I stayed with Colby the entire night.

It was hardly ten o’clock when Colby began nodding, and I could see he was clearly trying his best not to fall asleep.

“Colby, maybe I should go-” I began quietly, but he cut me off.

“No, no. It’s fine, I’m fine,” He mumbled,

I let out an unamused chuckle, “You’ve been falling asleep for the past fifteen minutes. You should go to bed. I’ll get the boys to help you get to your room,”

We were still on the floor in his office, him laying on his back and me sitting to face him.

“No, I’ll be alright. Just, help me up please?” I felt slightly victorious now that Colby was in such a state. It made him vulnerable, and I know how much he hated that.

“Don’t look so smug,” He grunted as I got to my feet and grabbed his hands. He managed to get up okay, the only thing giving away that he was in discomfort was the wince on his face when I tugged on his arms too hard.

“Sorry,” I apologized, trying my best to keep my eyes from looking at his chest that was still exposed. Neither of us bothered to mention that it wasn’t buttoned, but I personally think it was more comfortable for him anyways.

He led the way down the hallway to his room, hovering his hand over his bandage as he walked. I was quick to be beside him, making sure that he didn’t do anything to strain himself.

“This might seem awkward but I don’t mean it to be in any way,” He began, his words broken up due to his heavy breathing. Walking down the hallway was enough for him to already be pale once again, simply a mixture of exhaustion and stress, “But will you stay with me tonight?”

“I-” I went to cut him off but he stopped me by holding up his hand.

“If I need something or if something happens, I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to do it,” He shut his eyes, putting his index finger and thumb between his eyebrows.

I found myself nodding slowly, not really considering what that entailed. Hopefully he had a couch or atleast a comfortable rug for me to lay on.

“Yeah, I’ll stay,” I said, trying my best not to show any negative emotion. I was really looking forward to going to my bed and relaxing after sitting with him for so long, but I would have to push my selfish thoughts aside.

Colby wanted me around, or needed me so he claimed. I didn’t know if that meant he just wanted me around because it’s convenient or this was just one big scam to get me into his room.

“Thank you,” An appreciative grin appeared on his face as I reached for the doorknob. I’ve never been in Colby’s room before, though if he wasn’t in the office, he was hiding in his room by himself.

I turned around, offering my arm to Colby to use if he needed the support. He turned it down with a wave of his hand, making his way over to his bed.

His bed, along with his room, was dark and kind of creepy. I didn’t like the dark, living here has made me wary of it. There was something about it that made me feel like someone was watching me, and it sent chills down my spine.

To my disappointment, there was no couch or other piece of furniture that I could sleep on. There was a small table that was covered in papers along with a fireplace that was most likely there for decoration and not actual fires.

“Where am I going to sleep?” I did a once-over to see one last time if there was a couch or even a cushion chair I could use.

“In my bed, I’ll sleep on the floor,” Colby stated it like it was the obvious choice.

“Didn’t you get shot a couple of hours ago?” I asked, causing him to give a smileless laugh that caused him to wince, “I’ll sleep on the floor,” I offered.

“No. If I can’t sleep on the floor, you can’t either. We’ll sleep in my bed,” He carefully began to take off his shirt completely, being cautious around the bandage on his chest.

I went to the far side of the bed, practically hugging the edge of it as I pulled the covers over my shoulder. I didn’t bother to change, fearing that something might happen to Colby while I would be gone. I never saw someone get shot before, let alone how to deal with a person recovering from a bullet to the fucking ribs.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Colby chuckling. He seemed to do that a lot, now that he’s opened up more. Most likely it had something to do with the medicine Xepher gave him, I’m not sure what it was but it’s definitely messing with his state of mind. Normally when we’re around the guys he hardly makes a noise related to humor, only a smile here and there.

“What’s so funny?” I rolled over to see him standing on the other side of the bed, shirtless and putting two pills in his mouth.

It was after he took a sip of water that he responded to me, “You. You’re so reserved it’s not even funny,”

“Then why are you laughing?” I asked, bringing the blankets in front of me closer to my chest.

“Because it’s weird to think about,” He sighed, slipping the lower half of his body under the blanket.

“How are we gonna shut the lights off?” I asked, motioning to the well lit room

Colby turned so he was laying flat on his back. I watched as he went to raise his arms up and clap them together, but it must have caused him some type of pain because I heard a sharp intake of breath through his lips.

I waited a couple of seconds, hearing his strained breath subside after a couple moments, “Are you okay?” I asked quietly.

“I will be,” He grumbled, his happy mood now thrown out the window.

“Goodnight,” I sang to him, letting my eyes fall shut.

He didn’t respond, or if he did I didn’t hear him. I felt myself sliding into dreamland when something cold brushed against my ankle where my pants had rode up words and exposed them.

My eyes shot open and I slid my foot closer to my body. In the dark, I could practically see Colby’s eyes glow as he stared at me with a mischievous grin.

“I’m going to fucking shoot you,” I promised, closing my eyes as I spoke, “Your toes are cold as hell,”

“You know what, just stab me. I don’t need to get shot again,” Colby decided, “I hate sleeping on my back,”

“You’re very lucky, you know? Two inches away from your heart,” I said with a lazy grin.

“Three,” He corrected, “I feel like every single time I get shot it’s always somewhere important or close to it,”

“You’ve gotten shot before?” I asked and he hummed, “Where?”

“Right beside my shoulder,” His voice, laced with tiredness, came out close to a whisper, “And in the upper thigh. Oh, that one hurt so bad,”

“You got shot in your wee wee?” I asked, causing him to huff out a laugh.

“No. Thigh. It’s my leg, closer to my hip, actually,” He corrected, reaching over to pat my shoulder, “I’m going to sleep,”

“Goodnight,” I whispered to him after a couple of minutes, right as I felt myself nodding off.

“Goodnight, Kiara,”