A/N: This is a double update hehehehehehe... Get ready!!!
HARRY'S POV:
*PLAY COFFEE CUPS AND CIGARETTES BY TOMO*
I look at my daughter standing in the doorway, and I have been hoping this moment would come but now that it's here I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I don't know how to even start because this is not how I thought she would be showing up here.. She has blood on her lip, and a dark bruise under her eye. She's obviously been crying, she's obviously cold, and scared, and I just-
"What are the two of you doing? Get out of the way.." Darling pushes past me and opens the door all the way. "Come inside, come on, you're freezing.." Darling waves her hands, and Violet looks me in the eyes before she looks down, and comes in.
"Violet, how did you get here, are you-"
"I don't want to talk about it." She speaks in a low voice, and it's obvious her voice is a bit hoarse right now.
"Violet you-"
"No mom!" She snaps, and backs away from Darling as we stand in the entryway. "I don't want to talk about it, and even if I did I don't want to talk about it with you! Whatever I say, and whatever I do will be judged by you! Just leave it alone, leave me alone.. I'm home, isn't that what you wanted? Didn't you want me here without him? Well I'm here, so why can't that be enough for you, why do you have to suffocate me?" She yells, and I step forward.
"Violet, don't ye-" Darling stops me by putting a hand on me.
"It's fine.. Don't worry about it." Darling speaks, and I look down at her, watching as she looks at her daughter.
"I just want to make sure you're okay, and that we don't need to drive... To take you to the hospital.. Or that you don't need anything right-"
"I need you to stop looking at me like you're disappointed in me because it's fucking annoying." She speaks under her breath. "Sorry I'm a fuckup mom." Darling looks at her for a few seconds longer, and I open my mouth again, trying to level out the situation but before I can Darling moves from my side, and towards the stairs.
"Goodnight Vi.. I'm happy you're home." She nods her head, but then ducks it, and I know it's probably because she's trying to hide her tears.
"I'm glad you're home too but did you really have to do that?" Theo asks her, walking towards the stairs as Cherry turns down the hall and towards our bedroom.
"I didn't do shit, she's just sensitive, and invasive." Violet rolls her eyes, and Theo scoffs.
"Way to go Vi..." He looks down as he walks up the stairs, still in his normal clothes. He's probably going to check on Darling.. He always does.
"Can I go to my room." She speaks softly, crossing her arms over her chest. She doesn't look me in the eyes.. I know it's because she thinks I'll look at her with disappointment but that's not how I'm feeling right now.. Right now I feel like I need to hug her, and hold her, and make sure she's okay... I'm concerned for her, I'm worried.
"You really need to watch the way you talk to your mum Vi.." I speak slowly, and she still doesn't look at me. I know she probably feels uncomfortable right now, and I know her being home again might be overwhelming too.. The last thing I want is for her to feel like a better option is turning out the door again.. "And you can go upstairs... Go get cleaned up, and try to go to sleep..." I nod, and she doesn't look at me as she turns away. "But Violet.." I stop her with my voice. She turns back, and looks at me slightly. "I'm going to ask you some questions in the morning, and you're going to have to answer some of them... Whenever you're ready." I nod, and I can tell she doesn't want to but she nods as well before she runs up the stairs.
I watch, and listen until I hear the door close. I run my hand through my hair, and sigh... There's a lot to uncover, and I know I won't be sleeping tonight, not even a second because I will want to know.. I'll need to know... and I know tomorrow she's not going to answer everything, and even if she does answer it won't be straightforward... She's too much like me.
I go upstairs, and Theo is walking out of my room as I do. He looks at me, and I stop at my door as he passes by.
"Is she alright?" I ask him, and he nods.
"She's fine. Not that you care." He gives me a look, and I take hold of his arm softly.
"I do care... Don't insinuate that I don't. This is a lot more complicated than you can wrap your head around right now, and I'm sorry you don't understand it.." I shake my head.
"I understand that you don't stand up for your wife... That you let Violet walk all over her, and-"
"And what you don't understand is that your mum will stand up for herself.. If she wants someone to be put in their place she would much rather do it on her own than have me do it for her. I have loved your mum for what feels like a hundred years, and I promise you I know when it's my place, and when it's not." I speak in a low voice, not trying to make this part of everyone's night.
