The Light of His Life (Zak Bagans Fanfiction)

Chapter 25 - When Did You Plan?

I woke up in Zak's arms, my head resting against his rising-and-falling chest. The sunlight flooded into the room, pouring over the two of us. 

"Morning, beautiful," Zak grumbled, stroking my hair. I smiled.

"Hi, Zak." 

"How'd you sleep?" 

"Like a baby. And you?" 

"I couldn't sleep," he started, "I was too busy watching you." My cheeks flushed.

"I bet you're tired, then."

"Not at all. I have all the energy in the world when you're with me." 

"Zak, you're too sweet for me."

"Nah. We've got to get you back to campus though, don't we?"

"Unfortunately," I moaned, burying my face in his chest. He smelled so good. The two of us got up and got ready for the day. It was bittersweet, and I knew it wasn't our last morning together, but nonetheless. We stood side-by-side in the bathroom as we brushed our teeth. As I washed my face, Zak brushed my hair. I helped him style his hair to the best of my ability, which wasn't much considering how much taller he is than I am. We also got dressed together, which was honestly so romantic. Zak clasped my bra for me and I buttoned his jeans. 

We both strolled downstairs and fixed breakfast. Zak made scrambled eggs while I made pancakes. Together we made smoothies with strawberries, bananas, and coconut milk. We sat at the counter, savoring our what would be our last breakfast together for quite a while. 

The two of us made breakfast as long as we could. We drank our smoothies so slowly that they began to melt, and our food got cold. It was obvious that neither of us wanted to be away from each other, but we both knew I needed to go back and tell Amanda the truth. Even if I didn't end up confessing, I had classes on Monday. I had to get back to the rest of my life. 

Once our plates were clear, Zak and I sat facing each other on the barstools.

"I don't want to take you home," he said.

"I don't want you to."

"Then stay."

"You know I can't. Life on Zak's island has been quite the paradise, but it's time for me to go back to reality," I stated, getting up and bringing the dishes to the sink. Zak followed with our glasses. 

"One day, I hope to make living together a reality," Zak declared, wrapping his arms around me as I washed our plates. 

"Slow down, cowboy," I chuckled.

Before I knew it, Zak and I were sitting in his SUV at the front gate of campus. Butterflies were dancing in my stomach and I was glued to the seat.

"I don't know if I can face her, Zak. She's going to hate me."

"That's not true and you know it. I'd walk you to your dorm, but I don't want to make it any worse for you." He took my hand and gave it a squeeze. I leaned over and kissed him, completely unaware of how long it would be until I'd taste him again. 

I opened the car door and got out. With my duffle bag and purse hung over my back, I blew a kiss to Zak and closed the door. With my back to the car, I began walking towards my dorm. Once again, I dreaded how far my dorm was from main campus. It only made facing Amanda worse. With each step, anxiety grew inside me. It was a deep, dark pit of fear that twisted and turned inside my gut like an underground rollercoaster. The ride stopped abruptly when I opened the door to my room, to see Amanda standing in the center of the room.

"When did you plan on telling me?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 

My heart dropped into my stomach. I felt like I had instantly gained 100 pounds. My legs felt like jello and I needed to sit down. I wasn't going to, though. I had to face the music. I took a deep breath and looked at Amanda. While it may have looked like she was crying, she wasn't. She was angry. Disappointed. 

"Today," I said, taking my bags and placing them on my bed. 

"After dating him for almost two months?" 

"You're right. Amanda, I am so sorry. I wanted to tell you, but every time I tried a lump formed in my throat and I couldn't talk. I was so afraid of hurting you because I knew how much you liked Zak."

"Afraid of hurting me? You're kidding, right? You do know that by not telling me, you've only made this worse? I mean, yeah I would have been mad that you and Zak were dating but I saw how he looked at you when we went out with them. I would have gotten over it, especially if I knew you two were happy. But no! You had to sneak around my back. And don't think I was that easily fooled because I wasn't. When you told me you had a date with 'Alex,' I thought it sounded fishy. So I asked around. You have no Alex's in any of your classes, not even girls with that name!"

"Amanda, I-"

"Let me finish!" She exclaimed. I stepped back. She had every right to be mad. 

"I thought that maybe he just saw you across campus and came up to you, this Alex character. I did my best to rationalize that. So I just went with it. You were my best friend, you wouldn't lie to me! That was my logic. I can't believe I thought that bullshit. Once break rolled around, I realized that you weren't being honest with me. Every time I asked about Alex you'd either ignore my questions or give vague, empty answers, which is very unlike you. 

"I kind of gave up at that point. I realized that if you didn't notice me creating distance between us, it wasn't worth it. Some part of me at that point was hoping you come clean because I didn't want to lose you. But you lost my trust. Last night I saw a bunch of Snapchat stories full of TriDelts at a pool party, but what really threw me off is when I saw a video of you and Zak kissing in the pool. To say I lost my shit was an understatement. 

"I can't believe you, Solina. Why would you ever lie to me? We've known each other practically since birth. I'd never do this to you. Why did you do it to me? What did I do to deserve this? Huh? I've done nothing but be honest, and kind, and open-minded with you all these years, and you lie to me? I mean hey, little white lies have happened, but this is far from that. This is a big, black hole of a dishonesty."

Tears streamed down Amanda's face as she stood her ground against me. I wanted to apologize, but I knew it wouldn't do anything right now. Yeah, this was all my fault. But I had to let Amanda blow off steam. When Amanda gets mad, it's a big deal. She's only like this once a year. I grabbed my stuff and left. I called an uber and headed to Zak's house. Hopefully, he'd be able to host me a few more days. 

Once I got there, I walked up to the front door and knocked. Through the crystal glass, I saw a small frame of a woman who I assumed was Zak's assistant. Boy, was I wrong.

"Solina? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question." Zak appeared in the doorway next to her. His eyes widened. 

"S-Solina, I didn't know you'd be back so soon," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"When did you plan on telling me about her?" I asked. 

"It's not what you think!" She said.

"Screw you, Molly." I turned on my heels and walked away. As I stormed off the property, Molly tried following me but I ran down the block and left her. I fucking hate karma. 

I got back to the dorm and thankfully Amanda was gone. I crawled into bed under the covers and cried. I felt so alone. I screwed up, big time. I lied to Amanda, my best friend since birth. I bombed my pre-calculus midterm, my first grade below a C since grade school. I gave away my virginity to a bastard pervert who cheated on me with my own friend. 

I got up to grab tissues off my desk when I realized, hanging across the back of my desk chair, was Zak's bomber jacket from our first date. I had never given it back. I put it on, letting Zak's cologne engulf me. I climbed back into bed and fell asleep, hoping that this was all a dream.

~~~

Ya'll like the plot twist? I had this up my sleeve since like, Chapter 3. HEHEHEHE. The story is almost done, too (I think)! I want to write a second one that focuses more on a paranormal antagonist. Would you guys like that?