CHAPTER FIVE

"It's a secret," He said with a wink, making me giggle with anticipation.

Our seat-belts were on, and we were off onto the road again. 

This is the first time I can genuinely say I'm having the time of my life, all the little life's luxuries were being held out to me for once.

I'm going to take as much as I can get, at least until I'm locked back into that jail cell I call a room.

Taking advantage, hell yeah I am. Eighteen years and this the first time I got to play, back in that room the only play time I had was reading books about the adventures I could have had if I wasn't locked up in that dark awful place.

We slowed down in front of an 'Ice cream shop' I had never heard of. 

I know you lick it to eat it but that's basically it.

I looked back at Colby who was looking like a child behind the steering wheel he was jumping up and down, repeating; "Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream,"

I raised an eyebrow at the man who was dressed like a bad boy, yet has the personality of a child.

He stopped and pouted at me and I just stared back trying not to laugh before he began to speak again.

"You're staring at me as if I'm crazy, I know in front of dad I'm supposed to be some macho guy without feelings, but in front of you I want to show you who I really am, because who I'm pretending to be I don't plan on being much longer." He said, bumping my arm lightly with his.

"What do you mean?" I asked seriously now.

"It's a long story I-" We got cut off by a knock on the window, a guy who was dressed around the same clothing as us was leaning off Colby's car window.

Colby rolled down the window with a bad look on his face before speaking.

"Michael get off my fucking car, how many times do I have to tell you that," 

"Oh right, sorry man, I just saw such a beautiful girl in your car I wanted to make sure you didn't kidnap her or some shit," He leaned closed to the window before he spoke again.

"Hey beautiful, how are you doing?" he asked with a smile.

"Fuck off, what are you even doing down here anyway?" I stayed silent watching.

"Listen man I really fucked up and need your help," The unknown man said panicking.

"What did you do?" Colby asked with his arm covering the window frame probably so that guy doesn't lean on his car window again.

"Can we talk privately?" Michael asked his eyes, flinching from me to Colby.

"No, you can talk in front of her, she's my fiancé," Colby explained, and Michael's eyes went into more panic when there was a scream coming from an alleyway.

"I don't have time please you have to help!" He exclaimed in a whisper. 

Colby got out of the car and so did I. Once we met in front of the car he took my hand as we walked to the suspicious alley way. 

A woman about mid-twenties was lying on the street with her throat slit and she was gurgling and choking on her own blood.

I just stood there calm, I came close to dying a couple times, and all I could think was 'so that's what it's like.'

"Fuck man what the hell did you do?" Colby said, running his hand through his hair.

"I didn't mean to, she wouldn't stop screaming and Alastair told me not to let her go so I," Michael got cut off.

"So you slit her throat?" He said angrily.

"I didn't know what else to do?" Michael asked but instead of answering his question Colby asked a question. "How did she get out here anyway?" He asked to step over her.

"She ran and started screaming, and I panicked.

"Of course you did, which is why I keep telling dad to stop putting you in charge of the watches," Colby said with a sigh.

"What do I do?" Michael asked again, suddenly Colby pinned Michael up against a wall and said very quietly.

"You ask me that damn question one more time and that woman there will be you," Colby threatened with a dark glint in his eyes.

"Now you take her legs I'll take her arms, Chloe can you go open that door for me," He pointed to the far wall where a door was hidden between the walls of the alley.

I quickly followed his instructions. He carried the dying woman inside and came back out, locking the door with a padlock.

"Chloe and I are going to go finish our date, and you are going to go to my father and tell him you fucked up, once again." He attempted to hold my hand but I moved away and pointed at his hands, they were covered in that woman's blood, I didn't want it on my hands.

"Oh sorry," He said and nodded back toward the car.

"Let's stop at the car again before we go in," I just nodded and followed him back to the car. He opened the back trunk and took out a red stained cloth and wiped off his hands and whispered in my ear.

"I'm going to go wash them inside, go sit down and wait for me. I shouldn't be too long," He said quietly.

"Okay." I turned around and Michael was nowhere in sight, so we started to walk towards the doors. I opened them since Colby's hands were still full of blood.

