The Probability of Violet and Luke(71)

Tears burn at my own eyes. Jesus, life is so unfair. So cruel. To put one person through this much. Holding her weight for her, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her to the bed. I can’t even think of anything to say because there are no words that exist for moments like these. Honestly, I can’t even believe it’s possible. How can one girl’s world be so shattered. So broken. So painful. I want to take all of it for her—I would in a heart beat if I could. But instead I have to lie here with her in my arms and listen to her break apart, just like I did a couple of months ago when we found out about my mother. And eventually, my own eyes start to water.

“How can they be sure?” I ask, fighting to keep balance in my voice. “The police, I mean. They’re going to find out if he had anything to do with it or not, right?”

“Yeah.” She buries her face in my chest. “What if he is… what if I let him touch me the way that he did and that whole time he took they’re lives...” Her hands find the bottom of my shirt and she grips tightly. “I can’t deal with anymore of this…” She sucks in a breath, then another. “Pain. I’m so sick of having no one… of having every relationship ruined.”

My arms tighten around her and I hold her with every part of me. “No matter what happens, I’m going to be here for you.”

She presses her face closer to my chest, balling herself up against me. “Promise me you’ll never leave me.” It’s hard to hear her through the crying, but the soft utter of the words are enough that a few tears escape my eyes. I want to wipe them away so she can’t see me falling apart, but I don’t want to let her go either.

“I promise.” I mean it more than I’ve meant anything. “No matter what happens, I’ll always be here for you.”

I want to tell her right there that I love her, but know it’s in no way the right time. So instead try to show her, holding her and letting her cry, vowing to myself to try and find a way to take some of her pain away, no matter what it takes.

Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author that lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.