The Influence | Colby Brock

Chapter 3: Connections

I hear a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in!" I yell. I look up from my phone. My mom opens the door, "Your friends here." She peeks in before opening the door wider. Colby is standing behind her with hands in his pockets. "He's not my friend, he's my project partner." I tell her. She laughs and shakes her head, "Door stays open." She tells us both. Colby nods his head and walks in, looking around my room quietly.

"You can sit on my bed or my chair, doesn't really matter to me." I tell him as I get up. I grab my laptop and open Word. He sits on the end of my bed, sighing and rubbing his hands against his thighs.

"Don't have to be weird, Colby." I laugh at him. He rolls his eyes and eases up, now laying back on my pillows.

"Shall we start?" He asks, his arms crossed behind his head.

I nod and bite my lip, looking back down to the bright screen.

***

"I think we got a good start to it." I smile and close my laptop. Colby is closer to me now, he finally settled in and got comfortable. He nods and looks at me.

"You're a really good writer, Katelyn." He tells me. I try to hide my blush by looking away.

"Anyways, I'll see you tomorrow?" I ask him.

"Um, maybe not tomorrow. I have business." His eyebrows furrow as he stands up from my bed.

I roll my eyes, "You know you should really get out of your bad habits, Colby. You're 17, you don't want to go down the wrong path." I tell him quietly, but sincerely. He clears his throat and grabs his jacket from the back of my chair.

"Some kids grow up with the perfect life, I didn't. Just don't worry about my shit." I can see him tense with his words.

"Colby-"

"Just forget I ever said anything. I'll see you tomorrow." He leaves my room before I could reply to him.

I don't know him well enough to care about what he's doing to himself, nor should I try to help. I just can't understand why someone would fuck their life up before it even starts.

He's the mysterious boy who nobody knows. Apart from Sam, his best friend. Even on camera he acts nice and happy. I see through it. I know he's hurting, I can tell. People don't allow themselves to suffer unless they think they deserve it. I mean, I can say the same for myself.

I've had serious mental health issues since I was young, probably about 12. I've always seen myself to be this hideous, annoying little girl that nobody wants to be around. I stay to myself because I'm afraid of what others think about me. I even go as far as self harming sometimes, cutting because I believe I deserve to feel the pain. It's dumb, but it's an addiction. I try not to. I try to erase the urge from myself but I can't.

My thoughts are cut off by my older brother, Ethan. He knocks on my door quietly before pushing it open further. "So what are you doing messing around with Colby Brock?" He asks as he leans against the door frame.

"What are you doing all up in my business?" I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms.

"You know I don't want you messing around with that little boy." He says sternly.

He's the dad I never had. When I was a baby, right after my mom had me, my dad passed away. I don't remember him, neither does Ethan. My mom tells us stories, and we grew up knowing who he was. She still refers to him as the love of her life. That's why even though it's been 16 years, she won't find someone else.

"E, it's not that serious. We're just working on a project." I defend myself.

Ethan is a year older than me. Obviously, I was an accident. He's 18 and about to graduate. I still have one more year left.

"I'm just saying, he's bad news, Kat. Don't let him get to you like he has all these other little girls."

"I said, it's not a big deal. I know my worth. I'm not going to let a dumb boy ruin me." I smile at him. He sighs and comes over to me, kissing my head. "I love you, sis." He tells me quietly. "I love you too."

****

Imani

Ethan