It had been a week since Tate had started to improve in his sessions with Violet and the twins. He could almost make it through an entire session without trying to kill one of the boys. Violet was pleased with his progress and was allowing him to sleep in her bed every night. Sleep was a literal term in their case. Tate had not made love to Violet in a week. His sessions were leaving him completely exhausted, and he would instantly fall asleep as soon as he hit the mattress. Violet had no idea that pulling the darkness out of Tate would mean that she was no longer going to be able to have sex with him. She was beginning to get bored and needy. Being dead heightened every sense and need within a person, and Violet had a ton of needs for Tate.

Tate had also started going down to the basement early before his sessions began. He told Violet that he could do well in the sessions if he had some time alone to begin to push away the darkness. At first Violet did not question his plans because she wanted him to get rid of the darkness in any way possible. It wasn't until today that she became curious about what exactly he was doing in the basement.

For the past week, Tate had been going down to the basement before his sessions to clear his mind. He would normally sit in the white rocking chair in one of the empty rooms and block out the rest of the house. He would take deep breaths while trying to rid himself of the darkness that grew deep inside of him. He would meditate for about an hour so that his mind would be clear. Today was just like any other day. Tate was sitting in the rocking chair with his eyes closed, not paying attention to anything around him. He suddenly felt a body straddle his waist and wrap its arms around his neck. The person pressed their lips to his roughly. His eyes popped open and revealed that the mystery person was Hayden. Tate tore his mouth away from hers and placed his hands on her hips to try and push her off of him. His movement only encouraged her to kiss his neck. Tate was about to say something when he saw a flash of blonde move out of the corner of his eye. His eyes moved to the staircase and saw Violet running back up the stairs.

Tate could feel the darkness beginning to surge inside of him. Hayden had possibly just ruined all of the progress that he had made with Violet, and he was going to make her pay. Tate pushed her harder this time and wrapped his large hand around her throat. "You fucking whore!" He slammed her against a wall. "You have no idea what you just did." He growled at her.

"I just want to have a little fun, my little monster." Hayden choked out a few words before Tate tightened his grip around her neck.

"I'm not like that anymore…" Tate released his hold on her and walked a few steps away with a frown on his face. Hayden laughed and ran her hand over her neck. "Could have fooled me. Why are you trying to get rid of the darkness? It is so powerful and exhilarating."

Tate hesitated for a moment before answering. "I love Violet, and she wants me to change. I would do anything for her."

Hayden laughed again. "I thought that if someone loved you, that means that they loved everything about you and would not need to change anything?"

Tate narrowed his eyes at her. "Like you would know anything about love. You are just a whore that goes after all of the wrong guys. Go. Away." Tate watched Hayden disappear from the room. He tried to shake the feeling that what she said had been the truth, but he couldn't. Why would Violet want him to change if she loved him? He decided that his answer to that question would have to wait until he found Violet and told her that what she had just seen was not at all what it appeared to be.

Violet ran up the basement stairs and into the kitchen. She grabbed the counter tightly to keep herself from falling to the floor. Her cries were causing her small frame to shake. She could not believe what she had just seen in the basement. Was that what Tate had been doing everyday this week before his sessions? Her mind continuously played the picture of Hayden on Tate's lap over and over again. She finally let herself fall onto the cold tile of the kitchen floor. Violet heard footsteps coming closer to her, but she could not find the strength in herself to look up.

"Miss Violet, is everything alright?" Moira leaned down to look into Violet's eyes. Violet tried to wipe the tears from her face. "Oh, yea. Yes. I'm fine. Sorry."

Moira extended her hand to help Violet stand. "Miss Violet, if I may be so blunt… Are your tears because of Mr. Tate?"

"What? Why would you ask me that, Moira?"

Moira moved to clean the counter of the kitchen while answering the question. "You are a smart girl. I know that you can see the evil that is inside of Tate. He is one of the most dangerous spirits in this house. Do not ever forget that, Miss Violet. And please do not think that you can change him for good. The evil can never become angels again."

