"All right, fair enough." Violet nodded at him, waiting for him to begin as she sat across from him, her hands unclasping so that she could once again grip Derek's tags for something resembling emotional support. He had been the most important person in her life besides her family for six years, and it helped a bit, to feel like she was close to him in this moment. At least, she thought it did, until he started telling the story. Fiddling with the chain, she half-smiled to herself as he told her how he and Derek had gotten close, and what a good man Rick though her fiance was. But then he looked down at his hands, and Violet knew that the worst part was approaching quickly.
Because he wasn't looking directly at her, Violet was able to watch the way his body tensed and released as he spoke, recounting the day that probably haunted him just as much as it haunted her, if not more. After all, he had been the one to live through it, whereas she had only found out days later. The names he mentioned were familiar to her - Derek had talked a lot about the men in his platoon in his letters. When he had introduced himself online, Violet had recognized the name, but had hoped against all hope that it wasn't the same person. Like most prayers she had said in the last year, however, it wasn't answered.
From the moment he mentioned the explosion in front of the caravan, Violet bit down on the inside of her bottom lip and closed her eyes, trying to will herself not to cry. Crying wouldn't do her any good. Though she was waiting for it, it hurt more than she could have possibly imagined to hear that Derek had been shot from behind. Unsure of whether or not that was his final moment, however, she looked up at Rick. Meeting his eyes caused her almost physical pain, though she was somehow able to keep the tears in her eyes from spilling over.
"If... if there's more, you can tell it. When you're ready," she said, knowing that if she was smart, she would have stopped there. But she had to know the rest of the story, difficult and painful though it was.