Here to Win Rewrite (Walker Boys Sequel)

Chap. 10

"Good morning sleepy head," Zoe said, as I came stumbling into the kitchen.

"Holy shit," I groaned, wiping my hand across my eyes.

"How many sleeping pills did you take?" Eileen asked.

"Just two," I promised, taking a seat in one of the bar stools.

"Two is still a heavy dosage," she chastised, handing me a glass of diet coke.

I pulled Sheila out and checked my blood sugar as I sipped on my diet coke.

"You were dead last night," Zoe said, sitting down next to me.

"I can feel it," I muttered.

My PDM beeped in a 302.

I closed my eyes, letting out a frustrating groan. I just spent my afternoon in the hospital yesterday, fighting off this stupid high blood sugar.

"What's the matter?" Zoe asked, her worried eyes searching my face.

"Nothing," I grumbled, grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator before heading upstairs to grab a correction.

Afterwards I stretched out across my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was slowly going stir crazy not being able to do anything.

"Knock, knock," Zoe's voice called.

I turned to see her come in with a plate.

"Eileen sent me up here," she said, placing the plate down on my nightstand.

"Thanks," I muttered.

She came over to my bed and straddled me, much to my surprise. She bent down and kissed me, running her fingers through my hair.

I couldn't help but kiss her back, realizing how much I missed this, how much I missed her.

Eventually she pulled away, a triumphant smile on her face.

"What?" I asked, with a slight laugh.

"I want you to take me on a Walker date tonight," she said, plopping down next to me on my bed.

"A Walker date?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her.

"You do remember what those are, correct?"

"Yeah, but isn't the Walker party tonight?"

She shrugged. "It'll still be here when we get back."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, deal."

The smile vanished off her face.

"What?" I asked.

"What's this?" she asked, taking my right arm and pointing to where I'd had the IV inserted yesterday, except now there was a nice sized bruise starting to form.

"A bruise," I answered.

"A bruise from what?"

"Alright," I conceded. "It's from an IV."

Her eyes widened. "Mason Walker, you went to the hospital and you didn't tell me?"

Shit.

"Okay, yeah," I admitted. "But I didn't tell anyone if that makes you feel better?"

"Yeah, it doesn't." She narrowed her eyes at me. "What happened?"

"Do you know what ketones are?"

She closed her eyes for a second. "The name sounds familiar, but I can't think what it is at the moment."

"Okay. When the body is trying to break down fats, and it doesn't have enough insulin, it produces these waste products called ketones. Your body can't tolerate large amounts of ketones, so it'll try to get rid of them, but eventually they'll start to build up in your system and cause serious side effects."

"So you were having ketones," Zoe filled in.

"Right, so I had to go to the ER and have a glucose IV."

Zoe nodded, but I could tell she was pissed. Not that I blamed her. If she'd kept something like this from me, I'd probably kill her.

I grabbed Sheila and went to check my blood sugar, Zoe still silent.

"Any time you want to say something..." I said, looking up at her.

"I've got nothing to say," she said, raising an eyebrow at me.

186. That was pretty close to range.

"I'm sorry," I ventured out, offering her a tentative smile.

She shook her head. "You went to the ER and didn't tell me. You dislocated your shoulder and didn't tell me. Those are two big events in your life Mason."

Silence hung in the air for a couple of moments as I gave her some time to cool off, before nudging her with my leg.

Her eyes flickered over to me.

I smiled at her. "I really am sorry."

"Just because you're away from me that doesn't give you the right to keep things from me," she said, softly.

I let out a sigh, knowing that I really upset her with this stunt.

She eased off my bed and ran her fingers through her hair before turning to look at me. "I'll just talk to you later."

"Zoe," I muttered, rolling off my bed and standing up as well.

She side-stepped me and left my bedroom, clearly still upset.

I let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that I'd screwed up.

I began to pace my room, adrenaline pumping through my system. Usually when I was frustrated or upset I'd go for a run to help cool me down. But seeing as though I'd been banned from doing that from the weekend, I was starting to feel trapped, and I could feel the frustration building up inside of me.

