The Boy Next Door

ｔｗｅｎｔｙ ｆｉｖｅ

~Rachel~

After my call with Katie and dinner, I went to my window to see if Colton was in his room. The window had become a means of communication that only we knew about. It was dark in his room, but I could see shadowy figures coming through the doorway. Colton turned the light on, his dad followed him inside. I could tell that they were arguing about something. Colton threw his hands in the air and his father left the room. Colton plopped down on his bed and put his face in his hands. He was upset. It wasn't often that he got upset, but when he did he generally liked someone to talk to.

I texted him telling him to come to the window. He grabbed his phone, glanced out the window and stood up. He opened his window at the same time I opened mine.

"Hey baby." He said, giving me a half smile. His voice sounded like he was sad and mad at the same time.

"Are you okay?" I asked. I have only seen him really sad a few times before, but I could tell when something wasn't right. His eyes looked watery.

"Honestly? No, not really." He said. His fingers fiddled with the trim of the window.

"Is it okay if I come over?" I asked.

"I wouldn't recommend going downstairs, but if you want to."

I started to climb out of my window. I had done it so many times before, I was no longer as afraid as the first time I did it. He figured out what I was doing and helped me into his room. He brought me into a big hug. He took and deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Babe, what's wrong?" I asked.

"My dad." He replied. "He is such an asshole." He sat on the edge of his bed.

"What did he do now?" I asked."

"At dinner, he brought up the accident and Nikki. He was telling me that it is my fault that she died and that I need to get my act together. There is so much tension in our house right now. He keeps yelling at my mom too and she hasn't done anything to deserve that. I feel so bad for her. He is lashing out on her because of my mistakes." Colton was looking down. I could see tears starting to drip off of his face, but he was trying to hide it from me. "For the last, 11 months I have tried to put it behind me and move on, but it has been so hard. I try to accept the fact that she is gone, but I can't. The wounds haven't fully healed yet. My dad just rips them open and plucks the stitches out one by one. Talking about her is okay and I know I have much responsibility for what happened but placing all the blame on me isn't helping me cope with what happened. He has been out of my life directly for almost a year. He doesn't even know me anymore. How can he make judgements when he won't even take the time to recognize who I have become." Colton used the back of his hand to wipe his face. The cocky boy I met on my doorstep almost seven months ago wouldn't dare be seen like this. The truth is that cocky boy isn't really cocky at all. He is sensitive and caring. I pretended like I couldn't see him crying. I placed my hand on top of his. He flipped his over and intertwined our fingers. I squeezed his hand. "I personally believe that no marriage should result in divorce, but even before the accident my parents were not doing well together. My dad isn't even in my mom's life anymore, living in a whole other country. I think my mom needs to leave him. She is basically a single mother right now anyway."

"If something is meant to be, it will work itself out, whether that means that she leaves him or he moves back. Marriage is hard work. It will be okay in the end."

He hugged me. "Do you have any idea how grateful I am to have you?" He asked. "I love you so much Rachel." He said planting a kiss on my forehead. "I love you so much." He whispered.

"I love you too Colton." I said.

"My life would be a total wreck if I wouldn't have met you. You keep me in one piece." he said, letting go of me.