopped trying. That’s why she’s never around. I’ve even started avoiding her calls. I mean maybe getting a different job would fix things but…”
“Would it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had an offer.” There was something in her eyes, something distant. She sighed. “But I got an interview today.”
“For a higher paying job?”
“Yeah.”
“Why don’t you look happy about it?” Charlie asked.
“It’s … it’s across the country. I’d have to move.”
Charlie blinked, something in him snapping. Even before they’d buried the hatchet, Violet had always been near him. She was a constant force in his life. And imagining her leaving, especially now, would be like losing a limb.
“Are you … wanting to do that?” He asked, his throat dry.
