Out Of My League (Under Revision) (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The sand was soft as I ran my fingers over it.

"Three years ago, I could've sworn I had the best big brother ever. He helped me with girls, football practice, anything the teenage boy's mind could be interested in."

"He didn't abandon me. Over time, he started to beat me. It's less emotionally painful than yours, but physically... It hurt like hell." He sighed. "The first time he hit me, I was a small, fragile sixteen year old boy who had barely got the basics of football. Carter hated me."

Whatever happiness I thought Colton had in his life, it was now replaced by grief and sadness. "He was best friends with Brendan." Faintly, he came into my head. His facial expressions had become familiar and now I realized that I had only seen him once. "At the end of my Sophomore year, I was officially built as a football player. I had good scores, good reflexes, even good run times. It was a year later. There was one night where Carter had decided to beat me again. This time, I finally fought back. I didn't want it to end how it did." Even in the darkness of nighttime, I could see tears threatening to spill over. "It was like any other beating. He got me by my neck and slammed me up against the wall, then he started punching me in my stomach. It hurt like hell. I couldn't take it anymore so I took my chance and I punched him in the face while I still had it. He got angry, obviously. We had fought for maybe five minutes before I grabbed a bottle of vodka that was on the small table and slammed it on his head. He got knocked out cold. I was just trying to protect myself. I wasn't even trying to do what I did." A tear leaked out. "When I slammed it on his head, he obviously fell, but when he fell back, he hit his head on the countertop. It was granite. After that, he fell to the floor. It cracked his head." Tears were streaming down his face. "I checked his pulse hoping he would still be there, but it wasn't there. I killed my brother, Elliana. It haunts me very day and I hate myself for it everyday. I regret it so much. I don't regret defending myself, I just regret doing that."

"How'd you convince people that he was going to college in London?"

"That's just we said and they believed it."

"And the court?" I asked.

"It's a private case. The only people who came for his burial was family and Brendan. We moved out of that house after that. I don't know how my family can still love me. How can they still love me after I did that to the Golden child?"

His tears were coming by the lot and I realized that I am seeing Colton Grey cry. It's a sight never seen before.

I hugged him tightly.

"Colton, don't blame yourself. It was out of self-defense."

He recovered. "I haven't finished yet." I pulled away. "After the burial, Brendan came up to me. He said that I have to pay off a debt. I was in debt for Carter's death. Brendan ran his group differently. I thought he would have killed me instead. I had two choices. I had to either pay off the debt or be killed. I chose to pay off the debt." He looked at me as if he was exhausted which I'm sure he is. "Over the past two years, I've been paying off Carter's debt and Brendan found a way to pull Jace and Mason into it. They knew about it so it's either die or pay. We stole, threatened people, anything that would make Brendan happy. I didn't really want to do it because I'm just not like that." He sighed exasperatedly again. "I just wish I could go back and just not do what I did."

"What did Chloe mean by 'the job'?" I asked.

He stiffened instantly, and shut his eyes before relaxing. "Brendan gave me a job almost just a little over a month ago. I thought it was the most horrible thing a person could do and I still do think of that way. He wanted me to kill another person. Not out of self- defense, but for himself and I don't want to."