A Year with IM5

Chapter 8

Cole's POV

It seems like it took the guys forever and a day to go to bed. Once they all went to sleep we snuck out.

"I feel like such a rebel!" Elizabeth told me running down to the water.

"Well, Ms. Rebel you are going to have to get used to it if you want to go on dates without the guys."

We walked for a while in silence but, it wasn't an awkward silence it was a comforting silence. She looked so beautiful in my button up shirt and my beanie. A good way down the beach we see some porch lights turn on and then someone walked out onto the beach. Then there were two more.

"Cole, who is that?" she asks holding onto my waist just a little tighter.

"I don't know." Then I whisper in her ear "I promise I won't let anyone lay a finger on you."

She smiled back and we kept walking. "Sing a song for me, please." she said in her sweet voice, how could I resist?

I start to sing She Looks so Perfect. Elizabeth would join in on some parts. She had such an angelic voice, and she was all mine, no one could take her from me. When the song ended we were getting pretty close to the three people walking on the beach. We passed them and the face looked semi-familiar, almost like Justin. No, it couldn't be. We didn't realize how far we had walked until we saw the big pier in the distance.

"Beat you to the pier!" Elizabeth screamed and started running towards the pier. I run behind her and scoop her up bridal style and run to the pier. When we get to the pier I spin her around and set her back down on her own feet. We sat under the pier and talked for a little while before we decide to head back. We walked all the way home. I would tell a stupid joke, she would laugh and demand me to tell another one. We were almost home and saw the three guys coming back. It was definitely Justin and his crew. I tried to get Elizabeth to walk by the dunes but, she said she liked getting her feet wet. Justin comes up and just stops right in front of us. Not letting us go past him.

"Look dude, I don't want to cause any trouble we are just going home." I tell Justin trying to step around him.

"Too late for that," he says and swings at me, hitting me in the stomach and throwing me to the ground. Elizabeth dropped to the ground beside me and started asking me questions like "Are you ok?, Where does it hurt?, Do I need to call someone?"

Then Justin draws back his arm like he is about to hit Elizabeth but then, he stops. He stopped and left.

Elizabeth was a freaking mess. "Babe, I'll be fine. Okay?" I said trying to get up but I couldn't.

"No you aren't. Let me see where he hit you," she says. I pull up my shirt and show her.

She starts to feel around my ribs to see if anything was broken. It sure helps that she was smart and was already taking medical classes for college. She presses down on one rib and it hurt, it hurt bad. "None of them are broken just bruised." she says. "And, it's all my fault," She starts to cry. I fight through the pain to sit up and comfort her. Then she helps me up and walks me back to the house. We get in the house and she tells me to lay down on the couch. Then she starts to head up the stairs.

"Where are you going?" I ask her.

"Back up to my room, if the guys see us down here they will know we went somewhere. Just tell them in the morning you couldn't sleep."

"And about my ribs?"

"Tell them you ran into the counter. You are so clumsy, it's believable."

"Hey what's that supposed to mean? and I want a goodnight kiss."

"Nothing and here" she says giving me a quick kiss then running up the stairs.

Elizabeth's POV

I start to go up the stairs. When I get to my room I stop a second. I can hear the guys leaning on the door. 'Crap! We are busted!'

I walk into the room like I never heard them and I'm "sneaking in". When I turn around there is Dana on the bed. He is mad. VERY mad. Then there is the other 3 sitting on the floor trying to keep from laughing.

"Where have you been?"

"Watching TV with Cole." I said but it came out more of a question.

"We know where you went. I thought I told you no going anywhere without someone."

"I had someone! Cole was with me!"

"What if he got hurt?"

"I could've helped him" I mumble under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I'm going downstairs to sleep." I grab my pillow and comforter and go downstairs. Poor Cole was already asleep. I just laid down on the floor next to him and went to sleep. I woke up with Cole's feet on my back. He was groaning in pain, and it was all my fault.

"Sorry princess, I thought you slept upstairs."

"I was gonna but then I changed my mind. Why are you getting up, you need to rest."

"I have a concert tonight. I need to get up."

"Let me get you some pain medicine at least," I say going up to my bathroom. Dana was getting ready in my bathroom but I squeezed by him got the medicine and left. He looked at me curiously as I walked out but not a single word was spoken. I gave Cole the medicine and made him lay back down.

"You know, you are going to make a good doctor." he told me as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

I just put his head in my lap and smiled. Until Dana came down the stairs.