I left my bedroom and headed down the hallway, pounding on Carson's door.

When he didn't answer, I went ahead and let myself inside.

He was still asleep, so I grabbed a sweatshirt off the floor and nailed him with it.

"I swear to God Mason, if that's you I'm going to rip your fucking head off," Carson moaned.

"Let's go do something," I said, leaning against his wall.

"Are you insane?" he demanded. "Can't you tell that I'm still asleep?"

"You sound pretty awake to me."

Carson peered down from his bed, glaring at me. "I hate you."

"Five minutes, then you and I are going somewhere."

"I'm staying right here," Carson grumbled.

"Come on," I said, throwing another article of clothing at him. "Let's go somewhere."

Carson let out an audible sigh. "Fine, give me five minutes."

~*~

"So what's the theme?" I asked James, watching as a ferris wheel was assembled in the backyard.

"Carnival," he answered, before heading inside.

I watched for a couple more minutes before heading inside, where Ethan was helping Joseph set up the living room.

"So he gets to bum around because of his shoulder?" Joseph joked. "I'd dislocate my shoulder to get out of setting up."

"Ha, ha," I said, dryly. "Have you guys seen Zoe?"

"Last time I saw her she was helping with drinks in the kitchen," Joseph said.

"Are you finally going to apologize?" Ethan asked.

"Shut up."

Joseph and Ethan both laughed as I headed into the kitchen, where Carson and Zoe were setting up coolers, and Zoe was venting to Carson. I quickly ducked around the corner so I could hear what she was saying.

"...mean was I wrong?" Zoe asked.

"You know how Mason is," Carson's voice answered. "He blows everything off like it isn't a big deal, it's just his personality. So don't take it personally that he didn't mention it to you, it's just his way of not dealing with his problems."

Okay, ouch.

"I mean he's your brother, don't you care that he dislocated his shoulder or that he was in the hospital?"

"Of course I care," Carson reasoned. "But I'm not going to breathe down his neck about it because that's not the way Mason works."

Hearing enough, I went ahead and stepped into the kitchen, making some noise so they'd know I was here.

"I'll take these coolers out back," Carson said, stacking two coolers on top of each other and exiting the kitchen.

Zoe's eyes flickered around the kitchen before finally resting on me.

"I know you don't want to hear that I'm sorry," I said. "But I have reservations at a nice restaurant for dinner, and I know you wouldn't want them to go to waste."

She rolled her eyes. "That's such a poop excuse to take me out."

"So we'll leave here at 6? That way we can still be back for some of the party."

She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Okay."

I closed the distance between us, wrapping my arms around her waist and ignoring the discomfort in my shoulder. "I really am sorry though, just for the record."

A smile spread across her face. "It is so impossible to stay mad at you and I hate it."

I bent down and kissed her, and she eagerly kissed me back.

I don't know how long we were in the kitchen, intensely making out, before I heard someone clear their throat behind us.

"What?" I asked, without turning around.

"If you two are done in here," Ethan's voice said, "Joseph and I could use some help."

"I'll help you," Zoe said, with a smile. She rose up and gave me one last kiss before disappearing out of the kitchen, stepping around Ethan.

"You're a douchebag," I informed Ethan, grabbing a diet coke out of the refrigerator.

Ethan smirked at me before heading back out to set up for the party.

I headed upstairs and into my bedroom, closing my door behind me. I went ahead and unwrapped my shoulder for the first time, stretching it out to see how it was faring.

I almost immediately regretted it. My shoulder was stiff and sore and unwilling to move around.

But I gritted my teeth through it, trying to loosen up my shoulder a bit.

I heard my bedroom door open, and I turned to see Zoe come in.

She paused for a moment.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just never get to see you shirtless," she said, a smile spreading across her face.

I couldn't help but laugh.

She crossed my bedroom, that smile still on her face.

"What are you thinking Ms. Baker?" I asked.

"That we were rudely interrupted earlier," she said, tracing her finger down my chest.

