Page 54 of Between the Boards
I hurry upstairs before my brain can spiral any further, and by the time I reach Colton’s door, my heart’s beating way too hard for reasons I don’t fully understand.
I raise my hand and knock. “Colton?” I call out. “It’s me.”
I slowly push the door open and find him sitting on the edge of his bed with his elbows braced on his knees and his head in his hands. His hair hangs messily over his forehead and the sight of him makes something ache in my chest.
“Colton?” I say more gently this time as I step inside and close the door behind me. “I brought you ice.”
He lifts his head slowly, one eye swollen semi-shut.
“Thanks,” he mutters, reaching for it.
I place the ice pack in his hand and watch as he presses it against his face with a quiet hiss.
“I’m really sorry this happened,” I say softly. “I shouldn’t have told you about the?—”
“Kairi.” The seriousness in his voice cuts me off immediately. “Don’t ever hide something like that from your friends again. Understand?”
I swallow hard and nod. Apparently everyone in my life is getting tired of me dealing with things alone. First Maliah and Eliana, and now him.
“And don’t blame yourself either,” he adds, holding his free hand out toward me. “I chose to be a confrontational asshole.”
I slide my hand into his and he pulls me closer until his forehead lightly rests against my stomach, catching me off guard. Warmth spreads through my chest, confusing me even more.
How am I supposed to make sense of these feelings? Especially when Zale’s suddenly looking at me differently too? I need to set some boundaries—a better wall between us—before this whole fake relationship stops feeling fake.
“Earlier today,” I say carefully, “you said you’d be my shield.”
“Mhm,” he hums against me.
“I don’t want that.”
He looks up at me, confused.
“Gabriel’s already handling it, and I don’t want you risking your career because someone else is being ignorant.”
“No promises,” he says, burying his face back into my stomach.
I sigh and gently tilt his chin back up. “Colton.”
“So serious,” he teases with the faintest grin.
I roll my eyes and step away before my feelings start going haywire again. His room is messy in a very Colton kind of way—clothes tossed over his chair, surf magazines stacked in a corner on the floor, a half-empty water bottle on his nightstand.
But it’s the framed family photo on his desk that catches my attention. I walk over and pick it up, taking a closer look. His father looks intimidating enough to scare a grown man into silence. He has broad shoulders, a sharp jaw, and blue eyes identical to Colton’s.
His mother, on the other hand, softens the whole picture. Her blonde hair reaches her waist, a dimple on one side as she smiles gently, her brown eyes welcoming. A younger version of Colton and his siblings stand between them.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asks, coming up behind me.
“A lot.”
He sighs and slowly turns to face him. “Like what?”
I hesitate, looking back down at the picture briefly. “I feel like I barely know anything about you.”
The truth of it hits me hard as soon as I say it out loud. After years of friendship, after everything that’s happened between us, I still know so little about Colton.
His eyes drop to the family photo still in my hands before returning to mine. I expect him to shut down, but instead he nods slowly.
