Chapter 29 Stella
Stella
We stayed in the hot tub until our fingers and toes were prunes.
Then we got out, showered—separately, unfortunately—and went to sleep.
The next couple of days went on in relatively the same manner.
The boys would go out and snowboard until they were worn out.
Then the five of us would go to the resort and hang out.
Sometimes we talked to strangers—or old friends, in Beau’s case—and sometimes we kept to ourselves. We talked, laughed, made new memories.
I told the boys about how Colt had started to remember things, but he didn’t have any instances in front of them. The memories only seemed to come back when he was alone or with me.
On our fourth morning, I walk down the stairs, hearing Beau talking to Colt, who’s always the first one awake, even on vacation.
Beau is standing in the kitchen with Booker. Drew, apparently, had met a girl last night at the club in the resort and spent the night with her.
“We’re going to go on a coffee run. You and Stella want anything?” Booker asks.
“Iced chai latte with almond milk. Stella doesn’t like coffee,” Colt answers, then looks up, startled by his automatic response.
“I never told you that,” I say, finishing my descent down the stairs.
Booker and Beau look at him with twinning expressions of shock, this being the first time they’ve seen him remember something.
“Fall break,” Colt says, ignoring them and looking back at me. “I saw you at the coffee shop. You didn’t have a coffee. You had a chai latte with almond milk.”
I walk over and plop down on the couch beside him. “I’m more impressed that you read my cup and remembered my order before the memory loss.”
“I wanted to know what you liked,” he says with a shrug.
“Okay, so one black coffee for the soulless amnesiac and one iced chai latte with almond milk for the lady.” Beau types the order in his phone, so he doesn’t forget, and they head out the door.
They return shortly with Drew in tow, who immediately goes upstairs to shower. The boys decide to forgo snowboarding, claiming to be too sore from the last three days.
Instead, they join Colt and me for a day in the cabin. We play some board games, watch a couple of movies, just sit around talking, and nap for the majority of the day.
We finally decide to go up to the resort, where the boys join in a game of basketball.
While they’re playing, I see a figure approaching out of the corner of my eye.
Danielle, of all people, walks up to the bleachers and sits down, right next to me.
“Hi,” she says timidly.
“Hi,” I reply, unsure of what’s going on.
She looks to Colt. “You’re Beau’s friend, right? We met last year.”
“Yeah, what’s up?” Colt says, not giving away that he currently has no idea who she is.
“So, listen,” she begins, squirming in her seat nervously.
“I don’t know what he told you about what happened between us last year, but I wanted to apologize for how I came across the other day.
I’m not a stalker, I promise. He just never said he wasn’t interested anymore…
” She trails off, looking at me, rather than Colt, for signs of understanding.
I nod again, still not entirely sure what she wants me to say.
“He…he spent every night with me last year. When I saw him again, I thought he’d have missed me, too.” She looks to Colt now, searching for an explanation.
“Listen, Danielle—” he starts, but she cuts him off.
“Dani. I told you before, you can call me Dani.”
“Right. Dani. You see, Beau isn’t really the boyfriend type of guy. He just likes to…have fun.” Colt’s trying his hardest to spare her feelings without having to say what we’re both thinking: that Beau probably hasn’t thought about this girl at all since last year.
“I’m sorry, I—I shouldn’t have come over here. I’ll leave you two alone,” she stammers, stumbling down the steps of the bleachers.
I look at Colt briefly, but then I stand and follow after her.
“Dani, wait,” I call. She turns and slows but keeps walking. “Don’t get yourself hung up on guys like Beau,” I say once I’ve caught up.
“Easy for you to say, you’ve gone and made one of them fall for you,” she says harshly, then immediately apologizes.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I just meant…
he seemed different last year—Beau. We didn’t just hook up.
We talked. For hours, we’d lie awake and talk.
Sure, they were popular with everyone last year—I mean, look at them,” she says, gesturing to the shirtless guys on the court.
Beau, Booker, and Drew were definitely in a class on their own when it comes to good looks.
“But he chose me. He spent all week with me. Not one night. One night, I would’ve understood. I would’ve let it go. But then he came back and found me again the next day. And now I look like the crazy one, thinking it meant something.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy,” I say, laying a hand on her arm. “But don’t hold it against him. From what Colt’s told me, Beau just has commitment issues. It’s not anything you did.” From the way her shoulders sag, I see my words have their desired effect.
