*Violet's POV*
The next morning, I wake up very warm and when I breathe in a familiar smell, I remember where I am. I open my eyes and realize I’m connected to Jace’s side with my arms and legs wrapped around him.
I bring one hand up to rub my eyes and Jace stirs a little. As I begin to untangle my limbs, his arms wrap around me holding me into him.
“Morning,” he says sleepily.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
“Excellent with you here. Although it was quite warm. You were like a lil koala all night,” he says and then kisses the top of my head. I giggle and say, “You know you loved it.”
“I know I love you,” he replies back.
I tilt my head up and say, “I love you too.”
“Are you hungry? We could go make breakfast.”
“I could eat. Can I shower first though?”
“Only if I can join you,” he says with a
*Kane's POV*On Saturday afternoon, I head to the gym to train with Rex. We’re pretty sure I’ll get a shot at fighting Machine tonight. I’m undefeated so far and people are taking notice.When it’s time to head out, we decide to just carpool from the gym to the club. We arrive just after 10pm and there are already people here. This is my first Saturday here and Rex wasn’t kidding about it being packed.The three of us go register and then make our way around the floor to see who’s here already and check out any new guys. We get looks and whispers as we roam around and I’m sure it’s because everyone is excited about the idea of me fighting Machine even though I haven’t seen him here yet.Just when I think he’s not going to show, he walks in with Rocky at his side and head’s over to registration. Not even 5 minutes later, the round one matchups are posted. Sure enough, I’m paired
*Violet's POV*As I walk up the stairs to my room with Kane, I feel this giant void opening up inside of me. 4 years. 4 years I was with Jace. I gave everything to him. And I thought he had done the same for me. I guess I was wrong.I unlock the door to my room and find it empty. I’m not surprised. Stella went to a party so I didn’t expect her to come back tonight.Kane drops my bag and then turns on the lights. I turn around to look at him and his face looks way worse in the light. I walk up and examine the cut on his forehead along with the dried blood that sticks to his neck and continues underneath the collar of his shirt.“Kane, this looks really bad. Are you sure you’re okay?”“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. It’ll heal.” I’m glad to see that he at least has stitches in it.I sigh and go over to grab a towel and say, “Come on.” He doesn’t sa
*Kane's POV*After she told me about it, I looked it up and read about signs of relapse and I know she said she didn’t want me to watch her but I can’t help it. When she tells me she’s not hungry, it scares me for a second but when I tell her that it’s not open for discussion, she agrees quickly and I relax a little.As I sit on her bed with her standing in between my legs and my arms around her waist, it feels impossible to keep fighting this. Every time we’re in the same room our bodies just migrate towards each other. They clearly didn’t get the memo that we can’t be together.When we hear a key turn in the lock, Violet jumps back from me and I instantly miss her warmth. Stella walks in and looks back and forth between us, trying to figure out, well, everything I suspect.“So, um, we’re going to breakfast, but I’ll fill you in on everything after, I promise.”Stella nods and then
*Violet's POV*When I cut the engine in my parking spot, I lean my head back against the seat, attempting to mentally prepare myself for the conversation I’m about to have.I breathe in deeply and find enough willpower to get out of my car and head towards my room. As soon as I round the corner to the front of the building, I see Jace sitting on one of the benches out front.I brace myself before walking up to him. I can see his knee shaking nervously and when he finally notices me coming and looks up, I see the dark circles etched under his red-rimmed eyes.“Vi, baby,” he says coming in for a hug. I put my hand out to keep him away and say, “Don’t Jace. Just don’t.”“Let me explain, please.”“I’m not sure what exactly there is to explain Jace. You fucked another girl! More than once! Not only that, but you let me believe all of this time that we were each other&rs
*Kane's POV*After my phone call, I can’t stop thinking about her. In my head, I know she’s with Stella and she’s fine so I fight the urge to go see her. I fight it all afternoon and then when it’s getting close to dinner time I’m worried that she’s going to try to skip a meal again. Or at least that’s what I tell myself as I drive to pick up Chinese food and bring it to her dorm.I knock on the door and Stella answers, “Vi, it’s for you,” she says and then walks back into the room. I see Violet sitting on Stella’s bed with several chocolate bar wrappers and an empty mickey of vodka.“Kane?” She asks, blinking a few times.“Uh, hi. I brought you guys some food,” I say holding up the bag.“We were just about to order food.”“Guess I have good timing then,” I tell her. I close the door and then go to sit cross-legged on
*Violet's POV*When I feel my phone buzzing on the desk behind my head, I attempt to lift my arm up to turn it off but find myself trapped in Kane’s arms. The more I attempt to free an arm, the more he seems to hold on.“Kane,” I whisper. “Kane, wake up.” Nothing. I turn my head to the side and bite gently on his shoulder since my arms are stuck between us and my top leg is pinned in between his legs. His eyes snap open and he says, “What?”“Alarm.” He reaches one hand up and shuts it off and then brings his arm back down around me.“Did you just bite me, Violet?”“You gave me no choice,” I say but snuggle my head back into his chest.“Uh huh sure.” We lie there for several more minutes when Stella’s alarm goes off. I hear the blanket shuffle a little as she groans and the alarm stops and she goes silent again.“Okay, I go
*Kane's POV*As I lay here, listening to and feeling Violet’s soft breathing against my chest, with my arms wrapped around her I feel...I don’t even know how to describe it but I know I would like nothing more than to feel this way all the time.I drift off again and then a little while later something lands on top of us as Stella says, “Hey, you two hungry?”Violet groans and I pull the blanket down a little to uncover our heads and see that Stella has thrown a pillow at us. Violet scrunches her face up in the most adorable way possible before rolling over to face Stella and propping herself up on her elbow.“I could eat. What were you thinking?”“Literally anywhere with coffee,” Stella replies.Violet throws the pillow back at her and then says, “Sounds good to me,” and goes to start getting up but I hold her down and place my hand on her bare hip, silently reminding h
*Violet's POV*When I get home from class, I find Stella lounging on her bed. She sits up and says, “So, did you have a good time last night?” While wiggling her eyebrows.I drop my bag on the ground and then sit on my bed facing her and say, “We didn’t do anything last night.”“Seriously? You had a man that looks like that in your bed and you just slept?”“I said nothing happened last night. You didn’t ask about this morning,” with a small smile.She laughs and says, “Come on Vi, semantics! So, spill! What happened?”I feel my cheeks flush. I’m really not used to discussing these kinds of things. Stella makes me feel more comfortable talking about it though. I think it’s because she is so...sexually liberated. “Nothing too, you know, over the top. Just hand stuff.”“Ugh, I bet he’s great with his fingers.”I