Chapter 28 Dirty thing they did
DIRTY THING THEY DID
ROWAN
What would it look like if someone were to love you well?
ChaosInPurple: Someone who loved me well wouldn’t try to quiet me.
I’ve always been a little too much. Too talkative, too emotional, too quick to believe in lovey-dovey happy endings. And I’m often told to speak softer, feel less.
But it wouldn’t look like that if someone loved me well.
It would look like someone sitting across from me while I rambled through three different stories. And instead of looking overwhelmed, they’d be smiling as though sitting there listening to the sound of my thoughts was exactly where they wanted to be.
It would look like patience and acceptance. They wouldn’t try to change the way my heart works, but would understand that it’s wired to care deeply and hope stubbornly.
Someone who loved me well wouldn’t make me smaller.
They’d make the world feel big enough for all of me.
A few minutes later, I pull the front door open, expecting to see Elodie standing on the porch. Instead, I come face-to-face with my brother.
“What are you doing here?” I sign.
Archer lifts one brow, his expression slightly amused. “What a way to greet your brother, Ro.”
I shake my head. “Sorry. I was expecting someone else.”
“Who?”
“Elodie. Violet’s friend.”
“You’ve got new visitors, Ro, and you didn’t bother telling me?”
Looks like Archer has forgotten that we read each other far too well. His smile doesn’t fool me for a second. I can clearly see the faint edge of annoyance underneath it and the quiet question he’s trying not to ask.
He has been everything to me since the day we were born—my brother, my closest friend, the only person who has always stood beside me without hesitation.
It’s not that he dislikes the idea of my world growing larger. He just thinks I didn’t include him in it.
“It’s not what you think. She’s coming to pick up Violet.”
The smirk disappears instantly. “Violet is leaving? But you two looked so happy at Mom and Dad’s.”
“She was,” I say quietly. “There was something we needed to work through. But it’s okay now.”
Archer studies me for a second longer. Then his grin returns, this time wide and genuine. “Well, look at you. In a relationship, having misunderstandings and then sorting them out. I cannot believe my little brother is all grown up.”
“Younger only by two minutes.”
“And don’t you ever forget that, little bro,” Archer shoots back immediately, ruffling my hair.
I swat his hand away, when Violet peeks around my shoulder.
“Hey, Archer.”
Before he can even react, she steps forward and wraps her arms around his waist in an affectionate hug that completely catches him off guard.
Archer freezes for a second. Over the top of her head, his eyes snap to mine. My brother looks fucking scared, and I have to bite back a smile.
He probably expected Violet to be friendly, but what he definitely didn’t expect was for her to treat him like long-lost family within seconds.
But Violet already knows how important Archer is to me, and something tells me that after everything that happened today, she’s quietly decided that he matters to her too.
“I didn’t know you were coming,” Violet says once they pull apart, stepping back until she’s standing beside me.
Without even thinking, my arm slides around her waist. The movement feels natural. Violet tilts her head up toward me and gives a soft smile as her eyes meet mine.
“Okay,” Archer says after a beat, his gaze flicking between Violet and me. “Did you two finally have sex?”
Violet coughs, while I reach out and smack the back of my brother’s head.
“Behave.”
“What?” Archer rubs the spot as he looks between us again, completely unrepentant.
“She’s hugging me. You’re hugging her. The only thing missing is me hugging you, and then we’d have a full hug circle going on.
So something mind-blowing must have happened.
” His eyes narrow with mock suspicion. “Oh wait—you said she was leaving. Was your first time make-up sex, Ro?” His grin stretches wide as he raises a brow.
“Nobody had sex,” Violet says, recovering her voice.
I shake my head. I know my brother well enough to recognize that look in his eyes. He was waiting for exactly that response.
“Oh,” Archer says dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. “Here I thought my little brother finally got lucky with you, Violet. Looks like he still has to charm you more before he gets you into bed.”
Before I can step in and stop him, Violet plants her hands firmly on her hips. “I know exactly what you’re doing.”
He blinks.
“You’re trying to hide how happy you are about Rowan and me by joking about it. But I know that when we do finally have sex, you’ll probably be the happiest person in the world.”
My lips twitch. I’m not sure whether I want them to stop talking about our sex life that doesn’t yet exist or whether I want to hear what Violet says next.