"I agree," I whispered, my eyes boring into hers.

"Well then kiss me you idiot."

That's all the advocating I needed. I crashed my lips into hers and let her push me towards my bed.

As I went to undo her shirt, I jerked my shoulder, pulling me out of the heat of the moment and into searing pain.

"What's the matter?" Zoe asked, pulling away in alarm.

"I'm a fucking idiot," I groaned.

She laughed, getting off of me. "Why don't I go and get you some ice and pain killers?"

"This isn't exactly how I imagined this going," I muttered, cradling my shoulder.

She bent over and gave me a light kiss on the lips. "Just be patient."

I let out a growl as she left my bedroom, and I could hear her laughing her way down the hallway.

She reappeared a few minutes later with an ice pack and some pain killers, as promised.

"This sucks," I said, as she handed me the ice pack.

"You dislocated your shoulder yesterday," she said, handing me the pain killers and my diet coke. "You're going to have to exercise some patience."

"I don't want to," I whined.

She crossed my room to the TV and plugged in a movie, flipping off my lights and curling up next to me on the bed. "Well too bad because I'm not making out with you until you're cleared to train again by your trainer."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm not going to be the one that keeps you from your Olympic Scout," she scoffed. "Imagine the headlines. Mason Walker out of the Olympics By Exacerbating Shoulder Injury Kissing Zoe Baker."

"You're insane."

"Maybe," she agreed. "Now hush up, the movie's starting."

I pulled my right arm around her, and she curled in close to me with a sigh.

"What?" I whispered, as the opening credits came on for The Great Gatsby.

"I just miss this," she admitted. "I miss being able to spend time with you."

I kissed her cheek. "Soon babe, soon."

She didn't answer, because she knew it was a lie just as much as I did.

If the Olympic Scout liked what he saw, my free time would pretty much disappear, not that I had much as it was.

And she knew that just as much as I did.

~*~

"You look gorgeous," I said, as Zoe came down the stairs.

She was dressed in a pink sundress with a heart cut out in the back and a pair of white Toms.

"You look handsome," she said, a slight blush creeping up onto her cheeks.

I was dressed in a Hollister flannel with the sleeves pushed up to my elbows and a pair of dark wash jeans.

I led her outside, where Steve had already pulled the car around for us.

I opened the passenger door for her and then slid into the driver's side, swinging out of the driveway.

As I pulled up to the first stoplight, I couldn't help but notice Zoe staring at me out of the corner of my eye.

"What?" I asked, turning to face her with a smile.

"What?" she asked, biting back a smile.

"Why are you staring at me exactly?"

She giggled, a smile stretching across her face. "I'm studying you."

"What for?" I asked, as the light turned green.

"Because video chatting you isn't the same thing as getting to see you in person," she said, softly. "And I want to memorize everything about you before you leave tomorrow."

"It's not like I'm never coming back," I said, my eyes flickering over to her. "And I'm only 30 minutes away."

"But I miss you while you're gone."

"I miss you too," I promised, wishing I could hold her hand while I drove. But my left arm was useless to me at the moment.

I pulled into the restaurant and led Zoe inside, my hand wrapped around hers.

"Hello Mr. Walker," the hostess greeted me, with a smile.

"Hello," I answered, with a nod.

She led us back to our reserved table, handing us two menus and promising that our waiter would be with us momentarily.

"So where's Ralph?" I asked, as we leafed through the menu.

Zoe shook her head. "Your mom hates dogs."

I couldn't help but smirk. "I'm aware."

"So he's living with Melanie for now. I bring him over every couple of days to try and get your mom used to him."

I couldn't help but laugh. "And how's that going?"

"Better than you'd think," she said, sticking her tongue out at me. "She actually stands as far away as humanly possible and pats him on the head."

My jaw dropped in shock. "She does not."

"She does, swear on my life."

"So have you talked to her about Ralph coming to live in the house?"

"I'll probably do it after his visits this week," she mused, flipping through the menu. "I think she'll be ready."