He made his way to the bathroom and I made my way to find a table. 

I spotted one across the room where a family sat eating something with a banana in it. I cringed when the sound of bananas in ice cream made me want to gag.

I sat down and took a look at the menu which was full of colors like; pink, purple, blue and green.

The font was in white to make it easy to read.

It read:

Flavours; strawberry, chocolate, vanilla, choco-mint, and many others, they all look so amazing. Well almost all of them the banana split sounds unappetizing.

Suddenly Colby sat in front of me with his hand clasped together.

"I'm really sorry about that," He said in a guilty tone.

I just shrugged and kept reading. I feel like I should be freaking out over a dead body and watching the woman choke on her own blood. But truth is told I'm not, not even the slightest worried or scared.

"You must be pretty freaked out finding out what I'm a part of huh?" He asked seriously trying to get my attention but I saw a flavor I wanted.

"The caramel chunk sounds good, and it has chocolate drizzle and peanuts!" I said excitedly.

"Chloe," He said finally getting my attention, I looked up at him out of my caramel, chocolate day dream.

"What?" I asked finally.

"You're acting as if nothing happened," I just blinked at him before responding.

"Aren't I supposed to pretend like nothing happened?" I asked confused.

It wasn't exactly the first time I seen a dead body, I mean there was that woman Alastair was having an afair with and shot her in the back of the head twice, I can still hear the echo of the shot and the bullet shells hit the floor and the thump of the body fall.

Shaking myself out of it I looked back at Colby who had apparently held my hand again.

"I appreciate your loyalty, and I can't even begin to think what you had been through in that basement alone, but with me you don't have to pretend it was nothing, I know it's scary and awful and I shouldn't have put you through that, I'm sorry." He stared into my eyes those pools of honey brown eyes.

My heart suddenly shook, feeling like it was ripping in two all those years of suppressed emotions, and he told me I don't have to do it alone anymore.

Tears fell, my body shook with ugly sobs.

I know I shouldn't do this with people around but my body wouldn't listen, Colby got up and walked around the table and took me into his arms as I cried into his chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," He said, smoothing down my hair, holding my head to his chest, and I wrapped my arms around his lean yet toned body.

I can't do it, I can't pretend anymore, he lifted my chin up to look up at him , my face soaked from tears and mascara running down my cheeks, and he placed a soft kiss on my sobering lips.

I leaned up on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck to hold his kiss longer, it was slow and sweet. 

Different from the others, this was more intimate, he backed away from me picking up a napkin and wiping the black smears my tears left, gave me a peck on the lips and let me go.

"So, what ice cream do you want?" He asked with an apologetic smile.

I sniffled while thinking of which one I wanted.

 "Can I have the caramel chunk with the nuts and the chocolate drizzle?" I asked hiccupping from tears.

"Anything for you," He said with a smile before turning to the cashier and nodding before placing a ten dollar bill on the counter and placing his order which is the banana split.

I looked around, everyone seemed to be staring and I started to feel uncomfortable as we continued to wait for our ice cream.

I think Colby noticed because he whispered to me. "Let's go eat somewhere else."

"Yeah," I agreed.

Colby passed me my ice cream and we headed outside to where a bench was placed on the sidewalk.

We went and sat down as I took a bite of my ice cream and I soon regretted it.

I cried out in pain from the cold that hit my teeth.

"Oops, I forgot to tell you it was cold," He laughed a little.

"It's okay," I said, trying to warm up my teeth.

"Actually I have a question about your family, you know, since we're engaged now and everything," I said nervously, taking a small bite.

"You can ask me anything, what's up?" He asked, taking a bite of a banana.

"Well I was curious about what your family does," I said slowly.

"What my family does huh," He said deep in thought

"If you don't want to tell me I'd understand," I said shortly.

"It's not that, it's a bit complicated, my dad is a businessman, of his own sorts." He explained a bit.

"Oh, I see," I said, taking another bite of my ice cream, getting a caramel chunk and sucking the ice cream off to make the caramel softer before chewing it.

"What about Carolyn?" I was watching his reaction.

"My mom is more like a trophy wife, she pretty much does everything that needs to be done at home, which is probably why you spent more time with her." Colby explained.

