2:29 AM

Chapter Twenty-Three

"What the hell?" Nathan says, trying to figure out what just happened. He's on the ground. Colton's gaze is locked on me.

"Are you okay?" Colton asks me. Nathan stands up. I'd say that Colton had a solid four inches on Nathan.

"What the fuck?" I yell at Colton. "Colton!" My eyes are wide and flicking between Colton and Nathan.

"Who the hell is this?" Nathan asks. "Is he your boyfriend or something?"

"No, he's not my boyfriend. He's this loser that goes to my sc-" I start. Colton covers my mouth with his hand.

"I'm her boyfriend," Colton says.

"You're a jackass, Colton!" I hiss at him. I turn to Nathan. "He's not my boyfriend. He's just this manwhore that goes to my school," I tell Nathan. Nathan looks confused.

"Uh," Nathan says. He looks like he's going to say something else but Colton talks first.

"Hey! I'm not a manwhore!" Colton says defensively.

"You were talking to that slut in the lingerie store," I yell at him. Colton's green eyes flare.

"And you were the one making out with that fucking frat boy!" he yells at me. My nostrils flare. We're facing each other and I can't even seem to care about Nathan.

"Why the fuck do you care? You probably just had sex in the fucking changing rooms!" I'm trying to get up in his face, but he kind of towers over me.

"For your information, I didn't have sex! But for all I know, you probably would have been giving this piece of work a blow job in the back of his car," Colton says. Before I can stop myself, my fist flies and hits Colton in the throat. He makes a gurgling sound.

"Fuck you for saying that," I hiss at him. He's clutching his throat, gasping for air. I spin and intend to storm off, but Nathan's standing there, wide eyed. "Oh, um," I say. I pull out a pen and write my phone number on his hand. "You should call me."

And with that I storm off and shoot a glance over my shoulder.

When I get home I walk up to my room, passing my mother without saying anything. Colton's an ass. I lay down on my bed and turn on my TV. I yawn and look at my watch. It's only ten to five. I can take a little nap. I roll on my side and close my eyes.

I'm in my room, sitting at my desk. I'm working on some homework. And I'm insanely bored. It's almost ten and I should be getting to bed, but I still have to shower. I'm in a cami and athletic shorts.

I hear a noise outside and try to ignore it. Suddenly, my window's pushed open and someone climbs through. It before I can scream, someone presses their hand over my mouth.

The smell hits me first: pine, eucalyptus and cologne.

It's Colton.

I spin around. "What are you doing here?" I hiss at him. How did he get up to my room? I'm on the third floor. He grabs my hips and pushes me against the wall.

"Shhh," he says.

"What are you doing?" I ask him.

"Don't talk," Colton says, and then he kisses me. I immediately respond to him. My arms go around his neck and I pull him closer to me. He presses me harder into the wall. I stretch up on my toes and arch myself closer to him.

I keep an arm locked around his neck and run the other hand through his silky hair. His tongue slides across my lower lip. I hear a knock on my door. I draw my lips away from his. "Colton," I say. "It's my mom." He keeps kissing my neck. "Colton," I say softly.

"Just ignore her," he murmurs. More knocks follow. "She'll go away."

He kisses me urgently and then we stumble to the bed. His hand moves under my-

"Andy," Mom shakes me. "Wake up." I sit up and rub my eyes. Shit. I blink.

"What?" I mumble.

"Your father and I are going out to eat. You should join us," she says.

"Oh, uh, sure," I say and stand up.

"We're going to leave in fifteen minutes. You should dress up, I don't want you looking like a slob," she says and then walks out.

"Bitch," I mutter. I stand up and walk over to my closet. As I dig through my closet, my dream hits me. Oh god. I made out with Colton. What the fuck? Why the hell would I dream of that...or whatever happened

It didn't mean anything.

I pull out a pine green dress that hugs my boobs and clenches at the waist. It's relatively short. I grab a pair of black heels that wrap around my ankles and then my calf and tie in a bow. I do mascara and apply a light coat of lipgloss. I grab my phone and earbuds and walk downstairs.

Dad smiles at me. He looks tired. Mom, on the other hand looks like a slut. She's wearing a tight black dress and no bra. I try not to wince or at anything. "Are we ready?" Dad asks. I nod. We walk out to the car.

As we drive, it's awkward. I don't want to say anything to Mom. "How was work, Daddy?" I ask.

"Good," he says. We pull into the parking lot and get out of Dad's car. "You know, Harrison's wife is in town, actually. She dropped by for a visit," Dad tells us as we walk. I look at Mother and her lips are pursed in a very unattractive expression.

"Yeah? How's she doing?" I ask. Cassandra always seemed nice whenever I met her.

"Good. She's staying until Monday, I think," Dad says. I nod. We walk into the restaurant and they seat us at a booth. Mom and Dad sit across from me. A young waiter comes by.

"Hey, I'll be your waiter today. My name's Matthew. What can I get you guys to drink?" he says. He looks like he's in his early twenties.

"An iced tea," I say with a smile. He nods and smiles back. Dad orders a glass of red wine.

Mom says, "A double Scotch, and don't be shy on the pour."

"Honey, maybe don't-" Dad starts but stops with a look from mom. The waiter nods and walks away. Dad doesn't look good. He has dark bags under his eyes and he looks tired. But thing I notice most is how dull his eyes are. Instead of the brilliant ice blue that they normally are, they're lifeless. The waiter comes back with our drinks.

I play with napkin on my lap. Dad takes a sip of his wine and Mom pulls out her phone and drinks her Scotch. She and Dad are sitting as far away from each other as the booth allows. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that they're obviously having marital problems. I sigh and take a drink of my iced tea.

My mind wanders off and somehow I find myself thinking about Colton and my dream. Do I want to make out with him? Even after what a dick he was today at the mall? Besides, it's not even like dreams mean anything.

I'm brought back to reality when Mom waves the waiter over. "Are you ready to order?" he asks.

"Yes. Another Scotch and spinach leafs with no dressing," she says. For the waiters part, he doesn't blink.

"Is that all, ma'am?" he asks, She nods. "And for you, sir?" Dad orders steak with a side of green beans and potatoes. I order alfredo pasta. The waiter walks away and we're stuck in silence.

"I dropped by Auntie's office today," I say. Dad smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes. "She's doing good." I look at Mom and she's not paying attention. Naturally.

I sigh and look up. My eyes wander and look over tables and then land on two people waiting to be seated. The guy turns and catches my eye. My eyes widen.