My face reddens as I hastily shove the letter into my back pocket, hoping Bryce doesn't notice.

"You're home early," I squeak out.

Bryce smiles as he pulls me into a hug. "I missed you," he says.

"Yeah. Uh, I missed you too," I say, even though it feels a little bit forced.

"What are you doing up so late?" he asks.

"Oh," I say. "I fell asleep on the couch and I woke up when I heard you."

"Okay," he says. I look at him. His blonde hair is styled like it always is and he's wearing sneakers and jeans. At least he's not in another one of his suits. "Are you okay?"

I look at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I am," I ramble. I rub my neck. "I think I'm going to go back to bed."

"Sounds good. I'm gonna shower," he says. I nod. I turn around and walk to my bedroom, slightly dazed. I sit down on the bed and drop my head into my hands. Once I hear the shower start, I jump up and read the letter once last time before I shove it into a random sweatshirt pocket.

"Fuck," I mutter as one tear slips down my cheek. I take off my clothes and change into a tank top and shorts. My hand brushes my ribcage and I can almost still feel Colton's touch.

I shake my head as I turn off my light and crawl under the covers. I need to get it together. I can't let Bryce figure out what happened, or at least for right now. All I know is that Colton's really fucking gone and he's not going to come back for me, even though he said we're perfect for each other. And there's no sense in chasing him right now.

I just need to go to sleep. I can deal with everything else later.

I hear the shower stop and then I hear Bryce's footsteps. He lays down so his chest is to my back and his arms are wrapped around me. I can feel that he's not wearing a shirt and he's still partially wet from his shower.

"How was your trip?" I ask him as I run my fingers along his hand, wondering why it feels different.

"It was fine," Bryce tells me, his breath tickling my neck. "I took tomorrow off."

"That's good." I sigh. Something doesn't feel right and I know why, even though I don't want to admit it. It doesn't feel right because it's the wrong person. The wrong fucking person.

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

I didn't sleep well. I felt so fucking guilty and confused and restless, and I still do. I know I absolutely should not be doing what I'm about to do, but there's no other choice. I'm so lost.

It felt wrong to be with Bryce. Strange. And it's nothing that he did, he's been so sweet lately. I just don't know what the fuck to do. I can not stop thinking about Colton. I can't stop thinking about how he kissed me or how I feel when I'm around him.

But most of all,  I can't stop wondering how I'm supposed to get on with life without him. He said that I was a hurricane, but he was too. Colton ran into my life again, but it's like he's gone before I even realized it. The only thing I fucking want is him. But he's gone like he was never even here.

And Bryce is here, but it doesn't feel right. It feels bland like everything has gone back to normal, like everything is grey again. I swear I'd do anything to look up into Colton's mischievous green eyes. I miss feeling fucking alive.

I sigh as I shift my phone in my hands. I got a new one, but it doesn't have a case yet, so it feels slightly odd and slippery. "Fuck it," I mutter as I dial the number.

"Hello. This is Christopher Reed."

I smile. "Hey, Dad. It's Andy. I got a new phone."

"Hey! How have you been?" he asks.

"Um...okay. How are you and Alex doing?" I ask, biting my lip.

"We're good," Dad tells me. "So, I'm guessing there's a reason why you called."

"Yeah," I say as I rub my neck. "I was wondering if you and Alex had heard anything from...Colton. I was wondering if he was with you guys."

"Oh," Dad says. "I hadn't heard anything."

"Oh."

I hear Dad sigh. "Andy, what's going on with you two?"

I feel my cheeks redden. "I um...we...fuck. Sorry I swore. We...we're not together, I guess. But I miss him."

"And are you still with Bryce?"

My blush deepens. "I guess you could say that."

"But you want to be with Colton?" Dad asks.

I sigh. "It's complicated," I tell Dad. "Sorry if I bothered you, I just wanted to know if he was with you guys."

"Someone's paging me, but you should call me later," Dad says. "Goodbye."

"Bye." I stare at my phone. "Fuck," I mutter. "Fuck. Motherfucker."

"Everything okay?" Bryce asks.

"Yeah, of course." We're at the mall for some reason, and I figured I might as well get my phone fixed. I drink the rest of my coffee and throw the empty cup into the trash. Fuck, I'm so tired.

