Heartless

42

"Where are we going?" Colby said as I drove. "You'll see." I kept my eyes on the road until we arrived. "Remember when you took me here?" I said and laced my fingers into his as we walked down to the beach. "How could I forget. It was the moment I fell in love with you." I smiled, remembering that night. We walked silently along the beach, hands interlocked. The thing I loved most about our relationship was we didn't need to always be talking. The silence was comforting.

"Cora." Colby said breaking the silence. I looked over at him and hummed, "you changed my life for the better you know that right?" I nodded, "I know." He laughed, "you know the night I met you, I never intended on falling in love again. I had lost all hope for it, but something about the way your eyes lit up when I asked you about your job and your passions..the way you came out of a negative situation so positively, it made me instantly fall for you." He chuckled, "and since then I have fallen harder and harder..to the point where no matter what I'm doing, or where I am, I'm thinking about you." I felt tears form in my eyes as he spoke. "Colby..." I said and wiped my eyes, "I don't think I would have survived these last couple weeks without you." I admitted. I didn't want to think too hard about it, because it would make me panic. "You are the strongest girl I know, and it's an honor that I get to call myself your boyfriend." I smiled and looked down as we stopped, he turned me to face him. "Thanks for falling in love with me." I said as he pushed my hair behind my ear, then kissed me. It was a picture perfect moment.

We walked along the beach and really just took each other in, his presence was enough to keep me calm. He stopped walking and looked at me. I turned to look at him and he tapped my arm playfully, "you're it." He said and ran down the beach. I laughed, chasing him. "Oh you're done for!" I yelled as I chased him, he was way faster than me so I had to think quick. I made myself trip and get "hurt" causing him to stop laughing when I hit the ground, "Cora are you okay!?" He jogged over to me as I pretended to hold my knee in pain. "I don't know" I whimpered until he got close enough for me to tap him and get up quickly, "TAG" I yelled as I ran away. "You tricked me!" He yelled and ran after to me, it didn't take long for him to catch me and wrap his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground and twirling me as we both were in a fit of giggles. He slowly put me back on my feet and turned me around to face him. "I win." He said and put his fingers under my chin, lifting it slightly. He leaned down making our lips collide.

"Can I show you something?" I said as we sat on the sand. "Of course you can." I smiled and pulled my phone out, pulling up the song I had written today. As I played it, Colby's eyes would dart to me with a smile, showing me he liked it. I held my breath the whole time, I had never shared my original music with anyone. "Cora...it's so good." He said once it was over. "Thank you." I blushed. "Do you have any other songs?" He grabbed my hand, "not really...this is the only good one." I looked out into the ocean, the sounds made me feel at peace. Colby stood up, "Come on." He said holding his hand out. "We should go back." I nodded and grabbed his hand, getting up.

It was really late and my eyes were heavy as I drove us back to my place. I had completely forgetten about what happened last night until now, my mind was racing. "What's on your mind?" Colby said as I anxiously chewed at my nails, keeping my eyes on the road. "What happened when you left me upstairs last night?" I bit my lip waiting for his response. After a long pause I glanced over, his face told me he was contemplating something. "I can handle it." I spoke quietly. He sighed, "we should wait until you aren't driving." I nodded and turned my attention back to the road.

Once we got to my apartment I sat on the couch looking up at Colby, "okay. Tell me." He sighed, "Sam talked to the police. They were arrested since Jen filmed it happening." His face looked disgusted as he spoke those words. "The police wanted to talk to you but they couldn't come inside..and you weren't in a place to go outside." I nodded, "how did this happen?" I said grabbing his bruised hand. "I punched Jason..I wanted to beat the absolute shit out of him..but I didn't want to get arrested." I nodded and looked up at him, his eyes were filling with tears, "what's wrong?" I said and wiped a tear that had spilled onto his cheek. "I can't believe they did that to you and I wasn't there to protect you. I regret every minute of that night Cora." I shook my head keeping my hand on his cheek, pulling his face to look me in the eye. "Colby, you didn't do anything wrong. You can't blame yourself for not being with me every second of every day. You were there when I needed you the most, I saw you contemplate leaving me in the bathroom to go fuck him up, but instead you came over and helped me, taking me upstairs away from everything and making sure someone was with me while you dealt with it. THAT'S what I'm thinking about when I think of that night. You did what you could, and I'm so grateful for that." He shook his head and leaned in to kiss me. "I'm sorry." He whispered and pulled me into an embrace. This was the first time I had ever seen him this vulnerable.