[ 4 ]
Violet and Ruby were sent off to school, and their father left the house for work that morning after saying goodbye to Indigo, none of them knowing when they would see him again. But they preferred to not see him and know he was safe, than never seeing him again and knowing the army had him. Their mother would stay behind, as was usual, so as not to arouse suspicion in the security cameras on the streets. Then she would lead her son out the back yard and into the forest where there was no security. The king was always watching, but he didn't much care for whatever went down in the forest. She knew the way to a secret passage in the forest which led to the underground.
The two sisters arrived on campus with minutes to spare and Ruby went past the red painted metal gates that led up to the red school building. Violet stared at the purple painted gates on her side of the entrance, not wanting to go inside. For one, she wanted to know that her brother was safe and she would never be able to concentrate on her lessons anyway. But she also didn't want to skip out on school that day because she knew Dieter would be waiting by the docks and she wasn't ready to face him.
How could she use him for her own selfish gains? Marry him to get out of the army. But she had seen what it did to her brother. He was a shell of his former self. It was like the light in his eyes, the determination had died. He was still Indigo Raine, but at the same time, he wasn't.
In the end she opted for skipping school, but she would not go to the docks where Dieter was no doubt already waiting for her. She found a different quiet and secluded place and was alone with her thoughts until it was time to return to the school to pick up Ruby.
As she walked up to the school, Dieter was just jogging up, after the afternoon bell had already rung. He had probably waited for her even after the time which they normally left the docks, hoping that she would eventually show up. But when she never did, he raced back to the school to meet up with his siblings before they could realize he had skipped school. He ran up tiredly, doubling over and panting by her side. Once he was finally able to compose himself, he immediately asked her the question she knew he would ask her. "Where were you all day? I was waiting by the docks and you never came." His lower lip jutted out into a pout, and it triggered flashbacks of when they first met at her house. They were both fifteen and he had boyish round features in his face. Noe his face had changed, his features more sharp, and he was quite handsome.
She tried to play it off without offering too many details. "I had some issues at home." She said with a shrug.
He then asked her another question, one that made her flinch as she hadn't thought about it all night. "So..." He asked in a hopeful tone. "Did you think about what I told you?"
She had been too busy after his brother's attack and the handsome stranger who saved her and walked her home. Then there was the fact that her brother had left the army and they were probably looking for him. The last thing on her mind was Dieter Park's proposal to save her from having to suffer her brother's same fate.
Before she could answer, Dieter's older brother Finn walked up. The nineteen year old had a black eye and avoided Violet's gaze at all costs. A thought immediately came into her mind--the stranger from the forest talked as though he knew Violet. Perhaps after he dropped her off at her house, he went back to the forest to find Finn Park and gave him that shiner. That was exactly what had happened. The brunette boy had walked back to the forest and waited for Finn to wake up. When he did, he grabbed him by the material of his shirt and slammed his back against a tree trunk mercilessly. Finn had winced, confused as to what had happened. But he soon remembered when the dark eyed boy heaved a warning through clenched jaw.
"You'd better not ever put your hands on Violet Raine again, or I'll personally come back and skin you alive." He warned, his words so serious that they sent a chill down Finn's spine. His brown eyes were even darker in the limited light of the forest. It was enough to make Finn's skin crawl.
