Chapter 11 #3
“I know, and I’m going through it, too. I just - I miss us. I miss who we were before. I’m not saying - I don’t know what I’m saying.” Skyla looked down at her feet and shoved her long dark hair with purple lowlights out of her face. “I just miss him.”
“He’ll come around,” Hallie said. “I know it’s not the same, but when Caden’s brother died, it took him years to figure his life out without him. There are still days when he’s sad, and I just have to let him be in that space. It’s all part of grieving.”
Skyla met Hallie’s gaze. “Thanks.”
“My sister was killed in a car accident three years ago,” April offered, surprising even herself that she was opening up to these women that she’d just met a couple of hours ago.
“We had different moms, so I didn’t even meet her until I was in middle school, but still - losing her felt like my whole world was turned upside down. ”
“What did you do?” Skyla asked.
And that was why April didn’t like to share about her sister.
Because what happened after her death is how April ended up in her predicament.
She wasn’t complaining, and she wouldn’t trade her time with Violet for the world.
But if she could go back, she’d like to think that she would’ve done things differently.
“I got hooked on drugs,” April finally admitted, softly. “It was pretty bad for a while.”
“Dang,” Orly said. “I’m so sorry.”
“How did you quit?” Hallie asked.
April sighed. “Cold turkey, believe it or not. My sister had a daughter, and even though I was living in my own hell, I found out she needed me more than I needed the drugs. I ended up going to a thirty-day rehab facility, and never looked back.”
“That’s dedication,” Reese said. “How old is your niece?”
“Six,” April said, knowing she was likely giving away something she’d been holding onto for dear life, mostly out of fear.
“Is that your homeschool student?” Hallie asked.
April nodded. She legally wasn’t allowed to talk about Violet or anything she did with her, but she’d already told Tanner about her, just not that they were related.
“What’s her name?” Skyla asked.
“Violet.” April pulled out her cell phone to show them her screensaver that had a photo of Violet holding a soccer ball with a huge grin where one of her front teeth was missing. She’d snapped the photo a few weeks ago.
“She’s beautiful,” Orly said.
“When do we get to meet her?” Skyla asked, and everyone looked at her in surprise. “What? It’s not like I stopped liking kids just because I lost mine.”
April swallowed at Skyla’s words, and quickly added, “Um, she lives with her step dad and he’s really strict about letting her go out.”
“Even with you? It’s not like she’s a teenager trying to sneak out to meet boys,” Orly teased.
April laughed, trying to imagine how Ned would react to Violet sneaking a boy into that cement and steel prison he calls DynaTech Corp Headquarters.
But then she sobered, remembering their rampant security, and that Violet would likely never get the chance to go out and meet boys like normal teenage girls.
“Who’s sneaking out to meet boys?” Tanner asked. He’d come up the steps of Garrett’s wraparound porch just in time to hear the last part of Orly’s words.
“No one,” Hallie laughed. “We were just wondering when we were going to meet April’s niece, and she was telling us about her strict step dad.”
“Niece?” Tanner asked, and April felt a lump painfully settle in her stomach.
She’d wanted to tell him, but she never knew how or when.
It wasn’t like she met someone like Tanner and his friends every day.
These people seemed genuinely kind and absolutely wonderful.
She wanted nothing more than to introduce them to Violet, and to bring Violet to these get-togethers.
She would love running around Garrett’s yard, fishing with the guys, and even swimming in the lake.
Though, now that April thought about it, she wasn’t sure if Violet knew how to swim, but that could easily be remedied.
“You didn’t mention Violet was your niece,” Tanner said with no heat. “Now I’d really love to meet her.”
Every alarm bell rang in her head as the conversation she’d had with Zara blared like a loud radio in her mind.
He deserves to know about his kid. What if no one told him?
April wanted to crawl under the porch and hide.
She’d said too much, and courtesy of the NDA she signed as a condition of working with Violet, she legally couldn’t say more.
Not until she was ready to tell Tanner everything.
“We’ll see,” she said, hoping someone would change the subject.
As if picking up on her tension, Hallie stood from Skyla’s side and clapped her hands.
“We almost forgot about dessert.” April had heard all about her cake, and was actually eager to try it.
All the women smiled just as the guys came up onto the porch in time to hear the word dessert.
Then almost comically, they made a beeline back to the dock.
Hallie pinned them with a glare, which made Caden stop in his tracks, while the others pretended not to notice. “You don’t even want to try it?” She called after them.