Violet took a step back. "You're wrong. Tate has changed before, and he can do it again."

"Oh, Miss Violet. Sometimes you can be so stupid and naïve." Violet glared at the old woman before turning and leaving the kitchen. What the hell did that old bat know anyways? She was turning around the corner into the living room when her body connected with another. She almost fell backwards before a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. When she had gotten her feet back onto the ground, she looked up into her savior's face. "Let me go."

Tate released his hold on her, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was. "Vi, I have to explain…"

"I don't want to hear it, Tate. I am always here, ready and willing to be with you… And you go and mess around with her?" Violet's temper was getting the better of her again.

"I didn't do anything! She practically attacked me!" Tate was pleading with her to understand.

"I told you, Tate. I warned you… If you fucked up again, then it would be the end. It's over." Violet turned to walk away, but Tate grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him again.

"No! This is not my fault. I have given up everything for you! I am changing for you. If you really loved me then you would not ask me to change!" That last sentence caught Violet off guard. Did Tate not want to get rid of the darkness? Violet's head was spinning, and she needed to get away from him before she did or said something that she would regret later.

Violet looked up into his eyes and quietly whispered the two most hated and sacred words in the house. "Go. Away."

Tate disappeared in front of her, and Violet stared into the emptiness. Her thoughts were scrambled. Why did Tate say that she shouldn't want to change him? How could she be with him if he still had the darkness in him? She had once been attracted to that darkness, but after she found out all of the awful things that Tate had done, her attraction dissolved. She now hated the darkness that made Tate do all of those things. Was it the darkness that made him kill those people and rape her mother? The next question that ran through Violet's mind scared her. What if Tate did all of those things on his own free will?

"No." Violet said out loud into the empty space. The words that Chad had told her so long ago echoed in her mind. "Your man will always be a monster." Violet began to cry again and sank down onto the floor. She wrapped her arms around her small frame because she felt like she was going to fall apart. A pair of warm and loving arms wrapped around hers. Violet looked into her mother's eyes. Her mother always seemed to know exactly when Violet needed her the most.

"Mom… What if Tate really is a monster? What if he is the reason for all of the darkness in this house? I don't know why I thought that I could change him. What if his pretends to change to get me to be with him? Maybe he is trying to pull me into the darkness with him." Violet was rambling, letting all of her worries flow out of her.

"Shhh… Baby girl. You are upset about seeing Hayden all over Tate. Let me tell you something about Hayden. She is manipulative and deceitful. And Tate loves you. I would believe him when he says that Hayden was the only one participating in what you saw. As for the darkness, you have always known that Tate is somewhat of a… crazy person. He killed people when he was alive and that anger and aggression transferred over with him when he died. He did do some things to help Nora, which I am not saying are okay, but he had reason. The darkness has always been in him, and maybe it can never leave…"

Violet was silently listening to her mother speak. She knew that Tate had lost his way when he was alive. Constance hold told her that, but Violet could not understand how Tate could completely change between good and evil so quickly. How could he be so loving and innocent around her and then flip the switch and kill someone?

Vivien could see the confusion playing across her daughter's face. "Love can make us do crazy things, Violet. Tate was not loved enough when he was alive, and that drove him to his breaking point. Tate loved Nora as a mother and committed awful crimes at her request. Tate loves you, baby girl. He would give you anything or do anything that you asked of him. Maybe the darkness in him is all of the negative remains from the actions he has made because of the people he loves."

"Then what do I do, mom?"

"Well that is all up to you. You have a big decision to make, Violet. Do you embrace every part of Tate, even the darkness, or do you tell him that you cannot love him completely and walk away? I will support whatever decision you choose because I only want you to be happy, but keep in mind, if you choose the latter option, Tate is going to fight you every step of the way. He has a strong connection to you that he is not going to want to break. You have to be strong." Vivien kissed Violet on the cheek before standing up and walking down the hallway.

