ᴛᴏᴏ ʏᴏᴜɴɢ » ᴢᴀᴄʜ ʜᴇʀʀᴏɴ

Chapter Twenty-Four

June 5, 2018

Maeve glanced up from her salad, eyes catching on Zach sitting across the room with Jack. They were talking, oblivious to her attention on them.

She put her fork down, not even having an appetite to begin with.

The night had been full of nothing but tossing and turning, playing the scene over and over again in her head. It was the closest they'd ever been to one another; every time, she could still feel the weight seeping into her bones when they were interrupted.

Getting up at the break of dawn, she was terrified, not knowing what to expect with facing Zach. Turns out she didn't really have to.

They hadn't spoken, and he hadn't met her eyes all day.

There were too many emotions—dread, doubt, and fear dragging her down relentlessly.

Having enough, she stood, leaving the backstage room without a word. Zach watched her go.

She walked through empty winding hallways to the stage area of the venue. When she stood in the sound booth, she knew she needed to calm herself down. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to focus for the show in the evening.

Placing her hands on her hips, she allowed her chin to dip towards her chest. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, and she stayed there for a long while. But it wasn't enough. When she straightened, her vision was blurry.

She sighed loudly, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes as she slid down to the floor by the back wall.

And then she allowed herself to acknowledge the worst.

Maybe he got caught up in the moment. Her words had been powerful, so what if he was moved when he was right there in front of her to do something he would've regretted? Maybe that's why he couldn't look her in the eye, because he didn't have any idea how to tell her he didn't feel the same way about her.

She knew better than anyone that falling for your best friend doesn't mean they'll fall for you too.