We ate in virtual silence; it seemed to be more uncomfortable for me than Violet. I was terrified of what was going through her head – I didn't want her to leave. I had never met anyone like her. She made it feel almost like we weren't really dead and that this was just another life I'd been given to live. I could tell I disgusted her. Hell, why wouldn't I? I was a murderer.

She cleared her plate and pushed it away from her, the ceramic scraping against the plastic table top snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up at her carefully, almost afraid that just my eye contact would cause her to get up and go. She stared straight back at me, somewhat defiant, exactly how I remembered her being the first time we'd met. "Stop looking at me like that," she said firmly. I raised my eyebrows as if I didn't know what she was talking about.
"Like what?" I muttered.
She rolled her eyes. "Like a lost fucking puppy," she snorted. "I think what you did was bad. Badder than bad. But we're both dead so we'd better move on." Whilst I was digesting her approach to me, I watched her eyes skim the deserted diner before looking back at me. She jerked her head towards the door almost imperceptibly. I frowned but she was already up, out of the door and back in the car sending me daggers through the window. I hurried out after her.

Violet had clambered into the driver's seat so I hesitantly took my place in the passenger's side. "What are we doing?" My question was drowned out by the revving of the engine and the screeching of the tyres as we made a fast getaway from the diner.
"Food was crappy anyway," she grumbled. "No way was I paying for that." I didn't know whether to laugh. I mustered enough courage to mutter something about her putting her seatbelt on, to which she gifted me with a highly exaggerated eye roll.

"Do you even have a license?" I asked, eying the speedometer on the dashboard.
"God, could you just relax? It's not like we're going to die." Sure, she was right, but did she have to be so blunt about it?

We drove straight for about an hour and a half before Violet was forced to slow down. I sat up after taking a short nap to observe the scene. There was a man, maybe a few years older than myself, marching back and forth across the width of the dirt road. His hair was in disarray and he looked like he hadn't showered in a while. Coming to think of it, neither had I. I tried to sniff myself subtly.

The man stopped in the middle of the road when he noticed our car. Violet was watching him carefully. He didn't seem like a threat – Violet's "we're already dead!" statement played in my mind – but you just didn't know. Violet edged the car closer until we were a few feet away. She leaned her head out of the window to talk to him. "What are you doing?" she yelled bluntly.

He began marching over towards the car. Violet stuck her neck back in and watched him come closer. I could tell she was also gauging my reaction through her peripherals. I tried to remain neutral. When he got to us, he bent a little to see us both through Violet's open window. "What am I doing? Only what the bloody hell everyone else is doing!" His accent wasn't what I was expecting – some denomination of a British accent but I couldn't quite place it. I saw Violet's eyebrows raise.
"And what the bloody hell is everyone else doing?"
The man's eyes focused on Violet and a smirk crept up the side of his face at her remark. "Going to The City, of course." Both our faces screwed up in confusion.
"What city? Where?" Violet demanded an answer. The man leaned his head back and roared laughing.
"You don't know? Where have you been, under a rock? The City. Like, The City."
Violet eyed him for a while, taking in his whole face. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but then again I never could. She was a spitfire. "Get in," she said and my mouth dropped open.

"What exactly are you doing?" I hissed at her. She turned her head to look at me and shrugged. "He's going to this city. It gives us somewhere to go. I'm also getting really bored of your irritating silence." I had to admit, her words stung, but I took it as part of her blunt personality. Plus, I was being quiet. I couldn't shake the fear of her hating me for what I did. If I wanted her to like me, then I wasn't going about it properly.

The man slid into the back seat without further persuasion. Violet shifted herself round to face him. "Who are you?"
"Joe," he replied, holding his hand out for her to shake. She eyed it then smirked, taking it in her own tiny hand.
"Violet," she smiled. She jerked her head back in my direction. "That's Tate." Joe's eyes landed on me and he gave me a nod. I mumbled a hello and told Violet I would drive now. I needed something to take my mind off how much this guy irritated me. I couldn't justify it; I'd only just met him, but something about him irked me. I didn't want to think about it and get angry. To my surprise, Violet climbed out of the driver's seat without argument and sat in the back with Joe. I felt my nostrils flare as I started the engine and pulled away sharply.

I know it's short again, I'm sorry. Also, I apologise for disappearing (again). Hectic summer. Thank you for still following and favouriting despite my absence- I have still been checking my emails and it's been nice to see you enjoying my stories. Love You.