Learning Together

1 ¤ They Meet

Violet didn't want to acknowledge the woman standing beside her dad. That would mean that it was true, that it wasn't a dream. Her father had brought another woman into her mother's house.

They stood in front of her with their stupid smiles, expecting something from her. What? What did they want?

Violet's eyes traveled to where her father's arm wound around the woman's waist. She could see his hand resting on her hip. A flicker of anger ignited in her stomach, bringing a sneer to her lips and a glare to her eyes.

Not bothering to be discreet, she let her eyes wander up and down the woman's body, assessing her attire. The lady was pretty, she had to admit that. But Violet wasn't impressed with her ensemble. Just another strike against her and they had yet to exchange any words.

Her brown hair, cut into a bob, made her neck look short in Violet's opinion. She wore simple diamond studs in her ears which was the only thing Violet deemed to be within fashion. Her suit was a plum color with an ivory blouse under the jacket and the skirt reached down past her knees. Her short heels, matching the color of the suit, were suede.

She found herself comparing her mother's style to this woman despite the years between then, before she had passed, and now. After ranking the woman's appearance as out of date, Violet looked back up at her father. She narrowed her eyes while she kept her lips pressed together into thin lines.

Parker Douglas noticed just how much his daughter resembled her mother before he gave her a warning look as he introduced Miriam Graw. He kept his arm around her as he gestured with his free hand.

The teenager kept her arms crossed over her chest and gave them both a look of disgust. The silence bared down heavy, starting to suffocate her. She turned on her heel and went out of the back door, careful not to slam it behind her despite the fact that that's what she wanted to do.

It was an act of respect for her mom. If she hadn't cared about the values her mother had instilled in her, she would have pulled the door shut with so much force, she was sure the glass panel would have shattered all over the back patio.

Her mom had always been the calm one. She had always encouraged her husband and daughter to talk about their feelings rather than express them; anger the prime one.

Understanding just how horrible Parker and Violet's tempers were, she had somehow been able to keep them grounded.

Now, six years after her mother's death, Violet held onto every little bit of advice she had been given. And she knew that she'd have to work hard to practice keeping her temper in check if that...that was going to be coming around.

Despite the fact that Violet was a tall and lanky sixteen-year-old, she climbed into her old treehouse. It creaked under her weight and for a slight minute, she worried it would crumble beneath her. But even that would be better than being in the house with that woman.

Curled up in the corner furthest from the house, she stared at the heart her childhood best friend had carved into one of the wooden planks when they had been six. A snort escaped from her as she remembered the day he'd left her. His dad had been given a promotion which meant they had to move. It had been years since Violet had last spoken to him.

Without realizing that she was feeling sorry for herself, she began to think of all the other horrible things that had happened so far in her life. It was a short list. She knew that she was being extravagant. In fact, she imagined some things just to keep her mind off of her dad and...

Violet shook her head and rolled onto her back, sprawling her legs and arms out. There was a slit in the roof where a thin beam of sunlight filtered in and she pretended that it was her mother, coming to visit her.