Run, Girl (If You Can)

"Your dad is my best friend," Keeley said simply, unable to explain the full truth.

Violet rolled her eyes. "Well yeah, he is now but it wasn't like you were friends first. I've known Noah since we were both in diapers. That's not romantic at all."

She was going off of the romance novel and chick flick version of romance. It had to be big and flashy and over the top for it to be real. But love could be simple and sweet too.

Noah's affection was definitely more of the simple and sweet variety. So Violet, who loved reading about all of the big and flashy stuff, would easily overlook it.

Keeley's heart really went out to the kid. But she had to be on her daughter's side here; it was the principle of the thing.

"I'm sure you'll get the romance you're hoping for someday. Even if it doesn't come in the way you expect."

Violet tilted her head in confusion. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

She laughed. Goodness knows she hadn't expected to marry the same man twice, especially after how he treated her the first time.

But Keeley was glad everything happened exactly the way it did. She wouldn't love Aaron the way she did now if not for everything they had been through together. Fate was never wrong. Things happened as they were supposed to.

"I always thought I would marry someone normal," she said with a shrug. "Not somebody whose name was known by everyone in the city. But the heart wants what it wants and ultimately it wanted your father. I don't regret my choice."

A thoughtful expression appeared on Violet's face as she went back to her book. She was digesting what her mother said.

At that moment Aaron came back, soaking wet from the waves, and picked his wife up unexpectedly. She screeched in surprise and protested because she wanted to read but he wasn't having any of it.

"Our sons ditched me so you're coming with me now," he said simply.

"Aaron! Put me down!"

"Nope."

He ended up marching all the way into the waves with her over his shoulder and made her swim around with him. Violet peeked over the cover of her book to watch with a fond and amused smile on her face.

That. That was the kind of romance she wanted someday. She wanted someone who loved her so much that they never wanted to be apart from her for even a second.

===

Kaleb ended up spending the majority of the vacation hanging out with other teenagers who were also avoiding their families. Violet felt a pit in her stomach every time she watched him leave. It felt oddly personal.

She ended up spending a lot of time with her parents and younger brothers. Floating down the lazy river, going on the water slides, and hanging out on the beach. She even went to the spa with her mom at one point.

"Ah, it's been a while," Keeley sighed happily as the masseuse worked her magic.

"Have you even heard of a thing called self-care, Mom?" 

"We're old friends. Very old. Haven't been in contact for a while," she joked.

Violet merely shook her head in dismay. Her mother was going to work herself to death one of these days.

"Seriously, are you ever going to relax?"

"When my treatment gets approved by the FDA, probably," Keeley admitted. 

She really did care way too much about her brother. Though Violet could relate. Her current issues with her brother had consumed her entire life.

Getting approved by the FDA would take years. Her mother hadn't even moved to the second phase of the approval process yet. By the time it happened, Violet might very well be out of high school. Was she seriously not going to relax until then?

"Dad's going to make you quit if you work too hard," she predicted.

Keeley shook her head. "No, he supports my research dreams more than anyone. He wouldn't do that."

Sometimes Violet wondered how her father could be so overprotective of his wife but still let her run herself into the ground. By all means, it didn't make sense.

Passion ran in her family's blood. Her mother was passionate about her research. Her father was passionate about her mother. Kaleb was passionate about baseball and Oliver was passionate about outer space. Nathan hadn't found his passion yet but once he did, they would all have one.

Hers was dance. It was the only time she felt like she could truly express herself in front of others. Ballet wasn't all about grace and elegance. She had seen some choreographed modern ballet that was as fierce and choppy as it was beautiful.

Sometimes she felt like classical ballet suited her. Other times the raw excitement of contemporary ballet matched her mood better. Either way, ballet was an art form where she could get all of her feelings out.

If her mother felt anywhere as strongly about her research as Violet did about ballet, she could understand why she would work herself to death. And if her father loved her mother enough to understand that, of course he would let her get away with it.

"I want to take driver's ed," Violet announced.

She wouldn't be able to physically get her learner's permit until September because you had to be fifteen and a half but she wanted to start the process. Being able to drive would allow her mother some breathing room.

"I can sign you up as soon as we get home," Keeley said with a yawn. The massage was making her sleepy.

Good. Violet wanted to be more self-sufficient. She also wanted to be more useful to the ones she loved. Noah wasn't the only one who felt like he didn't do enough. Maybe if she was more useful she could convince them that she was enough, even if she did fail.

Maybe if she wasn't so needy Kaleb would want her around again. If she could do everything he used to do for her by herself…wouldn't he come back and be her best friend again?