Chapter Eleven
"Why can't we be that cute?" I heard someone say. I could feel the heaviness of my eyes and struggled to open them. Colby's fingers twitched against my back. My shirt must've ridden up during our sleep. I moved my leg on top of Colby's lap and moved closer to his body. I could hear his heartbeat against my ear, so I moved my hand under my head. Sometimes minuscule sounds like the thumping of a heart tug on my nerves.
"Shh," I heard someone shush, "You almost woke her up!"
There was a guy and a girl in the room. Being so tired, I couldn't quite match their voices but I knew they were familiar. I mean, obviously. There wouldn't be random people in the trap house. Well, there were random people in the house just last weekend putting a snake on Colby's bed. So, you never know.
After I heard them whispering—but doing quite bad at staying quiet—for a few minutes straight, my eyes finally gained the strength to open. I fluttered them open a bit to see Kat standing in the doorway and Sam a few feet in the room. I blinked a couple of times before staring at the both of them.
"I told you you'd wake her up," Sam told Kat, hands on his hips. Would you believe that he was the sassy one in their relationship?
"What time is it?" I asked. Colby's lamp was now on and I knew it was dark out before I had fallen asleep. It was around seven or eight in the night when I had clocked out. Colby fell asleep around four or five in the evening.
"It's almost three in the morning," Kat said. I closed my eyes and raised my eyebrows high, blinking like that one meme. Why were they awake this late? And why were they in Colby's room this late?
"Um, okay," I said groggily, beginning to sit up in bed. Colby moved a little bit when I got out of bed, but he eventually settled down and rolled over to face the wall. I'm so glad he was getting some sleep. I had a gut feeling he didn't get any this past week.
I grabbed my phone and turned the flashlight on before turning the lamp off in the corner of the room. I left the room, Sam and Kat following in tow. After we shut his door, I turned the flashlight off. The hall light was on and I had woken up a bit more.
"What're you guys doing up so late?" I questioned. My hair was an absolute mess. There was nothing cute about this messy bun anymore. The loose bun was down by my neck and at this point, I just needed to brush my hair and get it over with.
"We were going to film a prank video," Sam started, "Where we pretend like the house is on fire. I wanted to make sure everyone was asleep, but then I saw Colby finally getting some, and decided to wait on the prank."
"And look at these cute videos and pictures we took," Kat gushed, holding out her phone as she stood beside me. We both cooed in excitement about how adorable it was, Sam just mocked us and began walking downstairs. We both rolled our eyes and followed him. As Kat and I were talking, I found out that she had posted a video of Colby and I cuddling and sleeping on her Snapchat and Instagram story, claiming it was 'too cute' not to post.
"So what's up with the prank war?" I asked Sam, stealing a water bottle in the fridge from Colby's shelf.
"It's something we've been doing since we moved in. I don't remember how it all started, but we've had like three prank wars since we moved in. You should've been here when our old roommate, Elton, lived here. His pranks were savage."
"I'll have to watch some of them," I muttered after swallowing a gulp of water.
"He once superglued a bright pink wig to Colby's head."
"No way!" I screeched. I could already imagine it.
We stayed downstairs in the pool overlook room just chilling and hanging out for the next hour or so. We were all on our phones doing whatever while we talked. I continued to go through my comment section and block accounts that had told me to kill myself, and all the other nasty things. I wanted to get the process done as quick as possible. I knew I had to do Twitter still too, though. I had kept my Snapchat the same and un-private. There was no sense starting over when it wasn't really possible to get hate on there. As long as I didn't open the snapchats that were sent to me, I'd be fine. I just wanted my social media accounts to be a safe place for me again.
During the time we hung out, Sam was telling me stories about Colby and him in high school. All the things they did for vine, little stories, and all that. We talked about Sam and Kat's relationship a tiny bit as well. I loved getting to know them more. I didn't want to be one of those girlfriends that stays away from the friends.
When four in the morning hit, Sam and Kat decided to go up to bed. I didn't blame them. My eyes felt a bit heavy as well, but I didn't want to go up to bed and possibly wake Colby up with the brightness of my phone screen. I said my goodnights and stayed downstairs on the love sac. When the sun started rising, that's when I remember finally falling back asleep.
