Tate

I watch her eyelids flicker as she dreams, a small crease between her eyebrows and the corners of her mouth are turned down slightly. I run my fingers gently over the side of her head, through her hair, down her cheek. I lean forward and kiss away her furrowed brow, her frown. Her face contorts for a second before relaxing, a small hum coming from between her lips as she nestles down further into the sheets.

I can't stop the rush of guilt I feel as I think of what I could have taken away; of what I could have had taken away from myself. I bite my lip to hold in a sob, as not to wake her, and let silent tears follow down the still-wet trails on my cheeks. I'd never see the soft rise and fall of her chest again, the way she rolls her eyes, the way she blows out smoke. But she stopped me. She stayed with me.

I let out a shaky breath as the last rays of light for the day slip beneath the horizon and the day is gone. I'm not sure whether this was the worst day of my life or the best. I got my Violet back, but nearly took her away all at the same time. She's here, I chant in my head over and over, trying to forget all the scenarios of what could have happened and focus on what did.

She moans slightly, parting her lips and letting her tongue peek out to run across her dry lips. Just the simple act of her waking up is enough to send a shudder through me. It has been too long since I was close enough to put my hands on Violet, feel her melt under my hands. Her light brown eyes flicker open and her face breaks into a breathtaking smile when her eyes meet mine.

"I don't deserve the way you look at me," I whisper, my voice rough from disuse. "You deserve better than me." Despite my words, I pull her impossibly closer to me, locking her in my embrace. "I'm not normal." Her smile never falters as she reaches up to place her hands on either side of my face.

"I don't like normal things," she whispers, leaning forwards to press his lips gently to mine. Her lips barely ghost over mine at first and I try and stay desperately still, letting her set the pace as I let her words sink in, fill me up with happiness.

She kisses me tenderly for a while longer before growing impatient, curving every inch of her body to mine and running her tongue across my bottom lip. I gasp into the kiss and let her tongue slide inside my mouth, exploring every inch. I fight back with my own now, momentarily distracting her by rolling her underneath me and rutting my hips against her core. I wrestle my tongue into her mouth and feel her melt under my touch.

My hands trail down her body to her breasts and I begin to knead them through her shirt. She moans into my mouth and I feel myself grow harder instantly. I trail my lips down her neck, nipping, licking and sucking gently at the pulsing flesh. Tingles spread through my body, heading south, as she writhes under my body, my hands, my lips doing this to her.

"Tate, please…" she breaths out, her hands gripping my shoulders, her head falling back against the pillows, tilting upwards, her back arching. I don't need to hear anymore as I pull her shirt roughly from her body, removing her bra too and taking her nipple in my mouth, biting the sensitive flesh delicately.

She grabs handfuls of my shirt desperately, clawing at my back as she pulls it from my body, running her fingers down my chest, making me shiver. Her hands travel lower, toying with my belt buckle. Before she can undo it, I press a harsh kiss to her bruised lips and pull her skirt and panties down in one motion. She groans as the cold air hits her heated core.

The sight of her, naked and waiting, beneath me is too much. I hastily remove my pants and boxers, flinging them somewhere across the room. I settle myself between her open legs and stare down at my light in the darkness. I tilt my hips forwards slightly, teasing her entrance with the tip of my cock.

"Tate," she whimpers, thrusting her hips forwards, trying to pull me inside of her. I pull back slightly and wait until she's looking at me, directly in the eyes.

"I love you, Violet," I say firmly, pouring all of my emotions into my voice, trying to make sure she fully understands how much I can't live without her, how sorry I am. She reaches up to cup my cheek.

"I love you, Tate," she murmurs back, the same amount of conviction in her voice. I lean down and kiss her passionately, finally thrusting inside.

We sigh in union as I fill her up, both of us finally feeling complete for the first time in so long. I start to move in and out slowly with long, deep thrusts. She matches my pace, lifting up her hips to meet mine, moaning as the angle allows my body to push against her clit.

I can feel her walls fluttering around my cock as her release draws closer. It's almost too hard for me to keep my control, but I refuse to come before she does. I pick up my pace, pummelling into her harder and faster. A string of profanities pours from her lips as I slip my hand between us to rub her bundle of nerves. She comes hard, the feeling of her walls clenching around me sending me over the edge, pulsing inside of her.

We both ride out our high before I collapse on top of her, loving the way she pulls me closer, holds me tighter and runs her shaking fingers through my damp hair. I roll off her eventually and bring her tight against my side.

"I'll always stay with you," she mutters after a moment of content silence. I smile and kiss her forehead tenderly, feeling my heart swell with emotions.

"Always," I breathe out in response, nuzzling into her hair.

Violet

I'm thankful that it's dark as I'm driving home, the cover helping me to dispose of Tate's guns without anybody seeing me. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders now that they're gone. We can get back to how we were finally.

My body still feels like jell-o as I smile to myself, knowing that I've gotten my Tate back and I prevented something terrible from happening. I left him finally after he'd reassured me, more than ten times, that he would be fine while I did what I had to do. I have every intention of crawling back through his window as soon as I get home, and every other night for as long as we live next door to each other.

I shut the front door behind me, as carefully as possible, and stealthily make my way to, and up, the stairs.

I can hear my parent fighting again as I pass their room, not bothering to stop and listen to what the argument is about. I think I'm safe when the door swings open suddenly and my dad storms out, not seeming to notice me straight away, a look of fury etched on his face.

"Oh, hey, Vi," he says cautiously, stopping in his tracks. I give him a half-hearted smile as I try to slip away after he's kissed the top of my head, still slightly pissed at him. He holds onto me a little longer than normal before giving me a sad smile and descending the stairs. I hear the front door slam shut and his car start before I begin to head towards my room again.

"Violet, are you there?" I hear my mom's voice call from somewhere inside of her room, and I let out a barely audible sigh.

"Yeah, mom," I say, not moving towards the door, hoping that I can get away as fast as possible, to see if Tate is alright. I'm still slightly twitchy and nervous.

"Can you come in here for a moment, please?" she says, and I begin to notice something off about her voice. I grudgingly trudge towards the door, furrowing my brow when I notice the red rings around her eyes.

"Mom? What's wrong?" I say awkwardly, not used to comforting my parents.

"Violet, honey, your dad and I aren't getting along as well as we thought we would. You know, with moving to LA and everything…" she trails off as I scoff slightly. I could have called that one. In fact, I did. "So, I thought it would be nice if, maybe, you and I went to stay with Aunt Jo in Florida for a while, before… moving back to Boston?" she looks away nervously. I bristle.

"What? You can't be serious! There is no way I'm leaving!" I can feel my cheeks heating up as all I can see is Tate's face. "Look, just because you and dad can't work out your fucked up marriage doesn't mean you have to drag me, and my happiness, down with you!" I scream, not waiting for her reply as I spin abruptly and leave the room, tears falling down my cheeks quickly. "I won't let you take me away," I mutter, more to myself than anyone. "I won't."

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I hope you enjoyed this chapter and, as you know, reviews are always appreciated! :)