I put my hands on my hips and stare him down. "It's only been five years, Colton. Are you saying you don't remember me?"
He opens his mouth to speak, but then closes it. A darkness forms in his eyes as he concentrates on me. "Five years," he repeats softly. "Did we go to school together or something?" he asks.
I stare at him in disbelief. Is he really going to play these games with me and pretend he doesn't know who I am? If anyone has a right to be pissed off in this situation, it's me. He's the one who brokemyheart. Not the other way around. And I'm going to tell him exactly how it is. How dare he play this off as if I'm nothing to him. After all that we shared together, there's no way I would treat him like that. He has no right to make me feel insignificant. And if he thinks I'm going to allow him once again to smash my barely mended broken heart from the first time he broke it, he's sadly mistaken. I won't let him. No, this time I'm going to be the one to stand up to him and tell him how I really feel. "You're…You're an asshole!" I yell, not caring who hears it.
His whole body trembles with anger as he slowly stands up and menacingly towers over me. Now that he's standing, I can really see how much muscle mass he has put on since the last time I saw him. His broad shoulders and burly arms are tense as he stares me down. He leans down to my eye level before he asks, "Did I fuck and dump you back in high school, and now you want some kind of payback? Is that it, sweetheart?"
If I didn't know him, I would be afraid. But I know Colton would never hurt me. We've had our fair share of fights in the past, but he never hurt me, not even once. Our relationship was sometimes like a tornado, ripping up everything and everyone around us by the roots and not giving a shit in the world about what or whom we destroyed. But the peace and calm always returned after we were done. And then we did our best to fix what we had almost ruined in the moment. There was never a dull moment when it came to the two of us. And I wouldn't have ever changed a thing.
"No," I answer, while wrapping my arms protectively around myself. His words cut through me like a knife. As far as I know, I was the only one Colton ever slept with and vice versa. Was he cheating on me the entire time? Was I that blind?
He scoffs and runs a hand through his dark hair, which is longer than I remember. "Then maybe you have the wrong guy. Are you sure you weren't whorin' around with someone else in this bar?" he asks, straight-faced.
I try my best to keep my voice steady as I square my shoulders and take a step towards him. "You. Are. An. Asshole," I say, enunciating each word clearly.
"Yeah, well, you're a bitch," he snaps.
I'm taken aback by his words. Colton never swore, and he most certainly never called me or any woman, for that matter, a bitch. He was a mama's boy by heart, and he respected all women. That's the way he was raised and brought up. I stand there shocked at his sudden personality change. "What has gotten into you? It's like you're a different person!"
"Maybe you never knew me very well."
"I guess I didn't know you at all!" I turn to leave, but he roughly grabs me and twists me around to face him. My body crushes up against his hard chest, and my lungs intake a sharp breath in surprise. I think for a split second that maybe the game he is playing is over, but I still see the uncertainty and anger swirling in his gaze. He's not done playing games. He's just getting started. Well, I'm not going to let him win. "Let me go," I hiss at him.
"Where ya goin'? We were just startin' to get to know each other." His eyes trail down to my cleavage peeking out of the low scoop neck of my shirt and back up to my face.
"I'd rather forget I ever knew you at all, to be quite honest. And I certainly don't want to start getting to know thisnewyou!"
He entraps both my wrists in his hands and holds me tightly. A small sense of fear begins to seep its way into my bones. TheOld Coltonwould never hurt me, but I don't know thisNew Colton. And that scares me. "Let go," I say, my voice wavering a bit.
His face suddenly grows serious, a crease appearing in his brow. "No. Tell me who you are. Tell me how you know me."
"Let me go!" I scream, trying to tug out of his tight grasp to no avail. I stare up at the boy I used to love, the boy I would do anything for, the boy I wanted to marry. But that boy sadly is gone, and standing before me now is a stranger, and I don't know why. Nothing makes sense right now, and it tears me up inside. What the hell happened in the time that I was gone? Tears suddenly fill my eyes, and I blink them away.
A crowd of people has gathered around us, and the music suddenly cuts off. Colton's dark eyes dart around the bar and then focus on me again. He looks menacing, and I no longer wonder if he could hurt me. I know the answer is he can…and he will.
"Let go of me, Colton James!" I cry, my voice barely above a whisper.
His eyes narrow and a pained expression appears on his face before he finally releases his grip. I stumble backwards into a girl I recognize as Daisy Arnold, and she helps me to steady myself. All eyes are on me, but the only eyes I focus on are Colt's. He sits back down on the barstool, but doesn't turn away. His eyes dart around the room at everyone staring at him. He looks visibly upset, and I suddenly feel bad that I yelled. But he scared the hell out of me. Colton has never scared me like that in my entire life. I always felt safe with him.Always.
Buddy Lawson rushes out from behind the bar and over to Colt. Buddy's been best friends with Colton and me since grade school, and I always thought of Buddy like a brother. He puts an arm around Colton's shoulders and says, "Let's calm down and get another beer, Colt. That's enough excitement for one night."
"Are you okay, Penny?" Daisy asks.
I nod even though I'm anything but okay.
"Stay for a couple rounds," she offers. "I haven't seen you since high school graduation."
"I'm sorry. I have to go," I whisper, my voice breaking. "I…I need to go." Turning, I run out of the bar, not stopping until I'm safely inside of my car. Tears flow freely down my cheeks as I slam the palms of my hands against the steering wheel over and over again. Curses fly from my mouth as I take my anger out on the inanimate object.
I thought it would hurt me to see Colton. But the worst pain of all came from the fact that he acted like he didn't even know me. How could he pretend not to remember me?
* * * * *
COLTON
I TAKE A swig of the lukewarm beer and set it down hard on the bar, the bottle threatenin' to burst from the force. My best friend Buddy is talkin' to me, but I'm blockin' him out. It's easy for me to withdraw into myself and block out the entire world. And I've been doin' it for so long now that it just comes second nature to me now.
Fumin', I grab a fistful of peanuts from the bowl in front of me and pop one at a time into my mouth. My teeth crunch down hard. Every pore in my body is oozin' with anger. That girl didn't deserve what I did to her, but she pissed me off. Everyone knows better than to piss me off. I can't control my anger. Not ever since the accident. Everyone tells me I was a gentle giant, a mama's boy. Yeah, well, not anymore. A lot has changed since the accident, and that girl is better off seein' the real me before she got any further into her delusion of who I was back in high school.
