CHAPTER THREE

Chloe's P.OV

Stretching with a yawn, I wonder if they will let me out again today. 

I won't ask of course but I had so much fun yesterday.

Carolyn came in smiling with a leather jacket, and dark blue jean shorts and a black tank top draped over her arm.

"Alright, let's get you dressed," She said, piling the clothes onto the chair beside me.

She waited until I was dressed and she told me to sit on my bed, she picked up a hair brush and she began to brush the knots out of my hair.

It hurt quite a bit because I haven't brushed my hair in a while, from the top of my head to the tips and back again.

I winced a couple of times from how big the knots were, but after a few minutes my hair was fully brushed out, my dark brunette hair was long enough to touch my waist.

She held my hair underneath and pushed it up in the beginning of a ponytail, and twisted on the top of my head as tight as my head would go and put in elastic in and snapped it into place making me wince.

"Turn and face me." So I did. She began putting mascara on my eyelashes, and red lipstick on my lips, and made me blot it with a piece of toilet paper.

My hair was wild around my face as we got off of the bed and Carolyn smiled, she opened the door and held it for me. 

I smiled back before taking a breath and walking back up those stairs into the bright light, I looked back at her wincing and she gave me the sunglasses again, placing them on my face and continuing up.

There are strange; yet beautiful sounds coming from the other room. When I got up to the top of the stairs, I found myself back in the room I was in before with the sliding door and all the windows.

Instead of two people there were three; including Carolyn, Alastair, and someone I don't recognize. 

"Hello," I said quietly, feeling shy.

The unrecognizable face looked up, and his eyes went wide.

"Wow," He said in amazement.

I know that voice anywhere and I looked back at him with the same expression.

"Colby," I said breathlessly.

Colby standing looks like he is about 5'8, with broad muscular shoulders underneath the leather jacket that seems to match mine. Caramel brown eyes that illuminate in the sunlight. His sun-kissed skin was bronze from the sun, and lips that look so soft that my lips would melt against his.

What am I saying?

I shouldn't be thinking things like this.

He came closer and my heart raced, my blood ran to my face and I can only guess how red my face is getting.

What should I say? My mind is racing. I don't know what to do.

"You're so beautiful," He said breathlessly and gently wrapped his arms around me, I don't know what he's doing to me, yet it feels nice so I wrapped my own around him back as my head was lightly against his muscular but gentle chest. 

I could hear his heart beating fast, I wonder if mine was beating just as hard.

"Alright, can we go now it's time for breakfast," Alastair asked.

"Just a second, dad," Colby said, letting me go.

As soon as his arms dropped my heart dropped but I let him go.

"I have a few thing's for you," Colby said to me.

Confused, I looked at him waiting; he walked around the back of the couch and picked up something that made a loud crackling sound and as he stood up. In his arms were beautiful flowers, they were all different colors; red, blue, orange, and white.

He carried them over and passed them to me, I held out my hands as he placed them in my arms.

"They're so pretty," I squealed and put my nose closer to smell the unique perfume.

"They are called roses," He smiled sweetly.

He had a beautiful smile as much as he; himself was very handsome.

"Okay, enough with the mooshey crap, can we leave now?" Alastair asked irritably.

"Let me put these in some water," Carolyn said sweetly as she took the flowers from me and headed to a different room.

Alastair made an annoyed sigh, as she left.

We all stood in silence as we waited for her to come back.

"Alright, is everyone ready?" She asked, looking around for our answers, we all nodded.

"Okay, Colby Chloe is going to drive with you, I'm going with your father," Carolyn explained.

"Okay mom," Colby agreed, taking my hand and began walking, I followed behind without saying a word.

I'm really nervous for some reason as we walk out the sliding doors out to the many cars in the driveway.

They were all different colors, the sun reflecting off their sleek designs.

We walked over to a blue one and Colby took a set of keys from his leather jacket then pressed a button, the car then made a beeping sound. As we came to the side of the car he opened up the door and waited for me to climb inside.

I got in and sat in the leather seat and looked around, as he closed it again, the color inside of the car is black, but the steering wheel is the same color as the car.

Colby walked around to the other side and sat at the steering wheel closing the door. He took the seat belt and pulled it over his shoulder into the lock until he heard a click, then turned to me and helped me with mine.

"Thank you," I said shyly.

"No problem." He smiled as he took a package out of his jacket and took out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket.

Lighting the end of it taking a long puff, as he put the keys into the ignition, listening to the car come to life abruptly making me jump. 

"Are you okay," He asked, exhaling the smoke out the window.

"Y-yes," I stuttered out.

"I want to make you as comfortable as possible so let me know if there's anything you need okay?" Colby asked sweetly as he slowly put his foot on the gas.

"Okay, where are you taking me?" I wondered.

