The Choice (a Painful Past)

172 (Colby's POV)

"Here you go." I said, holding them out to her.

She took them gingerly and lay them in her lap.

"Thank you, Colby. For everything." She murmured.

I smiled at her, teasingly.

"It's just sweatpants, Cal."

I knew what she meant, but I also had the feeling that she didn't really need to get all deep right then. This night had been hard enough on her.

She smiled back, but it still didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm gonna go change." She replied, as she stood up.

I watched her walk back to the bathroom and close the door, before I picked up her phone again. I knew it was wrong, but it was definitely satisfying to tell that jackass off.

"Colby, fucking put it down!" Sam hissed, quietly.

"I am!" I whispered back. "Just checking something." I made sure that dickhead hadn't sent anything back, and that the text had sent, then closed it out, and tossed it back on the bed, just before she came back out.

It was kind of comical to see her in my nice button up, paired with my sweatpants, but it was also kind of hot, seeing her in my clothes. I was still extremely angry, but the boil that I felt in my veins had decreased to a light simmer when I saw her. Now wasn't the time.

She had been through enough tonight, after reliving everything that she had been through. She pulled the blankets back, on the other side of the bed, and lay down.

"Oh, my phone." She exclaimed, as she picked it up from the bed. "Where was it?"

"Um, I found it on the floor. Must've fallen out of your pocket or something." I replied.

She opened it and looked at something that caused worry lines to appear on her beautiful face.

"Everything okay?" I asked, hesitantly.

I didn't want to argue with her tonight, or at all, but if she saw that I was in her phone, I was sure she wouldn't be too happy about it. Even if Dickhead did deserve what I said. He deserved a lot more than that, in my opinion.

I let out a small sigh of relief when I saw her put the phone back down and snuggled deeper into her pillow.

"You guys are watching Half Baked?! I love this movie! It's like the ultimate stoner movie." She laughed, as she fixed her pillows so that she could see the TV better.

I glanced at the TV, then back to her.

"I've never seen it." I replied.

"Yeah, this is our first time too." Sam chimed in.

"What?! Oh my God, you've got to pay attention to it then! Actually, let's smoke one. It'll make it even funnier." She giggled.

She seemed to be over the texts that Jerk Off had sent, but maybe she was just really good at hiding her emotions now. After the first initial blow, I mean.

"Good idea." I said, taking the rolling tray that Sam was passing to me.

It didn't take me long to roll up a nice blunt and light it. I sucked in a nice hit of the hazy smoke, then passed it to Callie, as I held my breath. I watched her take it and put it to her full lips.

I released my breath, aiming it towards the ceiling, and watched the gray smoke billow out.

"You guys know this is a no smoking room, right? I had to deactivate the smoke alarm." Nate spoke up, laughing.

"No shit?" I responded, with a chuckle. "What would we do without you?"

"Probably get kicked out of the only motel in this shit town." He laughed.

I still had my eyes on Callie, when her smile faded.

"It's not that bad here." She replied, softly. "It's home."

"Yeah, it'll always be home, Cal." I said. "You have to admit that there's nothing here, though."

"I didn't mean anything bad, Callie." Nate said, gently. "I was just kidding. This place will always have a special place in our hearts."

She met my gaze and nodded.

"I know you didn't." She replied to Nate. "I'm still here, so maybe I feel more connected to it. I know it's pretty much a blip in the middle of nowhere. It's a good place to raise a kid though. Nothing bad ever really happens here. I couldn't even imagine having to let Ben go to school somewhere that they have to be on guard for possible tragedies all the time. I don't have to worry too much, when he goes out with his friends. If we lived in LA, or some other big city, I would probably be a nervous wreck every time he left the house."

"LA isn't that bad." I replied.

She shot me a 'yeah right' look, lifting one eyebrow.

"Okay, it can be pretty dangerous. I think it was rated the most dangerous city in the United States recently. But there are safe areas, safe schools, and stuff. Bad things can happen anywhere. You just have to be careful and avoid the worst areas."

"I guess." She replied, unconvinced.

She let it drop and went back to giggling at the movie. We finished up the blunt, then I took my shoes off and relaxed back into the bed. I knew that I was going to sleep on the floor, but I was going to lay on the bed until it was time.

The floor wasn't actually comfortable. We were all pretty baked, while we watched Half Baked. It was really like a tribute to stoners.

I found myself laughing along with everyone else, until I heard a particularly appealing laugh leave Callie's lips. My hazy brain thought that she was more interesting to watch than the movie, as funny as it was. Sometimes, she would just lightly giggle, which barely curved her lips.

Other times, she laughed so hard, her eyes crinkled and the dimple on her left cheek would deepen. It was the most interesting movie that I had ever watched. I thought I was busted when she looked over at me and smiled.

I returned the smile, then looked at the TV.

"It's over?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah dude, were you even watching it?" Sam laughed.

"Um," I blushed, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. "Yeah, I was, but maybe I drifted off for a few. I'm pretty tired."

"Sure man. Whatever you say." Nate replied, wagging his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes, then reached over and switched the light on my side of the bed off.

"It's almost 5 am. I'm going to try and get some sleep." I said, as I stood up.

I grabbed my pillow, walked around to Callie's side of the bed, and dropped it to the floor. I didn't want to sleep in the middle of the beds because I was sure that Sam would step on me, if he got up for any reason.

"What are you doing?" Callie asked, watching me inquisitively.

"I told you that you could have the bed, remember?" I asked, softly.

I held her gaze, as she began to worry her bottom lip with her teeth.

"Yeah, but...you don't have to sleep on the floor. It's so hard." She almost whined.

I chuckled.

"It's okay. I've slept on worse."

"No, seriously, Colby. You can sleep in the bed. I trust you." She replied, softly.

Hope bloomed inside my chest at her words. I didn't plan on making any moves with her. Not tonight, but the thought of sleeping next to her had me stuttering and forgetting words.

She really did bring that inexperienced kid inside of me, back out.