This morning it's a little harder to get up. I stayed up all night to get my work done but I still didn't finish. I'll just need to finish it in class before Thursday. If I don't ace this test, I'm screwed. Maybe the reason I didn't finish last night was because I was a little distracted.

The thought of Colton being so close clouded my mind and it still is. I didn't hear him come home last night but maybe I was already passed out by then. I was so tired I wouldn't have heard a thing.

I make it out of the house a little late and I see his motorcycle in the driveway and wonder if he's going to school.

It only takes me a few minutes to get to campus and I end up being five minutes early. It's pretty cold outside so I decide to stay in my car with the heater until the bell rings. This gives me time to think. My mind wonders whenever I'm not fully focused on something and before I know it I could be thinking about how dolphins may have feelings too. I don't know why it does that, but it keeps me interested.

Just as I'm about to have a debate with myself on whether or not sea animals have a conscience, I hear Colton's motorcycle. I look out of my car window and see him park in his usual spot, a few spaces down from me.

I turn off my car and get out to go talk to him. He's facing the other way but I can see that he puts his sunglasses on after he takes off his helmet.

"Hey," I say, and he turns around. "Oh my god, what happened to you?" His right eye is bruised and his glasses are doing very little to conceal it. He has a cut on his eyebrow that almost reaches down to his left eye, but I can't tell where it stops. His jaw is purple on it's left side and the mark is about the size of a baseball. I look at his face in terror and he just turns his cheek. "Colton?"

"Nothing, alright," he says in a low steady voice. He turns his face back to me and says, "I'm fine." He turns away and starts walking towards the building. I follow after him and pull his arm back.

"You are not fine," I tell him. I quickly reach for his glasses and pull them off. He tries to stop me, but I was quick. He lets out a huff and chews on his cheek as he looks down. I can see the gash on his eyebrow stops just above his left eye, and his right eye is worse than the one on his first day here. "What happened?" I ask again. Seeing him like this makes me sick to my stomach. I feel like I could just cry seeing him in this condition, but I know that'll probably just piss him off. The bell rings and the kids in the parking lot start making their way to the building.

Colton reaches for his glasses but I pull them behind me.

"Jesus Camryn, can't you just leave me the fuck alone?!" he says through his teeth.

"Colton, you can't just walk into school like this, you need to go home," I tell him. Kids I don't recognize stare as they pass us and the moment I'm not focused on Colton, he snatches his glasses from my hand. He puts them on and turns around, but I pull him back again. He tenses up and takes a deep breath.

"This," he says motioning between the both of us, "was a bad idea, okay? So leave me alone and I'll leave you alone." His words are slow and cold and send a chill through my body. My hand falls from his arm and he walks away. He promised. He promised that on Monday he wouldn't go back to being a jerk. He lied. I should've known. I can feel my eyes start to water but I take a deep breath and suck it up. I already told myself I wouldn't cry for him.

***

Colton didn't sit next to me in anatomy, Arko did. I was too hurt by the gesture that I didn't even care if the kid smelled. I look over at Colton but look away again because his face is just hard to look at. He's still handsome with his bruises and everything, but it's too sad to look at. How could he still want to go to these parties when he just keeps getting into fights. He had no trouble beating the crap out of Ethan or even that Penn guy, so the person who did this to him must be bigger, much bigger.

When lunch comes around and Judith asks me about my weekend, I tell her nothing special. I feel no need to tell her what went on these past few days, there's no point. The rest of lunch is quiet an that's how the rest of the week goes.

Colton stays away and so do I. I make it through the days without losing my mind and I'm okay. Work on Tuesday and Wednesday was a blur because the entire time I was hoping Colton might walk in. He never did. On Thursday I took my anatomy test and got a C and almost cried when I saw the grade when I got home. My parents sensed that something was wrong but of course I told them I was okay.

What would I even say to them? "The boy I have a crush on seems to hate me with a passion just for showing interest in his life"? I don't think so. Just saying it to myself makes me feel pathetic.

By Friday morning, Colton's face was almost completely back to normal, the cut on his eyebrow may leave a scar. He still hasn't spoken to me, he hasn't even looked in my direction.

It's now Friday night and I'm curled up in a blanket in the living room watching tv with my parents. I'm so cool, right? We watch a movie on HBO called Prisoners and it's about these two little girls who get kidnapped and the father does whatever he can to find them. The entire movie was good but a couple of parts were hard to watch because someone was being tortured. I'm a big fan of movies of all kind. I love to laugh at comedies, cry with tragedies, and scream with horror movies, but when it comes to torture, I'm not so good. I could watch movies such as Saw and Hostel, but I just close my eyes a lot.

But this movie was good, so many twists and turns but great. We started watching it late and by the time it was over, it was already 1:30 am.

"Alright, we're going to bed," my mom yawns, standing up from the couch. My dad gets up off the floor and kisses my forehead.

"Goodnight," I tell them. I hear their door close upstairs and realize I'm tired myself. I turn the tv off and walk up to my room. This week has just been so upsetting. Two weeks ago everything was fine, and now I'm... heartbroken. Jesus Camryn shut up.

