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I bit my lip instead of asking him again if there was a way to help him. This wasn’t an issue we were going to agree on, not tonight anyway. “I’m glad you got him.”
“He shouldn’t be bothering you again.”
“That’s a relief.” It was, but I was still worried about him. It was the same reason it felt good to plan that fundraiser for kids in foster care. I’d come through the system, but I hadn’t gone back to help others still there.
“I feel better that he was caught. That he won’t be able to scare you again.” Colton’s voice was steady, but there was pain in his expression.
I rested my palms on his chest, leaning into him. “Thank you. I know you’ve been working hard to get him.”
I didn’t want him to think I didn’t appreciate what he’d done.
“I want to protect you. I’d hate it if anything happened to you.” He said it with such conviction that I wondered where it was coming from.
“Why would anything happen to me?”
He grabbed my hand, pulling me over to the couch. “I haven’t told you everything.”
Now was the moment I’d been waiting for. I knew there was a reason he’d quit school to enlist.
He took a deep breath as if gathering the courage to continue. “College was fun. I partied like everyone else. I thought my friends and I had it under control. But we didn’t, and I didn’t realize it until it was too late.”
This wasn’t what I was expecting. “Delilah mentioned there was some scandal at your school.”
Colton nodded, avoiding my gaze. “Austin and I were roommates our freshman year, and we became good friends. We partied, but we went to class and studied. At least, I thought he was. Our junior year, he seemed to be partying more and staying out later, but I thought it was the usual stress of an upperclassman. His dad wanted him to major in business and work for him, and he didn’t want that. I should have been paying closer attention.”
“Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault.” I didn’t even need to hear the facts to know that Colton would never intentionally hurt anyone.
“I wasn’t there. I didn’t stop him.”
I stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt him.
“He asked me to go to this party, but I had an exam the next day and needed to study. Grades didn’t come as easily for me as they did for him. He was pissed, saying that I was never around anymore and didn’t want to have fun. Anyway, he had too much to drink that night; he was showing off to his new friends at a frat house and got up on the railing of a balcony and fell.”
I sucked in a breath. Even though I’d been expecting it, it was still surprising. “Was he okay?”
I never looked up the scandal after learning about it from Delilah. Maybe I should have.
“It was only a couple of stories up. He had a bad concussion and broke some bones. It could have been much worse, but he was expelled. It was a combination of his failing grades and what happened. The frat was investigated for hazing, providing the alcohol, and it made the news. It was bad publicity.”
“Why did you drop out?”
“I felt responsible. I was barely passing myself and felt like I didn’t belong there anymore.”
“You weren’t responsible, though. He made his own choices that night.”
“I could have done more. Been there for him. Known it was more than just a good time. He was addicted at that point. Afterward, he spent a long time in rehab.”
“That’s sad. But it’s not on you.” I could tell from the stubborn set of his jaw that he didn’t agree.
“I should have been there. Nothing will absolve me of that.”
Did he feel like he had that same responsibility for everyone in his life?
“In the Marines, I was stationed in Madagascar at the U.S. Embassy. It was supposed to be a good post. Little to no action. And it was for a while. But we let our guard down. There was some unrest and bombings in the city, but we were complacent, assuming nothing would happen at the embassy. I was wrong.
“Some kid threw a homemade bomb. It went off but didn’t work properly, and my friend was injured.”
My stomach sank. “You feel responsible.”
