But she never did.
Because to her, I already did.
The truth is, Violet had something I never really had: a place to go back to.
I didn’t.
By twenty-five, I was on my own in every sense of the word.
No safety net. No backup plan. Just a small apartment that barely held together and bills that didn’t care how tired I was.
Violet helped where she could—groceries, random visits, trying to make my space feel like a home instead of a survival zone.
That’s how I met her grandfather.
Rick.
The first time I walked into his house, I felt like I had stepped into a different world.
Everything was quiet, polished, intentional. Even the air felt expensive.
I remember staring at the table settings, trying to figure out which fork I was supposed to use without embarrassing myself.
Violet leaned in and whispered, “Outside to inside.”
“I hate you,” I whispered back.
“You’d be lost without me.”
Rick heard us.
“Planning an escape or just negotiating with the silverware?” he asked.
I laughed before I could stop myself.
And that was it.
That was the moment something shifted.
Rick didn’t treat me like background noise.
He asked questions. Real ones. And he actually listened to the answers.
He noticed things about me that I didn’t think anyone saw.
Like the way I always checked prices first.
Like the way I hesitated before accepting anything, even something small.
One night, he said, “You look at things like they might disappear if you enjoy them too much.”
I shrugged. “Because they usually do.”
He didn’t argue.
He just nodded, like he understood more than he said.
Over time, I got used to being there.
