Chapter Three

~Colt's POV~

I flopped back in my bunk below Tony, feeling so awkward I thought I might possibly explode. It wasn't his fault I was such a mental mess, and I didn't want him to feel bad. I wanted to get out of here, desperately, but there was no way in hell Tony, the driver, or the rest of the guys would let me get more than an inch out of their sight. Given my parent's abusive habits, there was no way I was going home, either. So here I was.

I heard Tony shift in his bunk, probably falling asleep. I couldn't blame him really, my arrival was probably one of his more interesting tour experiences. It's not every day you adopt someone off the road after you nearly kill them.

Wrapping myself in the blankets, I waited for his breathing to slow. He was asleep, and the bus driver probably was, too. I could go kill myself somewhere else and be done with it. No more messing up people's lives. No more messing up my own life. Perfect.

Slipping out of the bunk, I tiptoed out of the bus, looking cautiously around us. No one had come for me yet, so I bolted. There was a wood not far from the bus, so I headed right in. Ten minutes of sprinting later, I collapsed, panting. I had never been a runner, and the physical abuse my parents inflicted didn't help at all. My sides ached, but I couldn't hear anything after me. Then again, the blood was rushing so hard in my ears I doubted I would've heard a bomb go off next to me. Staggering weakly to my feet, I kept up a slow walk for a few more meters before I had to stop again.

This was going to take a while.

~Tony's POV~

I heard the bus door creak open, and I jolted back to reality. "Senorita?" I asked, cursing myself for not getting her name. There was no answer, but then again I doubted that she would respond to Jaime's pet name for every girl he saw. Jumping to the floor, I realized her bunk was empty. Shit.

Walking to the front of the bus, I saw nothing. But I did see a small figure running away from the bus. It must be her, I thought. Swinging out the door as I checked the time, I made a mental note that I had only one hour. Hopefully she was a bad runner.

Sprinting hard after her, I saw her slip into the woods. Her crashing strides could be heard even from my distance, so I kept running. When I finally had her in sight range again, I saw how tired she was. Her hair was wild around her head, and she stumbled often. Finally, she fell.

Feeling rather predator like, I sprang. But she was on her feet and moving again, and I was still behind. After a few more lunges, I caught her. Grabbing her waist, I winced as she screeched in pain, but I refused to let her go. "What the hell, girl?" I asked, feeling partly worried, but also angry.

She struggled for a few more moments, until finally going limp. I carried her back to the bus, and thankfully no one was back yet. I set her in her bunk, and flopped next to her, head on my knees.

After an awkward silence, she spoke. "My name is Colt."

Colt. Finally, the nameless had a name. "You already know me, I'm Tony."

She nodded, laying against the wall. I waited a few moments before asking, "Why did you run away?"

Colt shook her head. "I wanted to be alone." she muttered. I heard the lie easily, but I let it slide.

"You could have asked me to-"

"No, no, I couldn't have."

I fell silent, knowing better than to push her for information. I didn't want to trigger anything unfortunate. Setting my head on my knees, I looked at my shoes, not wanting to stare. But eventually, I gave in, and looked at her.

She was beautiful, despite having just run away. The sadness in her face was plain to the eye, and it made me feel horrible for her. I just wished I could help.

Suddenly, I noticed a tear trickle down her cheek. God, was I that awkward? Reaching out, I wiped it away. "Do you want me to go?"

She didn't respond, just looked at the floor. But I wanted a response. I wasn't leaving if she wasn't okay, I realized, and she couldn't make me. Gently, I reached out again and tilted her head up to face me. "Colt. Are you okay?"

She nodded quietly, and I knew I couldn't pressure her. Nodding, I got up and walked out and into the front lounge. If she wasn't talking, she wasn't talking.

~Colt's POV~

After Tony left, I curled up in my bunk and pulled the curtain closed. Coiling into a ball, I gave in to my tears. Sobbing silently, I wished I hadn't sent him away. I wanted him to hold me in his arms and tell me that everything was going to be alright. But that wouldn't happen. He had a life to attend to, no time for a depressed fuckup like me.

