Rules were made to break

Benches

Travis POV

When I got to the park, I jumped out of the car and moved fast.  I am worried about Violeta.  I saw a flash of her light brown hair and walked to her.

When I walked up, she didn't look at me.  I followed her eyes gaze and saw the engraving.  "Weather the storm together.  I forgot  that we did that," I spoke which drew her attention to me. 

"Follow me," Violeta stated as she got up and started walking along the path.  I didn't know where we were going but I didn't want to question it.

We walked for a while before I saw a no trespassing sign and watched Violeta walk under the chain that the sign was hanging on.  I hesitated.  "Rules were made to break, right Trav?" Violeta mocked.  I followed her. 

Violeta POV

When we were younger, Travis and I always used 'Rules were made to break' to justify our disregard for rules. But then again, we both used the fine print to our advantage which almost always led to us never being punished.

I sat down on the picnic table that sat at the top of a hill. From up here we could see most of Cleveland Heights, it was my favorite place to think. "VRK," Travis muttered tracing a hand over my initials carved into the picnic table.

"I used to come up here whenever I couldn't make a decision. I would sit here and just think about what would happen if I chose to do one thing over the other. I used to sit here and imagine all the ways that I could change the world but that was before I even knew what that meant," I explained my choice never taking my eyes off the view. I felt Travis sit down next to me.

"You have always been a high achieving person, Vi. I am not surprised that something so trivial would seem more like a distraction than what it really is," Travis replied. It took me a second to realize what he meant but when I did I looked at him. "It's motivation. You have always wanted to make the world better but you can't do that if you silence your voice," Travis continued after he locked eyes with me. I took a deep breath and turned my head back towards the city.

"I have never made a decision without thinking about what you or Jason would do in my position. How exactly is my voice going to make a change when I can't even decide trivial stuff?" I asked him. I knew that I was reaching and that he would have the perfect response but I had to at least try to show him that I didn't have a voice.

"Your voice is the most powerful out of the three of us. But in saying so, I know there is nothing I can say that will change your mind so at the very least, start answering your phone," Travis lightened the mood. It was getting dark so we decided to head back to the house.

I knew that my brothers were right but I didn't want them to be. They had to understand that I wasn't ready for all of that. I trained harder than I ever had before and eventually I was the best lacrosse player on my team. I trained everyday for as long as I could never once giving in to the tiredness or doubt in the back of my mind.

Lacrosse became my new bench. I would think about being a force to be reckoned with and making world records. Every second I spent on the field, it was like I was in my own world. I couldn't describe the feeling of playing the sport that I love even if I tried. But if I had to, it feels like I'm floating and winning even when we are losing.

Travis POV

After Violeta and I talked that night, she amped up her training. Every second of the day she was playing lacrosse, working out, or sleeping. Somehow, she still graduated with distinguished honors and she was the valedictorian of our class. I had never seen her so determined and so focused on one thing. For once, I saw her pick something for herself. She played lacrosse for one reason: she loved the game.

Growing up, she never really understood why Jason and I practiced so hard all the time. She played for fun and figured that we did too and that we were exhausting ourselves for no reason. I finally saw a fire light in her and it was an honor to get to watch it. She finally stepped into herself in the way that she wanted to and I knew that she would make history whether people were rooting for her or not.