The Time of Your Life || c.b

Twelve

I woke up the next morning to a loud house. I hadn't expected everyone to be awake, but I was somewhat nervous to go into the house. I wasn't sure if Elton ad told anyone that I was staying here. I was afraid of what everyone would say to me after I hadn't contacted any of them in months. I didn't really want to explain that I was wrong about Warren the entire time or that I had nowhere to go.

I rolled over and put on the pair of glasses that I rarely wore, but definitely needed. As I began to get up, the door from the house into the garage opened. I held my breath as a slim blond man stepped in. Sam. He caught my eye and froze. My stomach turned uncomfortably in my body.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned me, pushing his eyebrows together. He didn't look too happy to see me.

"I, uh..." I began.

"I'm just kidding, Agnes. What's up? I missed seeing you around here all the time." I let my breath out as Sam said that. He didn't hate me. That was a good sign. I didn't explain all the details to him, but I did tell him that Warren and I had broken up and that Elton had let me stay here until I could find a new place to stay. He didn't seem upset, actually, he seemed pretty glad that I was staying here.

"How are you and Katrina? You two are still together, right?" I asked Sam as he helped me unpack my things into a little wooden dresser that Elton had found in storage and allowed me to use.

Sam smiled to himself. "We're really good, actually. Man I love her so much," he replied to me. It made me really glad to see how happy Katrina made Sam. I yearned for that feeling again, but I knew I was just trying to convince myself that I needed love when what I really needed was to let myself move on from Warren and be happy again.

"That's... Amazing, Sam. I'm so happy for you," I said, patting him on the shoulder. I missed my friendship with this quirky blond boy. He was someone I could always get along with and find some happiness in.

We continued to talk in a happy and relaxed tone as we unpacked my things. Sam clearly knew I didn't want to talk about what happened with Warren so he steered clear of the topic. I was grateful. Finally, once we finished, I grabbed an outfit and followed Sam out of the garage. He showed me to the bathroom since I hadn't been here in months and couldn't really navigate around the house.

I changed into a pair of black high-wasted jeans and a red Tommy Hilfiger cropped top. My hair was a mess so I left it alone, knowing if I tried to do anything with it, it would just get worse. I simply brushed my thick eyebrows into place and moisturized my face. I walked out of the bathroom with last night's pajamas in my arms. As I turned into the hallway, I bumped into a hard chest and dropped the clothes. As I looked up, I stared right into those bright blue eyes.

"Colby..." I said softly. I wasn't sure what to say. His eyes went wide for a moment and then went back to normal. He didn't say anything to me at all. He just bent down and picked up my clothes, then handed them back to me and shoved past me into the kitchen. My heart dropped and I stood there dumbfounded. Was he still mad at me for what happened last month in the car?

As I went back into the garage to put my dirty clothes into a hamper that I brought from home, I heard raised voices from inside. I stood close to the door so I could listen to what was being said. It was clearly Colby and Elton who were arguing.

"Man, I get it that you felt bad for her but she's taking advantage of your generosity. She only came here because she knew you would invite her to stay here, you know that right?" Colby said. He sounded frustrated and angry.

Elton sighed. "A lot of shit happened since she last talked to us. She wasn't healthy, and I don't really think she is now either, even though she says she is. I just don't think she should be alone right now." I furrowed my brows. Was I really that unstable? I didn't think I was.