My shoulders shook as I cried harder, wishing more than ever that I had died that night. I was messing everything up now. Leaning against the wall, I rocked slowly back and forth, still crying.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock. "Senorita, can I come in?"

It was Vic. "Yeah, sure." I sniffed.

He stepped in, closing the door behind him. I felt the bus shudder to a start under me. Vic sat across from me, sweet eyes full of concern.

"Tony wanted me to come check on you." he told me.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really."

I blushed, burying my head in my hands. Vic laid a soothing hand on my back, humming A Match Into Water. I flinched as his hand ran over one of the bruises on my shoulder. He pulled away.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. It's-"

He cut me off. "It's not okay, senorita. I want to know what's wrong."

I sighed. He obviously wasn't letting this go. "The night your bus almost killed me….I…I…."

I couldn't go on and finish my sentence, because I cried even harder. Vic waited for me to calm down before he got up. "Do you want me to go get Tony?" he asked.

I thought, feeling extremely awkward. Running a hand through my messy hair, I shrugged. Vic started for the door. "You know what, I think I'll bring everyone."

I shook with nerves. "But-"

He waved away my comment. "They deserve to know, too, senorita." He said calmly, strolling to the front lounge.

Still in my bunk, I leaned my head against it, trying to stop crying. I didn't want to burst into tears as soon as I started trying to tell my story, that was for sure. As the door clicked back open, I took a deep breath and sat in the middle of the room. The guys flopped in their bunks, looking expectantly at me.

Almost immediately, I felt my heart rate go through the roof. Stammering helplessly, I began. "I-I-I….um, the night that you guys, um, found me, I-I…I was there because I wanted to die." I managed to choke out. Mike and Jaime looked at each other, and Tony buried his head in his hands. Vic nodded at me to go on.

I felt tears pool in my eyes. "And-and ever since, I…..I don't know what to do with myself. I-I….I just feel dead." I said, tears now streaming down my cheeks. Vic took a deep breath, and Mike gave him a look.

Jaime seemed to read their minds. "It's ok if you don't want to say anything else, senorita. We understand."

I nodded in appreciation, and the guys filed out, Jaime shutting the door respectfully. I was about to crawl back into my bunk, when I realized that Tony hadn't left.

He still had his head in his hands, and seemed a little pale. Despite my own pain and the tears streaming down my cheeks, I climbed up to talk to him.

"Tony?" I whispered, gently touching his shoulder.

He barely reacted, and I left my hand on his shoulder, worried. "T-Tony? Are you okay?"

After a few moments, he looked up at me. I backed up, ready to leave if he wanted me to. But he shook his head. "Colt, um….could you stay?"

Slightly taken aback, I nodded, crawling onto the other side of his bunk. "Are you okay?" I asked again.

Tony shook his head, slumping. "When you ran off the bus, were you…were you going to-"

I nodded, hugging myself. Reaching forward, Tony tilted my head up, and I saw the tears pooling in his eyes. All of a sudden, I felt even worse. This was my fault.

"Why?" he asked, looking deep into my eyes.

I paused for a moment, digging deep. "I-I…I don't…Oh god, I don't know!" I stammered, shocking myself. I buried my head in my hands, tears spilling down my cheeks. I was such a fuckup, I didn't even know why I wanted to die anymore. I felt Tony reach out and put an arm around me comfortingly, and guilt rose up in my throat like bile. I didn't want to hurt him like this. I couldn't.

After a few moments, I had calmed down enough to talk. "Colt, our next show is tomorrow. I don't know what you're going to do, but…well, don't do anything rash, ok?" he said.

I nodded. "Alright."

Crawling out of his bunk and onto mine, I curled up under the warm sheets, my eyelids becoming heavy with exhaustion that I had forgotten about in the events of that afternoon. Yawning, I fell asleep.