Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 486: The Way A Man In Love Should Act

Kaleb patted his twin's good knee and smiled wryly. "It's obvious how much you care about Noah. You've never tried thinking of him as a man before…how would you know it's impossible if you haven't tried?"

Think of Noah as a man? How could Violet even try to do that when she was dating someone else? Someone she liked?

"What about Jeremy?" she asked.

"What about him? He's not that great. Haven't you always worried about not being perfect enough in front of a boyfriend and letting him see the real you? You wouldn't have to worry about that with Noah because he already thinks the world of you," Kaleb said with a shrug.

She hadn't realized her brother disliked Jeremy. Once his overprotective big brother instinct faded a bit he had been perfectly cordial to him.

"I thought you were okay with him."

His face hardened. "I'm not okay with someone who doesn't answer his girlfriend's emergency call or make more of an effort to get in contact with her afterwards. He sent you what, one text?"

Violet nodded. It really had been quite disappointing. She had left him a voicemail mentioning she hurt her knee and needed a ride to the ER and he didn't get back to her until hours later. His message simply said 'you okay?' and left it at that.

"Even if I disregard that…he seems insincere somehow. He doesn't act the way in man in love should act," her twin explained.

She tilted her head, confused. "How should a man in love act?"

"Like the woman with him is the most important one in the world," Kaleb said with a tinge of bitterness in his tone. "I didn't do that and it's why I got dumped. I should have cared about her needs more. Just like Jeremy should be caring for yours."

So Violet had been right. His breakup really had bothered him despite his casual attitude about it. But she had to admit he had a point about Jeremy. He did a lot of romantic gestures on the surface but when it came down to the wire he didn't back it up by being there for her.

Noah had come to her aid despite not talking to her for weeks just because she needed help. That was how a man in love should act, according to her brother. She honestly didn't know what to think.

"It was only this one time," she said uneasily. "I'll wait to hear his explanation before I pass judgment."

Kaleb looked at her seriously. "It's your call. But I want you to think about who you would choose if a choice had to be made. I'll go get you that snack now. How does some doughnuts from that shop a block away sound?"

"That sounds amazing. Thanks, Kal."

Once he was gone Violet pondered his parting question more seriously. Noah didn't ask her to choose. He only said he needed some space to try and get over his feelings since she was dating someone seriously. She was the one who had thought about making a choice.

He cared about her too much to ask her to give up someone she liked for him. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed. He really was such a good friend.

===

Jeremy had been doing his best to pick up Aaron's slack while he was out of town. He wanted to show up the vice president and prove that he was more capable in the role of future CEO.

As a result, he ended up working late on a Friday night with his phone on airplane mode so he wouldn't be disturbed. Violet was going to be at her show until late anyway so it wasn't like he needed to be contactable. It would be fine.

Or so he thought. When he finally stopped burning the midnight oil and bothered to check his phone, he had a voicemail from his girlfriend.

It was late and he was exhausted so he didn't bother to check it. He simply sent a text asking if she was alright and went to bed. He didn't listen to the voicemail and find out she was hurt until morning.

Of course Jeremy called her immediately after that and promised to come over to visit her but he needed to finish some of this paperwork first. Based on how calmly she spoke in the voicemail it couldn't be that serious.

By the time he finally made it over to her place he picked up some flowers on the way. Hopefully that would improve her mood so she would forgive him for being busy last night.

He ran into Kaleb carrying a pastry bag in the lobby. The other man, who had been cordial enough to him on Thanksgiving, was shooting daggers out of his eyes.

"Look who finally decided to show up," he said sarcastically. "I bet you didn't even know your girlfriend was in the hospital overnight and needs surgery on Monday."

Jeremy blinked in shock. It was that serious? But she hadn't even sounded like she was in pain in the voicemail! Then was the pastry bag for Violet? She normally couldn't eat sweet, fatty foods like that because of her dancer's diet.

If she was eating junk now it must be pretty bad. He might be in bigger trouble than he anticipated. She loved to dance; this probably really upset her and he hadn't been there.

"I can't know what she doesn't tell me," he said lightly before following Kaleb into the elevator.

When Jeremy found Violet she was on the Hales' obscenely large couch looking thoroughly disheveled. Her hair was down for once and she wasn't wearing any makeup. Plus she was unexpectedly wearing a matching pair of Mickey Mouse pajamas.

She looked up at him dully and barely managed to smile when she saw the flowers. "Thanks. I'll get Kaleb to find a vase for them later since I can't exactly move."

"What happened to you?" he asked sympathetically.

"I tore a meniscus in my right knee and it needs to be operated on. After that I'll have to do three to six months of physical therapy before I can dance again if at all."

Yikes. Violet didn't sound terribly optimistic either. It was as if she had already given up. His heart twisted seeing such a graceful, elegant woman reduced to this. This wasn't like the Violet Hale he knew at all.

Jeremy sat down on the couch next to her and gestured for her to lean against his chest. She complied and closed her eyes, looking sad and defeated. He didn't like it one bit.

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