Buddies ~ Colby Brock

04

The uber arrived soon after, not being to far from the hotel and picked Aliyah up.

Jake went to go after Aliyah, concerned about her being out there alone, but was stopped by Sam saying they could take the elevator. Sam thought it would be quicker so they took it down and went towards the stairs to see she was nowhere in sight. Jake ran out of the hotel and into the cold night air to see her in a car pulling out of the lot. Jake went back in and told them what he saw, immediately thinking the worst.

He thought she was kidnapped but Sam and Corey reassured him that she was probably just going home. Though they were all saying she was fine and she was okay, they were all worried for her. They quickly checked out and got into Colby's car, heading home but keeping an eye out for her. Corey and Colby were both angry with the things she had said but were more worried about her at the moment. Sam and Jake were more worried than anything; she hadn't said anything mean towards them so they had no reason to be mad at her.

They arrived a little after four in the morning and Colby quickly put the car in park. They all jumped out of the car, leaving their stuff in the running vehicle and quickly entered the house to see Elton sitting on the couch playing on his phone.

"Have you seen Aliyah?" Jake asked with a rushed tone causing Elton to worry slightly.

"No, why?" he questioned as he looked up from his phone.

"Long story, we'll explain later," Colby's voice was laced with worry, "Take different cars and split up." They all nodded and left the house after grabbing their keys, Colby being the first to leave as his car was already running. Jake left soon after, immediately heading to Brennen's house since they seemed to be relatively close friends.

Jake pulled up to Brennen's, parking on the side of the road and quickly got out of it; running into the house with his fingers crossed. If she wasn't here than he didn't know where else to look. He ran into the house without knocking, his heart pounding in his chest.

All the lights were off but Jake could see flashing lights in one of the rooms from the outside of the house. He quickly entered the room to see the television playing as Brennen and Aliyah sat on the couch; Brennen's arm wrapped around her shoulders while she rested her head against his chest as his chin rested on top of her brown hair. They were facing the television but Jake knew they weren't watching it as he saw Brennen's form rocking back and forth slowly and small sniffles could be heard at points the show went silent. Jake stalked forward, afraid of her jumping up and running away, much like a scared kitten would.

When he got closer to the couch, he breathed out a quiet, "Brennen?" Which caused both Aliyah and Brennen to look at him as he walked around the side of the couch and in front of them. He stared into Aliyah's honey brown eyes as they turned dark with anger - not at him but at herself.

She got up quickly and hugged him, burying her face into his chest as she whispered, "I'm so sorry, Jake. I didn't mean to be so mean to you."

"Hey, no. It's okay. You didn't do anything to me," he whispered out as he hugged her back, kissing the top of her head before resting his chin there. "You should talk to Corey and Colby though. They deserve an apology more than I do."

"I can't bring myself to look at Colby and I didn't mean to say that about Corey; I was just annoyed that he was running away when we all agreed to stay if something happened, and I'm just," she trailed off, her voice growing soft, "I'm sorry, Jake, I didn't mean to push you."

Jake chuckled softly, running his hand through her hair as she looked up at him, "It's fine, Ali. I know you didn't mean it." His heart broke as he stared at her face, makeup running down her cheeks as tears left her red, puffy eyes that stared into his light brown eyes, practically begging for his help and forgiveness. "Listen, Ali, I forgive you, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded softly and he pulled her into another hug.

"Let's go home, yeah?" she nodded into his chest and Jake smiled at Brennen in thanks before they headed out of the house.

They quickly arrived at the dubbed trap house and entered the building, Jake putting his keys off to the side before he led her into the gaming room. He sat her on the couch with a blanket and watched as she curled in on herself, her eyes looking down at the floor. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed her a bottle of water which he gave to her as he sat down next to her shaking form. A little while later of them cuddling and him talking to her softly, the front door opened which reminded him that he hadn't messaged the others to let them know he found her.

"Jake?! Did you find Aliyah?! I didn't find her and I'm starting to freak the hell out over here!" Corey's voice rang throughout the house causing Aliyah to jump slightly before she buried her head into Jakes chest.

"In here, Corey," he called back, his chest rumbling against Aliyah's ear. Corey rushed into the room, ready to start freaking out because Jake was calm when they couldn't find her but stopped when his mind processed what - or rather who was in the room.

He rushed forward and kneeled on the ground in front of the couch, "Don't run away like that! You scared the crap out of us!" He scolded her as he rested his hand on her arm before turning his attention to the purple haired male holding her, "Why didn't you message me that you found her? And where did you find her?"

"She was at Brennen's, I walked in to her crying on his couch," his voice was soft, unlike his usual loud self, "I didn't text you because I was busy, sorry." Corey just nodded to acknowledge his apology as he turned back to Aliyah, who was now clinging onto his arm; her bloodshot, cognac brown eyes stared into his dark brown ones.

"I'm sorry, Corey. I didn't mean to say that about you, I was just angry," her voice came out soft and weak.

Corey smiled softly and patted her on the head, "It's fine, Ali, I forgive you." They all jumped when they heard someone scoff from the entrance of the room. The two boys turned to look at the person while Aliyah let go of Corey and looked to the ground, knowing who it was without having to look.