𝑂𝑅𝑃𝐻𝐴𝑁𝐸𝐷

-twenty-six-

"Let's try the path down to the river. Corey wouldn't leave it, and Sam wouldn't leave Corey," I said.

As we jogged down the path, the only words that came out of my mouth were Corey and Sam because we were still yelling for them.

I saw a flicker of a light way down the road, and I took of running as fast as I could.

"Sam! Corey!" I yelled as I ran. Jake and Colby were far behimd me, but I didn't give a damn. I was pissed and worried, and that was not a good combination for me.

When I could see the shapes of their bodies, I ran even faster.

When I caught up to them, I barely stopped before wrapping my arms around Sam.

"Woah- okay," he said, hugging me back with one arm because he had the camera in the other.

I pulled away and quickly hugged Corey, then started going off on them.

"What the actual shit?! You two have been gone for almost 2 hours! Why didn't you answer when we called your phones or yelled for you?! We've all been freaking out!"

"We're sorry. I just got this gut feeling to come down to the river, and based off the dowsing rods, something else is over there than is in the castle," said Sam.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Sam, we've talked about this. When it comes to this shit, you don't follow the feelings you get in your gut. It usually doesn't end well. I mean, look at me. I had a gut feeling to do a seance, and then I could barely walk," I said.

Sam was about to respond, but I glanced at Corey and saw his face. He was pale, and in shock.

"Corey? Corey what's wrong?" I asked, some of my worry coming back.

At this point, Jake and Colby uad caught up with us.

"I think I just saw the Shadow Man," he said.

"Holy shit," I said. "Come on Corey, let's get you back to the house."

Sam and Jake stopped filming, and I could finally take a chance to breathe.

Once or twice, I caught Sam glancing from me to Colby, confused as to what the hell had happened between us, considering we were not even looking at each other.

We got back, and got Corey settled down.

Colby started filming again, and he asked if we wanted to go back in the castle.

Jake was curled up on one of the couches, and Corey was lying back in a chair that was next to the one Colby was sitting in, and Sam and I were sitting on the other couch.

Jake shook his head, and Corey snorted and looked at Colby. "Not even a little bit bro," he said.

"Kate?" Colby asked, pointing the camera at me.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't. Whatever the hell is in there likes me, and I don't want it to attach itself to me and then me bring it home with us."

I also just need a few minutes to myself. I felt bad about Colby and I fight, and needed to think.

"Why do you want to go back in there after everything that happened? I mean, look at Kate. The thing that's in there took a toll on her so much that she couldn't stand on her own feet," said Sam.

Colby glanced at me, then sighed. "I know. It's just that we flew 10 hours to get here. And all of our stuff we had for the seance is still there."

Sam sighed and put his face in his hands. "Oh, I forgot about that. Well, let's go then."

The two got up and left, taking a camera with them.

Corey had fallen asleep, and Jake was looking at his phone, his eyes glossed over with exhaustion.

I went into Colby and I's room, and took off my jacket and beanie. I plugged my phone back in, then kicked off my shoes.

I grabbed my pjs out of my suit case, which were a pair of old sweatpants and one of Colby's shirts, and went and took a shower.

While I was in the shower, I thought about the fight Colby and I had, and realized how terrible I felt about everything I said.

I got out of the shower, changed into my pjs, and brushed my teeth.

I went back to the room and just sat on the bed, anxiously staring off into space as I was waiting for Colby to get back.

After about 5 minutes, I heard the front door open and then close, and then two pairs of footsteps walked to the other room that Jake and Corey were sharing.

I heard them all talking, then two people left the room and went back to the living room. Then, I recognized Colby's steps coming towards our room.

I looked up to see him closing the door, his back to me.

He turned around, and I finally saw all the hurt that he had been feeling since the fight.

He came and sat next to me on the bed and sighed, looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry," we both blurted out at the same time. We both chuckled, looking at each other.

"I shouldn't have reacted like that. You were trying to keep me safe, and after what happened in the castle, I completely understand why," I said.

"I was being overprotective. You can handle yourself, even in bad situations. When we were up there, you knew you needed to get out more than the rest of us, even if you had to have help to do so. I especially shouldn't have tried to stop you from trying to find your brother. Kate, I love you so god damn much that it would kill me if something happened to you during something like this. Even though you're a total bad ass, I don't want you going at shit like this alone," said Colby.

I smiled and grabbed his hand. "Colby, that's where you're wrong. I'm never alone because I'll always have you."

He smiled and kissed me, and it was sweet and full of love.

We pulled apart, and he yawned, then took his shoes off and changed into a pair of sweatpants. He took his hoodie off, leaving him shirtless.

We both crawled under the covers and smiled.

He turned off the lamp on the nightstand and pulled me over to him, my back against his chest.

"Are we... Are we okay now?" I asked.

Colby chuckled and put his head on my shoulder. "Kate, we're more than okay. We're perfect."

I smiled, and closed my eyes, quickly falling asleep to the sound of Colby's breathing.

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I've been forgetting to mention this, but me and Nubivagxnt_ are writing a story together called The Summer that Changed Everything, and it's a Colby x O.C. and Aryia x O.C. book. It's on her page, and you should totally go check it out. She's also got a book called Our Little Secret, which is also a Colby story, which is great and you should totally go read it. Anyway, I hope you're staying safe. Feel free to comment or dm me about anything, because I wanna hear from you guys!
-Bramble