9 Chapter 8

Flashback

I lay on my bed, my eyes closed and a smile on my face. Colton is sitting next to me playing with my hair. I felt him kiss my head, then the tip of my nose, and then my lips. My smile widens and I giggle. I open my eyes and meet his gazing down at me in what felt like adoration. Both his mouth and his eyes are smiling down at me.

“I love you. Just thought I would remind you,” he says, smiling as I got up and crisscrossed my legs, sitting to face him.

I lean forward and give him a quick kiss on the lips. “I love you, too.”

“I’m so glad our parents were late picking us up that day. We wouldn’t have become friends if they hadn’t been. I don’t know who I’d be without you. We’re so lucky to have the relationship and love that we have.”

I frown at him. Not because I don’t agree with him. I do. But something’s up. I can just sense it.

“What’s got you in such a sentimental mood?” I question him.

“My parent’s divorce was finalized today. It made me realize how quickly and easily relationships can end. Not that theirs ended quickly or easily, but it still happens all the time. I just don’t want anything to ever happen to us. I love you, Natalie. More than anyone. You’ve always known that but still. You’re my one constant in this world and I never want to lose you or what we have.”

My heart swells with emotion and a knot forms in my throat. I force myself to hold my tears back, but one traitorous one manages to find its way down my cheek. I grab his hand with one hand and cup his cheek with the other.

“I’m sorry about your parents, but we’re not them. What we have and what they had doesn’t even belong in the same category. We’ll always be there for each other, and we’ll always have each other. Nothing will ever happen to us, so don’t worry about it,” I console him.

He closes his eyes and grips my hand. “I don’t care that they split. I wanted that, remember? We’ll all be happier with them apart. I would only care if it was us. You’re so amazing and beautiful. I need you. I need you in my life.”

“You have me,” I say, smiling.

I climb onto his lap and sit sideways. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss the tip of his nose, then his lips like he had done earlier. He smiled and wrapped one arm around my waist and brought his other hand to my neck, bringing my lips back to his. I smile into the kiss. I can tell he needs this. This is reassurance and love. In this moment, we’re in our own world and the only two people alive.

We hear the front door open and I get off his lap, breaking the kiss, and sit next to him. My mom’s okay with him being in here because she trusts him. But, I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t appreciate coming in and seeing me on his lap. He looks at me and I stick my tongue out at him, reaching over and messing up his hair. He shakes it back into place and starts messing mine up but, unlike him, I can’t shake mine back into place. We start laughing as my mom walks in.

“Colton’s here. That’s a shocker,” she says sarcastically, smiling.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Colton retorts, chuckling.

“Do either of you want anything to eat?” she asks, like the over-accommodating mother that she is.

“I’m good,” Colton and I answer at the same time.

“Okay, then. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

We watch as she leaves and closes the door. We put on a movie and point out all the flaws and laugh at the idiotic mistakes. After it’s over, Colton stands up.

“I have to go. My mom is big on spending a little time with me now. I think she’s lonely and wants to make sure I’m dealing with everything alright,” he says, sighing, rubbing a hand over his face, and rolling his ocean blue eyes.

I stand up and walk over to him, get on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. He wraps his arms around my waist and places a soft kiss in my hair.

“Everything will be fine,” I whisper into his shoulder.

“I know, Nat. I have you and, as long as I have you, I’m okay.”

I smile and kiss his cheek, then watch him leave.

*****************

The bell ringing, signaling everyone to go to the last period of the day, brought me back to the present. He had been 15 and I had been 14 when that happened. We had gotten each other through a lot throughout our friendship. If only I had known then what I do now. How fast things can change. More than ever, Colton had been right.

“You have P.E. next, don’t you?” Andrea asks, falling into step beside me.

Jesus. Was she going to make this a habit? Because this was going to get beyond annoying extremely quickly.

“Yeah,” I answer shortly and clipped.

“Me too. I was just wondering because I’ve never noticed you in there.”

Well, if her previous question didn’t just become confusing as fuck. But of course, she didn’t. She stayed amidst her friends. I nod so she doesn’t think I’m ignoring her. I didn’t see the point in being overly rude when she hasn’t done anything personally to me. We go into the girl’s locker room and change into our gym clothes, then go into the gym.

I scan the room and notice Riley talking to a few guys and girls. He is laughing, his smile lighting up his face as per usual, making him look even cuter. His attention turns to one of the girls as she speaks to him. He chuckles a little and nods. She touches his arm flirtatiously and laughs a little too hard while twirling her hair. Could she be any more obvious? He says a few more words to her then turns back to the guy from the hall that had been waiting for him.

“The girls seem to love him,” Andrea says, coming up beside me, making me jump a little and realize I have been staring like the fool that I am.

“Yep.”

“They have for as long as I’ve known him,” she continues, an edge of longing and frustration entering her tone.

I’ll admit, this piqued my curiosity. One little question couldn’t hurt. It doesn’t mean anything.

“How long have you known him?” I ask as the coach blows her whistle, telling us to get on the floor and start stretching.

“Since last school year,” she answers as we stretch our arms.

I nod and my eyes go to the corner of the big square in the middle of the gym where everyone stands on the lines and stretches. Riley and his friends are still talking and laughing while they stretch. His eyes scan the room and he glances at me, then looks back at me when he realizes I’m looking at him. He smiles and winks at me, then focuses his attention on the girl that’s talking to him at the moment. My heart irritatingly flutters at the wink and attention from him but then I begrudge the girl stealing it before I can find it in me to stop myself and realize how stupid the feeling is. The coach blows her whistle and we start stretching our legs.

“The thing that kind of worries me is that he has so many pretty girls that are interested in him,” Andrea continues while she watches Riley and the girl talk, oblivious to the war I’m battling within myself over said guy.

I shrug, not knowing what to say. The coach blows the whistle again and we go outside to the track. Andrea waves bye to me and heads over to her friends. The coach blows her whistle, yet again, and we start running laps around the track. I see black hair out of the corner of my eye and know immediately it’s Colton running beside me. I look at him in confusion and see that his jaws are clenched.