Choose Me

Chapter 62 Rewrite

"I don't want you to call me Warner anymore.

"I want you to know me, I don't want to be Warner with you. I want it to be different now. I want you to call me Aaron."

My world stops. My lungs contract and I don't think I can ever blink again. I don't know what to feel. Guilt or pure joy.

"Really?" I can't believe what I am hearing. He is handing me his heart and I can't think of anything else I'd rather hold in my hands.

"Yes, love, really." I've never seen a smile so wide on anyone in my entire life. I forget my guilt, my anger I once had toward him. I wrap my arm around his muscular shoulders and pull him down onto me our lips crashing together. I meet his fierce intensity, his hunger. I've never felt like this before, not even with Adam. I feel so perfect in this moment and would rather die than be anywhere else in the world. In this exact moment I could move a mountain if I wanted to.

"Aaron." The most beautiful word I have ever said, is breathed on his lips, almost not even audible. His breath hitches and he pulls back only slightly as he continues to leave kisses down my neck and across my jaw.

"Yes?" Grin in tact.

"I want to come with you." I don't think he is breathing anymore. I think I have paralyzed him.

"What, really?" Warner almost can't speak.

"I do, I really do you have no idea, but-" he sighs in deep disappointment and dips his forehead against mine. "I can't leave them. They need me-"

"I need you too," his voice is so gentle with hints of longing, like he already misses me. He begins placing kisses along my jaw line and it feels so good that it almost hurts.

"They are relying on me. But you could stay too..." I peck him on the lips and he softens.

"Juliette, you know I can't do that-"

"And why not," frustration seeps out of my voice.

"Because I don't belong here, and neither do you." His fingers graze my chin.

"What would our plan be? Where would we go? How would we survive?"

"I've figured all that out already, all you need to do is pack your things and trust me." I sit up as he tries so hard to persuade me.

"I have friends here. For the first time in my life, and I can't betray them. But I don't want you to leave either." My hand finds his in the darkness of the small room. We situate ourselves so we sit side by side on the bed, backs flush against the chilled wall, hands locked together, my heavy head resting on his shoulder.

"Listen, I know you want to leave tonight but if you stay tomorrow and help us fight, we might have a chance, this is the start of the rebellion. We need you."

He sighs, "I can't live here forever."

"Its not that bad down here, we get 3 square meals, plenty of training time and you could easily prove your value to Castle and everyone here-" he cuts me off by placing 2 of his finger on my bottom lip.

"I. Can't. Do. This."

"But why?"

"I don't hide from people, I face them-"

"Yes, but if I step foot on base your father will kill me," he stops talking and cringes a little at the thought.

"Please, one day. All I need from you is to stay one day, and if we win and you still want to leave we can." He meets my pleading eyes.

"Alright love, one day."

"Its perfect because we can be 'lost in battle' or something." I ponder our predicament.

"Juliette."

"Yes?" I refocus on his voice in the darkness.

"We need to get ready tonight. We need to sneak into the cafeteria and steal some food."

Well shit, now I really feel bad, taking their food and running off. I feel like a criminal.

"What's your plan?"

He explains that he knows of an astronomy tower in unregulated territory miles away and that he's had it stocked with survival supplies for months now. Apparently the food we will steal will only get us there, so we don't have to take very much, which eases my mind slightly.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks.

"I need to get my suit on first, I can't go strutting through the corridors in my pajamas. I am also not wearing pants, thanks to you, so that would be a problem." A chuckle shutters through him a I swear I could his cheeks pinken.

"Promise you won't look," I stand up and unfold my fresh, clean suit.

 He raises an eyebrow, "seriously?" 

"Yes." He reluctantly turns around until I zip up my suit and tell him we can leave.

Our plan has just begun...