Falling For The Girl I Bullied
Chapter 126

Ethan’s P.O.V.

“She is sleeping now, but it was really hard to make her speak,” I told Kyle about Violet in a worried tone. “I know and that’s why I am worried for her,” he replied to me in a worried tone. “I talked to my father, and he said that her father can’t do a thing against her even if he takes legal help. The problem is … this is not about the property, but this is about her mental health. “She saw him after eight years, and what did she get?” he continued, bitterly scowling at the end. I sighed aloud and looked around blankly. “I and Jenny are staying with her tonight. “She will come to my house after school tomorrow,” I told him about what we were going to do next.

“It will be better if she doesn’t stay alone. I am trying to finish everything as soon as possible. Dad said that he will talk to your parents about this tomorrow. He is also ready to help in this matter. I just wish that everything goes well for her from now on,” he replied to me in a wishful tone this time. I smiled faintly and lowered my head. “Come back soon, Kyle. Both of us know that she will not open up to anyone and will bottle up everything inside her. She cried so hard after her father went away but didn’t say a word even to Sam. “I’m really worried about her. Her silence… Her silence is killing me now,” I told him about what happened to her after her father left.

“I will be back as soon as possible, Ethan… just take care of her till then. I know that you can,” he replied to me, and we both hung up the call after that. I racked my fingers through my hair in frustration and looked around blankly. I should have been here when she needed me the most, but I was so stupid…. So stupid that I went with Noah to buy some stuff for him when I knew that her father was going to come today. I came back with Noah when my mother called me when they were taking her to the hospital. The continuous emotional stress that she had been facing for the past two months had started taking a toll on her health now, and it was making me so worried for her.

I looked back when I felt footsteps behind me. “I don’t want to go, mom…. She needs us,” Helene once again pleaded to Sam, who still had tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to go either, honey… but,” Sam answered her helplessly and trailed when she couldn’t say anything else. Helene was still crying, and she held her by her waist. “Please mom… let’s stay only for one day. I .. I … I know her. She will be okay by tomorrow. Please stay,” Helene was now crying while holding Sam. Sam told me that it was the first time that Helene had seen Violet so shattered and broken. Violet was a strong girl in her eyes, and Helene was impressed by the way she faced her father today. She didn’t know that Violet was undergoing treatment for her depression.

Sam looked at me helplessly, and I walked toward them. “Hey… come here,” I called Helene in a soft tone. She looked at me and then ran towards me. I embraced her tightly, and she cried while holding me tightly on my chest. “You said that she would be alright by tomorrow, right?” I asked her what she said earlier. She nodded, and I smiled faintly while rubbing her back gently. “Then trust her, princess. She is sleeping now and she will not wake up soon. I am here and I will take care of her on your behalf, okay?” I tried to comfort her and also assured her that Violet would be okay.

“You will stay?” she asked me immediately in a hopeful tone, and I nodded immediately. This was the first time that she met me but it didn’t seem like that to any of us. She slowly removed herself from my embrace and looked at me while taking hiccups. “Promise me that you …. You wi.. will not leave her… an… and if.. he… he comes back.. yo.. you will beat him,” she asked me innocently through her hiccups. I smiled, and we both intertwined our pinky fingers, making a promise. She was still a child, and everything that happened today was pure torture for her innocent soul.

“Thanks, Ethan…. Thanks for everything,” Sam came to us and thanked me sincerely. “No need to thank me, Sam. She is precious to me. I only regret not staying with her today,” I replied to her in a regretful tone and she passed a faint smile. Although Sam and mom were here to support her, still I felt that I should have been here today. “Let’s go, Honey,” Sam then ushered Helene softly. Helene looked at me once again with hope and pain in her eyes. I smiled faintly and nodded to her, assuring her that everything would be alright. She then walked out of the house with Sam.

I looked at them, until Sam drove away. I sighed and closed the door. Jenny was upstairs with Violet in Kyle’s room. Violet wanted to stay in that room after coming back from the hospital. So, we took her there. I then went to the kitchen and poured a glass of warm milk for her. She didn’t eat much for dinner but she still had to take some medicine. I took the glass with me to upstairs. I lightly knock on the door and then opened the door. I passed a small smile to Jenny who was still near Violet on the bed.

“Where are you going to sleep?” she asked me with concern when I put down the glass on the nightstand. I straightened my back and looked at Violet. “Uhhh… I will stay here with her. You can sleep in her room. If she wakes up or I need your help, then I will call you,” I answered her softly. She raised her brows and then looked back at sleeping Violet. “Are you sure?” she asked me, and I nodded. This was not the first time that I was going to sleep with her. When she was at my home, we shared the bed a few times when she was in severe pain or had her nightmares. She always slept like a child, but her nightmares were the main problem. They were good friends but I didn’t know if Jenny knows about her nightmare or not. That was why I wanted to stay with Violet tonight.

