As soon as I laid eyes on her, my entire mood shifted. She had walked out of her front door and I couldn't contain the smile on my face. I stood, leaning on my car as she walked toward me in her jeans and sweater. It wasn't a cold day, but it was chilly enough to need a jacket at least.

"Hi," I said, taking in a sharp breath when her eyes met mine. Violet is stunning. Her thin, tall frame walked over to me as I stared at her dark-as-night eyes. I was thankful she couldn't hear my thoughts anymore and that I had my powers back, but I wondered if the strange telepathic connection still existed. I hadn't heard a thing since I drove to Joseph's last night.

"What's the big emergency?" She asked, walking to the passenger side and tossing her backpack besides mine in the backseat of my car. Little did she know she wouldn't be needing it today.

"What emergency?" I asked as she walked back toward me and stood, crossing her arms.

"I'm not here for games Aaron." She said, a slight blush appearing as she looked away. Why'd you leave me yesterday?

I caught a glimpse of her thoughts, wishing I could hear more, but she made eye contact and once again, only my thoughts could be heard. I was mesmerized; I couldn't look away.

"Do you want to go for a drive?" I asked, reaching for the hair that had covered a part of her face.

"Not with everyone knowing what we look like from that video."

"It's been a week, nobody has asked questions about it and there are more important things in this town. I'm sorry about Ethan, I know you two were friends." I said, dropping my arms and then crossing them.

"I hope whoever did it ends up in jail forever." Violet said, glancing away for a second as a thought struck me. Bailey.

I couldn't agree more that it was probably Bailey. She was the only person there at the time of his murder, however, court and law and whatever say that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and well, Bailey hadn't been proven guilty yet. I would have to visit her at some point and see if she'd confess anything through my unique method.

"Let's get disguises if you're worried about people knowing who we are." I smirked as she laughed, rolling her eyes. She raised her eyebrows, a hint of a smile playing on her lips as she swayed from side to side.

"Where are we going? I thought you were picking me up for school. Also when were you planning on telling me that my headaches don't happen anymore." She tugged at her pony tail and I just stood there staring. If ever there was someone more beautiful than me, it was Violet. I might be a narcissist, but I know true beauty when I see it and Violet was the embodiment of that.

"I thought maybe you'd want to go somewhere cool. Get in loser, we can talk when we get there." I said, hopping into the drivers seat as I watched her walk around the car and sit in the passenger seat. Stunning.

I backed out of her driveway as she put on her seatbelt. Finally feeling at home since yesterday.

"So... how was your night?" She asked as I smiled internally. I was happy that she'd cared enough to ask because only God knows how alone I felt.

"I couldn't sleep. It was weird." I laughed, turning on the radio and letting it play in the background. "I missed you a lot." I said. "How was yours?"

She rolled her eyes and laughed, "Aaron, you know I'm not one for small talk. So, when are you going to tell me what happened to your fists?" I froze momentarily, wondering if I could come up with some excuse to touch her arm so the scrapes and cruises on my hand would disappear.

"You missed me that much, huh?" I laughed, ignoring her question as I continued to drive.

It was a short pause before she spoke again.

"Yeah, I did miss you. I couldn't sleep without your presence nearby." She glanced at me with a warm smile on her face, "don't let that get to your head."

"It's already there, Vy." I smirked, laughing. I missed being around Violet, there was never a dull moment.

We drove in silence for a couple minutes as the music played. I knew exactly where we were going, but I wanted it to be a surprise. I was nervous that if I started talking, I wouldn't be able to shut up and tell her where the surprise location was. I had a new-found tendency to ramble.

"So you're ditching today?" She asked.

"We are."

"Are you gonna tell me what happened yesterday?"

"No." I said, flashbacks of Joseph's bloodied face reeling in my mind, making my tighten my grip on the steering wheel.

"Please?"

"I... visited a friend." I said, looking at her as I saw her entire body turn and face the door. She wasn't happy with what I'd said, I could practically feel her overthinking it. "Look, I don't want to tell you because I don't want to upset you."

"Since when have you cared about upsetting me?" She scoffed, facing the window like it was the greatest thing on Earth.

"Well you seem mad already, so I don't want to add icing to that cupcake." I pressed the brakes as we came to a stop, reaching for her hand as she turned to face me. Within seconds, my knuckles were no longer blotchy and red; it was almost like I hadn't beat up Joseph.

"You left me with no explanation, I don't care, you can do what you want. I just want to know how you already knew that my headaches were gone because I thought you were nearby until I saw that your car was gone and I was fine." Feisty.

"I found out two weeks ago. I took a trip around the block to see if anything had changed and when I got back, you were fine and hadn't even noticed. I..." I took a long pause, feeling my palms get sweaty as I spoke, "I didn't want to tell you because I really like spending time with you Vy. I really like you." She turned again to face me as the light turned green and I had to return my attention to the road.

I wasn't sure if she would be flattered or upset. It was always an uncertainty around her.

"You confuse me." She said, "are we there yet?" She asked. I confuse her? How is that even possible?

*missing blurb*

please buy the book if you're able to:

https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Read-Minds-ebook/dp/B08RYV11F2/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=veronica+Soliman&qid=1609863783&sr=8-3

(Link will be available in the coming weeks)

(Link will be available in the coming weeks)