Chapter 8 #2
He left them there on purpose, the dark purple splotches a reminder of who owns me.
Fuck, I’m distraught thinking about how much I am gonna miss him. And it’s only three days that he’ll be gone. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve ever liked anyone this much. Not Xochitl. Not the girlfriend I had for almost a year in high school.
Maybe I was just waiting for Colton this entire time.
He kisses me long and hard at my apartment door before he has to leave for the airport.
“Text me all the time, yeah?” he says, his hand landing on my chest, his fingers curling against my heart.
“Yeah, same.”
It’s like we’re two teenagers in love. It’s fucking weird and surreal. A whirlwind romance if I ever saw one.
“All right. Fuck, I’m gonna miss you.” He leans forward and kisses me again, eager and hot. I want to bring him into the bedroom and strip him down, want to ride his dick like I have the past few days, but I don’t. The driver is waiting, his family is too.
I tried to ask why he needed to go home. He didn’t tell me, his eyes darkening as he glanced away. I didn’t ask again.
“See you Sunday night.”
I nod and then press my mouth to his once more before shoving him out the door. He needs to leave. If I ever meet his family—murderers or not—I don’t want this to be a black stain on my reputation. I want them to like me.
I stare at the closed door and then sigh, rubbing a hand down my face.
I’m already feeling sick from his absence.
“He gone?” Paulie asks, peering around the doorframe, his headphones around his neck.
“Yeah.”
His lips purse as he stares at me. “You look depressed.”
“I’m not.”
He sighs and then walks over to me, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go see your family, yeah? They’re expecting you.”
I eye him, and he shrugs. “Knew you would be so fucking sad that he’s gone. Don’t know why, but you’re smitten.”
I grumble at that but can’t help admitting it. “Yeah. I am.”
“Come on. Pack a bag and let’s get on the road. Your mom has dinner waiting for us.”
My stomach rumbles, and I pull Paulie in for a hug.
“Thanks, man.”
“Anytime.”
“Oh, you look so broken-hearted,” my youngest sister, Desiree, says when she sees me walking up the driveway. “This is what young love looks like.”
“Nice to see you, too,” I say, and she grins. “Also, how do you know what young love looks like? You’ve never had a boyfriend.”
“Or so you think.”
She waggles her eyebrows at me, and I pull her in for a hug.
“Missed you last time.”
“Yeah, same. Sorry, I was busy with cheer stuff. But I’m here now. Mom gathered the troops. Paulie said you could barely get out of bed. Said you’ve been crying,” she teases.
I glower at my best friend, who is already at Hailey’s side.
I wasn’t crying.
Mostly.
“Never mind, come on in. We have all the things to make you feel better.”
I move in through the screen door and they’re all on me in seconds, asking an onslaught of questions.
“What’s his name?”
“Can we see a picture?”
“How hot is he?”
I brush them all off, trying to get out of answering, but then end up spilling the beans. Majorly.
Just word vomit.
It’s the cider my mom handed me and the comfort food. Mac and cheese, pulled pork sliders, and coleslaw.
I gobble it down as I speak, feeling my stomach and chest grow full at the same time.
“Here he is,” I say, pulling up the picture of the two of us.
He sent it to me as I made my way to my family. A reminder, he wrote.
Like I could forget.
“Oh, he’s so cute,” Hailey says, and Paulie frowns slightly. He’s sitting next to her on the couch, their legs touching. He must be in heaven. Or he was until she made that comment.
“Don’t get any ideas,” I murmur, feeling jealousy move through me.
“I’m not going to take your boyfriend. We have a twin code.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
My mom gasps and pulls the phone from my hand, blowing up the picture and showing Maya, who is just looking smug across from me.
“He sure looks at you like he is,” my mom says.
That makes me blush, and Desiree brings me another cider.
“You look like you need it.”
I do. I need it. I feel overwhelmed by these feelings inside of me. I could brush it off as lust for a while, but I know it’s more than that.
I like him.
My phone suddenly lights up, Colton’s name flashing on the screen, and before I can answer it, Maya squeals and grabs it from me, answering it with a flick of her finger.
I lunge for it, but she’s made her way onto the back of the couch, crouching down like some kind of golem.
She places it on speaker, and I nearly die.
“Hello, Colton Cavanaugh.”
“Who’s this?” Colton asks, his voice low and confused.
“Only the best and favorite sister of Myles.”
That makes him lighten up, and I hear him chuckle.
“How frustrated is he right now?”
“Oh, very. I snatched the phone right out of his tiny little hands.”
“My hands aren’t tiny,” I grumble, trying to swipe it from her, but she’s lithe and quick.
Colton laughs on the other end of the line, and then his voice grows steady. “Can I talk to him?”
“Only if you promise to come over sometime so we can properly meet you…and grill you with our questions.”
“We have so many!” Desiree shrieks, and I glower at her.
“All right. I can do that. If Myles wants me to.”
Everyone turns and stares at me, and the pressure of it has my shoulders dipping.
“Yeah, we’ll invite him over.”
A loud shout erupts between them, and Maya tosses me my phone. I catch it and flip her off before making my way to the hallway bathroom.
I put the phone to my ear and wait.
“Just wanted to call you before I arrived,” he says and then pauses for a moment. “I’m glad you’re with your family this weekend. They seem fun.”
“They are. Most days.”
He lets out a small laugh. “Yeah, well, better than what I’m gonna be walking into literally any minute now.”
“You gonna be okay?” I ask, and he exhales loudly.
“We’ll see.”
That makes me nervous. His mom and stepdad could literally be murderers, and he’s walking into that situation. Fuck. I wish he’d tell me more.
“Don’t worry. I know how to fight back. You’ve had firsthand experience with it.”
“I have, but still—”
“Don’t worry about me, Witkoff. Just miss me.” His voice shutters, and I hear him almost grow cold. “I have to go. Anything you see online, don’t believe it.”
And then he hangs up, and I’m left staring at my silent phone.
What the fuck does that mean?