I lazily walked into the living room with Raymond following me. Fortunately Garrett wasn't home today which meant I could freely let Raymond in through the front door. It was a shitty day at school. Stacey went off to the beach with Joey so Raymond and I decided to just chill out.
As we approached the living room I heard some sounds that got louder as we entered. I spotted Mom sitting there with her face burried in her handkerchief and Sarah sat by her side with her arm around Mom's shoulder.
I went to them, "Mom?"
She looked at me and I saw her swollen eyes. She had been crying.
"Zach.." Was all she said and she started weeping again.
The earth beneath me shifted as I panicked.
Zach.
What happened to him?
"Mom? What's wrong? Tell me!"
"Clair called me. She said Zach ran away. She doesn't know where he is. And his phone is out of reach."
Thank God!
I let out the breath that I was holding.
"He's probably gone somewhere with his friends Mom. I know him well."
"No. All his friends are in New York. Only he is missing." Mom said between sobs.
"I think you should go and be with Clair," she added.
Are you kidding me right now? I wasn't going anywhere just because Mom wanted me to go. I knew Zach. He was a responsible guy. He wouldn't do anything foolish.
"Well, Dad's in New York. Why don't you ask him to do something?" I said in a loud voice.
"He's got work." She mumbled.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"HE'S GOT WORK!" She was now standing as she yelled at me.
"Right! As always, work is more important than family." I said disgustingly.
"This isn't about you, Ashley. It's about my sister!"
"Exactly Mom, your mouth bidden sister! Why the hell am I supposed to be worried?"
"Oh really? I thought you had a thing for Zach." Mom smirked.
I was furious now.
This lady can't be my mother. I hated her so much. How could her thoughts be so vile?
"Fúck you." I spitted out.
"Ashley!" Sarah, who quietly witnessed our fight, now said.
"Don't you dare get into this." I warned her through gritted teeth. She flinched and stepped back.
My phone rang. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket and picked it up.
"Clair! Hi," I said but she just started blabbering.
"Ash! Help me. I can't find him anywhere. I am so worried. Please do something. He was here yesterday night and today morning he's gone. He left a note saying 'I won't be back soon. Love you. Zach.' Ash please come to New York. Do something!" She cried.
"Clair, calm down. I'll call you back later." I looked at Mom.
"Please go." She pleaded.
How fake.
I turned towards Raymond who looked like he had just seen a ghost.
"Raymond?" My Mom said to him.
"Yes Mrs. Summers?" He cleared his throat and came forward.
"I think you should go with Ashley."
"No! He doesn't need to miss school because of us!" I told Mom.
"I would love to accompany you." He smiled at me.
My heart raced as I returned the smile. It was getting harder for me to stay around Raymond now that I felt attracted to him. The thought of going to New York with him gave me strange feelings.
I knew we didn't need to go.
I knew Zach was just fooling around somewhere.
I knew he'd be back soon.
But still, I wanted to go.
"Mom, he can't go. What about Blake?" I told Mom.
"Oh Blake can stay with us till then. Do you mind Raymond?"
"Uh, yeah. No problem," he said scratching the back of his neck.
"Okay. I am gonna let Aunt Clair know we're coming and I'll pack some clothes." I said and started walking towards the stairs before tuning to Raymond and asking, "You coming?"
He nodded and came after me.
I needed to talk to him.
"Ray, you don't have to come." I told him once we were in my room.
"I am cool with it as long as I get to spend time with you."
Wait. Did he just say he wanted to spend time with me?
"What do you mean?"
"Snow!" he cooed and held me by the shoulders making me sit on the edge of the bed, "I am coming with you. End of discussion."
He took my hand and kissed it gently making me flinch slightly at the touch.
I tried to keep calm and said, "Fine!"
I called Aunt Clair to inform her about it. She very generously booked flight tickets for the two of us which was in three hours. I packed a bag. Raymond and I then went to his place. I got Blake who wasn't ready to leave her house while Raymond packed his own bag with a few essentials.
"Ray, where are you going with her?" Blake asked in her all time bossy tone.
"I will be back in a few days." Was all he said and it made Blake so angry that she shouted, "I hate you!"
"What's with her?" I asked Raymond when Blake wasn't anywhere close.
"She doesn't like you Snow."
"Why?"
"Blake's very possessive of me. She thinks you'll steal me from her." He chuckled.
I let out a low snort at that.
I didn't want to steal him. I just wanted to make him mine.
We went back to the mansion and I said my goodbyes to Mom, Sarah and Mark.
I wondered where Jim was but then let the thought pass.
"Ready?" Raymond asked me.
"Positve." I said and we left for the airport.
"So tell me about Zach and Clair." Raymond said as we drove down the busy streets.
"Aunt Clair is Mom's best friend but they look like they're twins. I mean, they are really close to each other. As much as I hate my mother for being completely heartless, I cannot deny that she's a softie when it comes to Clair. As for Zach, he's Clair's only son and my childhood best friend. Which is why she's so worried about him."
"Right. Can I ask you something, Snow?"
"Yep."
"Why did Mrs. Summers say you had a thing for Zach?" He glanced at me.
My breath caught in my throat. I should have seen that coming.
Zach was the closest person I had. He knew everything about me.
Everything.
And as for why Mom said what she said.
I couldn't tell Raymond how she once saw him kissing my cheek when I was really upset and he comforted me.
I couldn't tell him how Mom always kept an eye on us whenever we sat alone on the porch of our house.
I couldn't tell him how she caught us walking on the beach holding hands.
Because he would take it in the wrong sense.
Just like Mom did.
I didn't want to go about shouting that there was nothing between me and Zach and that we only saw each other as friends and it was just that we were really close.
I didn't want to explain myself to anyone.
I heard Raymond clear his throat and I realised that I had just zoned out.
"You don't have to answer me. I'm sorry I even asked you that."
"It's okay Ray. Zach and I have been really close since childhood. And Mom thinks it's something more than simply friendship. That's all." I stated.
"I get it."
We reached the airport and boarded the flight once we cleared all the procedures. It was a six hours flight. I had plenty of time to think of where Zach would be and what he was up to.
As much as I knew Zach, this must be just another idea of his to have fun. He did this when we were younger. If he wasn't allowed to do something or go somewhere, he would run away and return only after he had successfully accomplished his wants. I wondered why his own mother failed to notice this habit of his.
Somewhere inside me, I was excited since I was going to meet Zach after a long time. I knew I would because I knew how I could contact him. I just had to wait till we reached New York.
I was also nervous. The kind of nervous when you go on your first date with a guy you have a huge crush on.
Okay, this was no where near to a date. But I would be with Raymond in a city like New York – where anything can happen – all alone, 24*7. Wasn't that something?
Well, it sure as hell was to me.
Raymond looked a bit tensed.
"What is it?" I nudged him.
"New York." He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
"Your Dad?"
He nodded. I took hold of his hand and interwined my fingers with his. He seemed to relax.
And so did I.
As he started making circles with his thumb on the back of my hand and said, "I'll take a nap."
"Yeah." I breathed out and rest my head on the seat.
A smile crept to my lips.
And I hoped everything would go well.