After getting away from his cruel father's tyranny, Randall has to learn how to live again, and accept the person he was meant to be - with a little help of a local bartender...
*****
An empty shell is all what is left of twenty-five-yea...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
-Randall-
I said it.
For a brief moment, I just stared at Cole, unable to breathe. I couldn't believe what I just did. What the fuck did I just do...? What the fuck did I just say? Why did I say that?
Cole only stood there, watching me with a weird smile on his face. It was... full of...
What did I just do?
What did I just do!
"You..." he spoke, stopping to clear his throat. "You want me... to what?"
Lie. Lie right now!
"I..."
I forced air into my lungs. If I didn't lie right now, things would get so goddamn difficult. This peace I had built for myself would be destroyed for good. I was not ready. No! There was nothing to be ready for! I was not... I wasn't one of them.
"Squealy pigs!"
I could only stare at him. I had nothing to be... nothing to be afraid of... I didn't...
"I..."
His smile was full of hope. And happiness. He knew that was it. He knew that was all I had meant to say, but he wasn't sure if he could believe it. That was written in his smile.
And it scared me.
I looked away from him, unable to think. I was... scared. I just wasn't sure what I was scared of. Why was I scared...?
"Hey," Cole breathed out, taking a step closer to me, and my panicking mind came to a screeching halt. "Let's just take a deep breath, okay?"
Take a breath? After what I just blurted out? Impossible! First, I never should've said such a thing, and second, who the hell said stuff like that, huh? I was so embarrassed I wanted to... to...
"It's all right," Cole continued, taking another step closer. "I... You know how I feel about you, so... I mean, I can pretend you didn't say anything, but..." he trailed off, his smile getting a hint of sadness in it.
Why was I scared...? That sadness in his eyes right after seeing him so happy... It hurt.
"No..." I found myself saying before I could think it further. And honestly... I wasn't scared. Well, a little, but... not the same way as a second ago. "If I take that back now..." I muttered, and his smile grew brighter again.
"It's all right," he said, stopping only a foot away from me.
"Yeah, it is," I whispered.
I said it.
I looked at him closely, my heart calming down a little every time I breathed out. I could only wonder how he was able to calm me down with a few simple words. Nothing had ever calmed me down like that. Hell, I hadn't even known what it was like to feel calm until I met him.
