Swear (Landry Family #4)(67)

"Hello?"

"Violet, it's Ford. Where's Ellie?"

"She's with you, isn't she?" There's a panic in her voice that almost sends me over the edge.

"No, she's not. She was and just walked out. She was a mess when she got there and I have no idea why."

"Where are you?"

"On the road. I'm . . . I don't even know where I'm going, Violet. I just need to find her."

A soft laugh wafts through the phone. I hear her click me to speakerphone. "First of all, calm down. Okay?"

"Calm down? And why are you laughing?" I boom. "This is not funny."



       
         
       
        

"No, it's not," she says. "But trust me when I tell you that it's going to be all right."

"So you know what she was upset about?" I ask, re-gripping the wheel.

"Yes."

My palm smacks off the console. "Great. Then tell me or tell me where to find her because I'm a nervous fucking wreck."

There's an extended silence that does nothing for my anxiety as I pull out onto the road taking me into Savannah. "Violet?"

"Okay. She's headed home. She just sent me a text."

I blow a U-turn in the middle of the highway, my tires squealing, and go the other direction.

"What the hell was that?" she shrieks.

"I had to go the other way."

"Nice."

I crack a turn to the south, my headlights bouncing off the street signs along the road. My heart is going even faster than my truck, neither of which are safe.





Ellie

MY HOUSE SEEMS SO COLD. And empty. I turn on every light I pass in hopes it will make me feel less alone.

I should've told him. I should've and I was wrong not to, and I'm sure he's upset I didn't.

I'm such a coward.

"Ellie?" Violet's voice rings down the hall. "Where are you? You have this place lit up like a Christmas tree!"

"In the kitchen."

I hear her come down the hall. "There you are." She tries not to smile, but I can see it coming. "What the hell happened?"

"I just needed you to come back," I say, referring to the text I sent her. "I didn't tell him. I couldn't."

Just thinking about it sends my pulse rate spiraling upwards.

"I need a drink," I say, leaping to my feet. "Shit! I can't have one."

The tears are back again, not as much from the lack of wine in my new life, but more for all the changes I'm going to be encountering. The fear of the unknown, as my dad would say. I hate the unknown.

Violet laughs. "You can't have wine. Or caffeine. Or some cheeses and fish."

I must give her the saddest look ever because her laughs just get louder. Before I can tell her to fuck right off, the doorbell rings.

Once.

Twice.

Three times. All in a space of probably two seconds.

My eyes go wide. "He found me quick."

"Well . . ." She sticks her hands in her pockets.

"You told him! You rat!"

"He called me, Ellie. What did you want me to do? Lie to him?"

"That's precisely what I wanted you to do! Give me some time. Cover for me." 

"Sorry. Not really, but you know what I mean," she laughs. "Should I answer the door?"

I don't know what to say, so I just let out a low-key wail.

"I'll take that as a yes." She disappears down the hallway she just came through. My legs shake as I sit down, my hands wringing together.

He barges through the doorway before Violet could've had time to open it. "Seriously?" He looks at me with narrowed eyes.

"What?" I ask, the word sounding even more innocent than I thought I could muster.

"You don't get to just walk out like that."

"I needed some space."

He chuckles angrily. "You could've gone into the bathroom. The bedroom. Sat in your fucking car in the driveway, Ellie. But you don't show up at my house upset and then disappear."

"I'm sorry."

He looks at the ceiling and breathes, the tension in his shoulders settling only a little. "What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? You're really asking me that?"

I don't move. I just focus on breathing.

"Why are you crying?" he asks, the question too composed. He's on the brink of anger, I can see it. Hear it. Feel it.

"Because of you."

"Because of me?" he almost booms. "You're crying because of me? I haven't even fucking talked to you in what feels like days because you need space. Well, you know what, fuck your space."

I see Violet hidden in the darkness of the hallway, letting me know she's still around if I need her. Suddenly, I wish she weren't. I wish it was just Ford and I.