The Runaway

Chapter 37

"Spin the bottle?" Aiden laughed at this. "Are you serious?"

Em held up an empty beer bottle from the ground and smirked. "You in or what?"

He sat up to leave but Riley pulled him back down. "This will be fun," she said. Riley took the bottle from Em and spun it on the ground. It pointed towards Colton. She gave him a devilish smile and asked, "Truth or dare?"

A look of terror flashed across his face before he answered, "Truth."

"As expected." She tapped her finger on her chin. "Okay, answer honestly." Her eyes shot at him fiercely. "Did you ever have a thing for Violet?"

Violet and Colton immediately froze in their spots. He turned beet red and looked away. "Um, I don't know what you mean by that."

Riley rolled her eyes and slid the bottle to him. "I knew you would say that."

He awkwardly took the bottle and spun it rapidly in silence, watching it closely as it twirled and landed on Violet. His eyes widened. "Uh, truth or dare?"

Violet stiffened and stared at the bottle nervously. "I guess...dare."

Em whistled loudly. "Atta girl."

"Make it a good one." Riley laughed.

They were all intently waiting for Aiden's dare but Colton's expression grew serious. He faced Violet and told her directly what he wanted her to do. "Go home."

Nobody spoke a word.

"What?" Violet questioned. Her eyes scanned his body language, hoping it was some kind of joke.

"Go home," he repeated, "Get away from all this."

Violet furrowed her brows, shocked by his wishes. Colette stood up abruptly. "Are you joking? She needs us, especially right now."

"I just want her to be safe," Colton argued. "This whole war thing is not a joke." He stood up as well, frustration seeping through his body. "We could all die here. Don't you get that? We don't have time for these stupid games."

Colette barked back at him. "If that's your concern, why don't we just all go home?"

"She's right. I thought we were all in this together," Violet asserted. "Look, I'm not human anymore remember? It doesn't matter where I go now."

"But I-" Colton started.

"You said it yourself. The old Colton is gone. Is it so hard to get it through your head that the old me is now gone too?" She was almost shouting now. "I'm not someone to protect anymore. You need all the help that you can get." She glared at him, anger bubbling inside her. "I've made it this far and I'm stuck like this. I'm not going home." Her eyes grew red and her heart beat quickened at an uncontrollable pace. "I-" She panted. "I don't need you to save me. I can save myself." She was about to continue until Aiden stopped her.

"Come with me," he said and grabbed her by the wrist. Soon they were gone, leaving Colton and the rest of the group speechless.

They all sat quietly, listening to the footsteps of Aiden and Violet fade away. Colton stared at the others in shame of his choice of words. He closed his eyes and started, "Listen, I didn't mean to upset anybody. I guess I'm just projecting my fear on the next few days." Tears formed in his eyes but he blinked them away. "I just can't stop thinking about any one of you dying. It's not just Violet; it's everyone." His body began to shake; it was like the weather turned ice cold. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I cared for you guys any less."

"Then why do you always act like you're protecting Violet?" Riley croaked, her voice breaking and eyes eager for an answer. "Why?"

It took him a moment to think about it before he finally came to a conclusion. "Because protecting her seemed like the only thing I had under control."