A Beating Heart

Clues All Around You

"Where have you been?" My brother grabs my arms just as I enter the front door. He pulls me up the stairs and to his room, shutting the door behind us. "Where have you been, Colby?" He asks again.

I stare at him, refusing to answer the question because I'm sure that he already knows the answer.

"You were with her weren't you?" He booms and folds his arms over his chest.

"So what if I was?" I snap. I'm sick of all this. I need some answers and I'm tired of everyone giving me the run around.

"Colby I," he pauses and sighs, "just go." He shakes his head and say softly. I narrow my eyes at him.

"Drake?" I question. I was looking for more of a showdown. Some yelling, throwing things, angry words, anything more than... well this.

"I can't continue to tell you how dangerous this is Colby. You are going to have to see for yourself," he states then steps around me to leave his room. I'm left standing there looking crazy.

I shake my head clear and head up to my room.

How can I possibly be able to understand something that no one will explain to me?

I stomp up the stairs to my room and slam the door. I flop down on my bed with a huff and fold my arms over my chest as I stare at the ceiling.

"I'm so sick of this!" I shout in frustration.

Since the moment Shay came into my life everything has been so up and down and really freaking confusing. Like really confusing and amazing and just... ugh! What the hell is happening to me?

"You talk to yourself often?" A familiar voice says from my closet. I whip my head to look in that direction.

Shay is sporting a wide grin, a pair of my shorts and one of my t-shirts.

I sit up and look at her. "What the heck are you doing in my closet?" I ask quickly.

She tilts her head to the side and stares at me briefly, the smile she was sporting is now gone.

"Not happy to see me?" Her face falls a little at the prospect. She moves from my closet to stand next to my window, almost like she's readying herself to take off out of it.

"No," I say softly. When her eyes widen I realize what I said. "I mean I am, I'm just," I sigh. "Shay, you're killing me here." I shrug and stand up from the bed. I make my way over to her. "I don't know what you want." I whisper as I reach her. "We have fun together and I feel so... amazing when I'm around you but you're not really giving me any clues here. I don't know if you feel the same."

"I do." She nods quickly, looking up from her hands to me. "I like being around you Colby, I just..."

I sigh and step back. Here we go with this again. I guess Shay reads my face because she shakes her head and moves to close the space I created between us.

"I won't tell you how dangerous this is anymore." She whispers. I stare into her eyes. "I like being around you. I like you stalking me, I like me creepily showing up in your bedroom, I like that you think you're faster than me, I liked teaching you how to hunt, and I like you Colby." I bite my cheek to fight a smile. "This is dangerous," she pauses, places a hand over my chest and looks back up at me, "but I can't stay away from you. I've tried and it just doesn't work." She shakes her head.

I stare at her not knowing what to say. I guess the truth is a start.

"I like all those things too Shay. I like being around you more than anything. It makes me feel so alive and I don't want this feeling to go away." She looks down, clearly trying to hide her smile. I grab her chin and force her to look up at me. Electricity surges through me. "I like you too." I whisper, barely audible.