Red

32

TRIS'S POV

Van continues to hold me tightly as he walks over to Bondy and the lads. "Hey, Lar," he says, getting the attention of Larry. He steps away from everyone else and walks over to us.

"I'm sure you've heard about Sam being missing by now. Do you mind staying here with Tris this time?" He asks. I felt ashamed, like I was being a burden. Larry probably wanted to go out looking, not sitting with me all night.

"Yeah, mate. Sure thing," he says. If he was upset with staying with me, he sure did a good job at hiding it.

"Thank you. Appreciate it," Van says. He gets down to my level and whispers to me. "Be Good for me, darlin. Listen to Larry. I'll be back before you know it. And so will Sam." He ruffles my hair before giving my hand to Larry.

Larry's hands were much softer than Van's, but somehow, they just weren't as comforting as Van's. "I'll see you two later," he says, looking at Larry and then me. He spend much more time looking at me than Larry and I don't know why. It's like he was hesitant about leaving me with someone else.

"Right, let's head back to the plane," Larry says.

"Ok," I say, though my eyes were still fixated on Van who was walking further and further away from us.

Larry chuckles. "Van'll be back. Promise ya," he says, noticing that my focus was on Van, not our conversation.

"No, I know," I say and shake my head, trying to push Van out of my head, even if it's just for a little while. I look back at Larry. "Let's go."

We start walking to the plane. He was still holding my hand and I felt like a child. "You don't have to hold my hand," I say, hoping maybe he'd listen to me and let go.

"Van told me not to let you go. Do you know how mad Van would be if I let you go off on your own?" Larry replies. Honestly, I should have known Van told him something like that.

"I'm not going to run off," I tell him, frustrated that Van isn't even giving me a chance. "What are you going to do? Hold my hand for hours until Van returns?"

Larry sighs. "Listen, lass. I'll let ya go on the plane. Promise me not to run off. Van would be worried sick if he came back and you were gone. He really likes being around you. I'm sure you know that by now," he tells me.

We approach the plane and walk on. It was hard to see the stairs in the dark, but I still managed to get up. "Everyone says that. Well, you and Bondy. But I don't get it. Why is he so mad all the time if he likes me? I feel like nothing I do pleases him," I admit, though I'm really not sure why I was telling him this. I'm just confused, I guess. At this point, I'd do anything for an answer. Even if it was wrong.

Larry let's go of my hand as he said he would. I would run off and go look for Sam, but Larry would catch me in no time. And then he'd really never let me go until Van arrived again. I have to wait until he falls asleep.

"Well, I'm not around you two when your together all that often, but I think that might be in your head. Believe me, I know Van. And Van wouldn't spend so much time around someone he didn't fancy," Larry tells me. I wasn't completely sure what he meant by 'fancy.' I think tolerate would have been a better word.

"Okay," I sigh. I take a seat in my area and Larry sits in the one across from me, which is usually Bondy's. I know he's just doing it so he can watch over me more easily. "Goodnight, Larry," I say.

"Night, Tris. Don't think about it too much. You won't be able to sleep if your minds preoccupied,"  Larry advises me. His back was leaned up against the wall of the plane.

"I won't," I assure him, but how could I not be preoccupied with bad thoughts. Mike wants to kidnap the girls, Sam's missing, Van's confusing, and Van's not here. Not to mention, we're stranded. I just don't think it's possible for me to dream of fairies and flowers at the moment.

//—————

It takes a while, probably two hours at least, before I hear Larry start to breathe heavily, signaling to me that he was asleep. He had to have thought I was asleep. I know he would never take his eyes off me if he had any doubts.

I stand up as quietly as I can, my heart pounding a thousand times a second, and make my way to the door. If Larry had caught me right now, he'd tell Van, without a doubt, and I would be stuck here, feeling anxious, until they came back. I had to find Sam before they could and bring him back here.

The air was cold and, I was thankful Van had forced me to wear his sweatpants. I had a short sleeve shirt on, but didn't want to risk waking Larry to go grab a hoodie.

I start walking toward the forest, which looked like pure blackness from where I was. I'm not sure where I'd be looking for Sam. I wasn't sure if he was lost or if he was hurt, and it only worried me more not knowing.

I decide to walk in a straight line so it would be easier for me to get back to the plane. The leaves crunch under my feet as I walk and I can only hope Van or Mike will not be able to hear me.

My hunt for Sam looks like it's going to be extremely unsuccessful. I've been walking for probably twenty minutes without seeing anyone at all, let alone Sam. If Van has already been out here for hours, what makes me think I can find him in any less time? I just wanted to prove to Van that I could be independent too.

I take a seat on the ground after my search continues for another thirty minutes. I lean up against a palm tree. The the leaves brushed together from the light breeze and when I looked up, I could see the moon shining through. The same moon that Van could see, that Sam could see. The same moon that I would have been looking at with Annabelle had the plane crash not happened.

My moment of rest quickly comes to an end when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I flinch at the unexpected touch and look over. Their face wasn't identifiable in the night, but I knew it wasn't Van or Sam. They would have said something by now.

I try to stand up but the person holds me down. "Who are you?" I try to ask confidently.

They only chuckle, not bothering to respond. "Let go of me," I say, my voice weak as I come to realize that this was either Mike or one of Mike's friends. Again, I try my best to shove the hand off of me, but it was no use. He was too strong.

"You don't want me to do that. You know I'll treat you well," he says mischievously. He pick me up under my arms and then carries my, both hands now under my bum. "You must be hot in these sweatpants, hmm?" He whispers in my ear. His beard stubble scratches the side of my face as he speaks.

"Put me down, please," I beg him, a whimper escaping my lips. I try wiggling to make his grip on me less secure, but nothing seems to be working.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'd treat you well, didn't I?" He tells me. I knew exactly what his intentions were, especially after the incident last night, and I immediately felt sick to my stomach.

My breathing starts to pick up and I wish Van was here to calm me down. He, for some reason, knew exactly how to do that. "Tell me what your name is, little girl," the man says. His fingers run under the waist of my sweatpants, making me gasp. "Tell me, or else I'll make this very unenjoyable for you," he says when I don't respond.

"T-tris," I stutter.

"Tris," he spits my name. "I'm Mike." I can tell he has a smirk on his face. He brings me down to the ground and I lay there stiff as a board as holds me down with one arm, the other exploring under my shirt.

"Get off," I say, refusing to let the tears that so badly threatened to spill from my eyes come out. I really should have stayed on the plane. Van was right, I shouldn't be left alone with people like Mike around.