Wait For Me

Chapter 14.

What existing patience I had remaining was extinguished as soon as that sentence fell out of his mouth. If he was joking, it was the worst kind of prank he could possibly pull but if he was serious it was even worse.

"Are you insane?" I asked with gritted teeth and ripped my hands away from his grasp, careful not to raise my voice too high above the chattering customers and clinks of coffee cups to prevent drawing attention to our table.

His face did not change in response to my question. "I need you to listen to me."

I placed my palms flat on the table and stood up, ready to leave. "I need you to listen to me, Zach. Let's recap - you have strolled back into my life after four years as if we can just pick up where we left off and then when I begin open back up to you, then I find out that you lied, you didn't wait for me. You're engaged and to make it worse, you didn't even say anything! It was your mother, the bitter old crone, of all people, who told me!"

"Lou-"

His attempt to speak was futile; there was no stopping me.

"I waited for you! I waited. All of that time and you not only slept with someone else, you got engaged to her. I waited for nothing. How am I supposed to trust a single word you say?" I said, my words morphing into a broken whimper as a warm tear trickled a path down my cheek. I swiped it away as quick as it came. "So, after disappearing on me, again, are you seriously going to sit there and ask me to work for your fucking fiancee and act as though it doesn't mean anything? That I'll go along with whatever you say? What is wrong with you? I am done with your mind games."

I was so furious my body was almost vibrating with rage and I had the urge to fling my scolding vanilla latte in his face. I was panting from the collective rant of words that had fired from my mouth and I could feel every pair of eyes in the room fixed on the slice of drama I had gave them. Zach rose from his seat and moved around the table to stand in front of me. His large frame dwarfed my own as always and I hated how vulnerable I must have looked in that moment.

"I'm sorry I-"

He lifted a hand to my face and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I recoiled from his unwanted touch, swatting him away.

"Don't touch me," I said with utmost venom dripping from my tone, lifting my bag from the floor and pushing past him to get out of the cafe.

Well aware that he had decided to follow me outside, I refused to stop as I stormed down the street. It really was no surprise he caught up to me with a few large strides, given his superior height and long legs, and he grabbed my upper arm gently so I was compelled to face him.

"What?"

"I love you," he said, his ebony eyes begging me to stare back into them, "I never stopped loving you. I know you don't believe me. I know what it looks like. I would be lying if I said I can remember what happened that night with Gabriella but I woke up fully clothed. If anything did happen, I can't remember it and I know that doesn't right the wrong. Even if I don't remember doing something that doesn't mean I'm not accountable. I should have told you sooner. I was afraid. Afraid of this, of you hating me. I'm a drunk... I was really, really drunk. I blacked out. If anything did, I never meant for it to happen."

"People get drunk, that doesn't mean they sleep with someone every time, it's not a valid excuse. I'm not going to give you a free pass. " I snapped at him.

"No," he said, exhaling slowly as he lowered his head before locking eye contact once again and for the first time he looked truly lost. The confident, devilish man I knew seemed hollow and non-existent. His large hand took my own and he lead me into the alleyway beside the cafe which I could only guess was an attempt to gain a sense of privacy from our public environment. "What I meant is, I'm an alcoholic, Lou. I drank to cope. I drink to cope. God, it's pathetic."