Page 20 of Twisted Violet

She flinches, but there’s no fear in her eyes, justunderstanding.

“That guilt you’re feeling right now?” I murmur. “Monsters don’t feel that. So if anyone’s the monster here, it’s me.”

She shakes her head and swallows. “That’s not-”

“Vi, you pulledthe trigger to save yourself. I pulled it to punish him. I’m the one with blood on my hands and honestly, I’d stain mine again and again if it meant you didn’t have to.”

She crumples into me, arms locking around my waist, her whole body trembling against mine as she sobs into my chest like a wave of emotions is crashing over her.

I wrap my arms around her and hold her tighter than I’ve ever held anything in my life.

No words. Just the quiet sound of her falling apart in a space no one else is allowed to enter.

My place. My arms.My heart.

And I don’t let go. Not when the shaking stops. Not when she whispers, “Thank you.” Not even when her breathing calms and her grip loosens.

Because letting go isn’t in my nature anymore.

Not when it comes to her.

SIX

VIOLET

I’ve been sitting here alonefor the last twenty minutes.

I don’t think they purposely left me out.

When Atlas asked Niko to come in and tell my sister what happened, Rome and Dallas followed him on instinct.

No one told me to stay behind, but no one asked me to come either.

So now I’m sitting in this quiet hallway, watching the second hand tick on an old wall clock.

It’s fine.

They’ve got more important things to focus on.

I’d probably just get in the way.

I pull my sleeves over my hands and curl them into my lap, trying to ignore the faint ache in my throat where the bruises are already forming. Niko gave me something dry to change into, but I’m still chilled from the inside out.

No one’s said it out loud, but I can feel it.

I’m the problem.Again.

The girl who’s a magnet for disaster. The one who can't even make it home without someone ending up bleeding.

Niko is in there explaining everything that happened. What he walked into. What I did. What he did.

They’ll want answers. They’ll maybe even offer solutions. But there’s no fixing what happened. A man is dead, and it’s my fault.

The door clicks open, and footsteps echo down the hallway.

I look up to find Niko and Dallas approaching, with Rome and Atlas walking right behind them. They’re speaking in low voices, but when they reach me, the talking stops.

“Come on,” Rome says. “Stevie wants to talk to you.”