"Sound's kind of fun to work at home, but also very boring after a while," I said looking up in the depths of the baby blue sky.

"Mom seems to enjoy it when dad's out of the house, yet rather I stay home since, you know," He lifted up his black shirt showing a bloody bandage.

"Colby, your bleeding," I said, placing a finger to make sure it wasn't dry, and it wasn't he winced with a low small growl.

"I must have ripped my stitches out when I lifted that damn body," He said in a hiss.

"You need to go to the hospital," I said, putting down my ice cream to help him get back to the car.

"No, sit down, I'm not going anywhere," He said in a serious tone.

"Colby, you're hurt, please?" I begged.

"Tell you what, you sit with me and finish our ice cream and then I'll go to the hospital, deal?" He made a proposition.

"Fine," I said, eating as fast as I could so he would go to the hospital.

"Eating that fast won't make me go any faster," He said taking another bite of his, I glared annoyed at him.

"This isn't funny, Colby , you're hurt," I said, getting upset.

"I know but I finally get to spend time with you, I don't want to waste it in a hospital," He said with a sigh.

"I understand that but if we are going to be together, I want you safe and healthy. I don't want you in pain," I took his hand in mine before continuing. "-And besides we are getting married, so we will have forever together," I smiled not realizing how cheesy that sounded until it left my lips.

He brought my hand to his lips and placed a gentle cold kiss on the back of my hand before nodding.

Once we were finished with our ice cream we threw out the containers and headed towards the car.

Colby limped to my side of the car; I put a hand on his shoulder and shook my head. He was in enough pain; I shouldn't let him do pointless activity.

He grunted getting into the driver's seat as I walked to the passenger's side and got into the seat closing the door behind me.

I looked over at him, his shirt soaked from blood; I was left breathless, panicked. 

"We have to go to the hospital Colby, please go. Go for me?" I pleaded with his sweat soaked hand, I knew how much pain he was in, it was all over his pale sweat soaked skin.

He didn't say anything, all he did was nod in agreement, he started the engine and went off down twist and turns down different streets.

We finally made it into a large parking lot; he choked out a cough while getting the key out of the ignition.

He opened his door and nearly fell out of his seat.

I quickly got up and ran to his side, pulling his arm up and around my shoulder carrying him toward the doors that opened and shut by themselves.

They were scary but I had to go through to help Colby.

I gulped from the frog in my throat, what do I say in things like this?

"I- I need help," I choked out; he was heavier than I thought he'd be.

The lady at the desk looked up at us, Colby had been losing so much blood he's beginning to lose consciousness.

She ran toward us saying something in her walkie-talkie and a doctor showed up shortly after shaking his head at us as paramedic's brought a gurney.

"I told him leaving was a bad idea," The doctor sighed. Helping me lay him down, he turned toward me.

"I have to fix his stitches. I'll be calling his parent's so you don't have to stay," He said before leaving.

"I'm his fiancé," I blushed as the words left my lips.

"Alright well stay here then," The doctor rolled his eyes behind his thick glasses.

He turned and walked toward the two opening doors behind where Colby laid unconscious on the gurney.

I took a deep breath and sat down in a hard plastic chair and placed my face in my hands.

This was my entire fault, if I didn't look at the playground or the ice cream shop he would have never been in here.

Taking a shallow breath I looked up at the over obnoxious ticking clock over the front desk ticking every second and minute I've been sitting here.

I feel helpless, it's not an unfamiliar feeling, but it made me feel worse than I did before.

I heard a scream from behind the doors making me jump out of my seat, the lady at the front desk looked up before speaking.

"He's going to be alright, it's not his first rodeo," She said reassuringly.

But to me it wasn't reassuring, he comes here a lot, the doctors and nurses seem to know him by face.

I don't know what to think, am I going to have to worry this is going to happen again?

Will next time be worse?

There was another scream; I bit my lip to stop myself from crying.

What should I do?

That's when my worst nightmare walked through the revolving doors; of course it was no other than his parents.

First through the door's came his worried faced mother who had her hands clasped together.

Behind her was no other than Alistair who came in like a bull, red faced and full of rage.