I need to just get over this whole thing. It's ridiculous. I lay down in my bed and let out a deep sigh. "Okay Cam," I whisper to myself, "this is the last night you'll spend thinking about Colton, alright? Okay." This is it, this is all I can allow myself to be sad. On Monday I'm going to go back to school and everything is going to go back to normal. I'll talk to Judith and I'll smile at work. As for this weekend, I'm just going to enjoy being alone. I'm used to being alone, I'm good at it. I'll be okay, and I'll be happy.

And then there was a scream. It's more of a shout than a scream actually. "Stop!" the shout demands, "leave me alone!"

It's Colton. I can tell. I shoot up in my bed and look out my window. I can't see anything past Colton's curtain and the rain is making it worse and I don't know what to do. The shouts are getting louder and more frantic. This sounds dangerously serious. I should call the cops, I have to. I move away from the window and reach for my phone on my nightstand. I pick it up and drop it due to my hand shaking uncontrollably. "Shit!" I curse to myself. I get off my bed and pick it up from the floor. During this time I panic and I can't remember my pass code for the life of me and I'm thankful for the emergency button.

"Camryn! Please open up!" Colton's banging at my window and I drop my phone again and jump onto my bed to let him in. Adrenaline is allowing me to react fast. I push up the glass as fast as I could and Colton spills into my room. He's soaked from the rain and he's in the same condition he was in Monday morning, but this time it may be worse.

"Oh my god!" I cry out. His shirt is covered in blood and so is his face.

"Close... the... window," he breathes weakly. I do as he says and shut the window and drape the curtain over it. By instinct, I place both my hands on either side of his neck and face to get a better look.

"Colton, who did this to you?" I can feel the tears brimming my eyes and my body start to tingle. He's looking me directly in the eyes, but they don't look as vibrant as usual. It's as if the life has been sucked out of them.

"My dad," he breathes, "he did this." I can feel my heart break into a million pieces as the tears start to roll down my face. How could his own father do this to him? It all makes sense, all the screaming, all the bruises. The way Colton tenses up whenever he comes around. The first day I met him he said Colton would come back beat up so carelessly. And Colton did come back with a black eye, but it was from him. "Can you clean me up?" he asks.

"Colton, you need a doctor," I tell him, still holding onto him.

"No! Please, I can't go to the doctor, they'll ask me what happened and I'll have to lie and it'll make everything worse," he pleads.

"Why would you lie? Colton you can't let him do this to you." I feel like yelling this at him, but I just can't. Why would he want to cover for his abusive father?

"Camryn, I'll explain everything to you I promise, just please, help me," he begs. I've never seen him this vulnerable. I didn't even think it'd be possible to see him look so helpless and scared. "Can't you take care of me?" His bruised eyes are glossy and I think I might just break down.

"Yes, yes I can," I nod quickly. I let go of his face and climb clumsily off the bed. I go into my bathroom and run warm water in the sink and grab a towel from underneath it. Once the water is warm enough, I soak half of the towel and rinse it out. I search for any type of bandages and peroxide but all I find are small Band Aids and rubbing alcohol. I rush back into my room with the towel and the supplies and set them on the bed. Colton's leaning lazily against the wall on the bed and I crawl next to him.

Without permission I begin to pat his face with the warm damp towel to wipe the blood away. He flinches at first, but then relaxes. I pour a little rubbing alcohol onto the towel and press it against the open wounds on his eyebrow and cheek.

"Ow," he hisses, pulling away.

"I'm sorry." I finish cleaning him in silence and place the small Band Aids on his cuts. He doesn't say anything so I get off the bed and put everything back in the bathroom. I don't know what to do with the bloody towel so I decide to throw it away. Even if I wash it, I don't think I'd ever want to use it.

When I walk back into the room, Colton's sitting at the edge of the bed. "Thank you," he says. I make my way to the bed and stand in front of him.

"You're welcome," I say back. I look down at him sitting on the bed and he looks so innocent. His hair is wet, but he pushed it back, and his clothes are soaked. "I'll be right back," I tell him. I turn away, but he grabs my arm.

"Where are you going?" he asks worriedly.

"You need clothes, I'll be right back," I say again. He relaxes and lets go of my arm. I slowly open my room door and tiptoe down the hallway. I go downstairs to the laundry room to grab one of my dad's clean shirts out of the dryer. I grab him a plain gray one, I think it suits him best.

As I tiptoe back upstairs, I can't wrap my head around the situation at hand. After not speaking to me for a week, Colton's in my bedroom half beaten to death. He has a lot of explaining to do if he doesn't want me to call the cops. I know that it's probably not my business, but if I'm the one taking care of you after a fight, I think it makes it my business.

Before I open my bedroom door, I press my forehead to the wall and allow my remaining tears to fall. I don't want him to see me being so weak because I feel like tonight I have to be strong for him.

I wipe my eyes and quietly open the door. I close it slowly behind me and lock it. Colton hasn't moved from his spot at the edge of the bed. The only light in the room is coming from the moon, but I could still see how bad Colton's condition is from here.

