Dark Green

Chapter 32

"My mother is very nervous, she is already starting to think about what she is taking and organize millions of activities"

Zac and I laugh in unison. The waitress comes back and let our coffees on the table.

"Maybe I'll go to your house for breakfast on Sunday"

With one breath, I remove the smoke coming out of my coffee cup. I'll have to wait a while if I don't want to burn the whole mouth. Zac is surrounding the cup with his hands to warm the palms of this.

"I'll tell my mother so she can bake something special"

He smiles back.

"My father has gone to New York for the remainder of the month so I'll be alone the next week" he explains.

The blond boy stares across the table and stir his hair. It seems he has created a wall to protect the continuous disappointments of his father but, sometimes, that wall doesn't seem to be enough to keep him strong.

"You can come to my house anytime, you know it"

He looks up again with sad eyes. I hate seeing him like this, it reminds me of when we were little and we hid in a small fort away from the adult world without shouting or problems, but that didn't remove the sadness in his body.

"I will"

I smile before taking a sip of my coffee cup. It is still very hot but not enough to burn.

"You could sleep one of these days in my house, like a sleepover" He proposes.

I look with joke in the eyes. He cannot be serious.

"You must be kidding" I say with a stupid grin.

He removes the cup from his lips again and leaves it on the table. The sadness in his eyes is completely gone.

"I am serious. It will be fun, like when we were kids"

I giggle helplessly. I cannot believe he is saying seriously that he wants a 'party' together at his place. I thought that adolescence phase had past though, on second thought, it's not a bad idea. He needs someone to talk to and I do too. In addition, we would be alone at his home watching movies or just talking. It does not seem a bad plan after all.

"Doesn't sound so bad" I admit.

His smile gets bigger. I take the cream cup to my lips and take a longer sip than the other one. My stomach heats quickly making me feel much better.

"I think you have something to tell me"

I frown and avoid biting my lower lip. I should have known that the issue was going to appear in the chat but I'm still in time to deflect it.

"Oh yeah, my brother told me that he's looking forward to going to your place and see your cars"

Zac rolls his eyes. Lying or hiding isn't my thing.

"Come on, Quinn. You're trying to hard"

I sigh and look at the marked wooden table. I run my fingers over the engravings on wood trying to calm my rapid heart beat.

"I don't want to talk about it" I confess.

I have to push Harry out of my mind and lock him in a room from which he will never leave. I know I owe Zac too many explanations after his confrontation with him in the parking lot of the university but I don't have the desire or the humor.

" I don't know what may be going on between you but it seems like he isn't a very reasonable person" he says.

My body becomes tensed.