Choose Me

Chapter 63 rewrite

I crack open the door and peer into the pitch black hall way. Its completely empty and I hear no footsteps in the distance.

"All clear," I whisper to Warner who is waiting anxiously behind me. We break out into a silent corridor, as we begin our brisk walk to the cafeteria. Luckily the door is unlocked so we can sneak inside and place a day's worth of food into a duffle bag that Warner "found."

I am the look out, Warner scowers the kitchen for nonperishable meals for the road.

On the rare occasion I hear footsteps, I sniffle, which signals to Warner to stop moving and stay hidden. He resumes when I sniffle again. Soon he is finished and we plan to go to our separate rooms and meet early tomorrow, When I hear my name being whisper, and not by Warner. We both look at each other in panic before he slides into the kitchen, hiding under the counter as I open the door to see Adam still searching for me. When he meets my eyes, he dashes for me, cupping my face in his hands. I mean to push him outside of the cafeteria to give Warner an escape, but he pushes me farther inside.

"I have been looking everywhere for you."

"Really?" I say trying to conceal the shakiness in my voice.

"Yes, I walked by Warner's room after I put James to bed, and he wasn't in there. So I assumed he was looking for you, did you see him?"

There are so many ways I could answer that. Yes Adam, he wants me to leave with him tomorrow and he's in the kitchen now. Or I could say, Yes Adam, he kissed me and I didn't stop him.

But I finally settle on, "no, I haven't."

He pulls me into a gentle hug.

"Good, because you can't trust him," he pulls back, hands still tightly gripped onto my shoulders. "He only wants you as his weapon and will do anything to take you away. I promise I won't ever let that happen."

I nod nervously, knowing that Warner behind me in the kitchen can hear every word we are saying.

Adam looks around the room for a second and brings his eyebrows together.

"Juliette, why were you in here. Are you alone?"

"Yes, I just need to walk and I came here," I lie.

"Well you should be careful, Warner hasn't stop looking for you and I just want to smash in his face in." He tenses and I think he forgets I'm here.

"Adam," this seems to recenter him, "it's going to be okay."

"I know, I promise I will make this work." He is so close, my face almost buried in his chest. Adam's hands snake down my figure and traces patterns on my covered thighs. My breath hitches and I hear a small shift in the kitchen.

I grab his wrists and pull them away from me slightly.

"Adam we can't-" He twists his wrists so now he is holding my hands.

"I will find a way, I promise you. One day, we can have that normal life we always wanted. Just you me and James. Just like we planned back at base."

I just look at him, feeling incredibly guilty for what I'm about to do to him tomorrow. I try to change the subject, "why were you coming to look for me?"

"Like I said, Warner's loose, and I don't trust him and since Sara and Sonya are away with Kenji. I wanted to sleep in your room, if that would be okay." I choke on my own saliva masking the sound of another shift in the kitchen.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," I say.

"I want to be sure you're safe."

"I know you do, but I promise I'll lock my door and let you know if he comes to see me." He nods and pulls me so close to him that I can hear his heart beat.

"Can I walk back to your room?" He says after a beat of silence.

"No, there are still things I need to think about, by myself."

"Okay, I will see you tomorrow." I nod now and the door lightly shuts behind him.

I sniffle and Warner pops up behind the counter. "You laid it on a little thick."

"I had to act normal." I rebut

"That's normal?"

"Shut up." I slap his shoulder and he chuckles at me.

He thrusts a duffle bag into my hand and lean over into its weight. "How much food did you put in this thing?"

"That's not all food, love, I have also taken the liberty of providing us with guns, medicine, and toilet paper, for our escape." A slight smile of pride haunts his face.

"Let's go to our rooms, we need some sleep."

"Okay I will see you tomorrow." He heads for the door.

"Aaron," I whisper.

He stops, spins around after a second.

"Does doing this make me a bad person?"

"Running away with me?" I nod. "Is this the right decision for you, is this something you personally need to do?"

I pause think about his question, "I think so, I don't know."

"Well, if you are having doubts, it's not to late to reconsider." He breathes a very shaky breath. "However, I truly hope you will not," and leaves without another word.