Jenny stood up from the bed and looked at Violet with concern one more time. Noah informed her about Violet, as he was with me at that time when I got the call from my mother. She also came to the hospital and decided to stay with Violet tonight as Sam and Helene had to go back. My mother also wanted to stay but I sent her home. Almost everyone, including David and all the boys from the football team, called me, asking me about her. They wanted to come too but I asked them not to because she needed to rest. “Call me if she wakes up… or… something happens,” Jenny said to me and then walked out of the room after looking back at Violet one more time.

She had an early double shift in the diner so that Violet could take a good rest. So I wanted her to rest well too. Violet now didn’t need to work in the diner but she wanted to continue it. I sat down near her and removed a strand of hair from her face. She stirred a little but didn’t wake up. I lay down near her and decided to wake her up so that she could drink the milk before it got cold again. “Violet….. violet,” I called her name softly and then shook her lightly from her shoulder. “Kyle,” she called while opening her eyes lowly. I smiled faintly. “No, princess… it’s Ethan,” I told her in a slightly teasing tone. She looked up at me and then scooted near me.

She put her head on my stomach and wrapped her hand around my waist. I sighed and wrapped my hand around her shoulder. “I brought milk for you,” I told her softly. “I don’t want to drink,” she said quickly in a low tone. I sighed, but there was no way that I would let her sleep on an empty stomach. “You have to take medicine too, princess… get up now and drink,” I urged her, and she looked up at me innocently. Her eyes were still dull and I hated seeing this sadness in her eyes. “Get up,” I urged her again while trying to keep my voice as gentle as I could. She slowly sat up but kept her head on my chest now. She was like a baby who knew when to throw a tantrum and I had no complaints about this. I was ready to bear all her tantrums if it’s going to make her smile and happy.

I took the glass from the nightstand and brought it to her lips. It was funny that we had only ten days between our birthdays as I was ten days older than her and I was coaxing her like a baby. She sighed and then drank milk slowly. I patiently kept the glass in my hand as she had her hand on mine on the glass. After finishing the milk, she removed the glass from her mouth. “That’s like my good girl,” I praised her and then put down the glass on the nightstand again. She once again lay down on my chest. I was now in the sitting position, resting my back on the headrest of the bed. “Talk to me, princess. You know that you can share everything with me, right?” I urged her when her silence became unbearable for me.

“Am I that bad that he doesn’t even want to see me as his daughter even for once, Ethan?” she asked me in a cracked tone and I tightened my grip on her shoulders. “You are not bad, princess. It’s him who is bad here. You didn’t do anything wrong, princess,” I tried to comfort her and to make her believe that nothing was her fault. She was a victim, not a culprit. Suddenly she sobbed while tightening her grip on my torso. “Hey… don’t cry now… why are you crying, huh?” I immediately tried to pull her up but she didn’t loosen her grip on me, and kept on crying softly. “Violet, listen to me,” I pleaded to her while holding her tightly.

I shouldn’t say this but I was glad and thankful to God that I got wonderful and loving people as my parents. After seeing Violet like this, I wanted to go to them, and thanked them for taking care of me all these years, for giving me a loving and safe life. No child deserves what Violet got from her parents. She didn’t stop crying and I sighed helplessly. I closed my eyes and gulped the lump that formed in my throat. I wanted her to vent out everything from her chest so that she could sleep peacefully. “I…. I … don’t want anything from them.. I.. I.. ju.. just wanted them… to.. to… tell me.. th… that they still love me.. they… they st.. still care,” she couldn’t finish what she wanted to say as her voice choked badly.

I didn’t know what to say her right now. I wanted to call Jenny but didn’t know how Violet would react in her presence. “I don’t know what to say, princess… but I want you to know one thing.. that you have me… you have Kyle and you have our parents to take care of you… you know that we all love you so much. No matter what life brings for us, I will always be with you and will take care of you. You don’t need those shitty people in your life anymore. We … we are enough to give you the love and care that you truly deserve,” I said to her in a gentle but firm tone while stroking the back of her head gently. “Promise that you will never leave me?” she suddenly asked me in a choked voice.

“I promise you, princess. I accepted you as my sister with my full heart, and you don’t need anyone else till my last breath,” I answered her immediately in a firm tone. She must believe me and I was also determined to keep my promise all my life. She sobbed aloud one more time and hid her face inside my chest. I kept on stroking her head gently and let her cry. Another thing I needed to do was figure out how to keep that b****d man away from Violet at all costs. I needed to talk with my parents and Kyle about this, and I decided to do this tomorrow.

Samantha’s P.O.V.

“Th… that bastard…. I… I was shocked when Violet mentioned his other daughter. Did you know about that, Nat?” I asked my sister, Violet’s mother over the call. I was so pissed at John, Violet’s father for how he treated Violet yesterday. “Nat… I am asking you something,” I yelled at her when she didn’t answer me. “Yes, Sam… I knew about that,” she replied to me in a low tone and my eyes widened in shock and disbelief. “Wh… what… b.. but you didn’t tell me before,” I yelled in disbelief. I heard her sighing aloud this time. “When did you come to know that he was cheating on you, huh?” I asked her again in a pissed tone.

