Chapter 4: Four Days Apart, Worlds Away

He did that every time after.

So now, before handing him water, I always have to take a sip myself.

During halftime, Colton walked straight over to me.

The girls nearby squealed, whispering to each other, “Colton’s so hot.”

Colton ignored them, lifted the hem of his jersey to wipe his sweat, and reached out his hand to me. I immediately handed him the water.

When he took it, his hand brushed against mine.

At that moment, I heard a girl say, “Those two are a perfect match.”

She wasn’t quiet, and everyone around looked over at us.

I panicked and pulled my hand back.

Colton’s face immediately darkened.

I knew he was angry again.

Sure enough, the next second, he grabbed my hand and the bottle together, and in front of everyone, calmly started drinking.

Our fingers were intertwined, impossible to separate.

No matter how I tried to pull away, I couldn’t.

The girls squealed even louder.

All I could see was Colton’s dark eyes, openly showing how ticked off he was—very, very ticked off.

In the second half, Colton played like a man possessed.

I couldn’t sit still.

Tonight, I was definitely in trouble again.

Sure enough, after my shower, Colton pinned me down.

His hands roamed over my body.

“Don’t… don’t do this.” I pleaded softly.

The more I resisted, the rougher he got. My stomach and chest prickled with pain.

His hands didn’t stop. His hot breath brushed against my ear, his voice low and hoarse: “Don’t do what?”

Even though Colton’s bed had curtains so no one could see what was happening,

they could still hear the sounds.

Both roommates were in the dorm.

I bit my lip hard. Just then, he suddenly slowed down, and the gentle touch made my scalp tingle.

As he rubbed, his hand started to move lower.

I immediately grabbed his hand.

“No… don’t.”

Nervous, I held his hand and turned over to face him, hoping he’d stop.

“We’re both guys, can’t I touch you there?”

I shook my head desperately, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He patted my head, his tone gentle but with a dangerous edge: “If I can’t touch, then let me kiss you.”

His eyes lingered on my lips, the desire in his gaze impossible to ignore.

“No… no, you can’t kiss me, it’s weird.” I turned my face away, trembling.

His voice was rough, and before I could answer, his hand reached into my pants.

“Then let’s keep going.”

I held his hand tightly, tears welling up uncontrollably. My voice was choked with sobs: “Don’t do this, Colton, I don’t want to.”

He stopped, looking at me with gentle, lingering eyes. “Why are you crying? I didn’t even hurt you.”

He wiped my tears and pressed my head against his chest. “Will you still hide from me?”

I shook my head quickly.

He picked up my hand, kissed it, then started licking it—from between my fingers, to my fingertips, then to my palm.

My hand curled up uncontrollably, and my body felt a strange sensation.

“If you don’t want to keep going, then don’t move.” His voice was low and hoarse.

I didn’t dare move. He licked my hand until it was soaked, then gave it a gentle bite before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

I stared at my hand, suddenly feeling like Colton was acting like a dog marking his territory—once I had his scent, I was his.

Actually, from what Lucas said and Colton’s behavior lately, I already knew Colton liked me.

His possessiveness was strong, almost obsessive, maybe even a little twisted.

I didn’t know what to do, but I was too scared to make him mad, so all I could do was try to keep him calm for now.

I didn’t know what would happen next; his actions were getting more and more intense.

I sighed and tightened my belt.

I fell asleep in a daze, and Colton still hadn’t come out of the bathroom.

When I woke up the next day, I found the belt I’d knotted tightly had been untied.

I looked at Colton in a panic. His face was calm, showing no emotion at all.

I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking maybe I’d untied it myself in my sleep because it was uncomfortable.

That night, my mom called.

“Hey, Mom, everything okay at home?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Do you remember the little girl next door? The one who used to say she wanted to marry you when you were kids? She got into your university. I just wanted to say, she’s a girl far from home and doesn’t know anyone, so you should look out for her. When the freshmen arrive, help her with her luggage.”

“Oh, okay.”

After I hung up, I felt troubled.

Should I tell Colton?

He doesn’t like me getting close to other people.

Maybe I should, otherwise if he gets angry for no reason again, I’ll be the one to suffer.

By the time lights-out was near, I still hadn’t figured out how to bring it up.

Colton suddenly said, “I need to go to Canada for a few days, about four days.”

It was right during freshman orientation, so I decided not to tell him—he wouldn’t be here anyway.

“Mm.” I nodded.

Colton pulled me into his arms, sounding annoyed. “So annoying, we have to be apart for four days. Come with me.”

“I still have to work my campus job.”

“Fine.” Colton looked down, disappointed.

When I went to pick up Lily, she was struggling with her luggage.

I hurried over to help.

After carrying her bags to her dorm, I showed her around campus.

“Chicago is so big,” she said in amazement.

“Yeah, there’s so much here we never had back home.”

Maybe because we’re from the same place, we had endless things to talk about and got along really well.

After dropping her off at her dorm that night,

Colton called. Over the phone, he roared, “Who’s that girl? I haven’t even been gone a day and you can’t wait to find another woman!”

“No, she’s just a friend from my hometown.” I hurried to calm him down.

“Friend? And you’re grinning so happily? Who are you trying to fool? Listen, before I get back, you’d better stay away from her, or I’ll ruin her. Eli, you can try me—see what happens if you really piss me off.”

“Colton, don’t be like this.”

Suddenly I was angry. Both Lily and I had worked so hard to get out of that little town, especially Lily. Back home, unless a girl had top grades, she’d already be raising kids by now.

So I knew how hard it was for her to get here, but Colton could destroy all that with a single word.

“I’m not being anything! Eli, you know I like you, so you just do whatever you want, acting spoiled because you think I’ll never really get mad, right? You think no matter what you do, I’ll never be angry?”

Suddenly, I felt hurt and shouted, “Colton, you don’t like me, you just want to control me. I’m just your toy.”

The moment I said it, I regretted it.

Colton had always treated me well.

When I first arrived, I didn’t know how to use a lot of things. Colton never laughed at me and always patiently taught me.

He took me to see 3D movies, eat at fancy places, go shopping, play at amusement parks.

He taught me how to use a computer, a smartphone, took me on a plane, helped me with my accent.

When people laughed at my English, he stood up for me.

Knowing I wasn’t eating right, he hired a nutritionist to plan my meals.

When I got sick, he stayed at the hospital with me day and night.

I hurriedly said, “Colton, I… I didn’t mean that, let me explain.”

There was a long silence on the other end, then suddenly a cold laugh.

Colton’s tone was icy. “What’s there to explain.”

He sounded furious. “Yeah, you’re just my damn toy. So what? I can have anyone I want. Go be with whoever you want.”

With that, he hung up.