From Best Friends To Lovers: Fresh Start

Chapter 14: Let the cat out of the bag

Chapter 14: Let the cat out of the bag

Jared stands on the front porch as Heather answers the door.

“Jared. It’s been awhile! How have you been doing?” Heather smiles happily as she sees Jared. Jared smiles at her as he enters into the house after Heather gives a way for him.

“I’ve been good. I’m just checking in with Violet today.” He says as he takes his winter jacket off and looks at her. “She’s upstairs?”

Heather nods before pointing to his wet shoes. Jared chuckles slightly before taking it off and uses the guests’ slippers that are prepared on the side. Heather then looks at him.

“Are you alone? Where’s Vlad?”

“He has some drama rehearsal thing going at school for his class performance, so he’s practicing at school.” He says before walking up the stairs and towards her room. When he walks in, Violet is still wrapped up in her comforter with Topaz, the white cat, sleeping by her head. Jared sighs before sitting on the bed and gently shakes her to wake her up.

“Vi, yo, Vi, wake up.” He says to her. Violet moves a little before mumbling.

“10 more minutes….” She goes back to sleep. Jared squints his eyes before taking the comforter off from her, making her shriek from the sudden coldness. Topaz jumps off and runs away at the same time.

“What the heck!! Jared!! That was mean!! … JARED!?!” She screams out his name before pushing herself towards the wall.

“H…How in the world did you got in???” She says those half yelling before looking at the door. Jared laughs at her action before shaking his head.

“Man that was funny. Anyways, it’s already 11A.M. why are you still asleep?” He says as he looks at her. Violet glares at him before sighing.

“Can’t I just get a good night’s sleep? Well, good morning sleep now.” She lets out a yawn before stretching out. She sighs happily before looking at him. “What do you want?”

Jared looks at her and sighs.

“I want a truthful explanation, Vi. Why have you been acting the way you did on these past few days?” He asks her as he looks at her with his serious face. Violet stays silent as she looks at that face and knows that he’s never going to let it go.

“Okay, okay. The truth is that I’m just heartbroken, okay?” She explains to him as she wraps her arms around her knee. He looks at her shocked.

“Whoever did that to you, sure as hell hurt you bad. Tell me who this jerk is.” He says as he clenches his fist on the bed. Violet looks at his fist before looking at him.

“I don’t want to say it. I don’t want him hurt either. Just leave him be, Ja—“ Without a warning, Jared grabs her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

“Leave him be?? Look at you Violet! You weren’t yourself anymore! You’re hurt bad! As bad as when you lost your parents! I can’t let this guy go, Violet! Tell me who he is, or I’ll hunt him down myself!” Violet shivers as she watches Jared yelling to her face, making her scared. Jared notices the fear in her eyes before taking a deep breath and letting her go.

“It’s fine, Jared. I know you care for me, but it would trouble me more if you hurt him.” She says as she rubs her shoulders gently. Jared turns away before sighing and gets up. He rubs his forehead gently as he tries to calm down.

“I’ll have to find him myself then.” He whispers that quietly without letting Violet hear it. Violet stands up as she walks over to him and places her hand on his shoulder. She smiles gently as Jared turns around to look at her.

“I admire the fact that you care for me, but I’m a big girl now, Jared. You have nothing to worry about.” She smiles and hugs him gently. Jared stays silent before hugging her back tightly as well.

“I’m sorry, I just, can’t let you get hurt. I didn’t tell you this before, but just days before your parents got into that accident, I promised your dad that I would always protect you and won’t let anyone do harm to you. That’s why I get angry if anyone hurts you. I’m sorry that I let you get hurt without knowing, Violet.” He explains to her. Violet gasps quietly before feeling tears against her eyes and starts to cry as she holds him tightly. Jared strokes her head gently as she cries against his chest.

After a little while, Violet gains back her senses before wiping her tears away and smiles her best smile she could do at the moment.

“Thank you, Jared. But you’ve kept your promise. I can take care of myself now, there’s nothing more to worry about, all right?” She stands on her toes as she gently kisses his cheeks before smiling again. Jared sighs and nods before smiling back at her.

“Okay, well. I at least I finally know what’s exactly been bothering you.” He smiles and gently pats her head. “Thanks for telling me, but I still need to know who is that jerk.” He looks at her again. She sighs and shakes head.

“The truth is he doesn’t even know that he hurt me, Jared.” Just at that moment, Jared’s phone rings. Jared sighs and picks up his phone. It was Vlad.

“What? Huh? Why? Okay, okay fine. I’ll bring you there. I need to go there anyways. I’m at Violet’s house. Yeah. Yeah she told me what bothered her.” At that moment, Violet signals him around to not tell him about it at all. Jared looks at her from this sudden act before nodding slowly.

“Yeah, yeah I’ll get here in 10. Bye.” With that, he hangs up his phone before looking at her.

“What’s with that? Why don’t you want to tell him?”

“No, it’s better if it’s between us two.” Violet smiles slightly, making Jared sigh before nodding.

“Okay, okay, fine. I have to go now. I need to drive him to the town to look for something. I’ll see you at school okay?” Jared kisses Violet’s head gently before leaving out the door. Violet sighs and lies back down on her bed as she stares up at the ceiling.

She looks over at the pink teddy bear that Vlad had given her on that day. She takes it gently before squeezing it with her hands as hard as she can. She starts to cry before holding the teddy against her chest.

“I’m sorry, teddy. I’m so sorry…”