On the Run [a.i. au]

07. Mistletoe

Thalia's POV

Mystery, it's a funny thing.

In books, there's always an element or aspect of the plot that draws you in, that draws you to dig deeper and find more. It's what makes them interesting.

In life, you come across people like that. Something about them intrigues you so much that feel almost as if you'll die if they don't tell you everything. You want to indulge yourself in every secret, every embarrassing moment, every reason why they do the things they do.

Right now, I'm feeling this more than I ever have. That's saying something, considering the fact that I read the whole Heroes of Olympus series. The ending still infuriates me.

I grunt with discontent as the mysterious boy I intend to solve looks at me sharply. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I lie. "Just... that time of the month, ya know?" That wasn't a lie, but I'm not going to tell him that he's stressing me out to no end. I've only known him for about three weeks, what am I expecting?

His nose wrinkles. "I see. We'll find a drugstore as soon as we can get into a town. Can you make it that long?"

I nod. He turns his head back to the landscape in front of us. On the left of us, you can see the Great Victoria Desert, which is probably overtaken with pythons and other creatures that I would rather not come into contact with. Ahead of us is the Nullarbor Plain, which signals that we're probably a day or two away from South Australia.

Knowing how far away I truly am from home in probably six weeks is crazy. I think Christmas is coming, if it hasn't already. I lost track of days long ago. The last date I remember is the day we stayed at Caspar's which was November 17th.

Ashton hasn't talked much about his ex-stepbrother since we left his home. Anytime I bring it up, Ashton tenses up and tells me the same thing, "We can talk about it later."

Well, it's later.

"Ashton?" I ask shyly.

He reaches into my rucksack and pulls out a bottle of water to take a sip. "Yeah, Tally?"

A strange feeling washes over me as he uses the new nickname, but I ignore it. 

"Do you ever plan on calling Caspar?"

As I predicted, he tenses up. "We can talk about it later, Thalia."

He starts to walk faster, and I have to jog to keep up with his long legs. Thankfully, my ankle is healed.

"You keep saying that, Ashton! It's later, much later! Why can't you stop being so secretive for two seconds?" I instantly regret saying the last sentence.

He stops and turns around, his jaw clenched.

"There's so much that you don't know for a reason. It's so much safer for you if you don't know much at all. God, why do you have to be so damn irritating?" he snarls.

"I'm being irritating? Are you fucking kidding me? I didn't ask for you to come with me, you brought that upon yourself!" I yell as I walk toward him.

He walks toward me, and we're toe-to-toe. Our noses would be touching if he wasn't so much taller than me. Our chests are pressed together.

"You would be dead if it weren't for me!" he spits. The look in his hazel eyes his dark, and almost dangerous. It's honestly scaring me. I say nothing.

"You owe me your life, Thalia Moore! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even fucking be here! Your attempt to run away from your family would've been a fucking failure, and my trail from Stone Skull would've been erased permenantly!"