16:58

Chapter Forty-Eight

I've been staring at the orange bottle for two minutes. I'm about to go outside and yell at Colton but he opens the door.

"Hey..." he trails off. Colton frowns when he sees me, but then realization spreads over his face when he sees the bottle. "Andy, wait—"

"What the fuck? Are you serious? Fucking narcotics—"

Colton cuts me off by putting his hand over my mouth. He drags me outside. "Andy, stop. Let me explain," he says.

"Explain what? That you're a fucking drug user?" I ask.

"You're going to wake the parents up," Colton tells me quietly. He walks over to the gate and opens it. "Come on."

I shake my head as I walk outside. "You're a fucking drug user."

Colton shuts the gate behind me. "Look at the name on the bottle."

I frown. "Why?"

"Look at the fucking name on the bottle and read it to me," Colton says. "You did look at it, right?"

I look at the name and then back at him. "It says 'Colton Samson'."

"Yeah," Colton says.

I frown. "Why the fuck do you have narcotics prescribed to you?" I ask. "What? You said you were going to explain."

Colton looks around. "Fuck!" he says. He looks at me. "Why is this such a disaster?"

"Why is what a disaster, Colton?" I ask. "You said you were going to explain. Does your mom know?"

"Does she know what?" Colton asks. "What exactly do you think I'm doing with pain pills?"

I sigh. "I don't fucking know! Just because they're prescribed to you doesn't mean you couldn't have gotten them in an illegal way."

Colton looks offended. "You think I'm criminal? You think that I had to lie to get them? Or that I stole them for someone?" he asks. "You honestly think that little of me?"

"I don't know! Nothing makes sense with you, but more signs point to you being shady," I tell Colton.

"And what signs are those?" Colton asks.

"You keep leaving. You won't be honest with me. You just...I don't know! You fucking changed," I tell Colton. I toss the pill bottle at him. "I'm fucking done unless you can be honest with me."

"I have been honest with you," Colton says. "I told you I loved you. What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know," I say. "Fuck! I know you're hiding something, Colton. I know. I just don't know what it is."

"You just need to know that I love you," Colton tells me.

"What's going on? What's so bad that you can't tell me?" I ask.

Colton puts the pills in his pocket. "Don't worry about me," he says.

"Colton, you have fucking narcotics. There has to be something going on," I tell him. "You can't scare me away."

He sighs. "You're going to be a doctor. Why don't you tell me why someone would have a prescription like mine?"

I frown. "I...I mean, for pain, after surgeries...but there wouldn't be the amount that you have...for severe chronic diseases...I don't know. Nothing that fits you."

"Is that all?" Colton asks.

I shrug. "I have no fucking idea." I step closer to him and put my hand on his chest. "Please just tell me what's wrong. We can figure it out together. Colton, please just talk to me."

"I'm...It's okay," Colton says. "You don't have to worry about me."

"Why are you leaving?" I whisper desperately. "How bad is it? How bad is it if you have to leave even though you love me? How bad is it because you keep saying you're not coming back?"

Colton doesn't say anything. I hug Colton tightly and wrap my arms around his back. I bury my face in his neck. I feel Colton's arms around me and I feel his hand in my hair. His heart is beating quickly.

We must be holding each other for a few minutes before he finally whispers, "It's really bad, Andy."

"How bad?" I murmur.

"I have cancer."