The next thing I know, I'm being woken to a loud voice screaming a lot of swears. It only felt like a half n hour had passed, so I wondered why someone was yelling at like six in the morning. Turns out, it was noon. I opened my eyes to see Corey freaking out about a lose on Rocket League. Apparently him and Devyn were back from Florida now. Honestly, it didn't even phase me. That was so normal at this point. I sat and watched him play for a half n hour. It was so mesmerizing. I never really watched him play in depth before. I was even getting into it and cheering or screaming when he lost. What kind of person have I become.
One o'clock rolled around and Colby sprinted down the stairs. He paced into the other living rooms and looked in the kitchen before coming into this room all frantic.
"Have you seen—" he began, but cut himself off when he laid eyes on me in the corner, "Oh my god, I thought you left again."
He breathed a sigh of relief and sat down beside me on the love sac. Colby wrapped his arms tightly around me and cuddled me close. Ever since I came back yesterday, he's been insanely clingy. I wasn't complaining; I completely understood why he was being so close. It was endearing and cute.
"What're your plans for Christmas?" I asked. I had a feeling that he was going back to his family for the holidays. I felt it was a good time to ask. Next week are my finals week and then my month long Christmas break starts.
"I'm going back home for a week or so, then I'm gonna fly back to Cali around January 1st-ish. I might fly back for New Years. I don't know yet. I just know that I'm going to see them."
I nodded, "My break doesn't end until January 17th, so I was thinking about spending like the whole month back in New Hampshire," I told him, staring at him to see how he would take that, "Is that okay with you?"
"Baby, I can't stop you from seeing your family. I won't ever stop you from seeing your family. I'm going to miss you though."
"I'm gonna miss you too," I said, leaning my head against his chest. I fiddled with my phone, "Could you maybe come there for a bit? I could introduce you to my family and stuff. You don't have to. Or you don't have to stay for long. It was just an idea."
"I'd love to come meet your family. We'll see how time treats us and where we'll go from there. I'd love for you to meet my family too."
"You don't really talk about your family much," I mentioned.
We spent the next hours talking about our families. He told me about his cousins, his mom, and all of them. He mentioned the fact that he talks about me all the time to his mom. They're really close. I just hope his family likes me when we do get the chance to meet. I don't get nervous or anxious very often, but the thought of his mom hating me made me anxious through the roof.
Spending time with Colby always seemed to make the days speed up. He made me happy and even if we were sitting in a dark, silent room doing nothing, I'd still be entertained. I could gush about how much I like him for hours. Lord only knows my mother has been hearing enough of that since I told her about him last week.
Sam walked into the room and turned on the light. In a split second, my eyes started throbbing in an attempt to adjust. It got dark really early. Even though it was only six in the evening, it felt like eleven at night.
"Brother, we need to film for the channel," Sam said to Colby. I felt the need to get up and leave the room. I feel like I'm interrupting something.
"Alright brother, what do you have in mind?" Colby asked.
They say brother a lot.
"I don't know, I'm kind of freaking out about it. We have to upload tomorrow. You've been in your room all week—"
"Sorry, that's my fault," I interrupted, leaving Colby's arms and beginning to walk to the kitchen to find food. I didn't realize me going M.I.A. for the past week would cause such a ripple in, not only Colby's life, but Sam's as well. I felt a pit in my stomach; I felt guilty.
"No Leslie, we don't blame you," Sam told me. It put me at ease, only by a minuscule amount. They might not blame me but it is completely my fault as to why Colby was so down this week. I shouldn't have left. I should have let Colby help me deal with the hate. Boycotting my phone did nothing but stunt the process of me getting back to being happy. I was nothing but a depressed, mopey mess during the past week.
"Our past two videos have been sit downs. The microwave video and the girlfriend vs best friend video," Sam pointed out.
"We could make another sit down. Is that pushing it though?" Colby asked.
I listened to them talk about algorithm and all the technical stuff that I didn't even realize had anything to do with running a YouTube channel. There was so much more business to it. They were such hard working people, just listening to them talk about what they were going to film tonight put me in a trance. Finally, they decided on a video to film. They had gone to this abandoned hospital in the past and decided to go back to it for a part two.
