falling in love with a gang leader

chapter 35

the next morning, i was awoken to katrina snoring in my lap. i laughed to myself and shook her awake.
kat: "morning, bestie." she smiled.
emma: "morning, bestie." i mirrored her smile.
once i got in my bathroom, i stripped and looked at my wound through the mirror. the scar was already forming, meaning it was healing quickly. thank you, jesus. i showered and did my thing and as i did so, i couldn't stop thinking about colby. dangerous... dangerous... thoughts proceeded to put mind into overdrive and before i knew it, the shower water was cold. i walked back out to katrina, bare-faced and not caring what the hell i look like, and she was sitting on the couch on her phone in her sweatshirt and spandex. hey, same outfit as me.
kat: "i'm going to sam's. are you coming?"
i nodded and we grabbed our stuff before walking out. after a short drive, we pulled up to the woods line of the bunker. sam opened the door for us and he gave us hugs as we walked inside. all of us sat on the couch, including kevin and elton, and we all talked about random things.
emma: "has he left his room?" i asked warily.
kevin: "nope." oh god... this can't be good.
emma: "i'll be right back."
everyone nodded and i walked upstairs to colby's room, scared of what the outcome of this trip would be. i walked inside his room cautiously and he was in his bed passed out asleep. it reeks of alcohol. glancing around his room, i was taken back when i spotted at least twelve alcohol bottles laying all over the floor. i counted four empty bottles of vodka, eight empty bottles of jack, and one half drank bottle of fireball. where'd he even get all of this alcohol?
i walked over to the side of his bed and kissed his cheek. he groaned and opened his eyes. i backed up from the deadly look on his face.
colby: "i thought i told you to leave." ouch...
emma: "i missed you too." i sassed, all too sadly.
he rolled his eyes and got up sleepily with a smug look on his face, walking straight towards the half drank bottle of fireball that was sitting on the floor in the corner he was in last night. he chugged a little bit of it and looked me deep in the eyes. my anxiety skyrocketed.
emma: "why are you doing this...? this isn't you..." i said sadly.
colby: "you don't control me." he said groggily. i flinched at the anger in his voice and he drank some more.
emma: "i love you... you know that, don't you?" i paused... no response, "just because corey's gone, doesn't mean you treat me like i'm some sort of... dog." he said absolutely nothing but give me a cold, hard glare as if i had been the one trying to kill
him. the only sound in the room were the gulps of alcohol going down his throat. okay, this is enough. here goes nothing... i walked up to him and snatched the alcohol out of his hand. he reached for it but i refused to give it back.
colby: "what the hell!"
emma: "colby, stop!"
colby: "give it back!"
i ran out of the room and went into the bathroom while he chased me angrily. i dumped the rest of the alcohol that was in the bottle down the toilet before he could reach me. his eyes widened as the deep down, built up anger in him rose out of his body. no, no, no.
colby: "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT!" he screamed louder than ever. you know it's bad when you can smell the alcohol rolling off of his tongue.
emma: "BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOUR WELL-BEING!"
colby: "FUCKING BITCH! THAT WAS MY ALCOHOL!" stephan. he is literally stephan.
i had tears start in my eyes. a stab of hurt just sliced right through me.
emma: "baby... please don't do this. you're drunk and you don't know what you're saying." i said, hoping that i was right... i was wrong...
colby: "DON'T 'BABY' ME! YOU'RE SELFISH AND YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF!" he glared at me. i slammed the empty bottle on the counter and i pushed passed colby, running downstairs as tears rolled down my face. i heard colby running after me as i approached everyone in the living room.
emma: "stay out of it. all of you." i cried, facing the group. they all nodded in fear and confusion and i ran towards the kitchen. colby followed me in there.
colby: "YOU OWE ME!"
emma: "OWE YOU WHAT? YOUR LIFE BACK? I'M DOING YOU A FAVOR!"
colby: "YOU'RE ACTUALLY JUST MAKING EVERYTHING WORSE! YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR YOURSELF!"
emma: "STOP IT, COLBY!" i paused, crying, "I CARE ABOUT YOU! THAT'S WHY I'M DOING THIS! IF YOU DON'T CARE, THEN WHY DONT YOU LEAVE!"
colby: "I AM LEAVING YOU! WE'RE DONE!" he took no time to say it. tears streamed faster down my face.
