Soulmates

52

Colby held me for a while as I clung onto him for dear life. "Thank you god. Thank you." Colby whispered as he scratched my back gently.

I was eventually able to pull away from him and look into his eyes. "I'm sorry." I whispered as he shook his head. "You don't get to apologize. What happened wasn't your fault. It never will be." He said then cupped my cheek and kissed me.

I froze at first, then melted into the kiss, feeling the love he was pouring out.

It felt like actual love.

When I pulled away he kissed my forehead then let me go so I could turn towards the rest of our friends. "Hey, V. I'm so glad you're okay." Sam said as I walked into his embrace. "Me too, I'm so sorry about all of this." I whispered as he held me tightly.

"It's not your fault, V." He reminded and rested his cheek on my head. He held me for a couple seconds before he pulled away.

"Get over here." Ki said and pulled me into her arms, squeezing me tightly. "I love you so much, I'm so glad you're alive." She said as the emotions started getting to me again. I tried to respond to her but instead I just started to cry again.

"Shhh, I know." She cooed and hugged me. I pulled away and wiped my cheeks then hugged Kat. I felt so much love coming from all of my friends as they passed me around.

"You ready to go home?" Colby asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "Mhmm." I said and chewed on my lip. "Are you hungry? We can stop and get food on the way." Sam suggested as we made our way to the car.

I went to go answer but got distracted as I looked around, making sure nobody was watching us. I had a feeling that I would be doing that a lot lately and that the battle with paranoia was only beginning.

The idea that someone stalked me for an entire year, learning every detail about me, made my skin crawl.

"Hey, it's okay." Colby said quietly as he guided me to the car. I didn't realize how out of it I was since I didn't remember most of the walk. "Sorry." I whispered as he opened the door for me. "Don't worry about it. I'm here for you." He said gently then kissed my head.

"So, what did you want to eat? We can cook if you want? Or we can order something." Ki said as Colby got in the car. "It doesn't matter to me." I said and picked at my nails.

"How about mac and cheese? Tara and I have been working on our cooking skills." Kat said as I cringed. That was mostly what I ate when I was at Peter's. "Woah...we don't have to." Kat said gently as I shook my head. "No...no. I have to start getting over the fear." I said then took a deep breath.

"It might take a while, Violet. Nobody is expecting you to bounce back." Colby said gently. "No, but I am...I refuse to let some asshole control my life like this. He's gonna get locked up." I said and stared ahead at the road as Colby drove.

"You're right." Sam said and patted my shoulder reassuringly as we made our way home. I knew I was probably rushing the process a little bit but I refused to let this bother me.

I survived.

When we got home I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach which I didn't particularly enjoy. "We'll get started on the food, you just relax." Kat said with a smile as we walked into the house. "Okay, thanks guys." I said then walked towards my room with Colby.

When I walked into the room I noticed the bed was unmade and Colby's clothes were down here. "Sorry...I was sleeping in here while..well..while you were away." He said as I sighed and turned to him.

"You slept in here?" I asked and brought my hand to his cheek. "Yeah, it was the only way I could sleep." He said and looked into my eyes.

"You must have been so scared." I whispered as he nodded. "Yeah. The most scared I've ever been." He said softly and put his hands on my waist. "Well I'm here now." I said then turned towards the bed so I could sit.

"Um...were you thinking about maybe going to therapy for this? You obviously don't have to but Sophia mentioned that it might be a good idea." He said nervously. "I haven't really thought about it. I just don't want to feel like a victim." I said as he frowned.

"I know...but you are one. What happened to you was horrible and I can't even imagine what's going on in your head." He said and held my face in his hands. "Being a victim doesn't make you weak. Because you're not a victim at all, V..you're survivor." He said as I looked away.

"I don't want every conversation to be about it. I just want to forget it even happened and move on." I said as he nodded. "Okay, but I'm here for you baby...whenever you're ready..I'm here." He said then kissed me.

I was so lucky to have someone as supportive as Colby through all of this. He genuinely loved me and that was all I could ask for. I knew that he was going to be there for me no matter how I tackled this situation.

He really loved me.

We eventually went out to the kitchen where everyone was. "No! You can't be in here!" Kat said with a laugh as she covered the stove with her body.

"It's gotta be a surprise!" Tara yelled as Colby laughed. "She's not gonna judge you guys." He said as Tara turned me away from the stove. "We know that, but we want it to be a secret." Kat said as Ki came over.

"Let's go chill outside, maybe stick our feet in the hotub?" She suggested. "Okay, yeah." I said then turned to walk out there. As Colby, Ki, and I walked I felt the overwhelming urge that I knew all too well.

Someone was watching.

"V?" Colby asked as I stopped. "Oh! Uh....can we hang out in here instead." I said then pointed to the movie room. He looked at me with confusion for just a second before his face softened.

"Yeah, come on Ki." He said then led the way. Ki didn't question it and just followed. I knew that I was going to have a hard time, but this was really bad.

I couldn't even hang out with friends.

"So, I was thinking we could make our own little bucket list." Ki said and plopped onto the couch next to me. "That sounds kinda fun." I said as Colby took my hand and massaged it gently. "They don't have to be big things like the guys do, like it could be anything." She said as I nodded.

"Maybe I can conquer my fear of fish." I said as she grinned "atta girl. That's what I'm talking about! We can go to petsmart." She said winked at me.

I loved that Ki was so willing to get back to normal with me. She wasn't going to baby me through this and was going to listen to me when I said I didn't want to talk about what happened.

It didn't mean that she cared about me any less, but she knew my limits. She would know when to step in and help and when to stand back and let me heal.

We sat and talked for a little while before Kat poked her head into the room. "Dinners ready." She said with a smile as I nodded and stood up.

Colby took my hand and held it tightly as we made our way to the kitchen. "This smells good, guys." I said then sat down.

"You're just saying that." Kat said and slid a bowl of mac and cheese to me. "No I'm just being honest." I said then picked up the fork.

I felt my throat clench up slightly as I brought the fork to my lips. I needed to get over this. I wasn't going to grow unless I got over it.

I took a bite of the food then chewed it slowly. "It's good!" I said as Kat and Tara high fived. "Nice! We got the seal of approve from chef Violet." Tara said as I laughed and continued to eat.

We spent the rest of the night hanging out, trying to get some normalcy back in my life, but I had to admit that I was exhausted.

"Wanna go to bed?" Colby asked as I nodded then stood up. "Night, guys." I said and waved. "Love you, V." Sam said as they all waved. "Love you too." I said then turned to go to my room.

Colby and I got ready for bed then laid down together. I sighed with relief as he wrapped his arms around me. "I missed you." He said and kissed my shoulder. "I missed you, too. I love you." I said and snuggled into him. "I love you more." He said as I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

I slept well, which was honestly a huge shock. I didn't have any issues until I opened my eyes to see the disgusting beaten down room that I knew all too well.