I knew that Colby explored abandoned things. I've seen a few videos that he's shown me. Not going to lie though, it made me a little nervous just thinking about them going to another place. I've seen where they run from cops, run into homeless people. Colby even showed me a clip from a video where they were running from people with guns. It's such a risky move. I'd support whatever he chooses to do with his life and career. I think my girlfriend instincts are just kicking in.
I've always been into that kind of stuff though. The afterlife, ghosts, abandoned places. My mother and I or even my older sister and I would get lost on the internet for hours, losing track of time just researching abandoned areas. That is the sole reason why Ukraine is on the top of my list for places I've dreamt of going to. It has the coolest things. Colby and I have talked about our passion and love for urban decay and exploration before. On one of the first days we met, we had a couple hour long conversation of just that.
Not only that, but since I was little, we've always known at least one ghost would follow us around. We moved about three times, and the paranormal stuff followed us to every single house. It wasn't like a poltergeist or anything. It was silly little shenanigans like shoes or clothing going missing for a few days then finding its way back to the one place we searched the most. I do remember this one time though. We were moving houses and cleaning the house we had just moved out of. It was completely empty; the only thing left was tiny little piles of dust and dog hair on the ground. My sister had "lost" her kindle and we searched the entire house. It never showed up, even after the gutting and cleaning process. All of a sudden, with only my mum and I in the house, we just hear a loud bang coming from the upstairs room. When we rushed up there to see what it was. Low and behold, my sisters kindle lay in the middle of the floor of an empty room. Ever since then, we've called our family ghost, Harold. We figured if he was sticking around, we'd at least name him and make him feel welcome. I infer that he's a little kid ghost who just likes to mess around. It's like having an annoying little brother who always takes your stuff. I haven't told Colby my paranormal stories yet, though. The paranormal has come up a few times, but I know he's a bit of a skeptic and I don't want to be mocked.
I laid down on Colby's bed while I watched him pack his and Sam's exploring bag. It was one of their own; it had their logo on it and everything. How cool is it to have a boyfriend who makes his own clothes and merchandise? I'm so insanely proud of him.
"Come with us. Sam won't mind," He begged, sitting criss cross next to my hip on the bed. I turned my head to the other side of the pillow to look at him. As much as I'd love to go exploring, I would never invade. The fans don't like me much anyway.
"No. By the sounds of it, you haven't left your room all week. Go spend some time with your best friend. I don't want to invade. Plus, I'd hella third wheel and you know it," I grinned at him. Deep down, I had a feeling Sam would actually be the one third wheeling. That's a part of the reason why I was refusing. We don't do it on purpose, but I wasn't going to unknowingly push Sam out of his own video.
Colby tugged on my hand and pulled me onto his lap. I curled up on top of him and wrapped my arms around his torso. He hugged me back.
"I'll miss you," he cooed. You wouldn't think it, but Colby was the sappiest, most romantic boy I've ever met. He may seem "edgy", but he was a teddy bear.
"Oh stop it. I'll be waiting here when you get back. I promise. Go spend some time with Sam. Please be safe, okay?"
"I'll try," he winked. I rolled my eyes and went back to laying down on the bed.
"Please text me when you get there and when you leave and stuff. I know it's weird. I just want to know you're safe. I know the possibilities you could encounter."
"It's not weird, it's cute. I'll be back soon."
He gave me a kiss on the lips before Sam gave a warning knock on Colby's door. Before I knew it, they were headed out and I was all alone in my boyfriend's room. I played on my phone for a bit, scrolling through Instagram and Twitter, interacting with the people who follow me. Pretty soon, my phone buzzed with a text.
Colby: made it here safely, i'll text you when i'm on my way home
Leslie: okay, i'll see you when you get home <3 be safe!!
Colby: i'll try ;)
The rest of the night, I tried keeping myself distracted. I messed around on my phone for a bit, FaceTimed my mom and talked to the family for a bit, then wrote silly little things on the remaining sticky notes on the wall. I easily could have gone downstairs and preoccupied myself that way, but I didn't leave Colby's room.
It was really late; the clock on my phone read two in the morning. I was getting really worried. Colby nor Sam have texted me letting me know they were on their way home. Does exploring really take that long? They arrived at the abandoned hospital around 7:30 at night. There's absolutely no way they spent six and a half hours at this place, right? Am I just being paranoid or should I actually be worried?
