Lost in the Game {Brollins}

| Chapter 70 |

After countless minutes of holding each other tightly, Rebecca and Colby began walking back. "Thank you. For everything."

Colby looked at Rebecca, "I feel like I should be the one thanking you."

"You still up for running away together?" Rebecca laughed, nudging him with her elbow.

Colby smiled and nodded, "Whenever you are."

The two walked side by side as they made their way to Jonathan's truck, and Colby's heart fluttered the moment he felt her fingers make their way to his, slowly intertwining together.

They walked hand in hand until Jonathan could be seen in his truck. He felt her fingers begrudgingly slip away, as she made her way to the door quicker than he did.

"Hey." Jonathan watched Rebecca shuffle in the middle, followed by Colby who stayed on the side. "Nice of you to finally join me."

"Missed me that much huh?" Rebecca gently jabbed Jonathan in the ribs.

"Hell no. I need someone to push this old thing home when the battery dies." He rubbed the dashboard with his hand.

"What. Ever." She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'd just abandon you."

"You suck." Jonathan laughed as he began driving, glad to see Rebecca in a genuinely happier state.

During the drive, Colby looked in the side view mirror, catching a sliver of Rebecca's face. He subtly watched her as she looked out of the front window with the smallest of smiles staying on her face.

When they pulled up on the driveway, they jumped out of the truck and Rebecca rushed off to greet everyone else.

"I don't know what you said to her..." Jonathan looked over at a laughing Rebecca hugging Joseph, "But you did good."

"I do my best." Colby nodded, hiding his smile as they walked toward the group.

"I'm glad you came!" Ashley squeezed Rebecca extra tight.

"Me too." She murmured into Ashley's hair.

The group huddled near each other for a while, waiting for the food to arrive before they got started with the fire. Temperatures quickly began dropping and they all shivered, as they laughed and talked in the cold.

"We're gonna go eat in the kitchen because we don't want to freeze our fingers off. Ashley ordered pizza!" Pamela jumped from excitement and for warmth. "You coming?"

Colby laughed, appreciating her enthusiasm, seeing Rebecca walking off alone in the distance behind Pamela. "Yeah, I'll be there in a second."

"Pizza, pizza, pizza!" Joseph pumped his fist in the air as he chanted, walking in the house.

Rebecca stood calmly, with her hands in her hoodie pocket, staring at the still reflection of the moon on the water. Smiling to herself as she heard footsteps on the grass growing near.

She felt Colby's hands rest on her shoulders before travelling down her arms and following their path into her pocket. Rebecca gently leaned back into his chest, feeling her heart warm as Colby intertwined their fingers.

"Do you know what I wanted to say when you gave me this necklace?" She whispered, "When you said that maybe if I had something good to correlate with my name, I wouldn't focus on the bad?"

"What about it?" Colby nuzzled his face into her neck softly.

She closed her eyes and smiled, "I wanted to say I already did."

Colby just waited for her to continue, slightly confused. "I wanted to say it was you."

She turned towards him, removing their hands from her pockets. "You are my one good thing."

Colby stared at her, and everything he ever wanted he felt within seconds. Stability, the long-awaited quietness in his brain, the calmness overriding the anxiety. With one sentence, she made him feel like every moment of suffering was worth it.

He gently cupped her jaw, as he slowly leaned in, pressing his lips to hers and closing the distance between them. He felt her arms wrap around his neck, as she happily returned the gesture, both savouring every moment.

To Rebecca, she had finally found true and whole-hearted happiness. The one person she could be with and talk to, without suddenly feeling like an obstacle in their path. Something in the way he made her feel, let her know that she made the right decision.

This time there was no rush, no stipulation, it was just them.

"Oh. My. God." Pamela gasped, looking around the room frantically, waving her arms up and down in excitement and complete confusion. "Did anyone just see that?!"

"Huh?" Mercedes walked over to Pamela, "See what?"

"I-" Pamela stopped herself for a moment, "Uh... nothing. It was nothing!"

"You're insane woman." Mercedes cackled, moving back towards the food. Pamela turned back to the window seeing the two walking towards the house, and the smile on Rebecca's face instantly brought one to hers.

After eating, the group made their way back outside for the bonfire. They carried out blankets, and more food and drinks, before starting the fire.

Rebecca sat on the bottom end of a large bean bag chair. She looked around watching the girls laughing together, as they tried to all huddle under a blanket for warmth. Seeing Jonathan and Joseph lug wood logs over to the fire with smiles on their faces, as they talked. Feeling Colby sneak behind her subtly, moving her hair behind her neatly as he snuck in a soft kiss on her neck.

She looked at the glowing fire, watching the wood burn, only to reveal the fresh, unscathed pieces underneath. Knowing, the old layers of her life were finally starting to disassemble, and new surfaces were only just beginning to show.

When she looked up into the star-filled sky, surrounded by the people she loved, she knew that she had finally found what she had been missing. A real home.

She didn't know what the future would bring, or what other things she'd have to endure.

She just knew that she was exactly where she wanted to be.

Even if school wasn't over just yet.