"You have to say something to me at some point," I tell Colton as we're looking around a store. "You can't ignore me."

But he doesn't say anything. Colton has not said one word to me in fifteen minutes. And he walks ahead of me. I really fucked things up this morning. I pushed him too hard and he pulled away completely. This is almost worse than Colton leaving.

"Colton," I say, trying to get his attention or to get him to say anything. "Say something."

He says nothing again. I sigh and keep looking around. I have no idea what to get my dad and I'm too distracted by Colton to think clearly.

Fuck.

We walk out of the store and Colton walks quickly. I have to jog to catch up to him. I go to grab his arm, but my hand slips and lands on his chest. Colton stiffens and stops walking.

"Colton," I say again. "Please say something. You're making me feel like absolute shit."

"What do you want to get your dad?" Colton asks, looking straight ahead. It seems forced, which I guess it is.

"I don't know," I say. "I can't think straight because of you."

He hasn't moved my hand off his chest and I can feel his heart beating through the thin material of his t-shirt. I move my other hand to his chest and Colton finally meets my eyes.

"Okay."

"That's all you're going to say?" I ask. "Are you mad about something?"

"No. I'm fine. I just want to get back to the house," Colton says. He steps away from me and I sigh.

"Fine."

We go in and out of stores, barely talking. Eventually, we find a gift and start walking home. You could cut the tension with a knife. Colton hasn't warmed up at all and  I have no idea how I'm supposed to get through to him.

I feel beyond stuck and frustrated. Nothing is working and I keep telling myself that I have to move on, but I can't. I can not get over Colton and it's going to kill me. Colton already moved on and I keep questioning if he even cares about me.

At this point, I'm desperately hoping that we go back to fighting because anything is better than Colton ignoring me.

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

It's been two hours and Colton has still been avoiding me. I think he must be in our room because the door is shut. I've been laying out by the pool. Dad texted that he and Alex are going to be home in an hour, so I guess it's just us for a little while longer.

I sigh as I feel my back starting to tan a little bit too much. I couldn't reach all of it with sunscreen. I sit up and look around. The only person I could ask is Colton and at least it gives me something to ask him about.

I stand up and walk back into the house. I stop in front of our room and knock on the door. "Hey," I say.

Colton opens the door. "What?" he asks.

"Can you help me with my back? I couldn't reach it with the sunscreen," I ask.

Colton sighs. "I guess."

"You should come out to the pool with me," I offer. I almost regret it as soon as it comes out of my mouth. "Please?"

Colton looks around. It seems like he's thinking about it. "I...fine," Colton says finally.

"Cool," I say, trying not to seem too excited. Colton shuts the door to our room and follows me out to the pool. "Where do you think the parents are?"

"Probably getting drunk," Colton says. "So, uh, where do you want the sunscreen?"

I hand him the bottle. "My back. I can do yours when you're done," I say. I turn around so my back is to Colton.

"Okay," Colton says quietly. He moves my hair over my shoulder and I shiver. I feel Colton's hands rub the lotion on my shoulders slowly. I feel goosebumps rising and I'm sure he can too. I try to keep still and straight, but I don't know how much good it does. Colton's touch feels so ridiculously good.

His hands move down my shoulders and start rubbing the lotion onto my upper back. I almost fall over when his fingers slip under my swimsuit straps. I bite my lip and try to stay focused. His hands move lower and rub the lotion over the lower part of my back. I really want to look back and see how Colton looks but I don't.

I'm sure he's going to pull away and hand me the lotion, but his hands trail up my back and linger. Fuck, this feels so good.

"I think you're good," Colton tells me, his breath tickling my neck. He must be standing really close to me, but I keep looking straight ahead. I release a breath I didn't know I was holding and I brush against his chest.

"Um...okay," I say. "Thank you."

I close my eyes for a second and try to remember exactly how this feels. His hands haven't left my back yet. I take a step away and turn around. Colton hands me the sunscreen.

A slight smile tugs at my lips. "You can take your um, shirt off," I say.

"Oh. Right," Colton says. He slips his t-shirt off and I try not to stare. He's ripped as fuck and his abs are defined. Colton turns around and I blink. I shake my head. I really need to get a grip.

I squirt some lotion into my hands and rub it onto Colton's broad shoulders. He feels tense, and I know I shouldn't, but I spend extra time rubbing it into his shoulders. He seems to soften a little bit and I try not to smile.

I put more sunscreen into my hands and start rubbing it in. I try to think about something to say, but I don't know what. It feels good to be close to Colton right now and not fighting, so it's better if I don't say anything.

I'm almost done rubbing the sunscreen in when I see a small scar on the right side of Colton's rib cage.

"What's that scar from?" I ask before I can stop myself.

Colton stiffens and recoils. He pulls away and crosses his arms over his chest, covering the scar. "Nothing," he says quickly.

"Are you—" I start.

Colton cuts me off, "It's nothing."

"I...fine," I say. I sigh. "Can we make a deal?"

Colton frowns. "What kind of deal?"

"Do you remember when we were on the plane and we both asked questions? And answered honestly?" I tell Colton.

He sighs. "Yeah. I remember that," Colton says.

"Give me two questions, Colton," I say. "Give me two questions and I'll give you two."

Colton looks around, shaking his head. Finally, he says, "Fine. Two questions."

I sigh. There are so many things I want to ask him, but I only get two. I've already tried asking him a lot of questions, so I have to ask him new ones.

"You should go first," I say, trying to buy time. "Ask me anything."

"Why can't you move on?" Colton asks bluntly. I'm sure my face is red. I wasn't expecting that question.

"Shit," I mutter. I look at Colton. "I don't know."

"You said you'd answer honestly," Colton reminds me.

"I am." I rub my neck. "I honestly have no idea why I can't move on, okay? I keep asking myself that and I keep telling myself to get over you, but I can't. I can not get over you, Colton. And I've tried everything and it's beyond frustrating. I have no fucking idea why I can't move on because I know you already have."

"Okay," Colton says.

"Are you going to say anything else?" I ask him.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Colton tells me.

"Say anything besides that stupid fucking line. You've said that five times," I say. I search his eyes. "Colton."

"I don't believe you," Colton says. "You know why you won't move on, but you can't admit it to yourself."

My mouth opens but I can't say anything. I'm stunned. "And you know this how?" I ask Colton. "You won't talk to me anymore. You don't look at me. You act like you hate me. So, how is it exactly that you know me so well?"

Colton shrugs. "You're not good at hiding things."

"You're too good at hiding them!" I say. "You hide too many things. I don't even know what's real with you because you fucking lie and dodge questions. And then you leave."

Colton shakes his head. "You have no idea who I am anymore."

"You made sure of that." I bite my lip and look around. "What the fuck changed you? Why are you such an asshole? Why do you hide shit? Why can't you be honest?"

"Is that your question?" he asks.

"No!" I yell, even though I didn't mean to. "Fuck! I don't even know what to ask you."

"Then don't ask anything," Colton says.

"Fuck," I say again. And then I ask the question that's been driving me crazy, "Do you even care about me?"

Colton frowns. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know you anymore, Colton," I tell him, as I tug on my hair. "And you won't talk to me. You're cold. You're distant. You're an asshole. You fucking ignore me. So, tell me, Colton, do you have feelings for me?"

I'm searching Colton's eyes, waiting desperately for an answer. And it's been two minutes and he hasn't said anything.

He looks so defeated when he looks at me and says, "Yes."