She gives me a small smile before walking away, and I head back toward Colt.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“I think so. I wish you had remembered what happened between them. I have a feeling if I asked Beau, he wouldn’t answer.”
Colt smirks at me. “Nosy much?” he teases.
“Oh, come on, like you aren’t dying to know what that was about?” I ask, exasperated.
He shoots me a wicked grin, and I sit up straighter. “You know what happened between them.” It’s a statement, not a question. The way his smile widens is all the answer I need.
“Oh, my God. You remembered her and pretended like you didn’t!”
“No, no. That’s not true. I didn’t remember until you were chasing after her. Then I saw Beau chasing after her instead. The rest came after that.”
“So, what did he tell you about her?” I ask, unable to stop myself from being curious.
“Nothing, truthfully. He liked her, and it scared him. When we went back home, he did everything he could to forget about her. I think he was hoping he could avoid her forever. But I’m glad she’s here. Maybe it’ll be good for him.”
“Why was he scared to let himself like her?” I ask, afraid I already knew the answer.
“Because of Gracie,” Colt supplies, and I nod, his words confirming my thoughts.
“What happened to her?” I ask quietly.
“That’s his story to tell, sweetheart.” He doesn’t say anything else out of respect for his friend, and I don’t push.
Back at the cabin, Mr. and Mrs. Warren have dinner ready. We’ve barely seen them since we got here, but I know they’ve just been enjoying their alone time.
We eat, catch up, have some wine—except for Colt, who’s still not allowed to drink. The expensive steak Drew helps Mr. Warren prepare is incredible.
The rest of the week goes by uneventfully. We’re all dog-tired by the time we get to the airport, and I sleep the entire flight home. When we get back to the Warrens’ house late on the twenty-second, Jill tells me to spend the night and that she’ll have Beau take me back to my dorm in the morning.
Colt leads me to his room in the house, the door clicking shut behind us.
He strips down and puts on a clean pair of shorts to sleep in, giving me an extra-large t-shirt to wear.
“Stupid donut pillow,” he mumbles under his breath, making me laugh. By the time we’re both settled under the covers, we’re too exhausted to do anything but hold each other until we fall asleep.
I wake up to my phone vibrating with an incoming call from my mom
“Hello?” I answer, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
“Hey, sweetie. I wanted to make sure you make it home from your trip okay,” my mother greets from the other end.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, I didn’t text when we landed. It was so late, and I just passed out,” I reply.
“When are you flying home for Christmas?” she asks. She’s been asking for the last two weeks.
“Tomorrow morning,” I say, having bought my ticket while we were in Denver.
“Who are you talking to?” Colt rolls over, his raspy morning voice brings goosebumps to my skin.
“Stella Lynn, is that a boy?” My mom all but yells into the phone. It’s so loud, I have to pull it away from my ear. Colt hears and sits up with a wince.
“Sorry,” he whispers.
“Yeah, um, it’s a boy, Mom,” I say, not bothering to try to come up with an excuse.
“Does this boy have a name? Why didn’t I know you were seeing anyone? I thought you went on this trip with a friend,” She continues to fire questions at me so rapidly that I can’t even answer them all.
“His name is Colton—Colt. And I just didn’t want to bring it up if it wasn’t going to be serious,” I say, feeling awkward having this conversation right in front of him.
“Well, is it serious now?” she asks plainly.
“Yeah,” I say after a beat. “It is.”
“Good. Then you’re going to bring him with you for Christmas,” she states, leaving no room for debate.
“No, Mom, that’s not a good idea. He got hurt recently, and we just got home, so he needs to rest—” she interrupts my protests.
“Let me talk to him,” she says. By this point, Colt is trying, and failing, to keep himself from laughing. He’s biting his fist and holding his breath to keep her from hearing him.
“No, Mom, I am not going to put him on the phone.” God, why does she have to be so…much?
“I don’t know, Stella Lynn, you might want to just let me talk to her,” Colt says, making himself laugh again. I pick up a pillow and throw it at his chest, making him chuckle harder.
“See? He wants to talk to me. Put him on,” she commands.
“Ugh, I hate you both. Here, I’m going to the bathroom,” I say, having had enough and handing the phone to Colt.
“Good morning, Ms. Anderson,” I hear him greet as I walk into the en suite.
When I return, he’s lying back on his donut pillow, having hung up the phone with my mother.
“We have a flight to catch at eight a.m. tomorrow,” he announces, hearing me approach.
“Colt, you do not have to go with me,” I argue.