The Butterfly and The Moth

40

Sterling's eyes narrowed, and I could see the panic and suspicion simmering beneath the surface. "Why is she here, Colt? Why did you bring her to your house?"

Colt shook his head, as he stood aside to allow Sterling into his home. "You're welcome for the heads up."

"Why is she here?" Sterling repeated, I could see the muscles in his jaw tense.

Colt's indifference seemed to evaporate, and his tone grew colder. "She needed someone to talk to, Sterling. I thought I could help her."

Sterling clenched his fists, anger flashing in his eyes. "You don't even know her, Colt. You don't know what she's going through, and you don't know how to help her."

I could see the tension between them building, and I knew I needed to intervene before things escalated further. I stood up, my voice shaky but firm. "Sterling, I'm fine. Colt was just trying to help. We were talking, and he was listening. That's all."

Sterling's eyes softened as he looked at me, but the mistrust was still there. "You shouldn't be here, Dahlia. You should be with people who care about you, who know what you're going through."

His words stung, as I tried to think of all the people who truly cared about me. As of now, besides Sterling, I couldn't really think of any.

I knew Sterling meant well, so I didn't say anything about that. "Sterling, I appreciate that you care about me, but I'm not a child. I can make my own decisions, and I chose to talk to Colt."

Colt nodded in agreement, his gaze never leaving Sterling's face. "You can't control her, Sterling. She's not your responsibility."

Sterling's jaw clenched, and he glared at Colt. "I don't control her, but I want what's best for her right now. And I know that you're not it."

Colt looked at Sterling, his expression serious. "You're right to be worried, Sterling. Dahlia is going through something, and I think she needs help."

My eyes narrowed at Colt's words. I was annoyed by the fact he seemed to see right through me.

Sterling's face hardened, and he stepped into the house, closing the door behind him. He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly on edge. "What happened?"

I looked between the two of them, feeling exposed and vulnerable. I didn't want Colt to tell Sterling about my panic attack, but I also knew that he was only trying to help. I just didn't want Sterling to see that I was worse off than he knew.

But... deep down inside me, I think we all knew that Sterling could see how much the fire of the past had burned me. I think my skin was already charred, visible to anyone who wanted to see it.

Colt glanced at me, hesitating for a moment before answering. "She had a panic attack. It seemed like something was really bothering her, but she wouldn't tell me what it was. I thought maybe you could get through to her."

"Fuck," Sterling muttered, turning back towards me. His face vanished of all the evidence of disdain he had toward Colt when he looked at me. "What happened? When I left you at your house..." he shook his head, "I should have fucking stayed. I knew you were upset, but how did you run into Colt?"

"I went for a walk," I told him, which was technically the truth, and not a lie. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Everything is fine."

"Dolly, I don't think that's true..." Colt said, and it sounded like he wanted to say more, but Sterling interrupted him.

"Just butt out, Colt," Sterling snapped at him. "I've got this. I'm handling this. We don't need you involved."

Colt hesitated for a moment, as if debating whether to share the information or not. I stared at him, wanting him to meet my eyes so that he could see I was fine. I was fine.