Run, Girl (If You Can)

Chapter 456: Battle For Her Affection

When Violet met up with Noah the following morning, she was wearing a white sweater, skinny jeans, tan boots, and a sheepish expression. She hadn't told him Nathan was coming too because she thought it was too late to text him at that point.

He didn't seem at all surprised. He knew how the dynamics between her brothers worked when it came to having her time and attention.

She mouthed the word 'sorry' at him when her brothers' backs were turned and he simply shrugged in response. At least he didn't seem mad. Then again, it took a lot to make Noah angry.

"I'm going to win you something, Vi!" Nathan declared. "What kind of prize do you want?"

"Uh…" she didn't know what to say when put on the spot like that. "What about a keychain?"

It was the first thing she saw after scanning the carnival games. The ring toss was giving out keychains as the lowest level prize.

"I bet I can win it first," Kaleb bragged with a challenging glint in his eye. "I'm not a professional pitcher for nothing."

Violet rolled her eyes and stood back with Noah as they went at it. "You're not going to join them in the battle for my affection?" she teased.

"Are you kidding me? I suck at those kinds of games," he said with a laugh. "Besides, nobody beats your brothers when it comes to determination. It'll be more fun to watch than play."

He had a point. It was rather amusing watching them waste about twenty dollars on buckets of rings since neither of them were having any luck. They got progressively louder and more aggressive every time they failed.

She desperately tried to hide her snickering in the background but she completely lost it when Kaleb almost managed to nail a ring on a bottle but didn't and nearly tore his hair out like a cartoon character. He noticed her cracking up and immediately his ire melted away and he smiled fondly at his sister.

While he was doing that, Nathan managed to actually win the dumb keychain. He cried out triumphantly and waved it in front of her.

"I did it! Take that, Kal!"

Violet didn't want to take sides in this war so she simply thanked him and attached it to her key ring without another word. Kaleb was rather grumpy as they moved on but his mood improved when they made it to the Cyclone.

Because of the early hour and how cold it was outside, there weren't many people waiting in line. They were able to snatch the coveted front car of the rollercoaster easily.

Nathan, as the winner of the keychain, insisted on riding in the very front with his sister. Noah and Kaleb sat right behind them in the same car. The ride rattled their brains terribly but it was still fun.

Violet thought the ride photo was so hilarious—mostly because of Nathan's face—that she ended up buying it. A bug flew into his mouth right as the photo was taken and he was clearly seen trying to spit it out. Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

Kaleb, still feeling inferior from the keychain incident, took a picture of the printed photo and posted it on Instagram. Nathan wasn't terribly thrilled about that. As a public figure, Kaleb Hale had a lot of followers.

"You're the absolute worst, Kal," he grumbled. "If I go viral because of this I'm going to kill you."

His brother simply grinned in response.

They continued working their way through rides and carnival games until lunchtime. Violet watched everyone else eat hot dogs with a longing expression. She had packed herself a healthy sandwich so the dietician wouldn't get on her case. Red meat was definitely against the rules.

However, she did sneak a bite of Noah's strawberry shortcake funnel cake. Strawberries were healthy so she felt it was justified. And it was only one bite.

Kaleb was a professional athlete with dietary restrictions too but he thought it was okay to cheat right now because the off-season had barely started. He said he would go back to eating healthy after Christmas. It would give him a few months to get back in the habit before baseball season started again.

Violet was jealous. There was no off-season for ballerinas. Shows ran on and off all year long so they were always rehearsing for something.

As they approached one of the most thrilling rides in the park once their lunch had settled, Kaleb grabbed her wrist and dragged her along. "Come on, I wasn't able to convince you to ride this with me as a kid but we're doing it today."

Violet stared up at the sling shot ride with trepidation. Thrill rides weren't a problem for her but this particular one was a bit much. It involved being harnessed into a round metal cage and flung upwards 150 feet as the cage spun around.

The name of the ride came from the fact that the cage was attached to bungee-like cords on each side like a real sling shot. Violet had never wanted to ride it before because she knew she would scream. She never screamed on rides.

"Do I have to?" she asked.

"Yes."

With a sigh, Violet resigned herself to her fate. What Kaleb wanted, Kaleb got. She didn't see him very often so she may as well try to be a good sister.

Before they headed into the ride's waiting area she wished Nathan and Noah a final farewell in case the bungee cords snapped. She was more than a little nervous. This thing didn't look safe.

"If I die be sure to blame Kaleb in my eulogy," she said flatly.

Nathan laughed. "Here lies Violet Hale, whose twin brother was an adrenaline junkie who dragged her down with him."

Violet glared at him and he immediately shut up. Noah reached out and squeezed her hand to reassure her.

"You aren't going to die. Make Kaleb ride the carousel or something after this as retribution and take a video of it," he suggested.

That was actually a brilliant idea. Kaleb hated lame 'girly' rides like that. He hadn't been on a carousel willingly since he was about six years old.

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