Out Of The Woods | Cole Walter

Five

Cole soon pulled up to a dead end, turning the engine off, but he still had both hands gripped to the steering wheel, looking straight ahead.

Marley done the same.

It was silent for around two minutes before cole spoke. "I got a c in english today..." he said sheepishly. Marley snapped her head around to look at him.

"Seriously, cole? You brought me here to talk about your grades?" She scoffed.

"N-no. I didnt." He assured her. Marley just stared at him, waiting for him to begin talking again. "I-uh," he started, but the words wouldn't come out. He felt heat rushing up his neck.

Marley noticed this. "Cole, talk." She said calmly.

"I'm sorry... for everything, I—" he started, but marley cut him off. "Sorry for what?" She said, her heart beating out of her chest.

Cole bit the inside of his cheek. "I mean... for everything. From the crash, to not talking to you, for fighting with you." He looked at her with pleading eyes, hoping she would forgive him.

Marleys gaze softened. "Cole, I didn't blame you for the crash. I never have. I thought you blamed me for it and that's why you've been ignoring me." She told the boy, her sentence breaking his heart.

A loud crash of thunder boomed, causing a small squeal to escape marleys lips. Cole smiled at how easily the girl got scared.

"So... friends?" He said through squinted eyes, hoping she would say yes. Marley looked at him for a minute. "Yeah, friends." She smiled.

This is what she had wanted for a year. For her and cole to be tight again. So she could always have him by her side.

The word friends left a sour taste in Cole's mouth, and he didn't know why. He shook it off quickly.

"Okay, now let's get you back and dried off, you're shaking like a leaf." He laughed, giving marleys thigh a squeeze.

——

When marley walked through the house wearing Cole's sweatshirt, the boys all began giving each other looks.

Then it clicked. The moment everyone was waiting for. Jackie sat on the couch next to lee. "What's going on?" The girl questioned.

Lee almost had a scowl on his face as he turned to her. "Means cole and marls are friends again. Thank fuck, I've been suffocated by the tension for what's felt like years." He rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the television.

Something inside of Jackie got jealous. She heard about how close cole and marley were, and she didn't like it. Not at all.

Danny rushed through to the kitchen were marley sat. "So?" He asked quickly.

Marley rolled her eyes before smiling at the boy. "The bonnie and Clyde of silver falls are back, baby." She joked. Danny immediately engulfed her in a hug.

The joke about cole and marley being bonnie and clyde was made up by Andrew and George. Any time cole and marley were out in the barn doing chores, they always found a way to either pull a prank, or escape from the house all together and run off into the fields.

As marley made her way upstairs, she realised that her 'room' in the house was now occupied by Jackie. "Fuck," the girl whispered to herself.

She turned to the door beside her, which read, 'cole and dannys room'.

She immediately walked in, plopping herself down onto dannys bed. She scrolled through her phone until a message popped up from the walters family groupchat. Of course, she was in it too. Jude, her brother, also used to be in it, but he decided to leave when he left for college six months ago. He was getting too much fomo in Los Angeles.

Issac
bro who was gonna tell me cole
and marley made up?

Lee
shoulda been here instead of in
detention dumbass

Will
Yay! Congrats, guys

Marley
u ain't ever gettin rid of me

It's impossible at this point tbh

Danny
Marley where are you rn..

Marley
In ur bed ;)

Issac
Bro... what

Danny
Dude, your hair is wet get out

Marley
Never

Jackie howard has been added to the group

Lee
Dude c'mon

Marley
Lee don't

Jackie
What is this?

Marley
A groupchat for all the kids

Jackie
Yea no shit

Marley scrunched her eyes at her phone, wondering why Jackie was having attitude with her. Just then, the bedroom door opened.

Cole came sauntering in, thinking no one was in the room as he hadn't looked at his phone. He had only a towel on, it carelessly draped over his waist, tiny beads of water still falling down his toned stomach.

Marley couldn't help but stare. She probably shouldn't have. But the cole effect works double on you when he's only wearing a towel.

"Staring problem there, hunter?" He said with a smirk, immediately snapping marley out of her trance.

She got flustered, grabbing her phone and heading for the door. "I'll leave you to it." She said quickly, reaching for the door handle, but cole quickly stopped her.

He gently grabbed her wrist, pulling it away from the door handle. "Oh, come on. It's nothing you haven't seen before." He said, looking down at the girl.

Fuck.

"Stop." Marley said, heat rising to her cheeks, a smile also creeping its way onto her face.

Cole pretended to think. "Oh... wait. You've seen less." The boy whispered.

This was another thing cole Walter done. He flirted. Although, it felt different when he flirted with marley.

"You're so funny, cole." Marley said, biting back an even bigger smile than what she already had. Cole noticed her cheeks had turned pink. "You don't gotta blush, marls. Happened over a year ago." He teased.

She shot him the middle finger before leaving the room. Her heart was racing.

So, about what happened...

——

Mawhahahahhaah

Btw!!!! In this book, marley is 17 and cole is 18