Changing You ✦ 𝑍.𝐷.𝐻.

Chapter 27 {Z}

Sucking in a deep breath, I loosened the grip of my arms around her and leaned back.

Her warm brown eyes landed on my tearstained face.

I let my eyes flutter shut as she placed her hands on my cheeks, softly brushing the tears away with her thumbs.

The corners of my mouth tugged up slightly and I opened my eyes again to look at her. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I licked my lips quickly. "Do you know what girl I love the most in the whole entire world?"

She nodded right away, causing me to smile a little brighter. "Oh yeah? Who?" I asked her.

She tilted her head slightly. "What was her name again? Oh wait, I remember!"

I furrowed my eyebrows, scanning over her face. Since when did she forget about her own name?

"It's Riley, isn't it?" She smiled proudly.

My smile faded and my face fell instantly. I knew she didn't mean to hurt me, but the name that rolled over her lips made me feel like I was being stabbed in the heart repeatedly.

"N-no, no." I swallowed and forced a smile back onto my face. I couldn't get my eyes to follow. "It's you, silly. You mean the absolute world to me."

Her smile grew. With twinkling eyes, she kissed my cheek. Careful not to hurt my wrist again, she lied down like before. "I love you, Zachy."

Lowering myself as well I positioned myself back next to her, arms around her and her head on my chest. "I love you so so much more, Reesey," I smiled, looking down at her and softly stroking the hair out of her face.

Closing her eyes and with a smile plastered on her face she snuggled her head in the crook of my neck, forgetting all about the bad dream she had had.

I watched her fall asleep.

When I was sure she wasn't awake anymore, I leaned over and turned off the light.

Exhaling deeply, I let my head fall back on the pillow, hoping that my sister's presence would finally enable me to fall asleep.

~ ☾~

"Zach," someone whispered. "Yo, Zach," louder this time, followed by a sigh. "Dude, are you still alive? Hello, wake up."

I let out a groan, burying my head further into the pillow. "Ryan, I will throw my lamp at your head if you don't let me sleep," I grumbled, firmly keeping my eyes closed to block out the sunlight that shone into the room.

"Nah, you wouldn't. It would cost you too much effort," Ryan responded somewhat amused.

"True," I chuckled softly. Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I turned onto my back. "What time is it?"

"Just past nine. Dad wants to talk to you."

Going with my hand through my messed up hair, I sat up. It took my eyes a few seconds to get adjusted to the light. "I'll be down in a minute," I told Ryan, who was standing in the doorway.

He nodded and closed the door behind him as he left the room again.

My eyes landed on Reese's still sleeping figure, making a soft smile form on my face.

Silently, I climbed over her and out of bed, careful not to wake her up.

She moved and mumbled something, but her eyes stayed closed and she remained asleep.

Throwing on a basic black hoodie, I made my way over to the bathroom, not bothering to change my joggers for jeans.

I found myself staring at my reflection in the mirror. My still somewhat bloodshot eyes stared back at me, dark circles decorating the skin underneath them due to my lack of sleep.

I looked like a zombie with my colour drained face and the dark bruise on my cheekbone that Daniel's fist had left behind.

Releasing a heavy breath, I looked away and leaned over the sink, throwing some water in my face.

I dried off my face, went with my hands through my hair to make myself look more presentable and took off the bandaids from my wrists.

I bit my lip at the sight of the claw marks. There were five on each wrist. Luckily, they had stopped bleeding and they weren't deep enough to require stitches.

Clenching my jaw together, I refreshed the bandaids. Then I slowly made my way downstairs, a knot forming in my stomach.

My dad was the only one downstairs, Ryan supposedly had gone back to his room.

"Morning, dad. How are you feeling?" I asked, avoiding his eyes as I sat down in a chair across from him.

"Would've been a lot better if I knew those creatures weren't still out there," he responded. Then I felt his eyes scan over me. "Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"

I pulled the sleeves of my hoodie further down, hiding my wrists. The only thing I couldn't hide was the bruise on my cheekbone from where Daniel had punched me. "No, I'm fine."

He let his gaze linger on me for a few seconds, but then he nodded. "Can you tell me what happened after that son of a bitch knocked me out?"

"Yeah, um, the girl in the trap? She knocked me off my feet and took my weapons from me. Then another one grabbed the remote from you and turned off the sound. After that they just ran off."

I purposely didn't mention their names and left out the part of Lexa almost killing me and Riley saving me.

"Just like that? They just let you live?" A frown was spread on my dad's face, which grew when I nodded.

"So did you recognise any of them?"

I took control over every little movement I made, because I knew he was watching my reaction carefully. "No," I said while shaking my head and shrugging, making sure I didn't swallow, didn't turn my eyes away from him, or didn't do anything else that told him I was lying.

I couldn't tell if he bought it or not.

"The other girl knew you," he stated, making me bite my inner cheek. "The girl who wasn't in the trap. She said your name. It seemed like you knew her as well."

I shrugged once more, "I have no idea. Maybe she goes to my school. I, uh, well, I've got quite the reputation you know, being the new kid and all. More people know me than I know them."

The weak cover-up made my dad narrow his eyes at me. "You're not lying to me, are you son?" He asked sharply, making my blood freeze.

I licked my lips quickly. "Why would I be lying?" I asked back, looking him directly in the eyes. "I want them dead as much as you do."

"Then why did you hesitate?" He asked me, his eyes not leaving mine for a second.

I swallowed.

"You had a clean shot. Why didn't you take it?" He continued as I stayed silent.

My heartbeat sped up as I desperately tried to come up with something to talk me out of this one.

My mind stayed blank.