Just for Now

Chapter Fourteen

This chapter is..... a lot.

Enjoy!

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Day Six

Cole barely slept.

It was weird, because it was the first night in months he slept in a real bed. And it was with Alli. He hadn't slept right since he switched to the couch. He should've slept like better than ever. But he couldn't get what Allison said out of his mind. Cole was trying not to think about it too much since she was drunk and probably wouldn't even remember it herself. But for him, it was hard to forget something like that.

To hear her say she loved him?

Cole wasn't sure he would ever get to hear that again.

He winced when he noticed they were both in the same clothes from last night. Cole probably could have tried to change them both, but it didn't even cross his mind as he was trying to console Alli. He took a moment to watch her sleep. She just looked so... at peace. Part of him wanted to just hold her again, but Cole wasn't sure how much had changed since last night. Or, if anything had changed at all.

Alli's face began to scrunch up slightly, a tell-tale sign of her beginning to wake up. She groaned softly as she shifted around and Cole relaxed into the bed, trying to appear as he hasn't been awake for a bit now. He watched her as she rolled over, peering over her shoulder at Cole. She looked a bit unsure of herself, and Cole decided to jump in before she started to panic about last night.

He cleared his throat, sitting up a bit and leaning against the headboard. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she murmured groggily, shaking her head as she sat up and rubbed her arm.

Cole raised an eyebrow, chuckling awkwardly. "No hangover? God, who are you?"

Allison let out a small laugh, shrugging her shoulder up. "Maybe I've evolved."

He cracked a smile, a bit unsure what to say next. In all honesty, he didn't expect Alli to bring it up. She wasn't really one to bring up what was bothering her just out of the blue. It typically took a night where she drank a bit too much, and that was rare. Even more rare for that kind of reaction to come out of her.

"Thank you for last night," Alli whispered out, unable to meet his gaze. Cole restrained himself from appearing surprised, and he just nodded at her.

"Always," he swore softly. He left it at that, not wanting to push her to talk about it if she didn't want to.

But in truth, it was killing Cole to not know if she still wanted him— if she still loved him. He so badly wanted Alli to just say: "Yes, I was telling the truth. I still love you. I still want you. I miss you." A selfish part of him wanted to talk about it. But he had his fair share of drunken confessions and moments, and if Cole was held accountable for everything he said when he was drunk, he'd have a lot to answer for.

"You okay for the rehearsal dinner later? I could make an excuse," Cole offered with a shrug. "I'd have to go for a bit but... could just say you're not feeling well."

"No, I'm fine, really," she said assuringly, nodding with a gentle smile.

"Okay, let me know if that changes," Cole requested as he nodded with her.

They had time to relax for the day before the rehearsal, allowing them to stay in the room for a while. There was a balcony attached to their room that Cole hung out on for a while. It had a view of the ocean, something he didn't see too often back in New York. The sound of the ocean crashing against the shore and the sight of beach goers always made him just feel connected to something. He brought out a book he was meaning to read, just opting to relax. After a while, Alli joined him and brought her own book to read. They didn't say anything, just sitting in silence.