I left Colby's room and just peered out into the hallway. No one was awake, that I could sense anyway. I walked downstairs and examined the whole floor before coming to the conclusion that literally no one was awake. Unless the roommates were in their rooms doing their own thing. I knew Devyn and Corey were sleeping. That just leaves Jake and Aaron. Kat had work last night so she never came over afterwards. I feel like Aaron would be able to put my mind at ease more than Jake. Nothing against Jake, but he's like a class clown. Maybe I just haven't hung out with him enough.
I trudged back up the stairs, all while texting Kat. I doubt she was awake right now, but it was worth a try.
Leslie: hey, have you heard from Sam at all? They went exploring and Colby texted me at 7:30 when they got to the place and promised to text me when they left, but I haven't gotten a text. Should I be worried or does it always take like 7 hours for them to explore?
I stopped outside of Aaron's door and just stood there as I read the text that Kat sent me. I guess she is still awake.
Kat: if they're doing an overnight vid they usually don't leave till like 6. did they mention overnight?
Leslie: no, that's why im worried
Kat: yeah that's a bit weird. I'll text Sam and let you know if he gets back to me. Keep me updated?
Leslie: yeah ofc, text you later
After texting Kat, I knocked on Aaron's door. He was awake, I saw light seeping from under the wood. Unless he slept with the lights on. That's very possible. I knocked one more time, hearing his dog Buddy bark. Finally, the door opened. Aaron was in his desk chair, rolling back to in front of his computer after opening the door.
"Hey," he said, putting his headphones back on. He moved the right one so that it wasn't over his ear at all, "What's up?"
"Sam and Colby aren't back yet," I told him, sitting down on his bed. I doubt he even knew they left, "They went to explore this abandoned hospital for their next upload. Colby promised to text me when they got there and when they were leaving. I got the text that they got there at like 7:30, but I haven't heard from them since."
Aaron checked the time and sighed. He spun around in the chair so that he was facing me. I was chewing on the inside of my cheek out of instinct. With Kat telling me that it was weird, and Aaron sighing, I was so on edge. What if they got seriously hurt? Abandoned buildings deteriorate. They could've fallen through the floors. If they were high up and that happened, they could be dead right now.
As Aaron was about to speak, my phone vibrated with an incoming text. I checked immediately and was disappointed to see it was Kat. I was hoping it was from Colby.
Kat: Sam's not answering. It's not even delivering to his phone, so it must be turned off? Idk.
"Have you checked their socials?" Aaron asked.
I shook my head and opened Instagram. Aaron looked over my shoulder to watch the story Colby posted at eight. It was of him and Sam in their exploring masks. They must've been in the hospital by then. Sam hadn't posted anything. There was nothing on their other socials. No snap, no tweets, nothing.
"Should I be worried?"
"Um," he hummed, looking around the room, "I don't know."
That did not ease my heart nor my mind in the least bit. Something was wrong. Either they're seriously hurt, or they got arrested. Colby would have called by now if he was arrested. I know he would have.
"Do you know where the place is? They said that they've been to this abandoned hospital once before."
"Wait, yeah! They took us all there once. It's like through this abandoned town. There's two patrol cars that scope the outside perimeters at night."
"You know how to get there? What're we waiting for? Let's go!" I exclaimed, jumping up from the bed. Aaron wasn't as quick to move.
"I don't know, Leslie. Maybe they're okay and they're just spending a lot of time getting content for their video going up."
"They post it today Aaron. At 1:14. Which means they need time to edit it. They're not back, which means that they have, at this moment, less than twelve hours to edit. Something's not right. I have a gut feeling. Something's wrong."
"Okay, okay," he caved, getting up from his desk chair, "Let me get dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs."
I nodded and went straight back to Colby's room.I threw my phone onto the bed as I put on a pair of jeans I had left on the couch. I, then, picked out a sweatshirt from his closet. It was an orange halloween themed XPLR hoodie. I grabbed my phone and charger and put them in my back pockets. Then, I laced on my air force one's and fast walked down to the first level. I wish I had worn different shoes to the trap house, but getting my whites dirty was the least of my worries.