The Runaway

Chapter 36

"Hey," Aiden murmured when she closed the car door.

She forced a smile at him. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

She sighed. "Terrible. I don't want to think about anything right now."

"Then don't," he said, "Just focus on this moment right here right now." He played the radio and a corny song blasted loudly. For a split second, Aiden caught a grin on Violet's face to the ridiculous beat and he found himself at ease.

They drove around until they found an open space that seemed best for the rendezvous. Honestly, it felt just like any other region in the woods that Violet's been to but she trusted it since it was Colton's decision. There were the typical green pine trees, rocks and insects, but the place's only specialty was the glistening river and live fish near their parked automobiles.

"We might as well throw Victor in the river," Riley suggested.

Em laughed. "It won't be that easy." 

Colton cleared his throat. "Focus, guys. We need to memorize the nature of this location so when it's time for the real thing, we'll be prepared."

With that, they split into two groups and explored the new zone until they covered every single inch of it. By the time they were finished, it was midnight and Phoebe had already went home. Instead of returning to the building, they decided to camp out and lit a large fire by the river. Everyone was seated under the starry sky, taking in the beautiful view.

Colette was the first one to speak. "This reminds me of the camp I went to back in elementary school." Her head fell on Delsin's shoulder and he pulled her in an embrace.

"I love you," he whispered to her and she giggled.

Riley made a gagging face. "Yuck, get a room you two."

Aiden scoffed and began clapping. "I can't believe that just came out of your mouth."

"What do you mean?" Riley asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Come on. We all know how you were with Colton. I couldn't even stand sitting next to you guys at the time. It was disgusting."

She blushed and shouted at him, "Shut up!"

Colton laughed nervously and looked at the ground. "I mean he isn't wrong, to be honest."

Riley's face grew more red and everyone laughed, except for Violet. Colton noticed this and asked her, "Are you okay?" Everyone's attention turned to Violet for a response.

She slightly shrugged and stared off into space. "I don't know. I just want to be normal again." A picture of the lady she fed from formed in her head, causing her to flinch.

The group fell to silence as they could all relate to her feelings. "Me too," Em said, "I think we all want to be normal again." Everybody nodded in agreement.

"Definitely. You're not alone in this," Aiden stated, staring straight at Violet. His words distracted her train of thoughts and she stared back at him.

Colton chimed in. "Everything was so different before. I feel like who I am now is the opposite of who I used to be."

"It's true," Violet said, surprising everyone. "I noticed it when we first met again." She remembered the moment they finally locked eyes after all the years of waiting and the hurt that overwhelmed her when she realized he was almost a stranger to her.

The fire cackled in front of them, shining in their eyes as they sat patiently for Violet to uncover more details on Colton's past.

"We were so happy and careless back then. Sneaking out late and all the secret sleepovers with Franny and Joe." She smiled at him. "I remember how popular you were at school, yet you seemed so clueless to it. No matter how many people were by your side, you always chose to talk to me." She almost started to tear up. "You were my best friend, Colt."

Colton gazed at her with a look of admiration. Her words dug deep into his head and lured out an old side of him he forgot existed. The memories they shared together came flowing back in an instant, like a warmness in cold air. "You were mine too," he mumbled. "You still are."

"I'm curious," Riley interrupted the moment, "who Violet was before all this."

"Guess." Violet threw her hands in the air. "Go crazy with the assumptions."

With a smirk, Riley replied, "Okay then. I'm guessing you probably came from a wealthy family and lived decently. You were that one kid who got straight A's and never skipped class."

Em laughed and shook her head. "Nah. I think she came from an average background considering how humble she was when I first met her on the road. I do agree with the straight A's part though."

"Riley's right," Violet said, "well, half right." She went on to explain to them about her parents' strict rules and the minimal freedom she had back home. "For some reason, they kept me isolated a lot of the times. That's why I ended up sneaking around a lot. As for the grades part...I was okay but definitely not the best. My parents discouraged me from attending art school so I kind of just quit trying at one point."

Riley made a face of discomfort. "Yikes, family issues."

"What about you? Who were you back then?" Violet scoffed, "Let me guess. Cheerleader? Junkie? Attended detention every week?" For once, she was actually conversing with Riley which was unbelievable.

"Check, check, and check! Los Angeles was amazing. Great food. Great drinks. Great time." The wind swept through her red waves. "Family wasn't around much so I did whatever I wanted. Friends came and went but I still miss everyone there even though I'm sure they forgot about me already." She sighed. "Whatever."

Delsin stood up randomly and screamed, causing everyone to jump off their feet.

"What the hell Delsin?" Colette screamed back at him.

He laughed and sat down again. "I'm tired of all this depressing energy. I needed to clear the atmosphere."

Aiden glared at him and sat back down. "By screaming? That wasn't even that depressing man. What happy life did you come from?" He paused a bit and tried to think. "Actually, you've never really told us about you."

He smiled at Aiden and held three fingers up in the air. "Three things." He closed his eyes as he listed, "Family, alcohol, and laughter."

Aiden raised his eyebrows. "Those all sound good to me."

He shrugged and smiled contently. "Make up your own story about me," Delsin announced, "The past is the past. I don't feel like explaining it."

"Since we're related, I'm just going to roll with that," Em declared.

"Honestly same here," Colette blurted, "I was basically the nerd at school. My life consisted of studying and that was it. Nothing much to say."

The only person who hadn't said a thing was Aiden and now all eyes were on him, eager for an interesting story. Instead of telling them anything, he grunted and said, "Let's move on."

"Okay, how about we play spin the bottle?" Em suggested.