“Maybe not the happiest,” Archer says after a moment. “Second happiest.” He jerks his chin toward me. “Ro will definitely be the happiest. Won’t you?” he adds with a wicked grin, all teeth now. “The happiest man alive after finally having sex.”
Before I can react, Violet reaches out and smacks his forearm. Both Archer and I stare at her.
“What the fuck, woman?” he blurts.
“You cannot make fun of your brother for being a virgin.”
Alright. That’s where I draw the line. My hand immediately covers her mouth, but the words have already landed in the air between us, and Archer’s reaction is instant.
He bursts into laughter, doubling him over as he tries and fails to contain it. When he finally straightens again, he wipes at the corners of his eyes.
“I swear I’m not laughing at you two,” he says between residual laughter. “I’m just… happy.”
Violet pulls my hand away from her mouth before I can stop her.
“Thank you,” she tells him sweetly. “And now please don’t spend all your time imagining when Rowan and me finally have sex.” Archer opens his mouth to respond, but she beats him to it. “I’ll call you immediately after it.”
He raises both hands. “No need to rush it, Violet. The next morning would be perfectly fine.”
She shakes her head, laughing under her breath. “You are such a jerk.”
“Now you’re learning,” Archer says with a satisfied grin, clearly far too pleased with himself. “Even though my brother is still a virgin—as you so generously revealed—I’m convinced something happened between you two.”
He tilts his head, studying our faces with exaggerated curiosity.
“Maybe not sex,” he continues, one brow arching higher. “But a make-up make-out session?”
Neither of us answers.
I keep my expression neutral, and beside me Violet remains just as silent, which tells me she has finally discovered my brother’s particular gift for twisting words to his own amusement.
“Alright.” He throws up his hands. “Don’t confirm anything. But we can at least go out for breakfast and celebrate whatever the hell dirty thing you both did.”
“I haven’t gone out since I came back from the hospital,” Violet whispers, but Archer doesn’t pause for even a second.
“Then today sounds like the perfect day to change that,” he replies before turning toward me. “What do you say, Ro?”
For a moment, the answer is clear in my mind. No.
After the kiss we shared, I want nothing more than to spend the day with Violet, inside this quiet house where the world can’t intrude.
But as she said, she hasn’t stepped out in the public since the accident. And one of my fears has always been that in keeping Violet with me, I’ll drag her into my solitude.
Her amnesia hasn’t made it any easier for her to step into the foreign outside world. Maybe Archer’s ridiculous enthusiasm might help.
I raise my hands. “Why not? We’ll drop Echo at Mom and Dad’s first.”
“Great idea,” Archer says immediately, after translating my words. “What about your friend who’s coming?”
Fuck. I had completely forgotten about Elodie.
“She eats, right? She can join us.” Archer answers his own question, and then after thinking for a second, he adds, “Actually, I’ll just let the chef know we have special diet requirements today.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Elodie Hart is diabetic. Isn’t she?”
Violet and I exchange a quick glance. This is completely new information for me.
“How do you know?” I sign.
“You never noticed? She always checks her blood glucose before she eats and she avoids desserts.”
The truth is, I never noticed any of that. At all those gatherings, my only goal had ever been the same—to stay quiet, to blend into the background, to make myself as invisible as possible.
Before we can plan anything further, there’s the quiet sound of a car pulling into my carport. I meet Archer’s eyes, and from the way his brows lift, I know he’s noticed the same thing I have.
Elodie’s car looks like any ordinary SUV at first glance, but the windows catch the morning light in a way that makes me suspicious. Are her windows bulletproof?
If Archer and I hadn’t been obsessed with armored vehicles one summer, we wouldn’t even have noticed it.
Why on earth does Elodie need protection in a quiet small town like Cherrywood? And from whom?
The question hangs in my mind for barely a second before the driver’s door opens. Elodie steps out and walks toward us with the calm, no-nonsense attitude she always seems to carry with her.
“Ready?” she asks, her attention settling on Violet.
Without even thinking about it, my hand moves back to Violet’s waist, my fingers resting there naturally.
“Um” Violet begins, her voice hesitant. “I’m really sorry for worrying you like this. But—”
“You’re not coming,” Elodie finishes calmly.
Violet shakes her head. “No.”
A faint smile curves her lips. “I had a feeling.”
“But in case you’re wondering, everything is good between our new lovebirds,” Archer jumps in. “And to celebrate that, we’re all going for breakfast at my favorite place.” His grin is bright enough to light up the entire porch.