TWO WEEKS LATER

"THE END," I WHISPERED as I typed out the two most magical words in the world of writing. I stood up, eyes wide. "I did it. I really did it! I finished my book!"

I punched my left arm in the air and jumped.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes," I cheered, busting out into a series of embarrassing dance moves.

I raced over to the mirror in the bathroom. "YOU WROTE A BOOK!" I shouted. Grinning, I stared back at myself and reenacted Uma Thurman's famous Pulp Fiction dance. Pausing, I scrunched my nose and inspected my cheeks. The burns were almost gone.

Momentarily stopping the celebration, I closed my eyes and thought about Colton's smile. His dimples. The golden flecks in his irises.

How could I have been so wrong?

Knock, knock, knock.

Frowning, I looked toward the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Leaving the bathroom, I made my way to the front door.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Coming, coming," I said.

I swung open the door and immediately screamed.

"Please," said Colton, "let me explain."

"You need to leave," I said, trying to close the door.

Colton put his arm out. "Please. Give me five minutes. That's all that I ask."

"Not here," I said, feeling unsafe.

He looked away. "Wherever you want."

"There's a coffee shop around the corner. Just let me grab my purse."

I closed the door behind me, my heart racing. Should I go with him? What if he tries to hurt me? No, he wouldn't, would he? I covered my face with my hands and counted to ten. Just calm down. It's going to be fine. You have your phone; you can always call nine-one-one if you need to. Just hear him out and be done with him forever.

Grabbing my purse, a thick coat, and my keys, I opened the door and met Colton eye-to-eye.

"I bought these for you," he said, handing me a large bouquet of tulips.

"Ah, thank you," I said accepting the flowers. "That was very nice of you."

"You can just leave them in your apartment for now. They'll be fine without water for a while."

I opened my door and set them on a small, wooden table against the wall. Turning around, I slid the key in the lock and turned it. My stomach twisted into knots. The image of his little sister's face floated through my mind.

Shivering and completely unsure if I was making the right decision, we headed away from my house and toward the coffee shop. The ding of the door brought immediate comfort.

"What would you like?" asked Colton.

"Hot chocolate would be great. Thanks."

Colton headed up to the counter while I grabbed a booth.

My hands trembled while I waited for him to join me. Why is he here? Does he know that I know about his past? Is he going to try and make excuses?

A few moments later, Colton brought over two giant cups of hot chocolate.

"It's my favorite winter drink too," he admitted.

"Thanks, Colton."

Wrapping my hands around the warm mug, I lifted it carefully to my lips and took a small sip.

"You left," he said.

I set the mug down.

"You left and didn't say anything."

Dropping my gaze to my hands, I bit my lower lip.

"I thought something happened to you," he said. "I was really worried."

I refused to look up.

"I found your note and the bag of tapes, but that didn't seem like you. So, I called the police. I wanted them to check your place and make sure you were okay."

Slowly, I brought the hot cocoa to my lips and took another sip.

"Officer Jackson came to my house a short time later. He told me that you two had spoken and that I had to leave you alone."

Finally, I looked up.

Colton dropped his head. "He said you didn't want anything to do with me. I thought he was full of it, but when you didn't get back to me, I figured that he might have been right." Colton took a deep breath. "I didn't want to accept it, but if you never wanted to talk to me again, I respected that."

Yet here you are...

"They arrested Officer Jackson," he said. "Police found that he had pulled private documents and photocopied them."

I inhaled sharply.

"When he was questioned, he admitted showing you the documents."

My heart felt like it was about to race right out of my chest.

"I think they're going to call you about it soon," he said. "They are still interviewing him."

Even if he shouldn't have shown me those documents, they still show that you're violent.

"I know the documents look bad," he said. "The police went over everything he made a photocopy of with me. But I can explain," said Colton, pulling out a manila folder similar to the one Officer Jackson had given me two weeks ago. "This one," he said, showing me a photo of his sister. "This one is the most difficult to talk about."

He slid the picture over to me.

