Between Love and Hate

Awake

*Kane's POV*

I'm very pleasantly surprised that Malcolm is so accepting of this. He's probably the only stable parental figure I've ever witnessed. No wonder Violet talks so highly of him. He's what a father should be and I'm glad she had him to raise her.

Truthfully, I don't know what I would have done if he had reacted the same way as her mother. I don't think I would have been able to handle causing her that kind of pain, but at the same time, I'm not sure I would have been able to let her go either.

"Are you guys hungry? Should we order some food?" Malcolm asks.

"Yeah, I could eat," Violet says and looks at me and I smile. I'm glad she seems to be doing better since breakfast. It was really hard for me to watch her struggle, knowing it was my fault. Malcolm nods and then raises his hand to get the waiter's attention.

We order our food and we eat mostly in silence other than the odd question from Malcolm. I don't think any of us really knows what exactly we're supposed to talk about, or even what is appropriate given this whole situation.

I check on Violet's plate every so often to make sure she's eating and not just pushing it around and I notice Malcolm does it too. I remember her mentioning that she had enough people watching her when she got mad at me for doing it right after I found out.

After we eat, a server clears our plates and Violet says, "I'll be right back. Washroom." She says and Malcolm stops her as she's pushing her seat back. "Violet, stop. 1 hour."

"Dad, I'm fine. It's been years."

"Please, for me? It would make me feel a lot better if you waited."

She sighs and then pulls her chair back in. "Fine. One hour." What is that about? We get another round of drinks and we sit awkwardly, continuing the same intriguing conversation as during dinner and once the undefined waiting period is over, Violet gets up and says, "Good?" She asks him and he nods and then she stands up and goes to the bathroom.

"I saw you watching her eat. How much do you know?" He asks me when she's out of ear shot.

"Not a lot. I know about the anorexia and about the therapy, but I don't have any details past that. She doesn't like to talk about it. Is the hour waiting related somehow?" I ask, still not putting the pieces together.

"It's to make sure she's at least digested some of her food so she can't throw it all back up," he tells me.

"What, like on purpose?" My stomach turns and I being to panic. She doesn't do that, does she?

"Yes. She started that once she couldn't get away with not eating anymore. Did you ever notice the little scars on the back of her hand? We had to implement the hour rule for a long time in our house. But she hasn't done that in ages. I just worry with all the stress right now that she'll relapse, you know?"

"Yeah, me too." I see him look up and stop talking, figuring Violet is coming back. Of course I noticed the scars. I notice everything about her. I never asked what they were from though. I think back trying to remember if I ever noticed cuts there instead of scars. I don't think so.

"You okay?" She asks me and I blink a couple times and say, "Yeah, sorry, just spaced out there." She gives me a weird look but drops it.

"So, I was thinking I would just get a room here and then maybe tomorrow we can go back to your mother's together. How does that sound?"

Violet sighs and says, "That's not a bad idea. We should probably call it a night anyway. It's been a long day."

That's an understatement. We've slept maybe 4 hours since we woke up Friday morning and between that and all the driving and the stress, I have no doubt we're both about to pass right the fuck out when we get to the room.

We say goodnight to Malcolm and then head up to our room. The second the door closes she spins around and says, "He told you didn't he?"

I look at her in shock and then just nod. Apparently she sees right through my bullshit. Not that I'm surprised, really.

"Damn it. That hasn't even been a problem in, like, years. We stopped the one hour rule almost 2 years ago and I hadn't needed it for a while even before that. I don't even know why he made me do it, let alone told you about it. What? Are you going to start making me do that too now? Or are you just going to follow me to the bathroom all the time?" she says, swiping a hand through her hair in frustration.

"No, darling, I'm not going to do that. He's just concerned because of everything that's going on, and so am I. We both just want what's best for you and regardless of what happened in your past, it's not going to change how I treat you because I know who you are now, regardless of what you did before," I say, walking towards her and wrapping my arms around her.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm taking this out on you. You didn't do anything wrong," she says propping her chin on my chest to look up at me.

"It's okay. If you need to vent, you can vent to me. In fact, I would prefer it if you did," I say and kiss her forehead.

"Thank you," she whispers and snuggles back into my chest. God I love this girl.

"Okay, come on, let's get some sleep. We both need it," I say gently.

She nods and I let her go so we can get ready for bed. Once we crawl under the covers, Violet cuddles herself into me. She always does this and sometimes I wonder how she can even breathe, but she obviously likes it, and I do too so I'm not about to question it.

"I love you," she mumbles, her voice thick with exhaustion.

"And I you," I say back right before we both pass out.

At some point during the night, I dream there is a hand tracing slow circles around my chest. It begins moving lower and then starts tracing the band of my underwear and I realize I'm not, in fact, dreaming. I open one eye and see that it's much brighter in the room than I was expecting. It must be morning already.

Violet slips her thumb underneath the waistband and I'm instantly awake; in more ways than one.

"I must say, this is my favourite way to wake up. Much better than an alarm."

"Mmm, mine too," she replies and then reaches further to wrap her hand around me. My stomach muscles clench in response and I remove my underwear to give her better access. She then begins shifting and slides further under the covers.

"Violet, what are y-" my sentence is cut off when I feel her tongue swirl around me and then begins to run it up and down, her thumb circling around the tip.

"Fuuuck," I groan out. When her lips wrap around me and I hit the back of her throat repeatedly as she moves up and down, I almost lose it. "Violet, slow down or you're going to be very disappointed."

Where did she learn how to do this? Wait, never mind, I don't want to know.

When she removes her mouth, I am momentarily frustrated until she crawl up and swings her leg over me so she's straddling me and then lowers herself onto me not-so-gently. I look up to see she's completely naked and I wonder when exactly she took her clothes off.

She starts rocking her hips back and forth, placing a hand on my chest for leverage. Her mouth is parted ever so slightly and her eyes are closed and I don't think I've ever seen anything sexier in my life.

I sit up, forcing her to put her hands behind her on my thighs for support. She continues rocking her hips back and forth and I place one hand on her throat and squeeze gently, causing her to let out a moan that vibrates through both of us. I use my other hand to rub her clit.

She screams out my name and I feel her clench around me and despite my best efforts, I cannot stop myself from coming with her. It's been way too long; for our standards that is.

I release my hold on her throat and help her sit upright. She wraps her arms around me and leans her head on my shoulder. I can feel her heartbeat start to slow down against mine.

"Good Morning," she mumbles and then places a kiss against the side of my neck.

"It is indeed," I reply and she lets out a little giggle. We sit like that for a little while and then she leans back and says, "Should we go eat?" I nod and then help her off so we can shower and change.