When my father left the room, I got up from my cot and walked over to a small table in the corner of my room. The round, unsteady wooden table had a half-folded over white piece of paper resting on top of it. Georgina, was scrawled across the top of the paper in messy handwriting.
Picking the paper up, I flipped it open as I brought it closer to my face. I scanned my message. It was short, simple and to the point.
Meet me in the rec at midnight.
Colin.
Even though I knew meeting him like this was risky, I went anyway. The first to arrive, I sat in the back of the dark classroom. The silence cut through the room like a sharp knife cutting through a block of cheese. Suddenly, I felt something move behind me.
Squinting, I tried to make out the presence as my eyes adjusted to the blackness that engulfed me. “Hello,” I whispered.
Arms slipped around my waist from behind as a warm chin nuzzled my neck. “I knew you would come,” Colin whispered into my ear.
I removed his arms from my waist and turned to face him. “Is this what you wanted me to come for? A midnight fling?” I still couldn’t see him clearly. It was way too dark. Reaching out, I brushed my fingers along his face. When I finally realized he was about six inches away from me, I dropped my hands at my sides.
He scooted closer to me. “That’s not why I asked you to come,” he said.
“Then why did you?” The heat from his body poured out of him and radiated onto to me. I enjoyed basking in the warmth of him. Sometimes, when you lived this far beneath the earth’s surface it got a li
ttle chilly.
“I wanted to talk.”
“Talk?”
“Yeah. To see how you were holding up.”
“What do you think, genius?”
“I think you’re scared.”
“Of course I’m scared, aren’t you?”
“Not at all. I would have volunteered for this if they would have let me. I happen to think it’s kind of ironic that I got selected in the first round.”
“I happen to think it’s kind of ironic that I got paired with you.” If I would have known better one would think he actually planted the idea in the council’s head so I would be paired with him.
He let out a restrained laugh. “I think it’s fate.”
“I don’t believe in fate anymore.” The Great Famine took away every ounce of fate I had left. How could we be destined for something like this?
“Don’t say that, Georgie,” Colin cooed. He ran his fingers through my hair, curling it around his fingertips. A spark resonated from his touch and brought goose bumps to my skin.
Then it hit me. I didn’t feel like talking to him anymore. I had too much on my mind. All of this I want to know—how you’re feeling—bull, was making me nauseous. Scooting my chair away from him, I got up and walked toward the door. He moved behind, tiptoeing forward until he placed his hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to you. I will always
protect you.”
With that said, he brushed past me, leaving me standing alone in the doorway. That was a very gallant notion. “I will always protect you.” I just hoped that when it came down to it, Colin stayed true to his word. Not that I really needed his protection. Well, in physical battles, yes his protection could be of use.
There was no doubt in my mind that physically, he was ten times stronger than I would ever be. But mentally, I had him beat. I was cunning, smart, and could think outside of the box in most situations.
Don’t get me wrong, Colin wasn’t a moron. But that little light bulb in his head didn’t always flicker on when it was supposed to. Sometimes it took him a few minutes to catch onto something when he was presented with it.
* * * *
The next few days flew by and before I could even catch my breath, Sunday was only two days away.