"Sometimes it doesn't matter what we think people want. It matters what's right." He tells me. "Is Violet in bed?" He asks me, and I nod my head, and don't look to see if he's going to see her. I go in my bedroom, and see her laying in the bed, a pillow hugged to her chest. I move forward, and onto the bed, taking the pillow from her hands, and replacing it with myself as I hug her.
"Are you alright baby?" I ask softly, and she nods, but I feel her cry. "Don't cry, she's just-"
"I don't care about what she said... I don't care at all... She's home.. She came home." She cries to me, and I hold her tight to me. She's crying out of relief right now.
"Why did you walk away like that?" I ask.
"Because she wasn't going to talk to me, and I didn't want her to feel overwhelmed so I went up here.. I know that if she's going to talk it will be to you, not me... She never talks to me." She nuzzles into me, taking a stronger hold as she does.
"Are you okay?" I ask, and she sighs.
"I am now that she's home... I wish you and Theo would stop fighting.. It's because the two of you are alike." She tells me, and I look at her with furrowed brows.
"We're not alike... Not at all." I shake my head.
"You are in the sense that the reason he fights you is because he wants to protect me.. You're the same, you would do anything to protect me when you know I need it." She tells me, and it makes sense now. "You're not going to sleep tonight are you?" She asks, and I shake my head again.
"No, I'm probably not.. But it's okay. Go to sleep, and I'll talk with Violet in the morning.." I tell her, smoothing my hand over her soft hair.
"She's going to be alright.." She tells me, and all I do is nod.. I know her words are truthful, but part of me still fears how tomorrow is going to go. Part of me fears her answers when I ask about her lip, and the bruises... Part of me fears her future, and part of me wonders what the hell my part in it is going to be.
The next morning I wake up alone, Darlene is gone, and I get myself up, I brush my teeth, and my hair. I throw a shirt on, and I walk out of my room, and down the stairs. I smell breakfast, and I know she's only cooking because she's stressed. I walk into the kitchen, and see her still wearing her sleep pants, and a large tshirt. I walk up behind her, and hug her around her waist, resting my head against her shoulder as I bend down.
"Good morning." She smiles, and I look down at the eggs within the pan.
"Good morning.. Why are you cooking?" I ask her, and she shrugs.
"Why not?" She chirps, and I shake my head.
"She hasn't eaten eggs in the morning since she was in middle school baby.." I speak softly.
"I just.. I just want her to feel like this is her home, and I don't know how to do that anymore." She admits, and I step to the side so I can look at her.
"She knows this is her home, and she wouldn't have come back last night if she didn't feel like it was." I explain it the way I see it, and she shakes her head.
"She came back because she had nowhere else to go." Her words come out as a whisper, and I know that she's partly right, and I know she's anxiously waiting for me to walk back up those stairs, and talk to our daughter so I step back, and start to move.
"I'm going to talk to her.. I'll report back with news once I'm finished." I tell her, and I don't hear a response, but I know she feels some pressure off of her chest as I move towards the stairs. We all slept in a little later today considering we all woke up in the middle of the night. She should be awake at this point, and if she's not she needs to.. She can't avoid this conversation as much as I know she probably wants to. I knock on the door, and hear nothing at first so I knock again.
"Vi... You've gotta open up, we need to-" I start but the door opens, and she motions for me to walk in.
"You can come in... Just this once." She looks at me, making sure I understand that I can't come in here again, and I nod, raising my hands in surrender.
"Can I sit down too, or are you going to make me stand the whole time?" I ask, only half way joking but she takes it seriously as she sits back down on her bed. I walk over to her desk and turn the lamp on as well as cracking the curtain so more light comes in, so I can really see my daughter.
"You can sit.. But in the chair.. Not on my bed." She raises her eyebrows, and I sit at her desk, turning myself to her.
"I'm not going to ask.. I'm going to let you tell me what you want to tell me." I start out soft, and spacious, giving her the floor in a calm way despite how alarmingly crazed I feel in my mind at the fact that I didn't make it up.. She really does have a slight bruise under her eye, and a busted lip.. She's cleaned herself up from last night but she hasn't tried to hide the fact that she's been messed with.
