The Runaway

Chapter 2

Violet woke up with back pain and neck aches but she didn't really care. She would've chosen to stay at a motel but she needed to save money. She looked at her watch. 10 A.M. Good, it's not too late, she thought. Grabbing the duffel bag, she took off in search for payphone. Her parents probably notified the police by now, so she couldn't act suspicious on the streets anymore. She casually walked down a couple of blocks until there was finally a payphone for use. Violet tossed a few quarters into the coin slot and dialed the number from the slip of paper that she hid in her back pocket. Hopefully, he would pick up. Hopefully, he was alright.

His name was Colton Fall. She knew he was a year older and what his hobbies were, but nobody really knew his background. It wasn't a big deal since it was never a problem. They first met at the burger shack near her school where she accidentally spilled soda on him, but they strangely continued seeing each other out of the blue. She soon found out that he went to the same school as her, which was what strengthened their friendship. He was the one who introduced her to Franny and Joe, and Violet felt attracted to him. In fact, everyone did. He was handsome with his dark hair and light eyes, but it wasn't his looks that truly got Violet's attention. No, it was much more than that. He was there for her whenever her world seemed to fall apart. When her parents forced her to give up on art school, when they gave away her cat, or whenever she was locked in a room for punishment, he managed to reach out to her. Colton would sneak her out often which was why she was so used to it. They would roam the streets and just talk about random things. They almost got caught a couple of times, but they ran and laughed their way out of trouble. It was the most fun she had in a long time but eventually that happiness soon disintegrated. Colton was only there for a year and at the end of July, he suddenly told her he had to move. He handed her the slip of paper with his phone number and told her to call him only if she desperately needed to. She could recall how weak and pale he looked that night. There was no proper explanation for his disappearance and that worried her. She cried, wishing she told him how she felt about him but it was too late. Franny and Joe didn't know where he was. No one did.

Fast forward a year later, and here she was. The actual purpose she was fleeing was because she was going to find him. It definitely sounded crazy  but she already made up her mind. She felt suspicious after receiving a call from him earlier this month. Colton accidentally dialed her saying he was in danger, but when he realized who he called, he hung up immediately before she could say anything. It brought her to tears because he didn't want to speak with her, but the thought of him in danger was too much to handle. That was when she decided on her journey. Violet was going to find him.

Her hands were shaking when the phone started to transfer the call. Would he pick up? If he knew it was her, would he hang up again like last time? Her fingers tightened on the phone when she finally heard his voice.

"Hello?" a deep voice spoke. Her heart stopped. It was him. It was really him, yet she couldn't speak. She didn't know what to say.

"Is anyone there?" he asked.

"Colton," she barely whispered. Her palms were starting to sweat.

"Who's this?"

She paused before saying, "Violet."  It was scary wondering what he was going to say next.

There was a long silence. "Is there an emergency? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are you in danger?" she blurted out.

Another pause. "No, I'm fine. What about you?"

Violet was breathless. Was he really alright? "Colton, where are you?" she said, ignoring his question.

"Why? You're not trying to find me, are you?" he said harshly.

"I'm already halfway out of this city," Violet said. Why did he not want to talk to her?

"I'm in Oregon," he finally revealed, "but you're not going to be able to find me, Violet. Don't even try."

Oregon was really far from New York, the city she was currently in. It was across the whole country, but hell, she was willing to travel if that meant she would be farther away from home. "I want to do this out of my own will."

There was a sigh in the other end. "I'm sorry but it's not safe here. You wouldn't understand. Please, just save yourself some time and go home."

No way was she turning back now. Her parents would kill her if she came back. "I'm not going back. I already made up my mind. What city are you in?"

"Forget it. I'm not telling you anymore than I have to," he replied.

She wasn't giving up. Violet was almost about to beg until someone in the background yelled, "Colton, we're going Downtown. Grab the guns!" Her jaw dropped. Guns? What the hell was he doing over there? Before she could ask, he already hung up.

Downtown. It had to be Portland, Oregon. It's known that Portland is a main part of the state, so she was sure that he was there. Violet decided to make her second stop at a library to research routes for Oregon. As she was walking, she couldn't help but think about him. There was definitely a change in him. After a while of wandering, a library was nowhere to be found. In the need of directions, she grabbed out a cap from her bag and pulled it down her hair until her eyes were covered. Going store to store, she finally found the way to the nearest public library.

The library was huge and clean compared to the rest of the area around it. It was fast to find the computers and print out directions so she was out of there in just a few minutes. It also wasn't hard to find a bus, but she wondered if it would be possible to bus all the way to Oregon. Whatever it took, Violet would do whatever she had to.