Tangled Hearts.

~Chapter 17~

~Colby~

~Tuesday, October 11th~

After last night—and this morning—I couldn't stop thinking about Rae. Every second was stuck in my head like a song on repeat. The way she curled into my chest, the way she laughed when I told her about that time I accidentally drank NyQuil instead of Gatorade at band camp, and the look on her face when I finally opened up about my dad.

I pulled into the driveway of the house I now lovingly refer to as "the trap house" (Raelyn's name for it stuck way too hard), turned off my car, and stepped out into the too-bright daylight. My shirt was wrinkled and my hair was a reck. I looked like I'd just gotten mugged by a pillow.

As soon as I opened the front door, I was greeted by the familiar scent of burnt coffee and chaos.

"Look what the cat dragged in," Sam called from the kitchen, popping his head around the corner with a grin that screamed trouble. "And by cat, I mean Raelyn. And by dragged, I mean lovingly snuggled all night long."

"Morning," I said, voice cracking like a 14-year-old. I cleared my throat. "What's up?"

That was a mistake.

From every corner of the downstairs area, heads popped up like I'd set off a car alarm. Jake was sprawled on the couch with a bowl of dry cereal. Corey was upside down in a gaming chair for some reason. Tara and Devyn were at the dining table painting their nails and drinking smoothies.

"DID HE SAY RAELYN?" Tara squealed.

"Oh my God, he did!" Devyn gasped, dropping her nail polish. "Is this finally happening?"

I sighed. "In my defense, you guys practically shoved me out of the house last night..."

"You should be thanking us brother." Corey concurred.

"I KNEW you had that post-cuddle glow," Jake said, shoving cereal into his mouth without looking away from his phone.

"I told y'all he was gonna come back all soft," Sam said, flipping upright. "Look at him. He looks like he's seen heaven."

"She made you breakfast, didn't she?" Devyn asked, eyes narrowing like she was interrogating a criminal.

"No—well, yes. It was eggs and toast but—"

"Aaand he's blushing," Jake announced, pointing dramatically like he was a referee. "Somebody get the scoreboard."

"Three points for Team Rae!" Tara said.

I sighed, dragging my hand down my face. "You guys are ridiculous."

"No, you are ridiculous," Corey said. "Out here catching feelings like it's the flu."

"I didn't catch anything, okay? We just—we talked. And hung out. That's it."

"Mhm... sure. Define 'hung out,'" Jake said.

"Cuddled. Talked. I opened up about my dad," I muttered.

Dead silence.

Devyn's jaw dropped. "You talked about Layne?"

"Willingly?" Sam asked, like I'd confessed to setting the house on fire.

"Yeah."

"AND YOU THINK THAT'S NOTHING?" Tara shouted. "Colby, that's more intimate than sex."

"Okay, first of all—"

"Second of all," Corey cut in, "you're toast, my guy. You're in. Deep."

Sam threw a dishtowel over his shoulder like a bartender in a rom-com. "Where's Katrina when we need an official opinion?"

I perked up at that. "Yeah, actually—where is she?"