SPOTLIGHT (Colt Seavers) ✔︎

9 | Dialogue

Once I had dragged Colt back to the club. we got in my car and left. Despite being almost 10pm, the city was still bustling with night life. I leaned my arm on the window and rested my head against it, struggling to keep my eyes open as I focused on the road.

"Hey, Skye?" Colt piped up. I hummed in acknowledgement. "I'm sorry for getting you involved in this." I let out a tired sigh. "You can just drop me off at the hotel and I'll deal with Ryder."

The car slowed to a stop at the red light and I tilted my head to face Colt. He looked exhausted; covered in bruises and scratches. The wound on his forehead had begun to congeal, but I could tell it needed attention. "You are in no state to be doing anything right now." He went to object, but I cut him off. "We'll go back to my place so I can put something on that." I nodded at his forehead and he rolled his eyes.

"I'm fine." He gestured to himself. "I do this all the time."

"Yeah, and who is the first person to see you when you finish a stunt?" He didn't respond, just let out a contemptuous sigh. "A medic."

"But Ryder might be gone if we wait too long."

The light changed to green and we lurched forward. "Look, Colt." He turned to face forward. "I want to help Jody too." He nodded. "But we're not going to be reckless, okay?"

"Fine," Colt muttered. "How far?"

"About ten minutes."

***

When we reached my apartment, Colt slumped on the couch, groaning in pain. I immediately rushed to the kitchen and grabbed the first aid kit from the top cupboard. "Just stay still," I instructed as I kneeled on the floor beside him. I gently touched the wound on his forehead and he winced. "Is there anything else?"

He nodded, pointing to his right leg. "My knee." I leaned down and pulled up his trouser leg, revealing another bleeding cut. "I think that's it."

"Okay," I sighed, opening the kit and removing anti-septic. I gently poured some onto a cotton bud. "This is going to sting." Colt nodded and gritted his teeth in anticipation. "Sorry." I placed the cotton onto Colt's forehead, refusing to let his wince of pain get to me. I pressed the antiseptic gently into the wound, dabbing it around, just to be safe. When I lifted it away, Colt's eyes were screwed tightly shut. "All done."

Colt let out a sigh of relief. "That wasn't so bad..." I retrieved a new cotton roll from the bag and dipped it in the anti-septic once more. I held it up for Colt to see. He sighed. "Fine."

I put one hand on Colt's knee, so the pant leg wouldn't roll down. He watched me intently, his leg stock still as the anti-septic-coated ball hovered over. "This one doesn't look as bad," I observed, lowering the ball. "Okay, and..." Just before I could make contact, Colt's hand struck out to grip my arm. I glanced up at him, concerned. "What is it?"

"Coffee."

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I'll make you coffee after I do this." Colt nodded, satisfied. "Okay, you ready?" I pressed the cotton ball onto the cut on his leg, but he didn't seem too bothered. It was over in a few seconds.

***

Colt and I sat on my couch, silently sipping the coffee I just made and staring out at the mediocre view of Sydney.

My place was modest; a small apartment in Sydney Central with a view of a neighbouring building. There was a small sliver where I could see the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but that was enough for me.

"This is really good." I turned to face Colt, who was tapping the bottom of the mug to extract the last dregs. "You're right. The stuff we have in the States is like gas, compared to this."

"You mean petrol?" Colt glanced up at me, confused. "We call it petrol here."

Colt still looked confused. "Why?"

"Because it's not a gas," I explained amusedly. "It's petroleum. It's a liquid..."

Colt sighed. "What else do we do wrong?" He retorted in mock offence.

I just shrugged, a smile forming on my face at our banter. "Don't even get me started."

Colt crossed his arms. "What?"

Well, for starters..." I placed a finger on my temple. pretending to be deep in thought. "You drive on the wrong side of the road, you call a footpath a sidewalk, you—"

"—Yeah, okay," Colt interrupted me, rolling his eyes. "I get it."

"And you seem to think Australia is this tiny island... Do you know how many people live here?"

Colt shrugged.

"Twenty-six million." Colt's eyes widened in surprise. "And Australia is slightly bigger than continental USA."

"Really?" Colt muttered under his breath. I nodded. "No way..."

I let out another amused chuckle. "Way."

***

I took Colt's empty mug along with my own and put them in the sink. Colt pushed himself up from the sofa, still swaying slightly. "Why is it taking so long to wear off?"

I shrugged. "We can just wait here until it does."

"No," Colt said sternly. "Ryder could be gone by then. Let's just go."

With that, we went back down to my car and drove to the Pendleton Hotel.

***

A/N: Did anyone get the little easter egg I included in this chapter? I'm not going to give it awat, but comment if you worked it out.