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zach was on the door step with miles in his arms and jack behind him. it was now dark, probably around 8 p.m. and the family of three had just gotten to the herron household. saying the day was great was an understatement. it was greater than great. it was probably the best time zach has had in a while. 

"thanks for taking us out," said the nineteen year old, smiling at his ex. the other returned the gesture. 

"hey, no problem." he looked at the ground and sighed through gritted teeth. "you know, zach," he paused. "i think we should talk about what happened back there."

"jack, there's nothing to talk about," he responded, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "it was just a kiss." 

just a kiss, zach? really?

"right." jack's eyes had gone from happy to sad real quick after hearing those harsh words. "i guess i better go. it's getting late and my friends are probably wondering where i am." he walked backwards, giving zach a sad smile before turning around and walking to his car. 

"bye, jack," he whispered, making it unable for the older male to hear. he walked inside the house, being greeted by his family. 

"back so soon?" myta asked, standing up to hug her son. 

"mom, it's not that soon." he raised an eyebrow. mrs.herron only ignored her son and awed at miles. 

"here, i'll take him up to his room." she tooked miles from zach after he kissed his forehead. "we're playing a game." 

"actually, mom, i need to talk to you. i'll go with you to tuck miles in," he said, earning a nod from his mother as a response. she began walking with zach following close behind her. they entered miles' room, where he grabbed his child's pj's and changed him into them, surprised that the little boy didn't wake up. 

"what a heavy sleep he is. much like his other dad," myta said, raising both eyebrows at zach and gently hitting him on the chest. the nineteen year old cleared his throat. "right. what did you want to talk about, sweetie?" she asked, tucking miles in. zach sat by his son's feet and looked up at his mom. 

"i kissed jack," he confessed, fighting the urge to smile. myta had a surprised look on her face and she blinked a couple times, processing his words. 

"you kissed jack," she repeated. "wait, you kissed jack?"

"yeah." the young brunet bit his bottom lip. "i don't know, mom, it just felt right at the moment."

his mom sat next to him and focused on zach, who was looking down at his hands. "at the moment?"

"well, yeah, i mean, then i thought about daniel. like, i'm dating him, you know? and i kissed another guy, it's not fair to him." he thought about what he was going to say next. "but i don't regret kissing jack." he smiled. 

myta shifted in her spot. "i don't know, honey. i can't really help you here. i can't choose who you love. that's on you. you just have to ask yourself: who makes reality better than your dreams?" zach furrowed his eyebrows, not comprehending what his mom just told him. 

"what?"

"just remember that, zach. now come on, let's go play some games." she smiled and stood up. they both walked downstairs and joined their family. 

---

days have past since the trip to the forest preserve. zach had rarely gone out due to the fact that miles had gotten extremely sick, his body temperature skyrocketing. his friends and daniel have been visiting to make sure the little boy was okay. he didn't seem to get any better as the days passed, which made the little boy's dad worried. 

daniel was over, he was there to help zach relax although he wasn't too relaxed himself. he was also worried about miles; even though daniel wasn't his real dad, he still cared for the small child as if he were his own son. 

"i can make him some soup if you'd like," he suggested, standing up from the couch. zach was half asleep, with his forearm over his eyes. he removed his arm and nodded at daniel. 

"thank you, that'd be nice," he said, expecting to earn at least a peck from daniel but he didn't. the younger male shook it off, after all, daniel's kisses weren't his main focus at the moment. 

not too long after daniel went into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. zach sighed and got up from the couch, kissing miles' hot forehead before walking towards the door. he opened it, revealing a concerned jack with a box of chocolates in his hand. 

"jack," zach said, immediately hugging him. at first, the curly haired man was taken aback, but soon enough, he hugged him too. 

"i got here as soon as i woke up," he stated, pulling away from the hug. "jeepers nuts, zach you look awful."

it was true, the lack of sleep made zach look dead. 

"here." he handed him the chocolates. "i figured you need something to help you relax and remembered that these were your favorite."

the younger male smiled at him and gladly took the box, letting him come in. as soon as jack saw miles on the couch, coughing, he felt a pain in his chest. 

"he's not getting better, is he?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the little boy. zach shook his head.

"no. he's been coughing all day and night. he's never gotten this sick. i took him to the doctor's the other day and they only said it was a common cold."

"more like an uncommon cold. heck, i don't even think this is a cold." jack had frustration in his voice. "is anyone else here?" he asked, looking at zach. 

"only daniel. my family went to the drug store to see what medicine they can find for him." he walked over to the couch and sat by miles' feet. jack soon followed and kneeled in front of the little boy's face. 

"hi, baby, how are you feeling?" he asked, giving him the brightest smile he can. 

"not good," miles replied, barely audible. jack felt his heart break a little, seeing him in pain made him feel horrible. 

"doesn't sound like a common cold to me." 

"i'm gonna go check up on daniel. tell me if anything happens." zach stood up and went into the kitchen where daniel was, stirring noodles in water. 

jack sighed and sat on the spot his ex was sat at not too long ago. he looked at the tv and then back at miles.

"i love sesame street," he stated, rubbing the little boy's leg. miles didn't answer, due to the fact that he was too tired to even speak.

they watched tv for a couple of minutes, jack glancing at the little kid once in a while, wondering what zach was doing. they hadn't touched the topic on their shared moment they had days ago. not that jack wanted to, anyway. it was 'just a kiss'.

jack glanced over at miles for what seemed like the millionth time in the past 10 minutes, this time taking time to focus on him. miles had his hands on his chest and a face showing suffocation.

jack's heart raced, he panicked and called zach immediately with worry in his voice. the younger male came in running, daniel behind him.

"what's wrong?" he asked. jack only looked at miles, making the nineteen year old do the same. "miles?" he said, running over. "miles? what's wrong, sweetie?"

no answer.

"he-he can't breathe," he said to himself. "he can't breathe for fuck's sake, call the ambulance or something!" he yelled, causing both of the other men to take their phones out.

"you call them," jack told daniel; he nodded and dialed in the number, stepping away from them.

"you're gonna be alright, miles, i promise." zach was bent down, kissing his son's forehead with tears in his eyes. "daniel!"

"th-they're on their way."

zach let his forehead touch miles', closing his eyes.

"you're gonna be okay, baby, you have to be."

•••

2 uPdaTes in a rOw?? in onE dAy??? who am i??

also don't hate me lolol

❝miles❞ - jachary [✔]Where stories live. Discover now