"He's a murderer, Colby!!" I screamed and pulled at the door that he child locked. "Maybe he'll murder your mom. We could only hope." He said as I started crying.
"We can't leave them!" I sobbed. "They're gonna be okay, Julia. We have to go." Colby said and sped down the road, pushing something on the screen that was on the center console.
"Hello?" A man answered. "Will. Adam has been sighted. I'm coming to base, get ready." He said as my heart raced.
"Okay, boss. How long until you're here?" Will asked as I looked at Colby in a panic.
"Fifteen minutes." Colby said as he sped down the road.
Part of me was worried that he would get pulled over but he didn't seem too concerned.
"We'll be here." Will said then hung up. "Why can't he meet you here?! We can't just let them get murdered, Colby!" I said with so much dispair that even I found myself pathetic.
"Because you're with me. He can't know we're together." Colby said as I shook my head.
"Cats out of the bag, dumbass!! You rescued me from him and I'm not in Spokane. It doesn't take a fucking rocket scientist to figure out where I am!" I yelled as he groaned.
"Just trust me, Julia! Can't you just fucking trust me?!" He asked as I shook my head.
"I can't." I said as he sighed. "Well I'm not giving you any other option. Now shut the fuck up so I can focus." He said and weaved through traffic with perfection.
It was actually impressive how seamless he made driving recklessly look. I didn't once feel like we were going to crash and die.
When we got to base Colby quickly changed his license plate then opened my door.
"Come on, Julia. Get out of the car." He said as I shook my head. "I'm coming with." I said as he groaned.
"Every minute you sit here being stubborn is a minute that Adam is able to either get away or hurt your siblings." He snapped.
He had a point.
I knew that I was stubborn but I also knew that Colby was twice as stubborn.
I got out of the car then gestured for him to lead the way.
When we got downstairs he led me to a room with a long table and a bunch of chairs.
"Just sit in here. Don't talk to anyone. I'll be back to get you in a little bit." Colby said then turned to leave the room again.
"Wait! Do you have anything I can do? Like literally anything." I said as he sigh. "Wait here." He said then left.
I huffed out a breath then sat down at the table, tapping my fingers on it as I looked around the room.
I prayed that Colby would be able to find me something to do because I couldn't sit in this room without going crazy.
After a couple minutes Colby was coming back with two books.
One was the poetry book I always used to read, and the other was a coloring book Colby got for me years ago.
"You still have these?" I asked as he nodded. "Yeah." He said then turned to leave. "Please don't try to pull anything while I'm gone." He begged.
"I won't. Just protect them." I said as he nodded. "They'll be fine." He assured then left the room.
I frowned and looked at the books in my hands. There were so many forgotten memories tied to each of these books.
I was surprised Colby still had them.
I opened the coloring book, seeing things my past self colored. On one of the pages I wrote in the corner 'I love you' scribbled in blue crayon.
I remembered it was one day when I was sitting in Colby's office with him. He was working and was super stressed.
I wrote it and got his attention, showing him. I remembered how big his smile was when he read it.
My heart ached at the memory.
Most of my time with Colby was stressful. It was the little moments like that, that made it worth something.
I remembered when he would work late and come home. I would try to stay awake for him but would fall asleep.
I would wake up to him pulling me close and kissing my head.
Our love felt so real. It felt stable and although it was dangerous, it was like a flame you didn't mind burning yourself on.
It all came crashing down so fast, though. I would never forget the night I got the letter from Colby.
I screamed and sobbed in Sam's arms, begging for the pain to stop. I prayed to every God for it to be a joke.
I wanted him to walk into the room and pull me into his arms, telling me it was a dumb mistake.
It never happened though.
It took years for my heart to heal, but I always wished he would come back to save me from the life I was in.
Then the resentment hit.
I hated Colby for doing what he did. I went from praying that he would save me, to never wanting to see his face again.
The pain he brought me and my siblings wasn't worth the little moments and sweet gestures. He broke me more than I thought was possible.
But now here I was, sitting alone in his base with a coloring book that was four years old. A coloring book with more memories than I could count.
A coloring book that I thought would be thrown away like I was.
