Casey's POV:

I feel safe in Braxton's arms as he carries me through the dark night. I don't know where we are going, not that I had enough energy to ask.

I take a deep breath and my eyes naturally close due to Braxton's sweet intoxicating smell. I bury my head deeper into his chest and he pulls me closer to himself.

I don't even want to think about what would have happened if Braxton hadn't showed up, but my mind kept going back to the same horrifying scenario..

I'm not going to lie and say that I haven't thought about Braxton this past week, because I have. A lot. But every time his name popped into my head I would let out a cry of frustration. What kind of friend was I? Ally is dead and Noah is in a coma and I was thinking about a boy I like?

You do not like him. You can't.

But the longer he held me, the more I couldn't help but deny my feelings for this seemingly perfect human being.

"Braxton what the hell man? You just leave without telling me wh— is that a girl?!" A deep says bringing me out of my thoughts. I lift my head up from Braxton's chest to see a figure of a boy standing beside a truck at a gas station. As we get closer I notice that it's James, a boy who goes to my school.

Braxton sighs and walks us closer to James. "Yes James, sorry I ran off, I'll tell you about it later okay? Right now I need to get her back to your house and clean her up."

"Alright, whatever you say man," he says while climbing into the drivers seat of the truck but then stops to stare at me, "Casey?"

"Hey James," I say with a small smile and my voice comes out hoarse. I swallow and realize how dry my throat is.

"I didn't even recognize you. Are you okay?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm okay now, thanks to Braxton," I say while looking up at Braxton with a small smile. He smiles back and my cheeks warm up greatly.

James whistles snapping Braxton and I out of our trance and starts the truck. Braxton clears his throat and places me in the back seat of the truck before climbing in beside me.

The car ride is silent other than the radio playing softly in the background. My eyes start to close and I let sleep consume my body.

Braxton's POV:

I couldn't stop thinking about what would have happened to Casey if I hadn't gotten to her in time. An uneasy feeling filled my stomach and I look down at Casey who had currently fallen asleep on my shoulder. The feeling in my stomach subsided as I watched her chest rise and fall as she slept peacefully.

James finally pulls into his driveway and cuts the engine.

"Thanks for taking us back here man, is it okay if I take her in and clean her up here?"

"Totally, I think I'm gonna head back to the party. That way you two can talk.." he says with a smirk while doing the finger quotation marks around "talk".

I roll my eyes and lightly shake Casey to wake her up. Her eyelids flutter open and she looks up at me with her sleepy beautiful blue eyes.

"Hey," I whisper in a soft voice.

"Hmm?" She says while closing her eyes again.

I lightly chuckle and brush her blonde locks from her face in an attempt to get her eyes to open again.

"We're at James' house. Let's get you inside so you can get cleaned up, okay?"

At this she opens her eyes and sits up while unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out of the truck. I watch her carefully to make sure she's able to walk. Her legs waver as she steps onto the ground and she clutches onto my bicep. She blushes while staring at my arm and quickly lets go.

I let out a laugh and wrap my arm around her shoulders to lead her into James' house.

"Thank you Braxton, for everything," Casey says shyly as she looks up at me.

I smile and squeeze her shoulder, which brings her closer to me. My heart beats fast in my chest and my skin is on fire where her body is touching mine.

And as I look down at her delicate smiling face, one thought keeps ringing in my head. I Braxton Taylor like Casey, and I don't even know her last name yet.

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Hey readers!

I hope you all enjoyed reading Chapter 5 of The Runner. Please vote and comment to let me know your thoughts about it because I would love to hear your feedback! :)

From now on I will be posting about every week, or whenever I can!

-Cait ❤️