The Runaway

Chapter 30

She shook her head in disappointment. It felt wrong, yet she felt a tad bit relieved. They were finally going to sleep on a mattress. "Whatever. Let's just go." Violet crinkled the chips with her fingers and thought to save them for later.

The motel was small. No, small didn't describe it enough. The place was extremely tight to the point where Violet had to open the windows for air.  She was alone for a while since Aiden left to go buy some things, so she made it her mission to steal the bathroom before he got back.  Waiting for the hot water to fill the tub, she analyzed herself from the mirror. There was still the usual dark haired, skinny figure staring back at her, but something was different.  Was she overthinking it? Violet turned off the water and entered the tub, wincing as she was engulfed by heat. Observing herself made her realize she appeared older. Time had passed and she was still stuck here. How much longer? With a sigh, Violet closed her eyes. Maybe forever, she thought.

"I'm back," Aiden announced, throwing more items onto their bed while wearing a new shirt and yes, there was only one bed but that was the cheapest option.

Violet made a face at the baggy, white long-sleeve and leggings resting over the instant ramen and toothbrushes.

"I know the clothes are a bit large but  it was all I could find," he explained, "I thought maybe we could use some new clothes after all this time."

She nodded in agreement and thanked him before changing into her new outfit. When she re-entered the room, he was already making ramen for the both of them.

"That smells good," she mumbled after sniffing the air. Her stomach let out a huge growl. They chuckled and then stared at each other for a second. She still couldn't fathom the fact that she was okay with Aiden, the person she feared and hated since the beginning.

His eyes shifted to the single bed behind them. "I call dibs on the floor."

Half an hour later they were sitting on the bed together eating cup noodles and watching television, which they rarely did. Aiden stuffed his face with noodles and slurped it loudly causing Violet to scoot away.

"Hey quiet down, I'm trying to watch T.V. here," she said.

He didn't respond until the entire cup went empty. "Ah, that was delicious." He focused on the screen ahead of them and raised his eyebrows. "Why are we on Disney Channel?"

Violet shrugged. "Why not?"

"This is trash," he mumbled, squinting at the show. "I don't even recognize any of these new actors."

She tossed him the remote control, which ended up hitting his face by accident. "Oops, sorry. You can switch the channel."

"Ow." He rubbed his forehead and began searching through channels. A cooking show popped up but then it went to random cartoons, and finally he paused to view the news.

A man in a suit was announcing the forecast rapidly. "The weather for tomorrow will be forty-five degrees with a small chance of rain...and now for more news, let's take it back to Sharon," said the weatherman.

A lady named Sharon appeared and a picture of a house on fire was to her upper right. She spoke with a clear voice. "A family of five woke up to their house burning, but have yet to find the cause. Police are currently investigating to see if a criminal was involved. More information will be available soon." She brought up other reports before commercials interrupted her shortly after.