“When Violet was seven,” she replied to me in a sad tone this time. I gasped in shock and forgot to breathe for a while. They divorced when Violet was nine. It meant that she … she kept everything inside her all these years and bear his adultery for two years. “I… I tried to save my marriage with him and to come back to me and Violet… but,” her voice cracked in the end as she trailed off. I was in the living room of my house. I had an evening shift today. So I decided to call her after Victor and Helene went to work and school.I wanted her to know what John wanted now from Violet. I racked my finger inside my hair while thinking about how to comfort my sister now but nothing came to my mind.

“My only fault is that I am ambitious and wanted to achieve something for myself before taking retirement from my professional life. This is my only mistake, Sam, and I am regretting leaving Violet behind me now. He … he has no right to ask her for anything. He gave up everything to be with that b***h. My mother-in-law assured that he wouldn’t come back and disowned him legally. She also made him give up parenthood of Violet and everything is on the papers. He can’t demand her for anything and if … if he comes back again, you only need to tell me. I will not let him destroy her life anymore,” she said further in a cracked but firm tone.

I lowered my head while listening to her. After divorcing John, she asked for a transfer in her company and went away from there. She found a loving and caring man after two years and married him. Now she was a happily married woman with a boy of five years. No one knew, but we were in constant touch, and she always asked me about Violet and her well-being. Violet had no idea, but her mother had always gone to see her on her birthdays over the years. Her husband also knew about Violet and once asked her to bring Violet to them as he was ready to accept her as his daughter, but Nathalie refused. Violet was thirteen years old at that time and was living a good life with her grandmother. She told me about this when her mother-in-law died and someone had to take guardianship of Violet or else they were going to put her in foster care. She asked me to take guardianship. Later, I tried to talk with Violet once about her mother, but she refused to talk, and I didn’t pressurize her.

“One more thing that I think you should know, Nat,” I said in a low tone, still thinking about whether to tell her about Violet’s mental health condition or not. I also wanted to tell her about Violet’s adoption by Parker’s. “What is it, Sam? Is Violet okay?” she asked me in a worried tone. “No, Nat… she… she is not okay… I… I never told you because I don’t want you to be worried for her but,” I paused and took a deep breath. “What did you hide from me, Sam?” she asked me immediately. “It’s about her mental health, Nat,” I said in a low tone and there was silence on her side for a few seconds.

“She is suffering from a severe case of depression and anxiety, and…. And she was constantly bullied in her school all those years. Everything that happened in her life took a … a … great toll on her mind and heart. She is on the verge of getting a nervous breakdown soon, Nat,” I told her everything briefly about Violet in a low tone. She didn’t utter a single word, and I let her process whatever I told her right now. “And you telling me now?” she spoke in a choked and accusing tone after a good minute. “I am sorry, Nat, and I wanted to tell you but you are happy with your new family and I,” she cut me off while yelling at me angrily. “Still I am her mother, Sam.” I closed my eyes while lowering my head.

“I have every right to know everything about her. I trusted her with you. I… I … I,” she choked badly as she was now crying loud. “I am sorry, Nat… I didn’t even know about this till yesterday, when she fainted after John went back. I came to know when Mrs. Parker told me about her condition while taking her to the hospital,” I replied to her in a low tone again. “And who is Mrs. Parker now? How did she know everything about her when you, her legal guardian(she emphasized these two words sarcastically), didn’t know anything,” she yelled loudly while asking me about Mrs. Parker.

“Mrs. Parker is the woman who wants to adopt her, and they plan to sign adoption papers on her 18th birthday,” I told her honestly, taking a deep breath. “What?” she yelled in disbelief, and now I was really feeling s***ty. She didn’t tell me before I took Violet’s guardianship that her husband, Mr. Harry Westfield, wanted to take Violet’s custody. She must have told me about that earlier. “Are you kidding me? Violet is not an orphan, Sam,” she yelled aloud, and I lost my temper now. “Yes, Nat… Violet is not an orphan, but she has lived like an orphan all these years because neither you nor John wanted to take on her responsibility. What John did was wrong, but how would you justify what you did to her, huh?” I yelled back at her angrily.

She couldn’t blame me for everything. Whatever happened between her and John was not Violet’s fault at all. Yet that poor girl was the one who suffered the most. John gave up on Violet for his mistress, but why did she give up on her? She was her mother, and she could take care of her and could stay with her, but she also left her. She might be a successful woman now, but she failed Violet as her mother, and this was her biggest failure. “No one… no one can adopt my daughter, Sam. I will not let this happen. If.. if she has to go anywhere, then she will have to come to me,” she yelled aloud, and before I could say anything, she hung up. “Aaahhh,” I screamed in anger and balled up my fists tightly in anger. I didn’t know what she was going to do now, but I needed to tell Mrs. Parker everything. They had to keep Violet away from both Nathalie and John. I saw how broken she was after John went away. I regret telling Nathalie about her condition now.