Sunshiny Things (Original)

Ch. 28 Choose

Freya

"Sorry about your shirt by the way," I tell Cole as we both stand by my front door. He stares down at me and gives me a small, reassuring smile.

"It's okay," he tells me. "I didn't even like that one anyway." I let out a tiny giggle as I stare back up at him as well. We hold our positions like that for what seems like an entirety. Him staring down at me, me staring up at him—standing only a couple feet apart. Slowly, I watch as Cole lifts up his hand and timidly brings it up to my face. I feel as his fingertips slightly graze my cheek causing heat to directly shoot to them, before he moves a strand of hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear. My lips fall open slightly, but he just keeps direct eye contact with me and I do the same.

"I had fun, princess," he says and I blink my eyes a couple of times. I gulp down an emotion. But what emotion? I can't seem to make it out.

"Me—me too," I breathlessly respond. Cole smirks a little which causes me to part my lips slightly again. I don't know what's happening right now. And I don't know why it doesn't scare me. But before I can question the situation any further, I'm interrupted my a knock on the door. I jump in surprise at the sudden sound, but Cole just grunts in frustration before cursing something under his breath. I look at Cole one last time, before looking over at the door and hesitantly opening it. Once I do my eyes automatically fall wide and I hear Cole grunt again from behind me.

"Dace?" I ask as I stare at an obviously annoyed Dace on the other side of the door way. And then it occurs to me that this situation might look bad. Me in my pajamas and Cole shirtless in my apartment doesn't exactly scream innocents. Dace, without another word, quickly turns around and storms off back down the hallway.

"Dace!" I scream after him, but he doesn't stop nor respond. I look at Cole who is giving off the same about off madness that dace is giving, maybe even more.

"Go," Cole instructs me through cleaned teeth. "It's always Dace." Cole walks off through the door too and heads towards his apartment. "It's always going to be him."

"Cole!" I shout out, but he disappears inside his apartment before I could do anything else. I let out a frustrated sigh before looking down at the other end of the hallway, where Dace has just reached the silver elevator. I look between both sides of the hallway for a second, looking at Coles door and then back at Dace. But the choice is obvious. Or at least this choice should be obvious. So I choose it.

"Dace!" I call out to him, but again, he doesn't respond. Before I know it I've taken off down the hallway after him right as the elevator doors open. "You have no right to be mad!" Those words cause Dace to instantly turn around in a huff of anger but I just stand before him with angry eyes.

"What do you mean I have no right to be mad? What the fuck was he doing in your—,"

"Where were you last night?" I question, cutting him off. Dace stops his words and his movements, staring at me like he's seen a ghost. "I know you didn't have hockey practice last night, so where were you?" Dace doesn't say anteing for a moment, and neither do I. We just stare at each other. Him trying to figure me out and me trying to do the same.

"That's none of your business," he finally defends. I scoff a little and cross my arms over my chest avoiding eye contact with him.

"You can't just do that," I fire back at him.

"Can't I?" Dace immediately fires back. "It's my damn business, not yours." I shake my head once, staring at him likes he's a complexity different Dace from the one I know. I don't say anything though. Mostly because I have no Idea how to respond. "Why won't you let me touch you?" he says which instantly makes water weld up in my eyes. I open my mouth to say something, but no words come out which causes Dace to just nod his head. "Exactly. So stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours." I accidentally allow a tear to slide down my cheek. But I instantly wipe it away, hating the fact that he just made me cry. So instead of sticking around to let him see me, I turn around and head straight for my apartment.

~

I sit at the window seal in my bedroom, hugging my knees and watching the water droplets hit and fall down my window, making the window look much like my cheeks satined by tears. I'm diseased, infected with the haunted memories that can't seem to rid my brain and a body that was touched how it shouldn't have been. Im weak—I'm pathetic. How am I ever going to get past this. This is exactly why I didn't want to have anything with Dace, I knew I would end up hurt or end up hurting him because I'm weak...because I'm pathetic. So, as I watch the sky start to darken over a rainy New York City, I wonder if there's any point at all.

"Frey," I hear Becca faintly say as she enters my bedroom. I don't turn my head though, I just continue to stare out the glistening glass through my glistening eyes. "Someone's here to see you." I hear the door open again from behind me, indicating that someone else has walked into my room as well.

"Freya," the other voice says and I instantly feel my own eyes grow wide. Slowly I turn my head around, and when I do, I'm met with Dace standing by the door with a slight smile but also a slight frown. I don't say anything though, I just stare at him and he stares at me.

"I'll give you two a moment," I hear Becca say, but neither of us bother to look at her as she walks out.

"I'm sorry," Dace finally says after a couple of beats. I gulp down a lump in my throat and quickly wipe my face realizing that I was still allowing tears to fall out. "I want to show you something," Dace speaks again, but this time I look at him with slight confusion. He holds out his pointer finger to me, and I feel a tiny smile spread its way onto my lips. I stare at his gesture for a moment, contemplating if I should expect or not. But it's not long until I finally decide to get up and hook fingers with him. He looks down at me with a smile and I look up at him with the best smile I can give in return. And before I know it, we're heading out the door, finger in finger.

~

Dace puts his car in park once we finally arrive at our destination. The ride wasn't long at all, about ten minutes or so. But I still have no idea where we are. I look out the window and examine the quaint neighbor that we've seemed to end up in. The passenger door opens before I have time to reach it and open it myself, and I smile at Dace in a silent thank you. I hop down out of Daces truck, rain droplets immediately meeting my body, and he shuts the door after I do so.

"Where are we?" I finally ask Dace and I watch as he lets out a long sigh. He doesn't say anything, just takes my finger in his again and directs me to the front door of the house that we're parked in front of. Dace pulls a set of keys out of his pocket once we arrive at the door, unlocking it and pushing it open.

"My house," Dace finally answers me, even though I just figured that out myself. The house is small but not too small. It reminds me much of my old house with my parents, and that thought tightens my heart a little bit. He continues to direct me through the house and down a hallway which as two sets of doors each on either side. Finally, we reach the last door on the left and Dace stops, taking a deep breath for a moment. Kind of like he nervous or worried about something.

"Dace," I say as he turns his head to look down at me. I give him a small smile, reassuring him that whatever it is, it's going to be okay. And it must have seemed to work, because he smiles back at me before looking down again and turning the nob to open the door. Once the door's fully open Dace walks inside, letting go of my finger. But I stand stuck in the threshold of the door, being bewildered by the sight before me. 

~~~