Colby's POV
"I expect things to run smoothly while I'm away." I said coldly as I paced in front of my whole gang.
"I may not be here physically, but I'm still here." I said and glared at them.
"Unless it is an emergency, report to Will. Otherwise, call me immediately." I said and crossed my arms.
"Understand?" I asked as they all nodded. "Yes, sir." They all said at the same time.
"Good. I'll be back Sunday night." I said then grabbed my jacket. "We'll take care of everything here." Will said as I nodded.
"Perfect." I said then left the room without another word. I went to my office so I could grab my bag then made my way to the car.
I was excited to escape to LA for the weekend but I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.
Leaving things up here was nerve wrecking since it was less difficult to overthrow us while I was away.
Plus there was always the threat of someone trying to overthrow me from the inside.
I would never forget that Halloween party we had where my gang tried to take me out.
It was crazy to think that I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Julia.
No. Don't think about Julia.
I shook my head, pushing away any thought of her. She couldn't be in my life.
It was better for her that way.
When I got to the car I changed out my license plate in case anyone was to follow me. I had to do this often to keep myself mostly hidden.
Whenever I drove I constantly had to watch my surroundings. I didn't expect anyone to be following but I couldn't be sloppy.
Sloppiness got people hurt or killed.
I felt a lot more ease when I got out of Washington. If nobody was following me yet, they wouldn't follow me now.
I found myself actually enjoying the silence as I drove. It was a pretty long drive but I didn't mind since I almost ever got to be truly alone.
I was always on standby, ready to jump into the action if I needed to.
This was the first trip I've taken in a long ass time.
I deserved to enjoy it.
It felt like I was driving for forever before I pulled up to the familiar mansion,
It was a place filled with endless memories that I didn't want to remember.
It was also filled with friends who I considered to be like brothers and sisters.
"Well well well...look who it is." Sam said as he opened the door. "Hey, man." I said then gave him a hug.
"How was the drive?" He asked as we walked into the house. "It was fine." I said as Katrina and Stas came down the stairs.
"Ugh." Kat said as I chuckled. "Hey, guys." I said and waved.
"He still exists." Stas said sarcastically. "Yep. Still standing." I said as Sam took my bag.
"I'll bring this to your room." He said and went towards the stairs.
"You didn't move into my room?" I asked as he shook his head.
"Nope. It's your room." He said with a nod. "So...have you talked to-" Kat started but I held my hand up, stopping her.
"Don't start, Katrina." I said as she rolled her eyes. "You're insufferable." She said then took Stas's hand and pulled her into the kitchen and away from me.
I nodded slowly, looking around. A lot has changed since the last time I was here, but it still felt familiar.
I almost wished that it wouldn't feel familiar at all.
I walked into the living room where Tara and Jake were making out on the couch.
I cleared my throat, leaning against the wall. I watched as they broke apart, looking up at me.
"COLBY!" Jake said excitedly as he pushed Tara off of him and stood up.
"Hey." I said with a laugh as he hugged me. "Are you ready to get fucking wasted?!" He asked as Tara huffed out a breath and stood up, crossing her arms.
"Yeah. I need it." I said then looked over at Tara. "You suck." She said then looked at Jake. "Are you gonna start dating him now? Because I'll just fucking leave." She said causing Jake to laugh.
"Babe, you know he's out of my league." He said causing Tara to roll her eyes and leave the room.
"So you guys are doing well?" I asked as he nodded. "Yeah, I think so." He said as Sam came into the room.
"What'd you do to Tara?" He asked and pointed to where Tara just stormed out.
"I got excited to see Colby and pushed her. Do you blame me though? Colby is never around." Jake said as Sam shook his head.
"I know better by now." Sam said then looked at me.
"You seen Corey yet?" He asked as I shook my head.
"Not yet. I've successfully pissed off all the girls though." I said with a shrug.
"Yeah, gotta be honest they don't miss you as much." Sam said as I nodded.
"Don't blame them." I said as we walked towards the kitchen.
I was exhausted from my drive but wanted to at least see Corey before going to bed.
"I'm just excited to get drunk." Stas said as we walked into the room.
"You always get drunk." Corey said then looked up at me.
"Holy shit, he's here!" He said then held his arms out to hug me.
"Yep, just got in." I said and hugged him. "It's good to have you back, man. You gotta tell us all about your super secret adventures." Corey said as I shrugged.
"It wouldn't be a secret then." I said as Devyn came over and gave me a hug.
"How have you been?" She asked as I shrugged. "Busy." I said then pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
"Anyone want to join me?" I asked and looked around. "Let's go boys." Jake said and clapped his hands together.
Sam, Jake, Corey, and I all went outside, leaving the girls in the kitchen.
"So...how does it feel to be back?" Corey asked as I lit up my cigarette, handing the pack to the guys.
"Weird." I said with a nod. "Is it hard to be here after everything that's happened?" Jake asked as I shrugged.
"Not really." I lied. "Well I guess that's a good thing." Sam said, taking a drag of his cigarette.
"Yeah, I'm just excited to let loose a little bit." I said and looked up at the sky.
"Are you afraid that someone will know who you are?" Corey asked as I shook my head. "I'm not afraid of anything anymore." I said then closed my eyes.
I didn't know if that was really true. I was a lot more confident now than I was before but being back in LA after not being here could raise some red flags.
I doubt the guys would invite anyone to this party that would be actively trying to kill me but it was always something that sat in the back of my mind.
"How long are you staying?" Jake asked as I sighed. "I leave on Sunday. I have to get back because I don't trust these guys with the intense stuff." I said and looked over at him.
"So like..how is it different than here?" Corey asked and leaned back.
"We have to be secretive. As far as I know, you guys are the only ones in the crime world that know I'm in charge of secret society." I said as Sam nodded.
"I think we covered it up well here." He said as I chuckled.
"What did you say? Quill killed me?" I asked as he shook his head.
"No. We said you got arrested." He said causing me to laugh.
"That's actually kinda genius." I said and leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms.
"That being said, you gotta come up with a story as to how you got out." Sam said as I nodded. "I killed the prison guards and escaped." I said causing them all to laugh.
"Always so dramatic." Sam said and shook his head.
It felt good to be back with my best friends. It felt good to laugh and joke around but I could feel myself thinking about things back in Seattle.
I wanted to really let loose and escape from my new life but something was holding me back.
I knew if I let my guard down then I would think too much about the last couple months of me living here.
I would think about her.