"What do I do?" That question sat in Violet's mind for a long time. She finally pulled herself off the floor. She could not make the decision right now, and she desperately needed to escape from her thoughts for awhile. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall. They had skipped Tate's session today because of everything that happened, and now it was just about the time for school to be over. Violet knew exactly what she needed to help her get away from her thoughts. She needed to see Evan.

Violet walked out of the house and went to wait by the mail box. It had been about an hour before Evan came out of his house and went to check the mail.

"Boo!" Violet made herself appear to him. Evan didn't jump this time. He stood there and stared at Violet for a moment before turning around to head back to his house. "Wait! Please. Evan, I am so sorry about everything! I have been such a bitch to you lately. I am sorry that I have been avoiding you, and… I am sorry about what Tate did."

Evan stopped in his tracks and turned back around to face her. "I waited out here at this damn mail box for you, everyday, and you never came back. I went into your house to find you because I was worried about you. I thought that you felt the same way about me as I felt about you. I love you, Violet."

Violet's heart dropped. "Evan… I'm sorry. I don't even know if I know what loves is anymore. Maybe ghosts are not allowed to be in love… I just miss you." Evan walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms. Violet held on to him with all of her strength. "I miss you, too. I haven't stopped thinking about you." Violet rested her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in his scent. He smelled like some designer cologne, but it was a comforting smell to Violet. "Come into the backyard with me?" She asked him. She felt him nodded against her cheek.

Violet and Evan sat in the backyard, and she told him everything about Tate. He listened to her quietly, only speaking if she asked him a question. She cried, and he would wipe away her tears. He would hold her in his arms when she began to shake. They sat in silence for a while after she had finished her story. Evan was holding her in his arms, and Violet was content. Evan was the first to break the silence.

"I want you to kill me, Violet." Violet jumped out of his arms, surprised by his words.

"What? No!"

"Why not? I could protect you! We could be together. This is what I want!" Violet moved to sit in front of Evan and placed her small hands on either side of his face. She looked into his eyes.

"Oh no… I could never ask you to do that. I could never ask you to give up your life for me. I never knew how precious life was when I was alive. I made a stupid decision when I was upset, and it ended my life. I never wanted this, and I still don't. I would never wish this… existence on anyone, especially you. I care about you, Evan. I don't want you to have to be like me, cursed and damned in this house with other souls that are just as fucked up and full of sorrow." Her eyes were pleading for him to understand that there was nothing happy about her existence.

"I just thought… I could give you your happy ending, Violet. I could make you happy." He placed his hands on her cheeks and pulled her lips to his. The kiss was soft and sweet. Violet could not contain the sob that wracked through her body. She broke the kiss and looked into Evan's eyes.

"You are so perfect, Evan. You are an amazing guy, full of love and light. I am just not the girl that you are supposed to be with and give all of your love to. I gave my heart away a long time ago. I gave it away without even thinking of the consequences, and now I am paying for that. I don't get a happy ending, but you do. You get to leave this place and have a life. Please… Do it for me." She could see the sadness in his eyes, but he nodded his head. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight. The pair walked back to the mail boxes to say goodbye.

"Violet, you will always be in my mind. I don't think I will ever forget the ghost girl that stole my heart one summer."

Violet laughed. "You will always be on my mind, too. I will think of you being happy and old and married with tons of little kids." She smiled at him and kissed him for the last time.

"What are you going to do now, Violet Harmon? Where is your future going to go?"

"I think that I have finally figured out what I am going to do… I made the decision a long time ago, but it has taken me all of these years to finally realize exactly what it meant. I can never have a completely happy ending, but I can make it as happy as possible."

"Well, I hope that your forever will be as perfect as it can be because you deserve it. You are an amazing woman, Vi. I will miss your company. Bye." Evan gave her one last hug before walking away. Violet turned to look at the house that held her past and future. She could not change the past or the people in the house, but she could change her future. She confidently walked back into her prison, knowing that today was going to be the first day of her forever.

Awe, well that is the last we will see of Evan. I'm going to miss him. :(