six/sixteen

10. hit me like a hurricane

The song at the top goes with the italics around the middle of the chapter. Have a listen when you get there! There's a second song in this chapter, and the video is toward the end of the chapter. I recommend listening to both!
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I woke to the sound of the apartment door shutting and checked my phone.

12:08 A.M.

I knew it was Cole leaving, but the other time I'd heard him leave had been later than this.

I rolled over in my bed and shut my eyes, attempting to go back to sleep, but I couldn't shake the thought from my head.

Curiosity got the best of me.

I rolled out of bed and pulled on some fuzzy socks and shorts before slipping out of the apartment as quietly as possible.

I looked around the hall and didn't see anyone, and the unlit elevator button at the end of the hall indicated to me that there was no one inside.

He must have gone to the roof.

I shoved the stairwell door open and began my ascension to the roof just a few levels above our apartment.

Tenants weren't technically allowed up there, but the lock had been broken since I moved in and I cherished the solace.

I reached the roof level and shoved open the second door, immediately regretting not putting on more clothes.

The night air was crisp and chilly, and I shivered on impact.

I creeped my way around the corner and saw Cole already looking in my direction. He looked panicked, but the minute we made eye contact, he relaxed.

"You scared the shit out of me," he said breathily.

I smiled and fully stepped out from behind the wall.

"Paranoid?" I asked playfully, "I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Cole nodded at me and fished something out of the pocket of his jacket.

"Wanna smoke?" He asked.

"We have a balcony you could've smoked on. You know that, right?" I replied.

Cole shook his head and flashed a cigar at me. But I knew it wasn't really a cigar, and I may have been a little excited.

"Not that kind of smoke," he admitted sheepishly.

I made my way over to Cole and slid down the wall next to him.

He smiled at me and sparked up his lighter, running over every inch of the blunt lightly. He lit the end of it and inhaled deeply.

I watched the thick smoke pour from his lips slowly as he shut his eyes. He passed the blunt over to me and I hit it as well. I wasn't fully prepared for the pressure in my lungs or the burning in my throat. After all, it had been two years since I'd smoked.

I released the smoke from my mouth and coughed a few times, earning a chuckle from Cole.

"You okay?" He asked me.

I nodded and placed a hand over my chest to steady my breathing.

"I haven't smoked since high school," I said.

Cole lightly tapped the ground with the blunt and placed it into the pocket of his jacket. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He stood up, patted his hands on his pants, and extended a hand to me. I took it and allowed him to pull me up.

"Let's go get a slushee," he said with a smile.