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25

Taylor's pov

Over the course of the day, we managed to find denim from jeans, leather, and surprisingly a stopwatch from 1729.

What hurt was Colby and I still have not made up for the problem he thought we had. I tried not to let my thoughts overwhelm me as I made my way past the bunkhouse, up to where Brent liked to watch the sunset off of a path worn down by tires of vehicles.

I faced the sun, letting my body give up on me, physically expressing how I felt.. I plopped down on the ground, bringing my knees to my chest and watching as the sun fell behind the mountains ever so slowly.

I didn't know what to do. And I didn't realize I was crying until I felt a teardrop slide down my cheek and onto my bare kneecap. I completely forgot I slid and ripped my jeans, not that Colby cared.

But Corey did. He helped me up and made sure I didn't have any cuts though I could have done it myself, surely. That's what good friends do, though.

I still couldn't talk to him about whatever was going on between Colby and I. I would normally call Alex, but I had no service and anyways my phone died sometime last night.

I wiped my face, and I could only hope that my face wasn't puffy since I didn't bring a mirror up the mountain with me to check. It's not like I looked good anyways because the only makeup I brought with me to Cerro Gordo was chapstick, and that doesn't even count.

I scanned through every single memory I had made here in Cerro Gordo between Colby and I. I personally thought everything was fantastic between us, whatever "us" was. I didn't even know anymore.

Were we friends? Lovers? Flirty friends, at that? I couldn't say. I had let myself believe the two of us had a special connection, but maybe it was something he didn't see.

I let my thoughts consume me, but though my heart was heavy, my mind was blank. I got lost in the sun's rays, letting the beauty of this once beautiful, thriving town capture my full attention. It seemed to drown everything else that was on my mind, and for a moment everything seemed peaceful.

I could almost picture it back in the day, with a couple more buildings and even laughter. Kids being raised here, maybe They would be raised to be farmers elsewhere or mine silver out of the mountains. I could picture where gunfights must have happened, bullet holes still dotting the remaining buildings today. The hotel that burned down just days ago, still up and full of life. And even possibly a girl just like me was sitting right where I was, where she could temporarily escape from the life she was living. I got so invested, I could even begin to hear footsteps of people walking, and it sounded so realistic I just got lost in it more.

"I figured you'd be up here," A familiar, deep voice said from behind me.

I quickly wiped my face before turning around to see Colby, who was watching me and for the first time today he wasn't wearing his weird ass strap thing. Those footsteps sounded so real because they, in fact, were real. It was Colby.

"Hey," I swallowed, unsure of what to say so I figured I'd start with an oblivious tone, "You okay? You've been acting funny today," Well, that failed.

"Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you about that," He said, not moving from where he stood. He almost looked awkward, with his hand grabbing his other elbow in front of him.

"I was just wondering if you were okay?" I pressed, more of a question than an answer.

"Uh, yeah," He cleared his throat, and I patted the ground next to me. Colby took this as a sign to sit down, which it was, and he did, "Look, I'm sorry I've been such a bitch to you today. It wasn't fair, I just had a lot on my mind and I know it's not even close to a good excuse but-"