Zachary

Chapter Fifteen

GAH. A little later than promised, but here you go.(:

This chapter took me a little longer than expected to write. Hopefully you guys will think it was worth it though. I think it was.

Anywho, enough with my little commentary. I'm gunna let you go read.

Enjoy!

xoxo.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

            We stood like that for a good five minutes until I calmed down enough to form a complete sentence. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Bryce’s chest and wiped my eyes with the sleeves on Zach’s jacket. It was hard to tell in the darkness but I was pretty sure I saw some wetness on Bryce’s face too.

“Come on,” Bryce said, emotionless. He had completely shut down. With an arm wrapped around my waist, he led me to his car and we wordlessly got in. Silence surrounded us as he started the car and we drove away. Pulling out of the parking lot, I turned around in my seat to get one last look at Conrads.

I had a feeling we weren’t going to be going back for a while.

Bryce’s hand reached out and grabbed my own, startling me. We drove on in silence. After a while, he sighed.

“Are you okay?” He looked over at me quickly. Noticing a tear running down my cheek, he reached out and wiped it away. I shook my head.

“Not really. I’m gunna miss her.” I looked down at my lap and closed my eyes. Bryce responded by squeezing my hand tighter. I opened my eyes and looked over at him. “How about you?”

But I already knew his answer.

His eyes stayed glued to the road. He didn’t answer me at first but he slowly opened his mouth and spoke.

“I honestly don’t know.”

What did he mean by that?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to ask him.

“Can we go back to your house and hang out for a little bit?” he blurted out. I looked at the clock on the dashboard.

3:07 AM. I shuddered. God, it was late. As much as I wanted to cuddle up next to him and talk until morning, I knew it wasn’t the best idea. It was a Sunday—well, now Monday morning and my parents would be up in a couple of hours. I shot Bryce an apologetic glance.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” I frowned. He gave me one of the saddest looks I had ever seen and my heart shattered.

“Are you sure?” he said softly, turning his eyes back to the road. “I’m in such a weird mood right now. I don’t want to be alone.”

I didn’t know what to say. He was making me feel so bad about saying no. I desperately thought about what to do. I hated feeling guilty and seeing him so upset and vulnerable made me cringe. Besides, I was feeling depressed about the thing with Merrel and decided it would be nice to comfort each other. I honestly had no other choice.

“Fine,” I gave in. He looked over at me, his eyes bright once again, and gave me a huge smile that stretched from ear to ear. “But you can only stay for an hour.”

He nodded in approval and squeezed my hand excitedly.

“An hour with my baby is better than nothing. Any second I can spend with you is worth it.” He leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. I scolded him and reminded him to keep his eyes on the road. He obeyed.