I Found You, Something Told Me To Stay - (Jason Berry/Zacky Vengeance)

Chapter Thirty-Eight.

I said no more and began to silently follow him. I was in such a state that I had no clue where I was, but things were starting to look familiar. It’d turned out that I’d run further than I thought, and we were actually pretty near to Zacky’s house.

“So what happened, exactly?” He asked me, strolling closely by my side. If it weren’t for the fact that he was also drenched through, I’d probably have tried my luck and edged a little closer.

“I just got tired...left early...ended up getting lost on my way home.” I lied again, quickly looking for a change in subject. Now that I was cooling down already, it was getting pretty cold, and I frantically rubbed at my arms. “I’m freezing.”

“Right. Okay.” His tone held pure disbelief, though he didn’t question my story any further as he shrugged out of his jacket, handing it to me. “Here.”

I felt kind of guilty, knowing he must’ve been just as cold, but I pulled his jacket on anyway. I instantly noticed his pleasant scent that lingered on the item of clothing, and a smile tugged at my lips.

“Thanks...” I murmured, pulling the jacket tighter around myself and pulling the zipper up.

He smiled back at me, casually shrugging. “Rather me than you.”

My smile widened just as we wandered down his street and up his driveway. My lip was so bust right now that it actually hurt to smile, but I couldn’t help it. Zacky just had that effect on me.

He proceeded to unlock his front door, standing back and allowing me to step inside before him. I politely kicked off my shoes in the foyer, then casually wandering through to his living room like it was my own home. I would’ve sat down if it weren’t for the wet clothing that was covering my body.

The house was pretty cold from where Zacky had been out, and my soaked clothes weren’t helping. I continued to shiver, my teeth chattering as I stood, hoping to warm myself up somehow.

“Still shivering away, I see.” Zacky pointed out with a concerned frown, as he wandered through to the living room, just like I had.

I didn’t want him to worry like he evidently was, but it seemed like a bit of a pointless statement to make. Of course I was shivering.

“I’m soaked...” I replied, my voice coming out way quieter and raspier than I’d expected it to. The crying had obviously caused that.

“Yeah...you should take a shower.” He nodded. “It’ll warm you up.”

A shower sounded really good right now, but I continued to shuffle there awkwardly.

“You don’t mind?” I asked stupidly. I wasn’t even sure why I said it, considering I had taken a shower in his house before. It was just the first thing that happened to roll off of my tongue.

“Of course not.” He frowned again. “You’re family.”

My smile at that was a little less genuine. Since the kiss, it’d been extremely hard to remember the fact that he was my uncle who had no recollection of the kiss whatsoever. Every time the “you’re family” card was played, I felt a little disappointed.

“I’ll be right back.” I told him, shrugging his jacket off and handing it back to him, before making my way upstairs to shower.

The hot water did me wonders, and I was feeling better already. I’d not dared to look in the mirror before I’d got in, and I wasn’t going to do so when I got out. I could only imagine what I looked like—my hair all wet, my makeup either completely washed off or smudged beneath my eyes, and my eyes all puffy from my crying. Not to mention the unattractive side of my lip that was bust. I didn’t want to see my reflection.