Don't Touch Her Act 2: Finding Peace

Chapter Twenty-Three

𝓒𝓵𝓪𝓻𝓪

We walked to a library, warm cups of hot chocolate in our hands. It was dark, streetlamps lighting the path and the steps of the building. We sat down on the stairs, watching silently for a moment as a car would pass by every few minutes.

It was cold. I shivered, thankful for the warm cup in my hands and the liquid that warmed me inside.

Violet stared at her gloved hands, slightly shaking.

I wanted to open my mouth and say things, tell her things I never had before, but it sat there lodged in my throat. I decided to ask something else entirely.

"Violet... How did you learn to trust?"

Slowly, she looked at me. "... I don't know. It just happens... With Dominic, I finally came to a point where I knew he wouldn't hurt me... he wouldn't try certain things." She paused and swallowed, "It's hard to explain, but it's like a feeling deep inside that just tells you it's okay to let your guard down."

As Violet finished speaking, she took a sip of her hot chocolate and closed her eyes. We sat in silence for a few minutes longer, watching the cars pass by.

I wanted to learn. I wanted this feeling of safety and comfort. I wanted to trust someone like Violet did.

I didn't know how.

"I think I'm going to quit," I said suddenly.

She looked at me, "why? Where would you work?"

I looked down, staring at the lid of my cup. "With you?... I just... I don't feel safe there."

I was afraid, afraid of the men that would walk in. What they could do to me. It never changed. I would never feel safe.

She was quiet, as if slowly thinking about it, accepting it, understanding it. "When?"

"I'll have to put in my notice, but soon."

As I took a sip of my hot chocolate, tears welled up in my eyes. The bitter cold of the night seemed to seep into my soul, making me feel vulnerable and exposed. As much as I wanted to trust, to feel safe, with the fear of getting hurt, of being let down, lingered in my heart like a heavy weight.

I wiped away my tears and braced myself against the biting wind as we headed home.