"I didn't feel like being there anymore, and I wanted to come home, so I came home. End of story." She shrugs, and grabs a pillow beside her. She lifts it up and into her lap as she crosses her legs, and I sigh.
"Okay, I figured you'd be vague so now I'm going to ask questions... What did he do?" I ask, and she looks down at the floor as she sits quietly. She doesn't answer me just yet, and I give her time to think of what she wants to say.. To process it in her own mind.
"He's just an asshole dad.. It's.. It's fine. I'm sure he doesn't even know I left." She tries to brush it off, and I shake my head.
"Vi, I really don't want to push you, and I already knew that there might be things you're not comfortable telling me yet, and that's fine, but I have to know if he's the one who hurt you.. Under your eye.. On your lip too." I speak to her in a serious tone, taking away the playful nature her and I always share.
"Why? Are you going to go to his house, and talk to his mom or something?" She snaps, and I just stare at her, not giving into her anger.
"I'm not trying to corner you here. I don't need to know every detail, I just need to fit some puzzle pieces together darling." I shake my head, and lean on my elbow as I sit at her desk.
"Yes, this was him, and it sucks, and I hate it, and there's nothing I, or any of you can do about it so just... just stay out of it.. For as long as you can please. And dear god don't tell uncle Mitch because he would tell aunt Sandy and I truly believe they'd blow up his house..." She tells me, and despite the humor in her words I don't laugh. I hold back every vile, and horrid word I have sitting at the tip of my tongue for this kid.. He hurt her.. He physically hurt her, and I-
"And I already know you're going to tell mom, but please just know that I don't need advice on this, especially not from her." She shakes her head, and throws herself back, staring at the ceiling. She hung pictures up on her ceiling.. She told me they were pictures of her dreams.. Her goals, and the only time she stares at the ceiling is when she feels defeated.. She put them there to give her hope, and she doesn't see how similar she is to her mum.. Neither does Darlene.
"I don't know why you say that, your mum-"
"Is a great person, but she just can't help me. Please, I don't want advice, I just want to pretend it never happened.. I know he's probably forgetting about me anyways.. With her." She speaks the words softly, and I look up at that, my eyes catching hers.
"With... Did he cheat on you darling?" I ask softly, and she nods, and then shrugs.
"All I know is that it seemed suspicious, and that I was almost positive, and I never got full confirmation because I left last night.. I found her things in my bed though.. Our bed." She speaks, and I hold back my cringe as I imagine my daughter sleeping in a bed with him, or any boy for that matter. Yes she's an adult, but it's still not something I want to imagine.
"And what was the thing that made you want to come home?" I ask softly, hoping to at least get that answer.
"We got in a fight.. There was a party, and something happened, and I told him, and he got angry, and he... he hit me, and he insulted me, and I decided that no matter the feelings I have I can't do this right now, and I'm going to go back to my parents house.. So I walked.. And he didn't even notice me leave." She tells me, and her voice is shaking a bit under her as she speaks.
"You said right now.." I look at her as I connect my elbows to my knees, leaning over myself where I sit.
"What?"
"You said you can't do this right now... Does that mean that you're thinking you might be able to do this another time Violet? He hit you.. He-"
"Dad I don't expect you to understand it. I don't expect you to like it, you or mom but.. You just. You don't get it.." She shakes her head. I clench my jaw, holding my words in because I know right now all they will do is make it worse.. I nod my head, and stand up.
"Thank you for being honest with me." I look down towards her, and she just nods. "Hey.. I love you.. Everything is going to be fine." I try to promise her, and I know that my words mean nothing because her world truly has fallen apart right before her.. At least in her eyes. The reason I didn't speak on her words is because I know in my heart that I will not let her walk back out that door and go to him. I don't care if she's legally allowed to. I don't care what I have to do, but she's not leaving. She's my daughter, and I've given her the room to make her own mistakes, and try to learn from them, but she's not leaving this time. She's not making this mistake again.
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Song: Coffee Cups and Cigarettes by Tomo.
There's another chapter after this one!!! Make sure to read it all the way through!
I love you Cherry babies, *virtual hugs*