Heartless

9

My mind wandered at that thought. Did Colby really like me more than a friend? Or was I just another pawn in someone's life, to be used and thrown away once done. I shook my head trying not to think too hard about it and clocked out for the day. "Are you going to the studio tonight?" Kat asked me as we walked to my car. "No I think I'm just going to stay in tonight." I said honestly. I often times needed a lot of time alone just to feel like I wasn't burdening anyone with my presence. "I hope you have fun relaxing!" Kat said sincerely as she got out of my car. "Thanks have fun with Sam tonight!" I said and waved as she walked into her apartment.

The drive home felt longer than ever. My eyes were fighting gravity with every minute. Luckily I made it home alive, I quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt, then crawled into bed. My eyes instantly closed and I fell into a dreamlike state.

We stood at the edge of the cave. Sam held the ouija board with a sinister look on his face. "I don't want to play again" I said shakily. "Nobody cares." Colby said angrily and pushed me to sit on the ground. The board was placed in front of me. My hand involuntarily went to the planchette. "Who here should die." Sam said with a flat tone.
C-O-R-A it spelled.
I tried to pull my hand away but it was glued to the planchette and the planchette was glued to the board. "Please stop!!" I yelled as tears welled up in my eyes. "Oh look baby Cora is crying again!" Kat said from behind the camera. "Nobody cares that you're scared Cora!" Sam said in an annoyed tone. "Nobody cares that you're crying Cora!" Kat said in the same tone. "Nobody cares about you Cora!" Colby said in the same tone as both of them. My head snapped up as they all laughed to see a rock coming down directly over my head.

I sat up quickly, holding my chest trying to catch my breath. "It's just a dream Cora...it's just a dream" I said to myself quietly as tears fell onto my cheeks. With shaky hands I grabbed my phone. I went to Instagram and started to scroll trying to get my mind off of everything. It showed I had notifications, so I switched to that tab. There were hundreds of comments being posted on all of my pictures.

Stay away from Colby
Ew you're too ugly for him
Where did this girl even come from

My hands shook as my breathing picked up. I quickly went to YouTube and typed in Sam and Colby. They had just posted the video we filmed the other night. I scrolled down to the comments,

Is that Colby's girlfriend?
I don't like Cora I think she's thirsty for Colby
Can she back off of Colby it's pathetic

Tears picked up and my breathing faltered. I hugged my knees and burried my face in them. They are just comments. You and Colby are just friends. They don't know you. I kept trying to convince myself to calm down but nothing was working. I quickly picked up the phone and dialed the only person I thought could help.

"Cora?" Colby answered after the second ring.
"Can you come over" I said trying to hide the fact I was crying.
"Yeah..are you okay?" He said with a very concerned tone.
"Please just come over" I said as my throat burned from holding back tears.
"Okay I'm on my way" he said and hung up.

My sobs came out more violently the second I was off the phone. I quickly texted him my address. The room spun as I couldn't catch my breath. Is this a panic attack? I thought to myself.

It felt like centuries since Colby hung up, when in reality it had only been 10 minutes. In the distance I heard frantic knocks on my door. I slowly stood and walked to the door trying to compose myself enough to not look like a total baby. As the door opened I was greeted by a strong pair of arms quickly wrapping around me. "Cora.." Colby said sadly as I cried into his chest. "What happened?" He said gently pushing me away so he could look at me. "I'm sorry" I said trying to collect myself. "For what?" He said as he wiped a tear off my cheek. "For crying." I winced, almost expecting to be scolded. "Don't be sorry for crying..what happened?" He said as we walked over to the couch. I didn't want to say what was causing my panic attack, because I was finally starting to calm down. I pulled my phone out and showed him the comments. His face dropped slightly.

"Cora I'm so sorry...I should've warned you..." he said as I wiped my face with my sleeve. "My fans are really protective and they think any girl I'm seen with is my girlfriend." His tone was sad, "I should have protected you more." He said wiping another tear from my cheek and pushing my hair behind my ear. "It's not your fault." I said and took a deep breath. "It is though!" He was obviously frustrated with himself and with his fans. I jumped at his tone. Was he mad at me? "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I'll fix this...but until then let's take your mind off of it." He grabbed the remote to my tv and scrolled through Netflix. I hugged my knees still trying to stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. I felt so weak. Like a baby.

"God Cora! Stop crying! Big kids don't cry" my mother's voice echoed in my head. "Cora" Colby said pulling me out of my haze. "Is this okay?" He said pointing at the screen. "I love The Corpse Bride." I said with a smile. "There's that smile" he said and pressed play. We watched the movie and occasionally I would feel him look over at me. And I would occasionally look over at him.

Maybe I did have feelings for him after all.