falling in love with a gang leader

chapter 24 (colby's pov)

did he really just ask why i got defensive over her? does he not see how big of a deal this is?
colby: "and i'm defensive because your hands are all over my girlfriend! now leave!" i shouted at mike, steam coming out of my ears. he knows how protective i am of what's mine and he usually knows better. bitch.
mike: "go ahead and do something, pussy." he irked, but only because he was scared. it was obvious.
i ran up to him, taking no time at all to batter him in. kevin and elton had to interfere and pull me off of him before i caused him some serious injuries. i took a deep breath, watching as mike held his torso and his left eye in pain from the bruising... a winded look on his face all the while he's laying on the floor, hurting to move. i looked over at emma and saw how close she was to mike since he was now arms reach from her in the middle of the kitchen floor. sam released his arm from around her and she caught my eye. i nodded towards her as a sign to tell her to come over to me, and she obeyed, hurrying around mike before he got up. she stood behind me with my arm over her stomach protectively while elton stood in front of mike, preventing him from lunging. i felt emma grip the back of t-shirt. don't worry, princess, i got you. i glared at mike. i was pissed and wanted to kill him.
emma: "hey, listen to me." she said calmly, but i ignored her. i was too focused on keeping myself calm to not go after mike again. she tapped my back a few times more, trying to get my attention, but i kept my eyes locked on the asshole in front of me. if i look away from him for one second, he could use that one second to his advantage and emma could get hurt. i can't let that happen.
emma: "baby! listen to me!" she said a little more forcefully, moving in front of me. that did it. that was my undoing. i jerked my head down to her and looked deep in her big, sad, blue eyes that i get lost in every time i look in them. she just called me baby... she just called me baby!
emma: "calm down, it's not a big deal." she sighed.
what the hell? yes, it is a big deal. i took a deep breath in hopes that it would calm me down, and then mike's big ass mouth opened... once again. does he ever stop talking?
mike: "she doesn't deserve you! she deserves to be treated like a queen and you can't do that!" elton pushed him towards the front door... well... tried to, anyway. and here it comes... i was in a decent mood for about thirty seconds, up until mike opened another can of shit. i moved emma out of the way and behind me before going after mike once again. i deepened his black eye and gave him a bloody nose before elton struggled to pull me off of him. i didn't necessarily enjoy giving an old friend a black eye, but he should've known better. i stepped back by emma and stood next to her.
colby: "don't ever tell me how i treat my females! if you treat your females so well, why don't you have one, huh?" i shouted, pausing to see if he would answer and he didn't, "alright then! so, stop talking before i beat your ass so bad to where your teeth are coming out of your-" emma cut me off by placing her deliciously soft lips on mine. it was so off-guard that i almost pushed her away, but i kissed her back, of course, and she looked at me with wide eyes when she pulled away.
emma: "go to my room, i'll be in there in a second."
i balled my fists and my lips thinned out of irritation.
what if something bad happens to her while i'm in her room? i sauntered into her room, not wanting to
argue with her, and sat on her bed, playing with the rings on my fingers out of anxiousness. god, i want to kill him. the silence of her room muffled the arguing and loud talking from the kitchen, white noise ringing. i wanted to go back in that kitchen and force mike out myself, but i wasn't going to make emma mad. the last thing i needed was the girl i wholeheartedly love to get mad at me because i didn't want to listen. yes, i love her. in fact, i think i'm in love with her. everything about her is just so... heartwarming and... refreshing... and that's why i resisted and did what emma requested and just stayed out of it. because she was right, i needed to calm down before i did something more... violent. i heard a door slam shut a few seconds later and it went completely silent, hearing the white noise ring louder through my ears. after a beat, i heard emma and sam, "i knew i shouldn't've gone to your fucking house, sam. drama is caused no matter who it is or where. when i say i don't want to get involved in shit, i mean it."
sam: "i'm sorry, i didn't..."
emma: "i'm not blaming you, but i was serious when i said that i didn't want to cause problems. i disregarded that and look how that turned out. it turned to complete shit."