"Hi, my name is Patrick," our server said, with a smile. "And what can I get the two of you to drink?"

"Water with lemon," Zoe said, with a smile.

"And for you sir?" Patrick asked, jotting down Zoe's request.

"Diet coke," I answered.

"Coming right up," he promised, before disappearing.

"I'm dying for some lasagna," Zoe said, closing her menu. "My mouth is watering just thinking about it."

I couldn't help but smile. "I'm definitely going for the spaghetti."

"You're so predictable."

My jaw dropped. "You take that back!"

She smirked at me. "Never."

Patrick brought our drink orders back and inquired about our decision on dinner.

"I'll have the lasagna," Zoe said, with a smirk on my direction.

"And I'll have the cheese pizza," I said, with a smirk in Zoe's direction.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Sure thing," Patrick agreed, collecting our menus. "I'll have some garlic bread out to you in just a moment."

"Thank you," Zoe said, with a bright smile.

He disappeared, and Zoe kicked me under the table.

"What was that for?" I asked, with a laugh.

"For lying about your dinner order," she accused, a smile tugging at the ends of her lips.

"I didn't lie," I defended. "I made a last minute decision after you called me predictable."

She rolled her eyes.

"Zoe?" a male voice asked behind me.

I turned to see Chris Johnson, a baseball player from Zoe's high school, approaching our table.

"Hey Chris," Zoe greeted, with a bright smile. She stood up and gave him a hug.

"Chris, this is Mason," Zoe said, with a smile in my direction. "I don't know if you two remember each other."

"Of course," Chris said, extending his hand in my direction.

"Nice to see you again," I greeted, shaking his hand.

"We missed you last night at the club," Chris said to Zoe.

I sipped on my diet coke, raising my eyebrows at Zoe.

"Oh I'll definitely be back next week," Zoe promised. "I just got a little preoccupied because Mason came into town yesterday."

"Alright, well I'll let you two get back to your date," Chris promised. "It was nice seeing you again Mason." He disappeared around the corner, headed towards the restrooms.

"It's not what you think," Zoe accused.

"What do I think?" I asked, innocently.

Inside jealousy was raging, and I was ready to punch Chris Johnson in the face for casually referring to Zoe as if they were old friends.

"I go to the Karaoke Club on Friday nights sometimes," Zoe said, stirring her water, "and Chris and some of his baseball buddies hang there too."

"The Karaoke Club?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her. "You mean that joint that just opened up downtown?"

She nodded. "It's a big hit with the seniors."

I nodded, still sipping on my diet coke.

A smile spread across Zoe's face. "Are you jealous?"

"No."

"You totally are."

"I'm not jealous of Chris Johnson," I said, with a smirk. "I mean, does he even lift?"

"That's such a guy thing to say."

"Well I am a guy."

She rolled her eyes, a smirk still on her face.

I pulled out my PDM as Patrick brought some garlic bread around.

Zoe munched on some garlic bread as I checked my blood sugar.

"Do you want to know what I think?" Zoe asked.

"I'm not sure that I do," I teased.

"I think that we should set Amy up."

I raised my eyebrows at her. "Set Amy up? Like with a guy?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, with a unicorn princess. Yes with a guy you idiot."

My blood sugar came in at 149, and I bolused for some garlic bread before munching on some.

"Hurtful," I accused, pointing my garlic bread at her.

"You have a whole track team full of guys," Zoe continued, "find one."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I'll just do that."

"Good."

I shook my head, laughing. "You're full of Zoe Baker, you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you've already mentioned that before."

I rolled my eyes. "You're lucky that I love you."

She leaned across the table and kissed me. "And I love you."

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So what did you think of Zoe & Mason's mini-fight? Who was in the right? And what about the Walker party, sounds fun, eh? And Ethan ruining Mason & Zoe's moment? You had to know that was coming :P And then what about Mason & Zoe's date?

Feel free to make banners & covers for this story! Send them to fromwattpad@gmail.com

Teaser: Zoe's POV! Mason spends one last day with the Walkers, mainly Zoe.

Update: Wednesday