Colton

Laying in bed with Rose has to be one of the best things I have ever experienced. The feeling of being so close to her is better than any other feeling, I want nothing more than to never leave this bed and to never leave her.

She's laying with her head on my chest and she's tracing the several tattoos on my arms. Electricity runs through me whenever she touches me and it breathes life into me. So much has happened in the last month, stuff we never even thought would happen even in a lifetime. I run my fingers through her hair, wondering how I got so lucky to be granted her.

I don't want to ruin her. That's the thing that scares me the most... that she will get to know the real me, the parts I don't want to show. There's already so much darkness consuming her and to be a burden to her would kill me.

"I need to get in the shower," she sits up and I rub her back. She's noticeably skinnier and it pains me to see her this way. As soon as she is ready to tell me everything, I will make sure her tool of a best friend is safe and then I will put together a plan to take down this Michael Hisan.

"I'll go get us something to eat," I say and she nods before padding to the bathroom with a bed sheet wrapped around her body.

***

Rose

The hot water cascades down my body and I lean my forehead against the wall. I can't deny my feelings for Colton any longer but I'm scared that I care too much. I can't imagine Colton being in love with anyone... especially me, not after the past we share. We've hated each other from the moment we first locked eyes. But I can't help but love him. The idea of loving the person I loathe confuses me but there's no denying it.

I'm more confused about how I can love someone who kills and tortures people without remorse, without any care in the world. He killed someone close to me, someone who I loved, not hours ago.

Yes, Dylan was not the nicest of people but I still shared so many memories with him and he was the first person who showed me what it felt like to be loved - even though it wasn't real.

But I never knew what love was then, I still don't now but this feels more than real. He does things to me that no one else ever has, my body responds to him in ways that I never knew possible. His touch, the sound of his voice, everything about him.

He consumes my thoughts, even when I don't want him to.

I find myself thinking about him constantly and before I just brushed it aside, but now it's too hard to ignore and I don't want to.

***

Colton returns to my room, food in hand. I hadn't realised how hungry I was until the delicious aroma fills my bedroom. "Burgers and fries," he winks and walks towards my bed. He hands me a burger and my mouth practically waters.

"Thank you," I say and we both dig into our food. It tastes just as heavenly as it looks. We eat in silence and something feels off. I hope this won't be awkward between us.

"Are you okay?" we both say at the same time and laugh. I love hearing him laugh, it's a rare occurrence but that's what makes it so special.

"Is this gonna be weird now?" I ask the question that I am dreading the answer to.

I don't want it to be weird but I feel like it will be.

"It doesn't have to be, love," there's something in his eyes... lust, hate, love? I can never tell what he is feeling. "It can be whatever you want it to be," he says, his voice low and husky.

His hand trails up my thigh until it reaches the waistband of my shorts and I try to conceal the way he is making me feel. Goosebumps rise on my skin and he smiles to himself. "I love how your body responds to me," he dips his hand into my shorts and I'm sure I have forgotten how to breathe.

"Don't you have work to do?" I blurt and he smiles mischievously before removing his hand.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do," Colton smirks and shrugs on his blazer jacket. What a tease. He leaves the room without another word and I feel like I can finally breathe again.

***

I decide on going to the shooting range, I need to get over this fear of mine. I am letting it control me, when I should be overcoming it. I should be controlling it not the other way around.

It's quite late so no one should be in there, so hopefully I'll leave with some dignity left. I don't know why I find it so hard to kill people, I know that sounds like the most obvious question in the world. I'm human. But, how comes everyone else around me has no problem?

When the rebels raided the facility people were shooting without a second thought, maybe it was just instinct but I can't do that. I care too much and it will be the death of me - quite literally.

I can't protect myself in a sufficient way with knives, I need to be able to use a gun. I don't care how long it takes or how hard it is - I am going to get over it and tonight.

As soon as I am in the shooting range, I make sure there is no one in there before locking the door behind me. Can't have anyone walking in and watching my demise now can I?

I walk over to the wall of guns and try to figure out which one I want to use - mostly just procrastination but I'll call it indecisiveness. I settle on a shot gun that is oddly familiar to the one I used to kill the rebel.