emma: "YOU'RE JUST AS BAD AS STEPHAN! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT! YOU MADE ME BELIEVE THAT YOU WEREN'T HIM!" i sobbed loudly.
colby: "DON'T EVER COMPARE ME TO HIM!" i saw the fire in his eyes.
emma: "WHY NOT? YOU'RE ACTING JUST LIKE HIM!"
colby: "I AM NOT!"
emma: "YES YOU ARE! I DESERVE WAY BETTER THAN YOU! KATRINA WAS RIGHT! YOU'RE PROBABLY GOING TO GO SEE SOMEONE ELSE WITH ALL THIS FUCKING ALCOHOL FLOWINH THROUGH YOUR VEINS!"
colby: "IF I SEE YOU WITH ANY OTHER GUY, THERE'S GOING TO BE A PROBLEM! I'M THE ONLY MALE YOU SHOULD BE SEEN WITH!"
emma: "YOU SAID WE WERE DONE!" he's not making any sense!
colby: "WE ARE! BUT I STILL LOVE YOU!" huh?
emma: "fuck you." i whispered, shaking my head in absolute disbelief. i sobbed and ran out of the bunker. i started to run but i heard someone come up behind me. i turned around and saw elton standing worriedly.
elton: "emma, try to relax..." he said cautiously.
emma: "i was doing it for him! he's hurting himself!" i sobbed. he put his hand on the back of my head and brought me into him. he hugged me tight and did his best to calm me down. it wasn't working very well at first, i'll admit, but after about five minutes i finally pulled away from him and wiped my face.
elton: "what can i do to help?"
emma: "there's nothing you can do. nothing is going to change."
elton: "i'm sure he'll come back around."
emma: "it's not even that, elton. it's the fact that he's hurting himself. i went through that alcohol phase in my life as well and i almost died..." i paused, "I ALMOST FUCKING DIED! WHATEVER HAPPENS TO COLBY WILL JUST... HAPPEN AND HE'LL SAY NOTHING EXCEPT CALL ME A SELFISH BITCH!" i screamed in anger, but not directly at elton.
emma: "i'm going home." i sobbed.
elton: "i'll drive you." he said sympathetically.
emma: "i'll order an uber." i sniffed and wiped my nose for the eighteenth time since i started crying. jesus, emma. he nodded and we both walked inside. everyone was huddled in a circle talking. they all looked at me and i just rolled my eyes.
sam: "emma, what-" he stopped while i held my hand up in a stopping motion.
emma: "i don't want to talk about it."
i walked upstairs before another word was said and went up to colby's door. it was locked. figures.
emma: "open the door." i sniffed, my voice breaking.
the knob twisted a little bit and then it surprisingly opened.
colby: "what do you want? i thought i told you we were done." ouch... that one hurt.
emma: "oh, don't get so ahead of yourself. i'm here to get my bag." i sniffed and wiped my eyes. he rolled his eyes and opened the door wider. i walked into his room by his bed and grabbed my bag. i looked over at his desk and saw more alcohol bottles that were full and unopened, lined up for later. where did those even come from?
emma: "seriously?"
colby: "stop acting like you care. it's annoying... you're annoying."
emma: "sorry i care about the love of my life." i whispered.
colby: "i hope i never see you again." he brought the alcohol to his lips in disgust. more tears spilled out of my eyes at his words while i put my clothes in my bag.
emma: "i wish i could say the same, colby. i've tried so hard to keep you happy... yet, nothing's worked." i cried even harder. i turned to him and his face completely changed. his eyes were watery and his frown was more pronounced than i had ever seen. he looked like he had just seen someone jump off of a building. the hurt in his face made me feel a deep slice go through my chest. i cried and took off the hoodie that i was wearing, which was his. i walked over to him with my bag in my hand and gave him back his hoodie. he hesitated to grab it before he did grab it.
emma: "don't say i never gave you anything." i sobbed and ran out of his room, slamming the door behind me. i reached the end of the stairs and all i got were stares from the group.
elton: "we'll call you and text you." i said nothing and walked out the door before anybody else could say anything. i ordered an uber and it was, thankfully, here in less than three minutes. once at my apartment, i walked into my bathroom and filled up the bathtub, it being the first thing i did once walked through the door. i stripped my clothes and got in, wincing at the heat on my behind. while i let my cold, shaky body soak in the blazing water.