The Runaway

Chapter Four

Bentley P.O.V

"No dude, you can't really think I will have you take my room while I'm away for college. When I come back to visit I'm going to want to have MY own room to stay in." I continue to walk in circles as I roll my eyes at my brother's 'bullet points' as he says, to still try and get my room.

"Seriously Eric, no." I laugh, kicking my shoes under my bed.

He mumbles back a fine and tells me he has to go eat dinner. We hang up quickly while I rummage through my carry-on bag to find my book. My brown hair hasn't stopped falling into my eyes since I woke up this morning for my flight here. I find a bandana in the side pocket and lazily tie it around my head. I toss myself onto my bed and flip to my marked page that I was forced to end at. I finally begin my reading as my phone goes off next to me. A text from my mom pops up telling me she misses me already and is counting down the days to see me again. I type a quick text saying I miss her too and it should go by quickly. 

I toss my phone back to where it was laying and grab ahold of my book once again hoping I'll finally be able to read in peace. I sigh as I lazily get comfortable focusing my eyes on where I was last cut off. The door to my dorm swings open with a shirtless Jonah striding in with a smirk. 

"Dude you're not going to believe it. I think I found my soulmate down at the showers." 

I raise my eyebrows as I slowly look his way. I fold my page down once again and close my book with my tenth sigh today.

Crossing my arms behind my head, I can't help but ask "Yeah? Who's the lucky gal?" I chuckle as he throws on a green tee-shirt with the school logo on it. GO DUCKS!  

"She was kind of freaking out from something so I just wrapped my towel around her and helped her get up from the floor to a bench. So, she still has my towel which means she's going to have to find me and return it back to me, which gives me the chance to ask her out on a date." 

"Or you'll never get the towel back because she just got an extra towel for free." Shrugging my shoulders I grab some clothes I just put away. I gotta get out of these clothes. They smell like the airport and I'm starting to feel a headache come on from it. 

I ended up grabbing some black sweats with a casual white tee-shirt that are both probably from Target. I toss my jeans and hoodie into my basket that's set up in my small closest and toss my carry-on bag to the floor. 

"I know we just met, but damn dude don't be such a buzzkill for me trying to catch a woman," Jonah huffs as he starts tying up his Vans. 

"I'm just giving you shit man. I bet you will happily get a date with this "shower girl" you're not shutting up about." I laugh as he ends up with a massive smile on his face. 

"Ahh see, you're not a bad new roomie after all. I'll be back later tonight, bye Ben." 

With a wave and a slam of the dorm room door, he was gone and I was back to being alone, bored, and hungry. It's already 7:30 pm and the last time I actually ate something was my mom's eggs and toast. I slip on my black slip-on Vans and grab my wallet. I can't really remember which way was the vending machine but I'm pretty much one of the only new students that didn't go out to the welcoming party, so I shouldn't make a fool out of myself looking for it. 

I start walking down the hall as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I look at the screen to see it's some of my friends back home sending me Snapchat's. I'm not ready to watch these right now. I miss them but I know that they're not what you call real friends. They didn't mind at all that I chose to leave that small town to build a real-life for myself. 

It's not like I'm running away from anything, it's just that I looked at what my future would be if I stayed and honestly, I didn't like the outcome. I'm ready to build a career at something I'm good at. Music is my dream and creations of productions for other musicians to use too. Back home that wasn't real to anyone. It wouldn't get me anywhere because a real job is owning a shop to fix your town's cars or farming after other generations in your family. 

The vending machine only has a few things that actually seem pleasing. Flaming hot Cheetos, Snickers, doughnut holes, and then water in the Dasani vending machine. I shove a few dollars in and push in the buttons for my terrible dinner to drop to the bottom. 

"Um, excuse me, I just need to grab a water past you," a small voice calls out behind me.

"Oh, shit, my bad," I curse as I turn to look in their direction. My snickers and Cheetos fall to the ground as the doughnut holes slowly inch out.    

A small brunette is gazing up at me as I move to the side. She's wearing a dark blue tee-shirt that looks as if it could be a dress on her. Her hair looks damp as it falls over her shoulders and down her back. She has those tight workout pants, my mom can't go a day without wearing a pair of those, and casual white slip-on Vans. 

I turn my gaze away quickly as she walks up towards the vending machine to chose what drink to get. My doughnut holes finally fall to the bottom and I quickly grab them already holding my water I got moments before she walked up. She probably thinks I'm a creep for how long I just stared at her. Her drink falls down to the bottom and she reaches to grab it. I notice how familiar her complexion actually looks the more glances I take. 

"Do I, do I know you from somewhere?" I ask slowly as her gaze finally matches mine.

I watch her actions freeze at my question and my curiosity gets the best of me as I scan over her face. I didn't realize how much taller I am than her as I have to look down on her. She probably feels cornered by my height. I take a step back to give her some breathing room away from my over towering body. 

"No probably not. I'm not from here; I should probably head back I have some studying to do of the campus so I don't end getting lost on my first day tomorrow." With a forced laugh that sounds like a cough instead, she turns on her heel quickly and her hair swings wildly as she walks quickly down the hall.

She looks so familiar... I swear I've seen eyes like hers. The hard crystal blue with specks of green all around. I'm probably just looking too much into it. There's no way I could know anyone from here. I'm from Mable Falls, Texas, there can't be two people running away from that small town. 

I shake my head and walk back to my room slowly. If I didn't make a fool of myself earlier, I probably did three minutes ago with the vending machine girl.