Violate: A Second Chance at Happiness

“Look, I saw what happened with your mom,” Violet started and Tate turned red.
“Oh…you saw that?” He mumbled. She nodded, smiling sadly at him.
“I-I um- she caught me off guard- and I just wasn’t expecting it- and it’s nothing really,” Tate defended himself poorly, stumbling over his own words. She shook her head.
“What happened, Tate?” she whispered. She didn’t have to explain herself; they both knew what she meant. Tate looked away, a tear slipping down his cheek.
“YOU happened, Violet! I loved you! I still love you! And you left! You were my anchor, Vi! Now I don’t know what to do and I just-“ Tate cried pathetically. Violet grimaced, looking down at the floor.
“Look Tate, I can’t forgive you. Not after what you did to my mom…to my family…to me…” she whispered. The poor boy sobbed harder but nodded.
“Can I just…can I tell you why I did it?” he asked. She rolled her eyes.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she snapped. He growled in anger, stepping forward before his eyes widened and he stepped back again.
“Just…please, just listen to me…please Violet…I just need you to know the entire truth and once you do…I’ll…I’ll go away forever, okay? I’ll leave you alone. I promise I will, if that’s what you want. Do you remember…remember when I told you that I would? The night you killed yourself?” he begged. She nodded slowly.
“Yeah…” she said, thinking of the night when she had made the worst mistake of her life. She just had to do it in the fucking house. She couldn’t have jumped off a cliff, no. Had to do it in the house.
She didn’t regret killing herself, per say, more just the setting she chose to do it.
“I told you that I would leave you alone because your feelings meant more to me than mine did. It still holds true, Violet,” Tate whispered. She stared at him, searching for a flicker of doubt in his eyes, but none was there. He meant it, and they both knew it.
“Fine,” she muttered. Tate sat down next to her on the bed, making her flinch away from him. Hurt flashed through his eyes but he covered it up because of what they knew to be true.
“You…you remember Nora, right? The blonde woman who keeps crying about a baby?” Tate asked, looking into Violet’s eyes. She nodded slowly.
“Yeah…”
“Well when I was little, I had a toy truck. That truck meant so much to me…it was the only thing I had left from my dad,” Tate chuckled to himself, looking away and out the window before continuing. “And one day that truck rolled downstairs…into the basement, yknow? I was a kid, I wasn’t afraid of everything, so I went into that creepy-ass basement. Didn’t even think twice.”
“Are you afraid of things now?” Violet interjected sharply. Tate turned to her, hurt swimming in his eyes.
“We both know the answer to that, Violet,” he whispered. Violet sighed, looking down. She didn’t even know why she’d asked. Tate was afraid of a lot, even though he didn’t like to admit it. Constance. Violet. Love. Himself…
“Fine…go on,” she muttered.
“So I was reaching under a table and then…that…thing just popped out of nowhere and hissed in my face.
“You mean Thaddeus?” Violet asked.
“Yeah. Him. And I thought he was gonna kill me, y’know? Damn, I was scared as shit. It’s kind of funny actually…I mean it’s not like he could do anything. Bite me maybe, or scratch the shit out my face like he did to your friend,” Tate laughed quietly to himself.
“Leah.”
“Yeah, Leah. Anyway, then Nora came up behind me and told him to go away. And he did.”
“Is that how you found out that you could tell them to go away?”
“Sure is. Without her, we would both still be constantly terrorized by ghosts…even though we both are ghosts,” Tate smiled at Violet who smiled softly back. His eyes lit up slightly.
“After that, Nora was like a mother to me. And I needed that, y’know? Constance was never a real mother. She never even tried. So I did anything I could to make Nora happy, and the one thing she wanted more than anything was a baby,” Tate continued.
“She had a baby.”
“Violet, stop being smart. That thing doesn’t count as a baby,” Tate said, chuckling.
“Whatever,” Violet mumbled, rolling her eyes.
“So I told her I would get her a baby…” Tate trailed off, looking down at his hands. Violet blinked a few times before her eyes widened.
“SO YOU RAPED MY MOTHER?” she shrieked. Tate shushed her, looking anxiously around the room.
“You have to understand! I didn’t know it would hurt you so bad! I didn’t know it would kill her!” he pleaded.
“NO! I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU!” she screamed.
“I WANTED NORA TO BE HAPPY! I DIDN’T WANT TO HURT ANYONE! I THOUGHT WHAT I WAS DOING WAS RIGHT!” Tate shouted.
“GET OUT! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!” Violet cried, running a hand through her hair. Tate opened his mouth to reply, but the door swung open.
“Violet is everything- Tate? What are you doing in my daughter’s room?” Ben asked, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring.
“I- nothing, Ben,” Tate mumbled, standing up and walking over to the door. He held eye contact with Violet’s father for a few moments before aggressively pushing past.
“Everything’s okay in here, right, Vi?” Ben asked.
“Yeah, Dad. We were just talking,” she whispered. He nodded.
“Fine. We’re going to play a board game in a little bit, if you want to come join,” Ben smiled.
“Okay. I’ll be down in a few minutes,” Violet smiled weakly back at him. He nodded, closing her door and walking down the hall.
“Hey! Tate!” he called angrily. Tate stopped, not turning around.
“What?” he growled. Before he knew what was happening, Ben had slammed him against the wall.
“You stay the fuck away from my daughter,” he hissed.
“Or what?” Tate taunted him, breathing heavily.
“Or I’ll beat the shit out of you!” Ben whispered angrily.
“I’d like to see you try!” Tate scoffed, laughing and pushing Ben off of him.
“I mean it, Tate. All you’re doing is hurting her,” he yelled after him. Tate’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t reply. Instead, he chose to disappear and retreat down to the basement, letting the half angry, half hurt tears drip down his cheeks.