Always the Opposites {Brollins}

[ Chapter 46 ]

When Rebecca woke up, she was immediately bombarded by the girls all at once. After a bit, each one checked up on her separately, as they took turns being bedside while the others waited outside.

Each time the door opened for one to leave and another to enter, she silently prayed she'd catch a glimpse of Colby waiting for his turn.

It was only when she got a five-second break of isolation that she remembered everything that happened. Mercedes filled her in, informing her that Colby left when they got there. Although they weren't in the best place, she was still partially disappointed that he wasn't there when she woke up.

She sat alone, anxious and tired, now knowing that the medication she was taking couldn't completely protect her. Some strands of hair tickled the front of her face, and when she went to move them back, she noticed something tucked in her hand.

She opened her palm and saw a folded-up note of sorts. She raised her shaky hands in front of her and slowly unfolded it. On the note, there were a few things written down, and Rebecca read it all with a tearful smile.

A word you might not have heard of before.

FORELSKET

P.S. If you know what this means off of the top of your head, I refuse to believe you're human.

-C

She stared at the message for a few minutes, realizing she really didn't know what that one word meant. Colby had teased Rebecca over and over again, about being some sort of walking dictionary, and for once, she really didn't have an answer.

Rebecca was discharged from the hospital later that night, and Pamela wanted to be the one to stay and drive her home. Rebecca filled her in on how she did on her exams and what she planned to do on the weekend. Really anything and everything other than the fact that hours ago, she seized up for the first time in years.

"You know graduation is a lot closer than we think it is now that exams are done." Pamela pointed out as she tapped the steering wheel with her fingers.

"Holy shit, you're right." Rebecca's eyes widened, "What is it? Like three months?"

"Yeah, about that." Pamela nodded, "It's crazy to think that we're gonna be real adults soon."

Rebecca laughed, "I love how you say real adults as if we aren't already."

"Okay fine." Pamela rolled her eyes, "Boring adults."

"Speak for yourself." Rebecca scoffed and crossed her arms, "I'm not putting myself in that category."

"You should." Pamela stated, "You already act like an old lady half of the time."

Rebecca laughed, trying to hide her exhaustion. "So mean."

"So... how are things going with Colby?" Pamela questioned slowly and wearily, not wanting to stress Rebecca further.

"I don't really know." She sighed, "I wanna believe him, most of me already does. But trying to connect the dots of the entire situation is still... bothering me."

"It's understandable." Pamela nodded, "How she got into the apartment if he was asleep, why she even showed up in the first place, and why he can't remember almost any of it, are all good questions to have."

"Yeah." Rebecca spun the ring on her finger. "I dunno, I'm just- well, I was trying not to get too... stressed. But I guess we see where that led me."

"You're getting into your own head again. You were doing great when you were just having fun and weren't thinking twice." Pamela explained, "He's the only guy I've seen you do that with. Nobody else even came close."

Rebecca knew Pamela was right, but it didn't stop her brain from thinking. When Pamela dropped Rebecca off, she didn't know what to do with her newfound free time.

She went to fix the pillows on her couch and noticed one of Riley's many stuffed bears, forgotten in between the couch cushions. Rebecca took it and shook her head with a smile. The little girl had so many of them she wouldn't be surprised if Riley didn't even notice it was missing.

She propped the bear up on the counter, reflecting on their time together while trying not to get emotional. A smile was sewn onto the bear's face, and Rebecca just smiled back, as if it would somehow get back to Riley.

She reached in her back pocket for her phone, feeling something else protruding from it at the same time. Rebecca pulled out the name card Riley had drawn for her at the dance recital, and it sent Rebecca down the path of reminiscing about their time together.

She scrolled through the hundreds if not thousands of pictures of all three of them on her phone. Feeling the urge to break down when she found the picture Riley had taken of her and Colby asleep on the couch.

Although the past occupied her mind for a few minutes, Rebecca was quickly brought back to the present, drained yet alert. For the first time in forever, she had no exams to study for, nobody to meet up with, no job shift to fulfil, nothing. So, her eyes deviated to the note from Colby she had placed on the counter.

Rebecca fought herself silently on whether or not she should entertain it, but before she could get ahold of herself, she found the interest of having something to do, lead her.

She opened up the dictionary that lay on her bookshelf and flipped through the pages. Not finding a single word in it that even remotely resembled the one Colby had left.

She walked back and forth, feeling like she was trying to access the smallest archives in her mind. Not one word she thought of even came close, and it was obvious that Colby knew her too well to give her something she'd find in mere seconds.

"Okay, Lopez..." Rebecca smiled to herself, "What are you trying to tell me?"