Finley shot out of bed and called Corbyn as soon as she sent the comment. He picked up on the third ring.
"Corb, have you seen it?" Finley asked as she pulled some socks on.
"Yeah, whatta bitch," He replied anger lacing his words
"Is Zach home? Has he seen yet?"
"He's home, but I don't think he's–"
"Good, I'm on my way," She hung up just as she grabbed her purse from the counter and dashed out the door, tossing a goodbye to nobody over her shoulder. She slammed the door behind her and rushed out to her car. Throwing her bag in the passenger seat, she started the car and raced out of her driveway.
Finley made it to the boys' house in ten minutes (five minutes less than it should have taken) and ran from her car to the front door. Before she had the chance to knock, Jonah opened the door, looking grim.
"He just saw it," He said, then gestured towards the stairs. "At least, I think so. He just went upstairs without saying anything. You should probably go check on him, second room on the right."
Finley nodded and turned to make her way up the stairs. She made it up very quickly and knocked on Zach's door. When there was no answer, she walked in anyway. Zach stood, leaning up against the wall and staring out his window. He looked vacant and tired, and his normally bright eyes were dull and sad. He glanced over briefly as she entered, then turned back away.
"If you're here to say I told you so–" Finley cut him off.
"No," She crossed the room and stood next to Zach next to the window, careful to leave him space. "Saying that never even crossed my mind. I care about you Zach, I'd never want you to get hurt."
He looked at Finley for a moment, and then his eyes softened, showing sadness and regret, "I'm sorry. I threw away what we had for her because I thought that if she loved me then I'd really made it, you know? I can't believe I trusted her. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me, you know?"
Finley stared at Zach for a moment, then shuffled closer to him and slowly, cautiously wrapped an arm around his back. The boy slightly leaned into her, so she placed her head on his shoulder and he rested his head on top of hers.
"You know what she told me? The first time we broke up?" Zach asked after a moment, Finley shook her head, "She said I'd never make it," His voice wavered slightly, but he cleared his throat and continued. "She said people like me never go anywhere and that maybe one day I'll understand how impossible it is to love me, and I know that's not true but it still just got to me. When she came back into my life I thought I could prove to myself that she could love me and I'd feel better about myself. It's stupid, I know..."
"No," Finley replied firmly just as Zach trailed off and turned his gaze back to the window. "I don't think it's stupid. I want you to know that you have people who are so proud of you and care about you for you, not your follower count. That kind of stuff shouldn't matter and it genuinely sucks that there are people who go out of their way to use others like that. I couldn't even put myself in that frame of mind if I tried."
"I know," Zach said, pulling Finley closer to him. "I had a little bit of time to think before you got here. I thought if she could love me, I'd feel better about myself, but I realized she never would have been able to do that for me. You can. You have. When I'm with you, I feel alive and happy and strong. I feel like I'm enough. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and I'm sorry I threw away what we had. I still want that, I still need that, I just need some–"
"Time," Finley finished, pulling away and starting towards the door. "Of course. You should take some. It's important."
"But that doesn't mean I don't want you to stay," Zach interjected quickly, and Finley stopped. "Please. Unless you don't want to..."
She walked back towards Zach, then slowly and deliberately wrapped her arms around his neck. Zach let go of a deep breath he didn't know he had been holding, and snaked his arms around Finley's waist. She looked him directly in the eyes and leaned forward, placing her lips on his gently. Caught off guard, Zach's eyes widened, but he quickly closed them and deepened the kiss.
After a few seconds, they pulled away, tears falling from Zach's eyes but a smile wider than ever. Finley wiped his tears away with her thumbs and pulled him back in for a hug. He buried his face in her shoulder and took a deep breath in, never losing his wide grin. He was safe. He was home.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
wc // 867
well, the tea's been spilt
i'm excited to continue on with this now :)))
tysm for 875 reads !!!!! im s p e e c h l e s s 😭😭
i'll update again soon 💓💓
-L
