Reasons

Chapter 14

Rylie's POV

Colby pulled me into his arms and kissed my cheek. "Hey," he said, pulling back to look me over. "Look at you," he teases. I normally dress better even around the house, so it I knew he was talking about my dressed down look.

"Nice to see you too, Colby," I murmur, hugging him again. "How did you get here? Your car isn't here," I ask. I would have known if it had been here.

Colby half smiles and explains, "We were trying to surprise you. Mom and dad picked me up from college." He shrugs as if it is no big deal, but I grin.

"Well I am glad you are here, I missed you," I tell him truthfully. The last time I saw him was when it was my birthday. He possibly only came because I was turning sixteen.

I sit down beside him on the couch and nudge his shoulder. "So how is college?" I ask, raising my eyebrows.

"Boring," Colby answers, snarling his nose. "How is the homeschooled life?"

I try to search for the right words. Overall, the last few weeks without Harry around have been boring, but the week before that was crazy. Then this weekend had been amazing.

"Truthfully, it is okay. It could be better," I reply.

Colby chuckles and nudges me. "What, do you need your big brother here to spice it up?" he taunts. I just shove him and turn to look at my mom. She looked exhausted and I couldn't help but feel guilty. She must have been worried sick about me.

I turn to look at Colby again and ask, "Do you want to help me with my luggage? You don't have to, but we can talk some more." I then nod toward where my mom was. I wanted to be sure my assumption was correct and it wasn't anything horrible.

Colby nods and grabs my bags for me. I follow him into my room and shut the door behind me. He puts my bags onto my bed and sighs dramatically.

"Mom was feeling ill the other night. We think it is the case of the stomach bug, but it came back again today...," Colby trails off, rubbing his forehead.

I reach out and take his hand. "Do you think she's..." I couldn't seem to finish the sentence.

Colby just shakes his head and sighs. "I am not really sure, to be honest Rylie. I don't think she is though," he says truthfully. "She wanted to be the one to tell you."

I felt bad for snooping, but I was really worried about my mom.

I put away my clothes and Colby joins in to help me. We were finished right before breakfast was ready. I told Colby about the trip, excluding Harry. Colby told me about his college roommate and the new friends he has made this semester. It was nice to actually catch up with him. I really did miss him more than I had expected.

We all ate at the table, which was abnormal for us. Traditionally, we would all eat wherever we wanted, but since everyone was home today we all agreed to sit there as a family.

"I am glad you came back Rylie. I am sorry you had to cut your trip short," my dad says.

I scooped a forkful of eggs to stall. I needed to figure out what to say. If I said one word wrong, it could get me in trouble and honestly I hated it the last time I was grounded.

I swallowed and answered, "Yeah I was getting homesick, so Gemma offered to drive me home."

My dad nods and turns to start talking to Colby. I was happy, because I hated he fact that the attention was all on me. My mom was being oddly quiet. I leaned across the table.

"Mom, are you okay?" I ask her gently.

She flinches, but recovers quickly. "Uh, yeah. I am. I am just a little nervous baby," she tells me, smiling nervously.