Zachary

Chapter Twenty-Two

No excuses. Again.

For those of you reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart-- for not giving up on Zachary...

For not giving up on me. 

And now, I sit here, humbly asking for your forgiveness.

Love always and forever,

Chels.

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

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Bryce was nonexistent for the time being and Claire, without trying to be obvious, obviously tried to avoid me and my watchful eye the rest of the day. Word spread like wildfire and the rest of my friends questioned me here and there about the events that had transpired earlier that morning, but I waved them all off and just said it was nothing.

But it wasn’t nothing.

My mind had given up trying to solve trig-functions and deciphering why Othello was such a messed up guy. In all of my classes, I could do nothing but think about Bryce’s angrier alter ego, and why he had something to do with Claire’s weird moods these past few weeks. And then there was the shit that had happened in the bathroom. What the hell was that? What did the two people who were once my closest friends know that I didn’t? I needed to figure it out, because it either indirectly or directly affected me.

But how?

Bryce was out of the question. And Claire was… well, Claire. If she didn’t want me to know, I sure as hell wasn’t going to find anything out from her. I needed to do this on my own, which scared the shit out of me. I’m no detective. Heck, I can’t even find socks to wear half the time, let alone figure out what happened on a night over a year and a half ago.

Sitting in my last hour class, I decided not to think about it for the rest of the day. My detective work would have to begin tomorrow, because my mind and I were dead exhausted. Suddenly, I remembered that I no longer had a ride home.

Right.

I sent my mom a quick text, asking her to come pick me up after school.

Within 20 minutes, I was sitting in my mom’s car, and we were making small talk. She asked me why Bryce couldn’t give me a ride home and I lied and told her his truck was in the shop. Then she asked about Claire, and I lied again and told her she was home sick all day.

Not once did my mom mention finding a strange boy sleeping in my bed, so I guess that was a good sign.

Phew.

Soon enough, I was standing on my driveway, my eyes cautiously looking up to my window. Everything looked still, and I wondered if Zach was still up there. I really wanted him to be. After the day I had, I just wanted to see and talk to him. My feet started guiding me into the house.

“I have to take Hayley to the dentist in like 30 minutes, and your dad has to work later,” my mom announced, following close behind me.

“Mhhm,” I nodded, not really focused on much except getting up to my room. Excitement rushed over me and it took every ounce of my self-restraint not to burst into a full run right there. Without even glancing back at my mom, I continued the trek through the house and to the staircase. I had gotten halfway up when my mom’s concerned voice halted me in my tracks.