The Badass Protector

Iris

It’s selfish.

BUT IF I had to turn myself in for their own good, I would do it.

I knew Colt was angry that I had to decide on my own without asking his opinion, but I would not think twice for as long as he and my friends were safe out there.

It was also hard for me. I cared about them, and it broke my heart that I had to leave them this way. On the bright side, I didn’t have to watch them die while they were trying to save me.

If those people were capable of killing the Fischers, and God knew maybe the Hamids and Dr. Hull were also dead, then they would not hesitate to kill my friends to get what they wanted.

What they did to the camp was their way of sending their message to me, and they would do it again if they won in the end.

Darick and Gael had not said a word, but I could see in their eyes that they were not pleased with my decision. Lois stayed silent in the corner after she cried in my arms, and I knew how she would feel when one of these guys died in front of her. I could not let that happen.

How was I supposed to handle it as I watched them die because of me? I’d been there, and I knew exactly how it felt-every time I closed my eyes, my brother’s face was a constant reminder of their heinous crime.

“Think about it.” Frost pointed at me before he went back to the car.

I was left to think alone again, struggling to stand at my own feet without anything to grasp on-without someone to lean on.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

I met Colt’s gaze, and we stared at each other, silently begging for understanding. I knew he was hurting, and so did I-I was scared of losing him-of losing them. If this chaos were over, I might still get a chance to see him again, and they would all live. Not like this.

Still speechless, my tears kept falling. And that was all. It was over the moment he looked away. My world just began crumbling down on me.

I ran toward his side to beg and bang against the window, but he didn’t seem to care anymore. He was determined to stand by what he believed, and what he thought about what I was about to do was not right. And I admired him for that.

Colt was tough, strong, badass, stubborn, and the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. But I was stubborn as well. Despite being controlling and hot-blooded, I was lucky to meet someone like him. I hoped one day, he would be able to understand and forgive me.

“Colton!” I banged my fists against the window. “I’m doing this for all of you.”

The sound of hissing seemed to take years for the window to completely slid down.

Without looking at me, he spoke, “Nobody asked you to do that.”

“You don’t get it.” I gripped and nudged his arm for him to understand me, to give my idea a chance, but he was hard to convince and determined on his own. And even though every word I spoke seemed like a beg, he didn’t care.

His head snapped at me. His intense stare gave me a shiver-hatred and pain were glowing in his eyes. “Oh, I get it. If you want to leave, just go, but don’t tell me about your bullshit idea that what you’re about to do is because of us. You want it, choose to decide alone, and think your plan is fucking brilliant. Just leave!”

The last two words hit me hard. “You have to trust me on this, Colton.”

“Trust you? How about you trust me? How about you hear me out first? And you will leave me like this? And how about what happened between us? Doesn’t it mean anything to you anymore? It was just two people who wanted to forget the world for a while. And we’re over it, that’s it?”

“Colton, just hear me out, please?”

“What? We just used each other, and now we’re done scratching our itches. It’s time to part ways. I fucking get it. It’s crystal clear!”

“You are not listening to me.”

“You are the one who doesn’t want to fucking listen to me! How about Gael, Darick, Frost, and Lois? How about the one who died back there? They died for nothing! Think about your brother, for fuck’s sake! He died protecting you. He died because he wanted you to stay away from those people, and yet you want to go back? You choose to go back. What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Don’t do this to me, please?” I couldn’t breathe. All I did was beg for him to agree, but the more I begged, the more he got angrier and would never accept my opinion.

“Youdon’t do this to me. To us. We don’t leave our group behind for as long as we live. We don’t decide on our own. That’s why we have Gael. We’ve been through a lot, but we are still here because we are not selfish. We think about how we feel. And for the last time, think about what you said when you came to us. Have you forgotten what your mission was? Should I remind you? Your mission is to survive. To live. How about Lois? Did you ever consider her feelings? Does she mean nothing to you?”

“That’s why I am doing this because I can’t think straight. Right now, all I can think about is what they would possibly do to all of you once they catch us, and I know you wouldn’t just watch them as they drag me away from you. Eventually, you would resist them. Frost was right. I’ve seen them kill people, Colton. They’re murderers.”

“Then come inside, and let’s plan it out!” Darick shouted from the back of the car.

“I’m sorry, Darick, but I can’t. My conscience is eating me, thinking some people are looking for me, and here I am doing nothing but putting your lives at stake. Those people back at the camp-thinking that they died because of me, do you know how it feels? So, call it selfish, but I’d rather die trying to save the remaining lives than save my own ass!”