Begin Anew {Cole Walter}

Chp. 4

holly's pov

i was finally unpacking some of my stuff from home when i was trying to grab a box off the top shelf and i almost fell but two hands grabbed the box and me i looked up to see Cole putting the box down he smiles so adorably when he says " almost lost you there" "it takes more than that to get rid of me" he starts opening the box that i was trying to get down before he caught me as i get a notification when i read it m face drops. Cole notices as he stops going through the box and looks at me right as Alex walks in saying that breakfast was ready i look at them both and say "thank you, i'll be down in a m-minute ok " i hate that i stuttered because the notification wasn't that big of a deal it was just a reminder that today was Lucy's birthday and that just hurt a little. she would have been nineteen. I grab a white porceline teapot from the box Cole was snooping through and head down to the kitchen to make some tea and go to school as i set the tea pot on the counter to start making the tea i hear a shatter i look behind me to see that Parker had accidently knocked the teapot into the sink with her hockey stick. my heart broke, that was a gift from Lucy. Cole came and offered to clean the mess as Kathrine scolded Parker i turned to Kathrine with tears in my eyes and i know Cole and Alex saw them as i told her "it's fine it was an accident it's fine" i start crying as i rush to my room pack my bag wipe my tears away and run downstairs so the boys don't leave without me. when i get in the car it's silent and the drive stays silent until we get to school. cole gives us his daily 3:30 sharp reminder and we disperse. the day goes by quickly. After lunch i'm sitting in the bathroom looking at pictures of me jackie and lucy when i hear two girls walk in and start talking about how they need to find someone new and that i'm cornering all the good guys then one of them asks if they think i'm pretty and they say "no she just is new and has novelty boys love that but novelty wears off." "plus didn't she win the lottery when her parents died" "yea" "plus her parents were rich so she literally won the lottery" that's when i had heard enough walked out of the stall and said "yea its really awesome my parents and sisters died i got moved across the country and have to deal with bitches like you." as i walked past them i shoulder checked the blonde one and i heard her fall. i smiled at that but it quickly dropped remembering what they had said about me. i walk to class with tears in my eyes until i hear someone yell "hey new york wait up" i keep walking knowing its Cole and i really don't want to deal with him right now. he calls out again "please wait i cant quite run on this leg yet." i stopped at that i may not want to talk to him but i definitly don't want to hurt him either. when he reaches me he asks "are you ok" pointing to my tear stained face and wet eyes. i nod and reply "yea today has just been a lot" "wanna get out of here" "with you?" "unless you have someone else in mind look Dylan has a lake house and it would involve cutting class-" i cut him off by saying "you know i cant do that" "well i'm going and it looks like your having one of those days where you kind of need to escape." "fine"

when we get there its cold and right as i get our of the car i see Erin and the girl who was talking shit about me in the bathroom talking i turn to Danny and say "guess i should have asked who was invited" "it'll be okay" he says i start walking to the cabin and i feel something on my shoulders i see that Cole has given me his letter man jacket and i'm not going to lie i swoon just bit on the inside but i stop once he walks right past me. we were all just chilling by the fire when Olivia offers me a shot and i say "yes please." and gulp it down. i see cole watching me out of the corner of his eye smirking ever so slightly. i tell myself to stop noticing everything he does because it will just make me like him more and hes a player i cant get hurt again. suddenly Dylan yells out "Who wants to go skinny dipping with me!" the girl who was talking shit about me and Olivia offer to go as Danny mumbles about him needing a fire so he doesn't get hypothermia. as they strip Dylan is wearing a number 19 jersey, everyone looks at cole and i realize that was his number Dylan tries to explain but cole says its fine and goes to start chopping wood for a fire. i follow him because he looks pissed "wow ok angry lumberjack is a new look for you" i say when i find him. i'm slightly buzzed i won't deny it. i see him smile as he asks if i made a joke i reply with "would that be such a big deal" "no it's just you seem to like being serious, annoyed, flirty at times, but never humorous around me. i mean half the time you're ignoring me." "yea well i only flirted when i thought you weren't a player and i've avoided you because you tried to flirt when you are in a semi-serious relationship already and i didn't want that energy but you've proven that you don't want to flirt with me so we can be friends again" "wow i feel so appreciated can i have my jacket back since apparently we weren't friends when i gave it to you" he jokes lightly but theres a sad undertone that i choose to ignore. "no its warm" i say playing along he then puts a bunch of wood in my arms and takes my drink saying "c'mon your going to help me build this fire, new york" with that we walk off. later by the fire we are playing truth or dare when i get it explained to me that if you don't want to do whatever your option was you kiss the next person to your left. we play a few rounds and then cole gets asked a question and i realize im to his right and the particular question was an uncomfortable one so he leans down to kiss me as erin say "you wouldn't" i take a step back saying "no not with two of your whores right here thats sadistic and im not going to kiss you we just became friends after what happend. i walk off into the woods and find a place by the lake shore thats super peaceful and it gives me the time i need to think to process everything. i stay there till danny finds me and says its time to go. i follow him to the car and when we get there i take the backseat and throw Cole jacket at him in the drivers seat. the drive is silent. when we reach the house and walk in kathrine is waiting for us with punishment me and cole are grounded.

the next day theres a list of chores for me and cole to complete i really wish he weren't grounded with me because he is the one person i don't want to be around right now. the rest of the walter's leave for a party at the lark cafe leaving me and cole alone because we finished the chores we were given. im sitting in my room reading a book when i hear a knock on my door knowing that its cole i yell "go away" he comes in anyway and sits on the edge of the bed i don't know if i should speak because he is sitting there like hes trying to put a sentence together so i leave him to go make us hot cocoa he follows and starts speaking "im sorry i tried to kiss you that was callous and stupid but erin had been flirting all day and i was irritated with her and dylan and i wasn't think rationally ok?" "i accept your apology" his face floods with relief and i hand him one of the hot chocolates i made he takes a sip and chokes on it "What's in this?" "It's spicy hot chocolate but compared to how i learned there's barely any." he pauses and looks at me like he wants to ask something so i ask him"what?" "truth or dare?" "nooo im really not in the mood" "hey just answer" "fine truth" "why don't you trust me i've apologized about the flirting and the lying and the bet with issac that you racked by the way. so what else can i do to make you trust me." "i do-" "don't give me that you don't in the way that i mean i mean ive been trying to prove that i genuinely like you but you just dont believe me" "thats because ive heard the stories, seen the stories and you dont seem to realize that-" "no i haven't been with any girl since olivia that night and i put myself on a stage on my least favorite day just so you could be happy, you watched me turn down erin to hang out with you. and that still wasnt enough. what else" "i dont think you realize that not sleeping around is the bare minimum and i appreciate that you got on that stage but all it tells mme is that you like me enough to do a gesture but ive seen you do gestures to all the girls so im sorry that one thing isnt going to make me think you like me." "fine ill drop it for now" then the power shut off. we went to the power box and tried to turn the power on but it kept turning off. so we settled for lighting tons of candles and the fireplace we sat down next to it and i started to say "it was Lucy's birthday yesterday" he looked understanding as he said "im so sorry holly" "thats why i used the teapot it was our tradition. im not sure how it started but im pretty sure it had something to do with alice in wonderland" i laugh and so does cole. the room suddenly has tension and were staring into each others eyes leaaning forward then the door opens and the walter's are home looking for us. we break apart like lightning and stand up cole helping me not letting go of my hand as alex is the one who does find us though and he looks so sad to see us together i wonder if he liked me.