falling in love with a gang leader

chapter 12

i woke up the next morning to long arms wrapped tightly and comfortably around my torso. i lifted my head out of all the blankets that were buried on top of me and saw a shirtless colby passed out asleep. he looked so peaceful. his lashes fanned over his cheek, his beautiful skin glistening in the morning sun. he's an angel. and i want to kiss every inch of you... i broke my gaze off of colby and glanced down at my hands, remembering what happened last night. i couldn't cry anymore, i completely ran out of tears... i felt numb to it all. i remembered what had happened when i ran out of the bunker, as well. when colby chases after me and enveloped me in his embrace. he smelt good. he felt like my shelter. the way he was hugging made me feel like i couldn't get hurt. he was protective and loving at the same time and i couldn't understand how. he seemed so... genuine. like the sweetest guy to ever walk the earth, but the most mean when someone steps on him. i praise him for that. i shook my thoughts and carefully got up out of colby's arms and out of his bed without waking him up, then went into the bathroom. i closed the door and looked in the mirror. my face was swollen from the physical fight that that katrina and i had... on top of stephan slapping the fuck out of me, my eyes were bloodshot red and puffy, my throat hurt really bad from screaming and crying, and my head was pounding. i rinsed my face with water, and walked back into colby's room. he was awake and looking as perfect as ever. i can't believe i caught feelings for someone that i don't know that well.
colby: "good morning." his voice raspy and sexy.
oh, fuck.
i gave him a small smile as i sat on the end of his bed and looked down at my fingers.
emma: "good morning." my voice was soft and sensitive. i hated that i sounded like a three year old who just lost her stuffed animal when i was sad.
colby: "how are you feeling?"
emma: "good." my voice cracked. i don't want to show him that i'm weak. though, he probably already thinks so.
colby: "don't lie to me." he warned, gently.
how could he put so much promise into four little words? i took a deep breath and glanced at him. he was staring at me sympathetically with his head cradled in his hands. i guess i'll be honest...
emma: "really bad." i whispered, facing my back towards him. he was silent, not saying a word. the silence was killing me. i felt like i was being judged. please say something... instead of speaking, he suddenly came up behind me and hugged me tight. his arms lay under my breasts and his face was buried in my neck in the most comforting way possible. his warmth was welcoming and addicting, his bare skin against the tshirt of his that i was wearing. i wanted to be skin to skin with him, but only with time will that come true... or never. i wanted to stay in his arms all day. again, i feel protected in his embrace. his head now rested on my shoulder and he held me close. i took the chance to turn around to him while i was still in his arms and wrapped my arms around his neck. his grip tightened around my lower back and i buried my face in his neck. god, he smells so good. he was so soft and so gentle when he was around me. or maybe he's like this around other females...? the thought of him being with any other female comes unwelcome into my mind. i hold him tighter as i try to forget about it. one of his hands unexpectedly came up to stroke my knotted hair down my back and his fingers pricked my scalp smoothly. he really does know how to make someone feel better. after what felt like forever, his grip loosened from around me. that's his way of letting go. no, no. god, please don't move away from me. i unwillingly unwrapped my arms from around his neck and glanced up at him.
colby: "let's go downstairs." he smiled slightly.
i gave him a quarter of a smile back and we got up. i followed him downstairs and everyone stopped and looked at him and i.
emma: "what are we staring at?" i asked confused.
kevin: "jelly bean!" he tried to sound excited, but he was a little too loud. i squinted my eyes and cringed at his loud voice and his smile faded quickly. damn, my head hurts.
kevin: "sorry for yelling." he said shyly.
emma: "i- it's fine." i shook my head. i walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. i held my head in my hands and let out a deep, soft sigh. i was stressed and sad. stressy and depressy, if you will.
elton: "em, do you want something to eat?"
emma: "no thanks."
he nodded and kevin came up and hugged me. i hugged him back and he sat next to me.
kevin: "are you okay?" he asked gently as if i was a hurt animal.
emma: "yeah." i tried my best to sound strong. no, i'm not okay. i lost my best friend because she exposed my past to people that now think differently of me, how could i be okay after that? he patted my shoulder gently and got up and went back over to the couch. but then it hit me. i gave everyone a confused look.
emma: "why are you guys being so nice to me right now?" my original, unbroken voice decided to come back.
everyone popped out of their corners and looked at me.
mike: "what do you mean?"
emma: "since you know everything now, i'm wondering why haven't you thrown me out on the streets like my parents did?" i asked softly.
elton: "we would never throw you out, emma. we care about you and we're here for you. we're a family."
emma: "everyone says that." i mumbled. katrina said she was there for me, too. look what happened with that. i glanced up from my hands and saw colby come and sit next to me. he put his hand on my thigh as a way to help calm me down, but his touch made my spine tingle... in a good way. touch me more...
colby: "we're serious. we're not going to leave you, emma. we're here for you..." he paused to search my face for clues as to how i'm feeling. after a beat, he said to me, "i'm here for you." again, those four little words held so much promise. how does he do that?
i nodded and glanced down at his hand that lay on my thigh then back at him, "thank you." my voice broke. he hugged me tightly without missing a beat and i hugged him back. his bare skin felt so good. his back was soft and his muscles were big. oh my lord, his hugs... he squeezed gently against me in reassurance.
emma: "don't say anything to anyone who wasn't here for the argument... please?" i begged in a whisper.
colby: "don't worry, beautiful. i never planned on it." he said softly.
i blushed and pulled away. he looked at me and we locked eyes almost immediately. i swear, i didn't think it was possible to actually get lost in someone's eyes... but in colby's... it was like i was swimming. he smiled at me and i of course smiled back. we were interrupted by a door opening. i tore my head away from his gaze and saw sam walking towards me.
sam: "hey, em. how're you doing?"
emma: "better." i glanced at colby. he blushed as i caught his eye as sam leaned in for a hug. i released him and he walked into the kitchen. colby stayed sitting in front of me.
emma: "has anyone seen my phone?" i called, remembering the forgotten device.
mike: "it's right here." he called back from the couch. i walked over to him, feeling colby's eyes on me as i did so, and he had my phone in his hand. i grabbed it and saw that i had a ton of missed calls from katrina.
i groaned in frustration and walked back over to the table and sat down in front of the beautiful boy.
colby: "so... uh... emma, what do you have planned for today?" he sounded nervous. i smiled at him and responded.
emma: "i'm going to go home in a couple of minutes and probably just chill there for the day."
kevin: "what about katrina?" he popped out from the kitchen with a plate of food in his hand as he walked over to the table. shit. i hadn't thought of that.
emma: "i'll lock myself in my room." i shrugged.
colby: "emma, you ca-" he stopped and jerked his head toward the front door that had just swung open. a group of people— all guys, i assume— dressed in all black with masks over their face, barged through the front door. colby grabbed me in an instant like i was his number one priority as him and i both stood up. again, protective.
colby: "go to my room and lock the door behind you. hide in the closet and i'll be in there as soon as possible." he demanded, anxiety in his voice. i did what he said and ran up to his room when he said it was clear to. i locked the door and went into his closet and sat in the corner. my heart was beating faster and faster. i was... scared. who are those people and what are they doing here? my thoughts were interrupted by a loud gunshot downstairs. i jumped and covered my mouth as i tried not to breathe loudly. please don't let anything happen to colby, please don't let anything happen to colby... i changed the mantra in my head. i then heard trampling come up the stairs, almost sounding like a stampede of elephants. the footsteps got louder and louder and the voices in my head started to scream...