In This Life (Sequel to 'In Another Life')

41

I walked back over to Colby, meeting his blue gaze when he looked up. "Hey beautiful," he said, winking at me, then patting his leg, telling me that I could sit in his lap. I did, then nodded towards the unopened can that he had in his hands, when they went around my waist. "You gonna drink that or just hold it all night?" I asked. "Oh," He replied, looking at the can, kind of like he forgot he was holding it. "Um, I'm gonna pass it to Sam and he can drink it." I shook my head, taking the can from Sam and offering it back to him. "No Colby. Just drink it. I'm fine, I promise. I don't even want to drink. It's okay. Drinking was never really my problem anyway." "Yeah, we need to tell Corey to keep the nose candy away from you huh?" Brennen replied. I rolled my eyes at him. "I know damn good and well, that Corey doesn't do cocaine, so you can stop," I replied to him sharply. He held both hands up in surrender, a spatula in his right. "My bad. Sorry. Was just joking, geez." Colby sighed, and looked at his friend. "You can't say things like that Bren. Not to her, not to Aryia, not to Eli, not to any recovering addict. It's not right. It could be a trigger." "Okay, okay, I said I was sorry. It won't happen again. Hey T, thanks for letting us drink tonight though. If it starts being a problem, let me know and I'll take care of it for you." His green eyes stared at me intently, and I recognized that he was trying to make up for what he had just said. "Thanks Bren," I replied. He nodded, and went back to grilling, and talking with the guys about what they were doing with their YouTube channels, and how Elias was planning on growing with his music. He was already well known by now, but not well known enough. Sam and Colby had offered to help him out by letting him do a live on their duo Instagram page. That would open up a higher demographic audience for him, and probably get him some new listeners. When I thought about Instagram, I wondered when it would be a good time to start showing myself on Colby's and the guys. Actually, I hadn't even thought about it, until now, and that was only because there were so many people at my house, with their phones out. So many social media influencers who literally showed so much of their lives that it was second nature and they didn't think about hiding some things because they hadn't needed too. Sam and Colby were really the only ones who understood that. Especially when it came to Colby's love life. My mind drifted off, as I looked around and watched all of my friends. Sarah, Kenzie, and Kat were doing dance moves in the pool, while Devyn, Xeph, Corey, and Griffin were playing chicken on the other side of the pool. The rest were still around the fire pit, talking and laughing. It was getting dark now, but we had security lights in the backyard, so it wasn't a big deal. I briefly wondered where Denise had gone too, but I didn't dwell on it. Instead, I snuggled back into Colby's arms and closed my eyes, while I listened to Elias sing along with the music. "Terra Brooks!" My eyes snapped open, when I heard Denise's angry voice. I didn't hear that too often, at least directed at me. "What?" I yelled back. She was by the back door, but I could feel her glare from here. "I need to talk to you. NOW." She stalked back inside the house, letting the door slam behind her. "What the fuck did you do?" Colby asked, as I stood up, pulling my t-shirt down. I shrugged, but I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew what was wrong. "I dunno. Probably just used the last of her good conditioner or something like that," I replied, laughing nervously. "Damn, she's a force to be reckoned with huh?" Elias said, his eyes still trained on the door that Denise had just went through. "She definitely is," I answered quietly. "Hurry back, okay?" Colby said, squeezing my hand gently. I nodded, and walked towards the back door, feeling an impending doom grow, the closer I got. "Took you long enough," she said, as I walked through the door. "I didn't really wanna come in here to be honest," I answered. "Yeah, I bet! After what you've done, I wouldn't want to either. T, you know how bad you got last time. I should've flushed them when I had the chance, now you've gone and taken the whole damn bottle. I was worried that you would need them so I kept them, for a just in case scenario. I should've known what was up when you were doing so well tonight, but no. My dumb ass just assumed that physical therapy was really helping and that you were just having a good time, so maybe you didn't notice the pain. I was stupid. This is my fault but I won't make the same mistake." She held her hand out to me, like she was waiting for me to give her something. I was so confused. "Huh?"  I asked dumbly. "The PILLS T! Hand them over," she said sternly, flexing her fingers. I shook my head. "Neece, I didn't take a bottle of pills." She held her glare and I knew she didn't believe me. "Explain how you've been in such a good mood today then. How have you been able to get pummeled by Jake, spend all day on your feet, swim, dance, all of it?? Explain that T! and don't you fucking lie to me! Don't you DARE lie to me! Not after everything!" I swallowed hard when I heard the crack in her voice. I knew that when I had cut them off before, that it had really hurt her.