"We are going to the diner for breakfast, it has the best breakfast around here," Colby explained.

At the word breakfast my stomach made a gurgle sound and I blushed.

"Sounds like someone's hungry," He joked, ``I am hungry, and in fact I'm starving.

We began driving up to the gate and waited for it to open, Colby took another toxic inhale as the gates slowly opened with metallic clash.

That's when we continued to drive through the gates onto the concrete roads.

"So Chloe," He paused, taking another puff.

"We need to talk," He said seriously now.

"Okay," I replied wondering if it was about the letter given to me.

"Did you get the letter I left you a week ago?" He asked, exhaling.

"You mean the long one?" I asked looking out the window.

"Yeah that one, I meant everything I said," He said, taking a side glance at me.

"Even when you said you love me?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yes, even when I said I love you," He smiled and threw the cigarette out the window and took my hand and I held it back.

"How do you love someone if we just met?" I asked curiously.

"I love you because I didn't just meet you, I knew who you were, I knew you for you, there was no hiding. The only thing I didn't know is what you looked like, and now that I do I'm falling even more," He explained in a soft yet serious tone.

I blushed again.

"I never thought of it like that," I said honestly.

"What do you think about it now?" He asked calmly.

"I agree, I never really put it together until I heard your name through the air vent, honestly I just thought you were a voice without a face," I said bluntly.

"Ouch," Colby jokes.

"Sorry, I never actually knew," I said honestly.

"Knowing me here, right now, how do you feel about me?" he asked, tensing in the driver's seat one hand on the wheel.

"Hm, good question," I said, pretending to think about it until he got anxious, giggling. I finally let up.

"I can't say I love you, but I do feel something." I said seriously now.

"By that I mean, I was never shown it so I can't tell you for sure, but what I can tell you is that my heart races when you're around, and I get all jittery when you wrap your arms around me for once I felt safe, and happy." I reminisced, Colby held my hand tighter in his.

"I understand what you mean now, you must have been so lonely down there by yourself, I wasn't actually supposed to talk to you until your eighteenth birthday," He explained.

"Why?" I questioned.

"We're here," He said driving into a parking space in front of what he called a diner.

After he parked he turned to me and looked into my eyes.

"Chloe I know you have a lot of questions, and I will answer them when I can, just not in front of them." Colby said seriously.

I nodded, I understood what he meant. It wasn't Carolyn he was talking about. It was his father, he's dangerous. I learned that the hard way when I went through a disobedient phase.

He got out of the car and walked around to my side opening my door, he took my hand helping me out.

That's when Alastair's car drove in next to us abruptly, and the chubby man got out of the car quickly and made a beeline towards the door. Carolyn opened her door, and followed behind him in a huff.

Colby sighed, shrugging it off, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, kissed me on the top of my head, making me jump. 

I haven't had this kind of human interaction, it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Sorry, did I go too far?" He asked in a worried tone.

"No I just didn't see it coming," I laughed it off.

"Oh okay," He sighed relieved.

We walked up to the doors Colby opened and held it for me so I thanked him and looked around to where his parents went.

They were sitting in a corner booth as far away from everyone. 

Taking Colby's hand once again as I nervously made my way through the diner until we were standing in front of them. 

Colby gestured to me to sit in the opposite booth of his parents, taking a breath. I took my place closest to the wall as he sat down next to me, our bodies closer than we were in the car.

Carolyn, who was back to her smiling self, picked up books with food items on them. I'm guessing this is what you call a menu.

She passed them around and then looking at me she said:

"Get anything you want today Chloe,"

I looked at Colby who smiled at me and nodded in permission, I took a look at the menu.

There was a lot of food that was paired with French fries and onion rings.

"You're looking at the lunch menu, they don't serve that yet, here let me show you the breakfast's," Colby smiled.

He took the menu and turned the page at the top where it said 'Breakfast'.

"Oh, thank you," I said kindly.

"Anytime," He laughed sweetly.

Looking back at the menu it had things like French toast, hash browns, pancakes, bacon and eggs.

I wanted something I had never tried before, but I didn't want to ask for too much, so I sat there quietly as everyone discussed what they were getting.

That's when Carolyn looked away from the men and back at me.

"So Chloe, have you picked out what you want?" 

"Um, I don't know, I want something I haven't had before but there's three things that sound really good," I said honestly.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Well, French toast sounds good, yet so does bacon and the hash browns," I explained.

A girl in an apron walked up to our table with a large smile on her face, as she looked at Colby, and when he looked up he noticed her and smiled back.

"Lucey, I thought you were going to school today," Colby began talking to the girl with bright red hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Yeah I was supposed to but mom was sick today and needed help here," She said with a sigh.

Turning to his parents she decided to finally take their orders.

I felt a pang of jealousy but I didn't want to make it obvious so I just smiled as Carolyn gave her my order.