CHAPTER 16:
Where He Asks a 'Friend' For a Favor
~~**~~
|Archer|
I watched as a sleek BMW came to a stop in front of us. The driver's side window rolled down and Colton's annoyed face came into view, he eyed us up and down judgmentally.
Not that I blamed him, Fallon and I looked like a complete mess right now. We were both soaked due to the late-night ocean swim we'd taken. I'd given her my shirt to wear over her drenched dress so I was currently shirtless.
"Is there a reason why you called me at the crack of dawn and asked me to pick you both up from the beach?" Colton demanded in a flat tone, his grey eyes turned to me.
I ran a hand through my hair awkwardly. "We couldn't get a cab or any public transportation at this time." I shoved my hands into the pockets of my trunks and looked at my feet. "You were the only person I could call."
Colton let out an exasperated sigh. His gaze turned to Fallon who had started shivering due to the chilly air and I swore I could see his hard expression soften a little. I gave Colton a pleading look. He rolled his eyes but thankfully I heard him press the auto-unlock button. I quickly opened the door to the backseat for Fallon who gave me a small timid smile before getting in.
That smile had everything inside me reeling. Her smiles were like drops of sunshine, warm and vibrant and I wanted to collect them all for myself.
Maybe her smiles could brighten some of the darkness that had settled inside me.
"You'll find my gym bag on the backseat, there's a clean sweatshirt in it. You can put it on if you want Hastings." Colton said in a bored voice pulling me out of my thoughts.
I quickly unzipped the bag and put on the grey sweatshirt inside.
I got in the passenger side seat myself.
"If you guys ruin my suede seats with your damp clothes there will be hell to pay," Colton muttered.
He started the car and wordlessly turned on the heater.
~~**~~
We dropped Fallon at her apartment first.
To his credit, Colton didn't even flinch when we reached Fallon's shady neighborhood. He didn't drive away till Fallon was safely inside and had texted me saying she'd reached her apartment.
The drive to my house was quiet and tense.
"Thanks again for picking us, man. I owe you one." I said finally breaking the silence.
He just gave me a stiff nod. His gaze turned to me and he looked at me questioningly.
"I know it's not really my place to ask, but what exactly is going on between you and Fallon Chambers?" He pursed his lips. "You know, when I first saw you guys I could have sworn there was something going on between you two." He shook his head. "But then I overheard Fallon asking Caroline Williams to bet on you at the auction and I was fucking confused,"
My whole body stiffened at his words.
Fallon has asked Caroline to bid on me?
I didn't like the thought of Fallon convincing another girl to go on a date with me. I didn't like it one bit. The displeasure I felt at her actions was absurd because that's what we'd agreed on in the first place. I would fix Fallon's car and in return, she'd get me a date with Caroline Williams.
So why do I suddenly feel so angry when she has done exactly that?
I've been crushing on Caroline for ages so why does the thought of going out with her make my stomach churn in an unpleasant way?
"Not to mention when I told you I was planning on betting on Fallon you told me it was okay, so I thought maybe I was wrong about you guys liking each other," Colton continued, "but then you beat the shit out of that asshole who insulted her and now I pick you both up from the beach where you both clearly spent the entire night together. So what the fuck is actually going on between you two?"
I swallowed.
The truth was I had no fucking clue how to answer that question.
I just knew that Fallon made everything better. I felt like I'd been seeing the word in shades of grey until I met her. Everything was more vibrant, and more colorful with her around. I didn't quite understand what this thing was between us. Maybe we were just two messed up people drawn to each other. I just knew that she was the first person in my life who made me feel seen.
But I didn't know how to put all that into words so I just said,
"We're . . . friends."
For some reason, the word sounded bitter on my tongue.
The truth was, when he told me he planned on betting on her I'd felt a hot wave of jealousy and had the wildest urge to punch him in the face but I'd resisted. Fallon wasn't a piece of property I could just stake my claim on. It wasn't my place to tell someone that they couldn't go on a date with her. That was Fallon's choice. I knew Colton, even though he acted like an asshole, I knew he was a decent guy inside. So even though it had pained me, I'd told Colton to go ahead.
When that motherfucker Chase Michelson showed up I'd lost my shit. The fact that the asshole actually believed he deserved to be anywhere near her after everything he'd done had my blood boiling. And when he insulted her, I didn't even remember reacting, I just remember the uncontrollable rage I'd felt. It had been pure instinct. One second I was standing in front of the stage the next I was on top of that douchebag and my fist was slamming into his face.
I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts
"Why did you bet on Fallon at the auction? I thought you didn't like her?" I asked Colton, suddenly curious.
He just shrugged, "I have my reasons."
He stopped the car and unlocked the doors and I noticed that we were parked outside my house. I got out of the car and turned to thank him only to find him staring at the house.
He let out a slow whistle. "Sometimes I forget how rich you are man." He gave me a sly smile, "Probably because it's hard to believe that you actually choose to dress the way you do."
I rolled my eyes at him and gave him the middle finger before heading inside. I couldn't stop the smile that tugged at my lips when I heard him chuckling.
~~**~~
"Where the hell were you?" My father's voice boomed as soon as I stepped inside.
"Out," I muttered as I took off my muddy sneakers.
"Why weren't you answering your phone?" He demanded. I could hear his footsteps approaching.
"Because I didn't want to," I told him evenly.
His expression was dark, his eyes bloodshot. His hand clamped down on my shoulder, hard.
"If you think I'm going to let you throw away your future for this rebellious phase then you are mistaken."
I shook his hand off me. "Except it isn't my future it's yours. Your name, your legacy."
His eyes narrowed. "You will write a formal apology to David Michelson for physically assaulting his only son. I don't want your childish outbursts to cost me one of my biggest clients."
I shrugged nonchalantly, "Sure I'll do that." My eyes met his bloodshot ones, "As soon as he gets his asshole son to write a formal apology to Fallon for spewing shit about her."
I could see his eyes widen in shock briefly before they filled with rage. He shook his head and chuckled coldly. "I should have known she was the reason behind this. You've been behaving irrationally ever since she entered the picture. And now she's made you assault someone."
My hands curled into fists. I could feel the anger and frustration coursing through me. "She didn't make me do anything. I'm eighteen not fucking eight years old Dad! So how about holding me accountable for my own actions?"
I walked past him my entire body stiff with pent-up rage and sadness.
"You are not to see that girl again." I heard him call out. "You are forbidden from seeing her. I'm your father I know what's good for you and I can see that she is turning you into someone you're not."
I let out a humorless chuckle.
"You have no idea about what's good for me." I turned and looked at him with disappointment,
"Because if you did, you'd see that she's the one person who actually makes me feel like myself."