Chapter 57: Chapter 57

Paris

The morning came sooner than I expected, and I didn’t like it. Waking up meant my nightmare didn’t stay in my subconscious realm, and I’d have to face it in reality, too. I groaned and shifted in the bed, realising it was roomier than I remembered. My eyes burnt as I welcomed the sunshine that now replaced the moonlight. I rubbed the lingering sleep from my eyes as I checked the time, reading 7:46 a.m.

With a sigh, I shuffled from the soft white sheets and ventured to the bathroom, where I splashed some water on my face and gargled some mouthwash. I returned to the room and grabbed my phone as I plopped on the fluffy pillows. I had a bunch of missed calls from mom and a series of text messages ranging from anger for leaving, to understanding, to apologies and promises to talk ‘as a family.’

I wasn’t stupid. We needed to talk about where everything goes from here. There was no way we could just pretend nothing happened. However, I avoided her messages for now and called my sister. It went straight to her voicemail, so I left her a message.

Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair as I threw the phone on the bed beside me, just as my tummy made a complaining growl. Then, instantly and right on cue, the door opened, and I beamed as Fabian entered with takeaway bags. My stomach growled at the very sight of food. Fabian was a life-saver.

“Good morning,” he chuckled as he handed me the food. I instantly dug in.

“Morning,” I mumbled with a mouthful of fried potato nuggets. They were the cutest things, making the meal much more fun to devour.

“How are you?” he asked, brushing a lock of my hair behind my ear.

I shrugged. I didn’t know how I felt. Perhaps it was too early for my mood swings. Thankfully, he didn’t question it too much. He stayed quiet and stole a bite of my food now and then. Soon, there was a knock downstairs, and my back stiffened at the simple sound.

“Who is that? Did you call my mom?” I wasn’t sure why that was my first thought, but it worried me.

“No.” He chuckled as he stood. “I’ll be right back.”

Relaxing a bit, I continued nibbling on a piece of bread until footsteps approached the room, followed by hush talking of male voices, one being Fabian’s. The other voice wasn’t too clear. But as the door reopened, I was stunned into a frozen state when a familiar yet unexpected face came into view.

Colton.

My eyes darted between the two boys. They didn’t appear as sudden best friends—far from it, actually. But they both peered at me with a similar light in their eyes. They cared for me, and I knew that was the only reason they were here—together. My eyes lingered on Fabian, silently asking him if he did this. As far as I knew, Colton didn’t have this address. But, all Fabian did was shoot me a wink before leaving the room.

My gaze settled on Colton as he reluctantly crossed the room. I straightened my back and placed the remainder of the food on the nightstand.

“H-hi,” he said with a short wave.

I cleared my throat as I returned the gesture. “When you said you wanted to hang out today, this isn’t what I thought you meant,” I said, attempting to initiate conversation. The last time we spoke was in guidance class, and it wasn’t even a forthright conversation. Why did Fabian bring him here? I wasn’t upset or complaining, but I was curious.

“Well, I guess things didn’t work out how we both imagined.” Without saying too much, I knew Colton learned what happened last night. Of course, Fabian told him. I didn’t mind, not one bit. However, I was a bit confused. Did he think I needed Colton to cheer up? Do I?

Instead of answering, I hung my head and fiddled with the strings on my blouse. There was so much I wanted to say, but I had not the first clue how to start. Colton sighed, shuffling closer to me before resting his hand on my knee.

“Paris?” he whispered, his eyes meeting mine with the intense sobriety of the moment. “Just let it out.”

And that I did. I threw myself in his arms, and my tears fell instantly. Again, just like last night with Fabian, I became utterly vulnerable to Colton with my emotions. But the difference was that Colton understood to a greater degree what I was feeling. Sure, I could express my years of doubting and fear concerning my family affairs to Fabian, and I’m sure he would understand. But Colton already understood, and I guess Fabian recognised this. That’s why he called Colton here.

Fabian acknowledged that I didn’t need to tell the story all over again, but to get over it. I could’ve done that with Fabian, even without telling him about the years behind my family’s stagnant state. But someone—in this case, Colton—who knew and understood will always help in healing easier and faster. Fabian looked beyond his primitive instincts and phoned the one person he ever had had doubts. He called the person who emotionally blackmailed him into staying away from me and only pursued me after realising how my feelings had changed. Fabian did it only for me.

I couldn’t stress enough how much I loved and appreciated Fabian, especially as a boyfriend. But he didn’t even know he was doing something Colton and I was too scared to do ourselves. He struck the reunion that could repair our friendship, because no matter how often Colton and I fought and argued, he’d always be my shoulder to cry on when I was hurting.