Stepdad

THIRTY-THREE

Colson was beyond nervous, the palms of his hands were starting to itch. He hadn't been sober this long in quite a few years. His anxiety was starting to become noticeable again, a feeling he tried to shut out for a reason.

He had to constantly remind himself that he was doing this for her. He was stepping out of his comfort zone to mend things with the girl he loved. Other than the occasional panic attack, he was mostly okay so far. "Colson will you stop shaking your leg, it's only been twenty four hours."

Colson glanced over at Rook who was in the drivers seat of his car, Colson being too anxious to drive himself. "I can't fucking help it, dude. Believe me, I wish I could." It didn't help any that the car still smelled like weed, they hardly ever rolled the windows down.

"You better get your shit together. We will be there in ten minutes." They were on their way to Allie's house, and Colson was hoping he could fix this before he had to leave. That's why he was up so early. He wanted to make time with her before he had to head for the airport.

"If I'm gonna get my shit together, then I need to smoke weed. At least enough to calm down the damn shaking." He was getting annoyed by the fact that his leg just wouldn't stop bouncing up and down.

"You can't do that. That's the whole point of not smoking for the past twenty four hours." Colson wasn't stupid, he knew what he was supposed to be doing. He also didn't want to disappoint Rook who had also stayed sober to support him.

"Okay, fine. I'll figure out something else to calm me down. Stop at Starbucks. I want a coffee." Colson was already putting on his sunglasses, the sunrise being way too bright in his current condition.

"Coffee? Why, so your leg can bounce at lighting speed? Okay, Flash. Let's go get you a coffee."

By the time they had reached Allie's house, the coffee was gone, and it went straight to his bladder. "You're gonna go knock on the door and the first thing you're gonna say is you have to pee. You can't get more ridiculous than that."

Colson was afraid to get out of the car to even knock on the door, scared he would piss himself when he tried to get up. "Excuse me, I don't wanna have a talk with my girlfriend and piss myself in the middle of it."

"More like as soon as she opened the door. Oh, I can't wait to see the look on her face." Rook was laughing, Colson was shaking and about to piss himself. He had been sober for only a day.

"I'm glad you find this so funny. I'd rather take my chances than sit here and listen to that laugh of yours." Colson opened the car door and slowly climbed out before he went to knock on her door.

When Allie appeared in the doorway with a confused look on her face, Colson held up a finger and gave her a pleading look. "I wanna talk to you so bad but I really have to pee right now. Can I please use your bathroom?"

Allie was completely caught off guard and very confused, but she stepped to the side to allow him to come in, him already knowing where the bathroom was. Allie took a look outside to see Rook watching from the car, her mouthing the words "what the fuck" at him.

Once Colson was finished, he came into the living room to find Allie waiting for him to explain himself. At that point the coffee had kicked in and Colson was fighting to keep his mouth from running faster than his brain.

"Allie, I'm sorry I haven't been focusing and paying attention lately and I know why it's happening." Allie slowly nodded her head and glanced down at the floor, she was more sad than angry now.

"Why did it take so long for you to come here?" Allie had began to think that Colson could care less, especially with the tour about to start. She didn't think he would come. He really surprised her when he did.

"I wanted to be sober for at least twenty four hours before I came over here. I wanted something to show you that I am being serious." Allie stepped over to him and reached out to grab his shirt before bringing it up to her nose to see if it smelled like weed.

She looked up at him, taking a long look into his eyes for any signs of them being bloodshot. He was telling the truth, Allie couldn't find anything that would give it away. "Okay, I believe you."

"I wouldn't lie to you. You know that." Colson reached out to slip his arms around her waist, which Allie allowed, but wouldn't move closer. She still had some things she wanted to say to him.

"I thought you wouldn't lie to me until you didn't tell me about the tour." Colson had his chance to explain himself and he was going to take it.

"I didn't lie to you about it, you found out before I had the chance to tell you. I wanted to talk to you about it in private." Allie felt as if she were crazy and acted on impulse. She knew now that she shouldn't have acted that way.

She finally moved closer and slipped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his shirt. For once she could smell the real him, his cologne instead of everything being overpowered by the smell of weed. "I'm sorry. I overreacted. I should have listened."

He couldn't help but let out a small laugh as he rested his chin on the top of her head. "We all get that way sometimes. It's not that big of a deal." He lifted his head to press his lips against her forehead. "I love you, Allie."

"I love you more."