I walk over to him and hand him the T-shirt. He sets it on his lap and starts pulling off his wet shirt, but he can't raise his hands past his chest.

"Here," I whisper as I take the bottom of his shirt in my hands. I pull it up and stretch out the arms so all he has to do is bring his elbows down. I pull the shirt off over his head and suck in a deep breath at the sight of his torso. Not because of his beautifully sculpted body, but because of the bruises of different colors covering it. I look away and shut my eyes. I can feel a tear fall down my cheek and I curse myself for not being strong.

"Camryn, it's okay, I'm okay," he whispers. I look back down at him and his hazel eyes are still glossy. I can tell he's trying to be strong too.

"No you're not," I sob. I'm feeling oddly comfortable with him right now so I dip down and press my forehead against his without thinking and close my eyes. "No you're not," I repeat.

"I promise you I am. It looks worse than it is, Camryn I swear," he breathes, leaning into me. He rests his hands just above my thighs because with me standing in front of him, that's all he can reach.

"I'm so sorry Colton, I'm so sorry," I cry softly. I'm not apologizing to him, I just feel sorry for him. I feel terribly sorry that he had to go through this. Nobody deserves this, absolutely no one. It just isn't fair and for that I am sorry.

"Don't be, please don't be. I'm okay," he whispers. I pull away and open my eyes to look at him. His eyes are red and his cheeks are wet, he was crying too. He looks so vulnerable and so lost and it's breaking my heart. Even with these cuts and bruises, he is still the most beautiful person I've ever seen and these struggles aren't taking away from his beauty, but from his soul. He is one angry person and it's all because of his father. The one man who was supposed to love him most in this world ruined his childhood and damaged him as a person and that's why he thinks so hopelessly. I can see it in his eyes that he feels so unwanted, it's the same look I had in my eyes when I was younger.

I need to make him feel better. I need to let him know that he is wanted in this world and that he will be okay, because even though he says he is, I know he's lying. In front of me is a broken teenager who needs to feel whole again, and I'm going to try my best to make him feel that way.

Without anymore thinking, I place both my hands on either side of his face and gently press my lips to his. I pull away and see him slowly opening his eyes. I know he doesn't want to be anything more than a friend but he needed some sort of genuine affection, and honestly, so did I.

"I uhm," I try to gather my thoughts and form an explanation, but my mind is blank. Even though our kiss was short, I'm still a little fuzzy. I turn my head in embarrassment.

"Camryn," he breathes. I look back at him and into his eyes. They look different. They look alive. "Kiss me again," he says. Without hesitation I take him back in my hands and bring my mouth to his. His grip on my upper thighs tighten as he kisses me more forcefully. I want to wrap my arms around him and pull him to me, but I need to be careful. My god is it killing me to be careful. His tongue wraps with mine and my head is swirling. The taste of blood is evident in my mouth, but I really don't care. I've never made out with someone like this in my life(I kept my mouth shut with that jerk Ethan) and I'm not even sure if I'm doing it right, but he seems to be enjoying it.

I pull away to catch my breath and Colton kisses me once on my neck. I can't do anymore because I'm afraid I'm going to hurt him. If he were to kiss my neck again I'd probably lose control and climb right on top of him. My whole body is on fire and it's suddenly too hot in my room, but I wouldn't dare to open my window.

Without a word, I grab the T-shirt from his lap and hold it in front of him, asking for permission to put it on him. He let's go of me to try and lift his arms and I suddenly feel cold. I put the shirt over his head and carefully help him pull his arms through. I tug it down and cover his body. I look down and realize I didn't grab him any bottoms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't grab you shorts or something," I say,shaking my head.

"It's okay, can you just help me get these off?" he asks and my eyes go wide. He lets out a small chuckle. "Don't worry, I'm wearing boxers." I nod and he starts to unbuckle his belt. He then unbuttons his pants and pulls down the zipper. "Okay this is where I need your help," he says. He pushes himself up off the bed with a groan and I quickly tug his pants down past his butt and he falls back onto the bed.

As I pull his pants the rest of the way down I realize he isn't wearing any shoes. Of course he isn't. Who has time to put shoes on when you're running away from your father? The thought of Colton being scared and running away from his dad makes me feel terrible again.

"What's the matter?" he asks, and I stand up.

"You know," I say and he frowns. "We need to talk about this."

"About me and my dad? Or... me and you?" he asks slowly. I meant him and his father, I didn't know he'd want to talk about... us.

"Both, but mostly you and your father," I say, looking down into his eyes.

"Right now? I'm really tired and just want some rest," he pouts. Of course I can't turn him down so I just nod.

"Okay fine, you can take the bed and I'll take the floor," I say. We didn't even discuss if he was staying here or not, somehow we both just knew. Where else would he go?

"You're not sleeping on the floor," he shakes his head.

"You can't sleep there, you're hurt," I explain. Sleeping on the floor is already uncomfortable so for him it would be ten times worse.

"Exactly, that's why you're sleeping with me."