Surprise Me.

Chapter 35- NYC Ain't For Me.

Sunlight came through the curtains and lit up the room. When I opened my eyes, I saw Colby, his face almost angelic while he slept. Our foreheads were pressed together and he held my hand on the pillow, the bird tattoo on his hand turned up. I sighed gently before gently sliding back and sitting on the edge of the bed. I swiped one of Colby's hoodies before heading into the kitchen to see if there was anything that would amount as breakfast. There was nothing suitable but coffee. The warm cup of coffee was the perfect change from the cold we'd experienced last night. A door opened softly behind me and I turned to see my shirtless, sleepy, smiling boyfriend.

"Hey." I said softly, turning to grab a cup for him.

"Hey." He replied, sliding his hands around my middle.

"I made some coffee."

"I'll get some in a minute." He pressed a kiss to my cheek as he hugged me from behind, his hands sliding into my hoodie pocket.

"I didn't expect you to be up so early."

"I woke up and you were gone. Your side of the bed was still warm so I figured it couldn't have been that long ago."

"Just long enough to make coffee."

"Either of the other two up yet?"

"I haven't heard either of them yet."

"Let them sleep. We had a long night last night. And I get to spend more alone time with you."

"Both good things." I said, grinning. I turned my head and he pressed a kiss to my mouth.

"What do we have in the way of food around here?" He asked, shifting his head so it was in the crook of my neck.

"Nothing. I've checked everywhere."

"Whenever Sam and Seth get up we'll go out for breakfast."

"Sounds good."

We stood in the kitchen, chatting quietly until I heard a door open softly. A yawn came from down the hall before I heard footsteps approach the kitchen.

"Sam will kill you if he sees you like that." Seth said, his voice still thick with sleep. He leaned against the counter next to us, taking the cup of coffee I offered him. He too was clad in a hoodie and sweatpants, hood pulled up and all.

"Frankly, I don't care that much." I sighed. "Sam isn't my dad."

"I'd hope not." Colby chuckled.

"I know you own shirts." Sam yawned, wandering into the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"Wear 'em once in a while."

"Why? The two of you are guys and Maddie is my girlfriend."

"It's weird."

I rolled my eyes, not willing to fight this battle so early in the morning. Instead, I handed Sam a cup and broke free of Colby's grasp to turn and face the boys.

"We have a little bit of a problem." I announced. "We have nothing here for breakfast so the three of you need to go get dressed so we can go for breakfast." No one made any movements. "Last person in the car has to pay."

I smiled as all three of them retreated to their rooms to get changed and beat the others. I walked into our room just as Colby pulled a pair of skinny jeans up and buttoned them at the waist. I chuckled as he looked up, a slightly embarrassed look crossing his face. As per the usual, I went with regular blue jeans and a t-shirt, keeping Colby's hoodie on. We grabbed our ball caps and put them on at the same time, the same thought crossing our faces.

"Race you to the car." We said at the same time. I ran immediately, Colby directly on my heels.

"Maddie! Get back here!" He laughed.

"Oh, no! I got here first, I'm driving!" I replied, swinging into the car.

"Jerk."

"You got to drive last night!"

"And?"

"It's my turn!"

"Fine." He sighed exaggeratedly.

Seth jogged outside moments later, taking the spot behind me. Sam sighed frustratedly as he locked the door, causing the three of us to burst into laughter.

"Come on, slowpoke! We're hungry!" I called.

"Very funny. I'm not buying dinner though."

"That's fair."

I drove us through town, pointing out places for breakfast and enjoying the view. We finally settled on a Panera, somewhere Sam's wallet wouldn't take a huge hit. We had a quiet, peaceful breakfast until I spoke up.

"Am I the only one who is still trying to process what happened last night?" I asked softly.

"No." Sam replied. "The whole issue with Charlie still has me confused. At least we know Charlie was real and he is still there."

"I'm more worried about what happened at the beginning." Colby added. "When Maddie had the symptoms of TB? This isn't the first time something like this has happened and I know it won't be the last." His hand found mine under the table and he squeezed it three times.

"This is what I signed up for when I started hanging out with you guys. This is what I signed up for when I became a medium. I can handle losing my breath here and there."

"I don't want you getting hurt."

"It's a risk all of us take, I'm no more prone to injury than any of you."

"She's got a point, I nearly fell through the floor last night." Seth pointed out.

"And I almost got lost." Sam continued.

"You ran into a few poles because it was dark." I told Colby.

"I get your point. Maybe we should stop going to haunted hospitals, that seems to be the root of our problems."

"I'd agree with that."

"Perfect."

Colby smiled at me and squeezed my hand three times again before dropping it and picking up his phone. My phone lit up with a text.

Colbs🖤> do u know how bad I wanna kiss you right now.

I had to force myself not to chuckle.

Mads> The feeling is mutual, believe me.

Colbs🖤> Good. I'd hate to feel this romantic and lonely at the same time.

I set my phone down and saw him grinning out of the corner of my eye before returning to my meal and the conversation Sam and Seth were having. It was gonna be a good morning.

sorry about the early upload, I really liked this chapter and want to get it out to you guys as fast as I could :)