My hands shake as I reach for the gun and clasp my hand around it as quickly as possible. The images... here they are. I can fight this, I can do it. "Ignore it... ignore it," I repeat to myself and lift the gun. It's not real. This is just your mind playing tricks on you, it's not real. "It's not real!" I shout and fire the gun, hitting the target in front of me.

The sound ricochets around the room, my ears ringing with such a ferocity I get light headed. I did it! I fired a gun! The images are still there, still trying to press their way forward but I won't let them. My head is searing with pain so strong I have to hold onto the wall for balance.

The gun falls to the ground with a clatter and I feel like I am going to be sick or pass out. There's a pounding at the door but I can't seem to move my legs.

My heart feels like it is about to give up on me.

I manage to stumble over to the door and unlock it, meeting Colton's worried expression. "I shot a gun," I blurt out through my state. I have no clue what is happening to me.

"What's wrong?" Colton asks as I latch my hand onto his arm. Now my legs are giving up on me. Everything is just shutting down in me, one by one and there's no stopping it.

"I... don't know," I breathe and the world begins to sway. It feels like I am trying to be pulled to the centre of the Earth, being dragged to the core but going no where at the same time.

My whole body feels as heavy as ever.

***

Colton

Her face is pale and her breathing is uneven, she looks like she is dying. Rose's hand is gripping my arm so tightly it's as if she is holding on for dear life. This isn't normal, it can't be.

"We need to get you to a doctor," I say hastily but she quickly lets go of my arm and waves her hands.

"No, no... I'm fine," here we are with her stubbornness again. Why can't she ever just admit that she needs help, why does she have to be so independent all of the time - it's annoying.

"Let's go," I say and pick her up - one arm under her legs and the other across her back. Her head slumps against my chest as I try to get to the hospital wing as quickly as possible but also trying to make sure she stays awake.

"I'm fine," she groans and I ignore her. Anyone could notice that she doesn't look fine.

She knows that she can't deal with guns so why would she put herself through that? But it doesn't make sense for the situation with the gun to make her physically ill.

We reach the hospital wing and I rush over to the doctors, who quickly lead me to an empty room and I place her down gently on the bed. "You need to leave," one of them say as they start hooking her up to a bunch of machines.

"What? Why?" I say frantically and they all surround her. "What the hell is going on?" I shout and they start pushing me out of the room. "Touch me again and I'll kill you," I spit as I yank myself out of their hold.

I slump into a chair outside of the room and run a hand over my face. What's wrong with her and why won't they bloody tell me? I just need to know she's okay and then I can let them do what they need to do. Them not telling me is stressing me out even more.

My mind is racing with all of the possibilities and theories - going to the darkest places. I can't lose her, I won't. Not when I've barely even gotten her.

All I know is that this is the work of the rebels, it has to be. They've done something to her, whether that be starving her to the brink of death and abusing her so much that her body can't take it anymore or something else. Either way, it just fuels my anger and need to kill Michael.

I don't care what I have to do, who I have to become, what I have to lose...

I will end Michael Hisan.

***

It has been three hours and I still have no update on Rose. I am falling asleep in the chair outside of her room but every noise awakens me, hoping for good news. I am exhausted and want nothing more than to see her and to see that she is okay.

The door opens beside me and I stand up so fast my head goes fuzzy. The doctor looks at me and smiles lightly. "Is she okay?" I blurt and the doctors smile fades.

"She's... stable... but there's evidence of poison in her blood stream," the doctor explains and I'm confused. Poison, how? "The rebels, we are assuming, placed a chip in her neck that secreted small doses of poison at all times. So minuscule that she had no idea that it was happening... but eventually her body had so much poison built up that it started killing her," my heart constricts in my chest.

"So did you get it out... she's obviously not dead," anger fuels me. They said she's stable, so she's okay. She's not dead, she's okay.

"We managed to remove it but we're not sure if the damage is permanent," the doctor says quietly and my whole body feels like it is about to give up on me. Damage? What kind of damage? Nothing could be worse than losing her.

"What kind of... damage?" I ask hesitantly and mentally prepare myself for their answer. She's okay, she'll be okay - I keep reminding myself.

There's a long pause before she answers. "She's in a coma and... we don't know if she's going to wake up," my eyes blur with tears and I fall back into the chair. This can't be real.

***

A/N currently crying. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's my birthday so sorry for the late upload and not uploading yesterday. Thank you for all of the love, it does not go unnoticed.