"That's Abby. She was my little sister. The sweetest little girl you've ever met. One day, Abby woke up and said she wasn't feeling well. Our mom ran to the pharmacy to get some medicine. Our father should have been back from his shift, but he was out drinking in the next town over instead. A few minutes after mom left, Abby curled up into a little ball and started screaming." Colton's voice began to shake. "I tried to help her. I called nine-one-one. They said they would send someone as quick as they could, but it took too long. Abby died in my arms from a ruptured appendix. My mother got home moments before the ambulance. It—it was the most terrible moment of my entire life." Colton wiped his eyes on his sleeve. "She was the most important person in my life, and I let her down."

I wanted to reach out and comfort him. But I couldn't.

"The police brought me in for questioning, but I was never arrested. Officer Jackson altered the copy of the report he gave you. This is the real one," he said, handing me a stack of paper stapled together. "The last page summarizes the case."

Flipping to the last page, I read over the summary. The last two lines made my jaw drop. Colton Hawthorne is cleared of any wrongdoing. His sister died of complications due to a burst appendix. My head spun.

"What about the fight in front of the diner?" I asked.

Colton hung his head. "That was my fault. I never should have let it get that far."

"Let what get that far?"

"A guy I went to high school with started to spread rumors about my father having an affair with one of the teachers at the school. I told him he needed to stop. I told him to drop it, but he didn't. The final straw was when he confronted me in front of the diner. He said that I was just as pathetic as my mother and that my sister had to die in order to get out of our fucked-up family. I lost control. I hurt him, and to this day I still feel terrible. I went to anger management classes and learned how to deal with my emotions a lot better. But still, I never should have done that to him."

I tried taking in all the information. "In one of the reports an officer called you, 'A troubled young man with a violent streak.'"

"Officer Jackson added that himself. He actually said that after my father's death. He just placed it elsewhere in the file."

I leaned back and looked into Colton's chocolate colored eyes.

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

I looked down. My phone screen had lit up.

"Hello?" I said.

"Is this Claudia Tran?"

"Yes, this is."

"Claudia, this is Officer Paulson from the New Lake Police Department. I'm calling you because it appears that one of our officers has illegally altered information and shared it with you."

My jaw dropped.

"Officer Jackson has since been arrested and relieved of his duties as an officer for the New Lake Police Department."

"Wow," I said quietly.

"It has been brought to our attention that he may have shared inaccurate information with you about Mr. Colton Hawthorne. I wanted to let you know that Colton was never charged with murdering his younger sister. Also, he did get in a fight as a teenager. He was arrested. He then completed an anger management class and community service. Lastly, Colton Hawthorne and his mother were both cleared from Sheriff Hawthorne's death. Sheriff Hawthorne had three times the legal amount of alcohol in his system, and it appears he simply misjudged the staircase and fell down, causing fatal injuries in the process."

The information hit me like a ton of bricks.

"On behalf of the New Lake Police Department, I apologize for Officer Jackson's actions. If at all possible, we would like you to sign a statement detailing your interactions with Officer Jackson."

"I can definitely do that for you. How would tomorrow work?"

"Tomorrow would be great. Thank you, Miss Tran."

I set the phone down and scooted out of the booth.

"Wait, Claudia," Colton said, but abruptly came to a stop when I slid next to him.

Wrapping my arms around him, I nuzzled my face into his neck. "I am so sorry, Colton."

Pulling away, he lifted my chin. "You don't need to apologize. You were lied to, and protecting yourself."

Tears spilled down my cheeks. "Still, I should have asked for your side of things as soon as I found out. I shouldn't have just left like that."

"Do not blame yourself for this, Claudia."

He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine. My heart skipped a beat as a surge of emotions flooded my body.

Colton pulled me closer to his body and whispered, "I'm so glad you don't hate me."

The dark cloud that had been sitting over me since I left New Lake dissipated.

"Can we just pretend none of this crazy stuff ever happened?" I asked. "Can we just go back to the night I was getting ready to come over to your house for dinner?"

Colton nodded and smiled. "I'm okay with that."

I brushed my lips against his neck. "I have a better idea," I whispered into his ear.    

*******

Cliffhangers,

AW! What did you think was going to happen when Colton showed up at Claudia's door? 

What do you think Claudia has planned? I'm excited to hear your thoughts!

Hearts and Daggers,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo