Alone Awaken

Chapter 14: Colton

Remi's back raises and lowers under my hand. She's asleep. I reach into my pocket trying not to wake her. I pull out my phone and the screen says 8:45 p.m. Wow that's early. I look back down at her. She looks so peaceful, I don't want to wake her. Buzz Buzz.

I look down at my phone and there's a text from one of my house mates. I lean my head against the wall and look up at the ceiling. Fuck. I already know what these texts are about.. Josh. I sigh and swipe to open the text.

"Dude what happened?!"
"You need to get back now!"
"Dude, where are you?!"
"Josh won't calm the fuck down, figure this shit out or your both sleeping on the lawn!"

The texts go on and on. I noticed that I had six missed calls in the last half hour.

I honestly don't want to go back there. The last thing I want is to be questioned for my actions and worse, have to apologize for them. Josh will think he did nothing wrong and won't move on until I say sorry. Fuck that. I'm not apologizing to that bottom-feeder. But he's my teammate. I know Josh and I know this will effect the team. Coach will see somethings going on and I know him. He'll make us run laps until we fix whatever issues we have going on.

I rub my forehead in frustration. I'm fighting with myself to do what's right, versus what's easy. I look back down at Remi. She will hate me for this. I let out a quiet sigh and lift her slightly. She naturally turns to her other side off of me. I nudge myself off her bed and look back at Remi. She's curled up laying sideways on her bed. I noticed that she still has her boots on. I lean down and try to remove them. Luckily, I spot a side zipper. I unzip her boots and carefully wiggle them off. Remi moves for a second and I freeze. "Colton." Remi whispers and my stomach flutters. She said my name. Coming from her lips, it felt like I was hearing it for the first time. I smile a little and start removing her other boot. I gently bring her feet back on her bed and reach for a pillow. I slide my hand under her neck and raise her head. I put the pillow underneath. I keep my hand under her neck and I'm holding her, cradling her. Her head is leaned back with her chin towards me naturally. Her lips are parted and she's breathing steadily. I keep staring at her lips. Without thinking, I move closer to her and I pause with my lips above hers. "Remi." I whisper and brush my lips over hers, enough to feel the warmth. I wanted to kiss her earlier and I thought she wanted it too, but she stopped me. I can't steal a kiss, not now. I open my eyes and lower her to the pillow. I back away slowly. She's still sound asleep and it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I walk towards her desk and grab something to write with. Damn, she's got a lot of mechanical pencils. I grab the closest one to me and a sticky note. I jot down my number and stick it to her mini fridge. I give her one last look before I open the door. I push the lock button in and close it quietly. I check the handle quick, just to make sure it's locked. It doesn't move. Good. When I step back, I look for her room number and next to it, says Remi Phillips. Well, now I know her last name.

I head down the hall, towards the stairs and pass multiple rooms with heavy beats coming from them. One set of girls come out of their room giggling in revealing outfits. They're headed downtown for sure. I push open the stair doors and make my way to the lobby. I'm almost out of the building, when someone says something behind me.

"Leaving already?" I turn and see that blonde kid looking at me from the residence desk. Why the hell does he care?

"Uh, yeah." I try to keep moving.

"How do you know Remi?" He's curious. I think it might be fun to fuck with his head. I smile to myself and turn around.

"Awhile.. you friends with her?" I can see his face twist in confusion.