Red

59

Van puts me down and takes a seat around the fire with everyone else. "C'mere, love. Come sit down," he says, looking up at me and leaning back on his hands.

And I do. I take a seat right next to him and he laughs. I bite the inside of my cheek and look over at him with a sheepish smile, not completely sure what I did to make him laugh.

"I meant on my lap, silly. Gonna get yourself all sandy now, aren't ya?" He says, the grin still plastered on his face which made me want to look away, but I forced myself to keep my eye contact with him this time.

"Oh, right," I nod my head. I crawl into his lap, moving around until I'm comfortable. And when Van wraps his arms around my waist, I lean back with my back pressed to his chest, and he rests his chin on the top of my head.

I glance around the fire, seeing everyone having their own conversations in little groups. But something felt off, something didn't seem right.

It was Sam.

He was sitting on the other side of the fire with Benji and Bob, but he was looking at me every once in a while. And his look was filled with hurt, maybe anger. He looked confused. And it wasn't something I would ever expect from Sam, from someone who is usually nothing but happy, someone full of positive energy.

I try not to look at him, I didn't like seeing him upset like that, especially when I was probably the reason he was mad. Maybe he was angry that I made him run away tonight, maybe he thinks he's on bad terms with Van now, which I don't think he was. Van didn't seem to be mad at anyone earlier, except for me of course.

Bondy and Larry come over to join us after a few minutes, which I could not be more thankful for. I needed a distraction from Sam, even though I knew I'd have to talk with him eventually, I'd have to apologize.

"Whatcha thinking about, Van?" Larry asks, taking his seat next to Bondy, who was sitting next to Van.

Van shrugs. "Same as you, I reckon. Nothing really," he says, turning toward them.

"I'm not buying it, Lar, are you?" Bondy says, looking over at Larry. "Van's always thinking of something. It's how he comes up with all those song ideas every night."

"Not for a minute. Probably wondering what Abby's up to, aren't you?" Larry says with a chuckle.

But I didn't laugh or find it funny. I turn around in Van's lap and look up at him, my facial expression a little more concerned than I would have liked. "Who's Abby?" I ask, feeling nosy, but I felt like I had to know. She must have been important to Van if Larry is bringing her up now.

"No one, love," Van tells me, brushing off my question.

I frown, not satisfied. "Well, she has to be someone, or else Larry wouldn't have brought her up," I say, trying to get an answer out of him.

"Tris, what'd I say? She's no one. You don't have to worry," Van says, his voice a little stricter, making me want to not ask again, but I still did.

"Larry," I groan, turning back around. "Who's Abby?" I give him my best puppy dog eyes in hopes of them having the same effect on him as they do on Van.

But Larry must have known better than to tell me anything, so he shakes his head. "Van's right. She's no one important. Shouldn't have brought her up, anyways," he says.

"Bondy?" I ask him, already knowing the answer I'll receive from him.

"Tris, quit it. Abby is no one," Van says before Bondy has the chance to tell me that Abby was so one. He grabs my shoulders and turns me around to look at him, giving me a stern look when he does so. "What've I just told you back on the plane, hm?"

"Just tell me who Abby is," I say quietly, ignoring his question, ignoring his eyes which were filled with a certain strictness and anger that would be enough to make me stop speaking.

"I told you to not make me regret this, didn't I?" Van says, he lifts my head up with his fingers under my chin. "Didn't I?" He repeats himself.

I nod my head. "But that was before Abby was brought up."

"Christ, Tris. Abby was no one. I've told you already. And so has Larry," Van says.

"Well, I don't believe you," I say with a frown. "I won't be mad if you tell me. Please, Van."

Van shakes his head. "I don't know what to tell you if you don't believe me, Tris. She's no one you've got to worry about."

"If she's no one I need to worry about, then tell me," I say with my arms crossed.

"She was just a girl, ok?" Van says, clearly done with my pestering. "A girl I was seeing before all this happened. Is that good? That what you wanted to know? Can you drop it now?"

"So she's your girlfriend?" I ask, my eyes tearing up, though I wasn't completely sure why. I already knew Abby had to be his girlfriend, and it's not like Van and I were even dating. I blink away my tears and keep my head down so Van wouldn't be able to see how upset it made me, but one of my tears escapes anyway and falls onto the top of Van's hand.

"No, she isn't my girlfriend. She never was my girlfriend," Van says. He wipes the tear on his hand away and gently lifts my head up so I was looking at him. And I felt my cheeks heat up when he was able to see how noticeably upset I was. "C'mon, love. Don't overreact," he says, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Yes she was," I say, pushing his hand away from my face. As much as I wanted him to continue being soft with me, I didn't want him to think I needed his support, even though I did.

Van sighs. "You know, I think it would be best if we went back on the plane. I think this was a mistake coming out here," he says.

"No," I say. I know if we did stay outside I wouldn't have any fun, and neither would Van, but I wanted to stand up him, I didn't want to give him what he wanted.

He smirks and shakes his head, amused. "No?" he asks. "I wasn't really asking you, princess."

"I'm staying outside," I stand my ground. I move off of Van's lap so I was sitting in between him and Bondy.

"Fine then," Van says. "Bondy, hold her hand, and don't let her out of your sight. Bring her in when you come in...And don't let her close to Sam. We're not about to have a repeat of what happened earlier."

He stands up and looks down at me with his jaw clenched, and then he opens his mouth, as if he's about to say something.

But he never does.

He shakes his head and walks off to the plane, leaving me with Bondy, who was already holding my hand, and Larry.