Forever My Girl

Agatha Eloise Bridgerton.

Colin awoke in his old childhood bedroom again. It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light as he palmed about the side table for his phone. He listened to his usual voicemail and rolled back over. He just needed to hear her voice, just one more time. That was his excuse eight years ago after she first left it, but it hasn't changed.

Later that morning, Colin had decided he would try a little manual labour outside in his mom's back yard. The rose bushes that his dad planted all those years ago had been depleted. He attempted to question his mother about it, but she simply brushed it off, she always did when it came to his dad... even decades after his passing, she could never quite talk about him without being highly emotional. She deeply loved him, it was the type of love someone only experiences once, and well Colin knew he had felt that... he just had to think about that girl who stole his heart, dreams, and soul all those years ago.

Eloise came stumbling out the porch door and held up his phone rather dramatically,

"COLIN PHONE."

No other words were muttered. He watched his younger sister who was 28, stand with her hand on one hip and the other wagging his phone, she hadn't really changed over the years of him being away... But, it was Eloise, of course she wouldn't.

He rushed over and grabbed the phone while his sister sarcastically bowed and wave her hand like he was a royal family member, but Colin just rolled his eyes.

"Hello?"

"Oh Colin is Cress."

"Cress?"

"Your PR manager boy!"

"Oh... what can I do for you Cress?"

"When can I tell the public that the sexy superstar Colin Bridgerton is ready to return back to duty?"

"Oh I'm not sure, it's been a difficult few days."

"Oh I heard a friend died, maybe send me some sad selfies? Definitely shirtless... I can promote that... oh or maybe some of you at the funeral, people will be more sympathetic to that... ohhh maybe some cemetery shots?"

"Goodbye Cress."

"W-WAIT Col..."

He hung up the phone and hung his head in disbelief. One thing he could never get used to be the lack of emotion in this 'fame' business, Colin was essentially a product, and if that product didn't perform well... well then, he'd be booted into oblivion. He only ever wanted to sing, write, and perform. All the other stuff like promotions? Interviews? Photoshoots? He hated with a passion. But Michael said... "if you want that good, sometimes you need to accept a little bad, life isn't just roses and fairytales." Of course Colin knew that, but he left Ashwell, he had left Penelope... so of course he knew pain. Deep pain. It was out of sheer distraction that he put himself into action of the eight years, as he numbed the constant pain with touring, writing, alcohol, and women, and then repeated the cycle.

However, last week... when he nearly lost the voicemail, heard of Simon's passing, and now has discovered he had a daughter... nothing else truly mattered to him anymore. Ashwell was where he needed to be, and everyone else had to accept that.

He needed to make things right, he needed to fix his past and become a better man, and that all started with Agatha.

Last night he told Michael that he had a kid, and he was sure Michael was having some sort of attack down the phone. They sat for hours talking about his future, what it would mean if Colin was serious about becoming a dad. It all sort of came to ahead because Colin had no clue, he hadn't even been introduced properly to Agatha yet, and now he had to plan out his whole future, it was scary, and Colin could feel his chest constrict all night.