sam: "that wasn't your fault."
emma: "but it was. it was my fault for even going over there in the first place." why does she think this is her fault? sam didn't reply, but i could imagine him flustering through his blonde hair while shaking his head in disapproval. then the bedroom door opened. i looked up and emma was standing there with sad regard etched on her winsome, unnerving face.
emma: "are you okay?" her voice cracked. was she crying?
colby: "i'm okay. are you?"
emma: "y-yeah. i'm good." she fidgeted with her fingers.
colby: "emma..."
she's clearly not okay. she can talk to me. she closed the door and locked it behind her before she came up behind me and wrapped her cold, shaky arms around my torso, resting her head on my shoulder.
colby: "baby... talk to me." i whispered, kissing her cheek mellowly.
emma: "...mike will probably try to tell you that i told him i love him, but you know better than to believe him... right...?" she spoke, her voice serenely quiet.
colby: "of course i know better than to believe it. but..." i paused, hesitating, "...who do you love?" i whispered. please be me... please be me... she took a deep, quiet breath before speaking very quietly, almost at a whisper.
emma: "you..." she replied after a beat, nervous. i couldn't help the huge smile that crossed my face.
colby: "i'm so glad you said that." i turned my head and kissed her lips, catching her off-guard, "i love you, emma rede." i murmured against her warm lips. she kissed back and she moved in front of me when she pulled away, blushing and smiling. i felt my own face start to hurt from the smile that was now pretty much cemented onto my face. i grabbed her hand and we intertwined fingers, hoping it would help the frown that latched onto her face. what happened?
emma: "i'm sorry." she whispered before i could say anything.
colby: "don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. it was mike's own dumbass fault."
she nodded and looked down. i pulled her face gently towards mine and kissed her lips softly once again. she smiled and traced the tattoo that was on my hand with the pad of her thumb. i need to ask her. i can't go any longer knowing that she feels the same and that she's not mine. here goes nothing...
colby: "emma rede," i paused, taking a deep breath, "will you be mine?"
that beautiful smile that i've learned to know so well slowly came to her face.
emma: "yes." she beamed brightly.
i smiled and hugged her tight. ahh! she hugged me back and played with my hair.
colby: "i won't let anything happen to you, okay? i promise." i said softly, rubbing her back soothingly.
emma: "okay." she replied softly, mumbling her words in the crease of my neck. how does she smell so damn good?
colby: "did he leave?"
emma: "yeah. he got really upset when i called you baby and screamed at me when you walked away."
mike screamed at her? oh, no, no, no, that won't do.
colby: "don't blame yourself. everyone's on your side." i contained my anger best i could. stay calm, colby.
she pulled away from my embrace and nodded.
colby: "i don't think i've ever been this happy." i geeked. she smiled, "you're so cute, it's unfair."
i chuckled and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, smiling.
colby: "you're cuter." i giggled.
emma: "that was corny." she teased, a smile playing on her lips.
i playfully rolled my eyes and laughed, once again. she never fails to make me laugh or smile. damn, i love her.
emma: "let's go in the living room."
we made our way out to the living room and i was confused when i saw jake. where was he?
jake: "sorry i had left, i had to go pick something up. sam told me what happened, are you guys okay?"
emma: "i'm better now." she glanced at me and smiled.
colby: "same. i want to slit his throat... but i'm good."
everyone laughed at my comment and emma and i walked over to the open couch. i sat down and put my legs up, laying them out across the long piece of furniture. emma gazed at me with that bashful and shy look on her face, glancing from my legs and back to my face. our friends were starting to stare, but i didn't care. i smiled at how cute she was opened my arms up so that i could wrap them around her once she laid down. she let a giddy smile cross her face and she crawled in between my legs and laid down, her back to my front. she laid her head back on my chest and her hands rested on my bent knees that gated her. i wrapped my arms around her, one across her chest and the other under her breasts, and leaned down to her and kissed all over her cheek. she squirmed and giggled and it was the cutest thing i've ever seen. my emma...