How to Stay Afloat

~27: Where He's Jealous~

CHAPTER 27:

Where He's Jealous

|Archer|

Fallon's hands gently pushed at my chest and I reluctantly stepped back, watching her slide to the floor. Her legs seemed a little shaky. I took in her disheveled appearance. Her hair was deliciously tousled, her lips swollen and there was a slight bruise blossoming on the juncture of her neck and shoulder- where I'd bitten her.

I could feel my blood heat and I had to curl my hands into fists to keep them from reaching out for her again.

"Fallon, your boyfriend is here." Her flatmate's voice called out again and every cell in my body rose in attention.

Boyfriend?

Fallon just gave me an incredulous look.

"What the hell are you talking about Adrian? I don't have a boyfriend!"

"She isn't that lucky." A familiar voice spoke up from outside the room and my stomach twisted with something ugly when I saw Fallon's face light up in a delighted smile at the sound of that voice.

The door to her room suddenly flung open and outside stood a very amused-looking Colton.

"I bought pizza." His grey eyes turned to study me. "I would have brought more if I'd known you had company."

~~**~~

I watched from the couch as Colton and Fallon bickered over who should get the last slice of pizza in the kitchen. My jaw was set and I couldn't stop the spike of anger I felt every time Fallon smiled at him or whenever he laughed at something she said.

Even Spartacus seemed to love him. I watched as the large feline rubbed needily against Colton's calves and when he finally scratched him behind his ears he purred so loud that I heard him all the way to where I was sitting.

Traitor

"Come on look at them." Adrian spoke up from beside me, "You're telling me he's not her boyfriend?" He gave me a pointed look before taking a huge bite from his slice of pizza.

"Well, he's not!" I snapped in annoyance.

Adrian looked startled at my strong response. After a while, he just shrugged. "Sorry, my bad. He's here every other day to see her so I figured. . ." he trailed off.

I ground my teeth together.

I didn't like how much I hated that.

I hated that Colton was so comfortable here.

I hated that Fallon's roommates thought that he was her boyfriend.

And I absolutely hated how close he and Fallon seemed.

She was never that carefree with me. She never laughed so loudly when I was around.

It bothered me. It bothered me a lot.

And I absolutely hated how jealous I was. Especially considering the fact that I knew Colton was a good guy. In fact, he was one of the few people I considered a friend here.

After a while, Adrian left to work his shift at the gas station, and Fallon and Colton joined me on the couch. The two of them argued for a good fifteen minutes over what we should watch. I ended up snatching the remote from Colton's hands and turning on the true crime documentary Fallon wanted to watch. He gave me a dirty look and I scowled at him in response.

We were two episodes in when Fallon's eyelids started drooping. She looked up at me with sleepy half-lidded eyes and I could feel my breath hitch. I momentarily forgot all about Colton. I brushed a stray lock of hair away from her face and smiled as I saw her eyes flutter when my fingers accidentally brushed against her cheek.

She yawned and then scrunched up her nose. Something I found absolutely adorable.

"I'm going to head to bed now." She whispered. "You guys go ahead and finish the rest of the documentary."

With one last smile aimed at me, she got up from the couch and walked toward her bedroom. It wasn't until she'd disappeared behind the door and I'd heard the soft click that my eyes stopped following her.

"You're a fool."

Colton's voice spoke up suddenly making my head snap in his direction. His gaze was still fixated on the television, his expression bored.

"What did you say?" I demanded, my hands curling into fists.

His eyes finally met mine. "I said that you are a damn fool." He said the words blankly and before I could come up with an appropriate response he continued,

"She looks at you like that and you're still jealous of me."

I was too baffled to speak at this point.

Colton just gave me a pointed look. "Fallon and I, we're just friends." He said quietly. "I'm not the one that she wants. We hang out together sometimes because we've both shared similar experiences in our past so we get each other." He shrugged. "Plus, she's really easy to talk to so I like spending time with her, but that's all there is."

I swallowed thickly. "So, you're telling me that you were never interested in her?"

He laughed. "No, I was interested. It's just that every time we talked. . ." He shook his head smiling wistfully, "She would only ever talk about you."

A warm feeling blossomed in my chest at his words.

"I don't fight battles I'm destined to lose." He said before turning his attention back to the television.

~~**~~

It was past 2 AM when I entered Fallon's bedroom. Colton and I had finished the rest of the documentary in silence. When it had ended he'd mumbled a quick goodbye and left.

Fallon was sound asleep on the bed. I quietly made my way onto the air mattress beside the bed, making sure not to disturb her.

For a moment I just lay there, hand beneath my cheek as I stared up at her sleeping face.

One of her arms dangled over the edge of the bed, her fingertips barely grazing the floor just a couple of inches away from my face.

For a while I just watched her, listening to her gentle breathing. She looked so peaceful.

"I tried to fight it and I've tried to deny it," I whispered. "But I don't have that kind of strength anymore," I swallowed thickly, "Or maybe it's the opposite, maybe you've made me braver." I reached out and twisted my fingers around hers.

"I think I've fallen in love with you Fallon Chambers," I murmured.

Just as I started drifting off to sleep I thought I felt her fingers tighten around mine ever so gently.