"Do you want to see a movie?" Bryce asks.

"Sure, if you want to," I say. Bryce smiles as he slips his arm around my shoulders and we start walking towards the theater. Bryce picks some movie that I probably won't remember.

When we get to our seats, Bryce puts his arms around me again and my eyes get heavier.

"You should take a nap, sweetheart," Bryce says. I mutter something, but I'm already drifting away.

The door opened and I looked up. I sighed because I was sure I was going to see Bryce walk in, but I looked up and I saw Colton. I looked back down at my phone, but then I registered what I just saw. I stand up quickly, and I'm just staring hopelessly at Colton, trying to find something to say.

"Hey," Colton said as he walked towards me.

"Hey," I said, staring at him. "What...why are here?"

He kept walking towards me. And fuck, he looked good. Colton was wearing a shirt that strained over his arms and his hair was styled in a messy way. " I forgot something," Colton told me.

I licked my lips as I felt butterflies in my stomach. "What did you forget?" I asked him.

He shrugs. "You."

My mouth fell open slightly. "Oh."

"Yeah," Colton said. He sighed as he took another step closer to me, and we were so close that I could feel his body heat, but we weren't touching.

"Why did you ...come back?" I asked Colton.

"There was something I wanted to do again," he told me, and I took a quick breath that caused my chest to brush his.

"Oh," I said again. Colton took the final step forward and his body was flush against mine. My back hit the table and his hands went to my hips, making me shiver.

Colton brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, "Fuck, I've been waiting for this. I'm going to make you do a lot more than shiver."

I smiled smally. "Promise?"

Colton grinned at me before he started kissing my neck. I stood up on my tip-toes and pressed my body to his. Colton bit my neck softly and I jumped closer to him. I slid my hands under his shirt. He pulled away from me and pulled his shirt over his head in one fluid motion. I bit my lip as I stared at his well-defined body. Fuck, he was so hot.

Colton stared at me, his green eyes impossibly dark. His grip tightened slightly on my hips as he lowered his mouth to mine. Colton kissed me passionately and kissed my bottom lip before biting it. I moaned and opened my mouth wider for me, and his curious tongue met mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed closer to him. Colton slid his hands underneath my shirt and his bare skin felt so good against mine. His hands moved up my back and unhooked my bra.

I kissed him harder as his fingers swirled against my skin. He pulled his mouth away from mine as he took off my shirt and then our bare chests were pushing against each other. Colton lowered me over the kitchen table, so he was on top of me, kissing me like I'm all he needed. I wrapped my legs around his waist and ground my hips against his.

"What the fuck is going on?" The door slammed. My eyes flew open as I stared at Colton with wide eyes. He pulled away and we both sat up.

"She doesn't want you, man," Colton told Bryce.

"Get the fuck out of my apartment," Bryce said, staring directly at Colton. He shifted his gaze was to me. "Both of you. Get the fuck out!"

I sit up suddenly, breathing a little bit too quickly. "Fuck," I gasp quietly. Bryce looks at me strangely. "I'm gonna go get some air."

"Okay."

I'm shaking my head as I walk out of the dark theater. All I remember from my dream was that Colton came back, but Bryce found out. I don't even know what to think about it. I walk over to where the bathrooms are and I pull out my phone. I know I shouldn't do this, but I have to try.

I dial the number and bring my phone to my ear. It goes straight to voicemail, "Hey. It's Colton. Leave a message and I'll probably hit you back unless I don't like you."

"Fuck," I mutter. I try the number again but he doesn't pick up. I sigh and run my finger along the bottom of my shirt nervously.

"Hey, Colton. It's Andy. I um, got my phone fixed. I know you said not to call, but I had to try. I wanted you to know that you're such a fucking hypocrite. And a coward. You said we're perfect for each other, but we can't be together. You said that it fucking hurt to leave me. So, why did you? I don't know how shit is supposed to go on without you. I fucking miss you, which is so pathetic because it hasn't even been a day. Fuck, Colton. Tell me to do anything and I'll do it if you come back. And please call me back, okay? When you left, you forgot to take my heart with you. So, come back please, okay? Come fucking back, Colton. Don't let this be goodbye."