Bittersweet Chapter Fourteen
Zac sat outside and chewed his lip as he watched Liz off in the corner. It was Jude's birthday party and ever since waking up and getting ready for it they hadn't had time to talk anymore and now she had the nerve to seclude herself off into a corner with Tristin and Sara.
He'd be lying if he said he was thrilled with Tristin being here but understood that Gavin and Jude were friends. But he didn't understand his wife and her being so chummy with Tristin right in front of him and everyone else they knew. Yeah they were having problems but damn she didn't have to show it in front of everyone.
Standing up he walked over to where Liz was and he slid his arm around her waist. It was his way of showing Tristin she was his wife and for him to back off.
"How are things?" he asked as he eyed Tristin as he leaned in to leave a soft kiss on Liz's neck.
Liz shivered some as Zac kissed her neck and she tried to keep from blushing at his display of public affection with her. Yes behind closed doors before his cheating they had a very passionate sex life but they rarely showed much public displays of affection, mainly because she was shy to do so, even if she wasn't so shy on having sex in secluded places in public.
"Things are good," Liz smiled as she turned her head slightly to look at Zac. She could tell from the way he was eying Tristin that his actions now were purely to prove a point. He was jealous and for some reason she was turned on by it.
Zac nodded but stayed behind Liz eying Tristin the whole time. He could tell he was making the guy nervous and he liked that. He wanted Tristin to know his place. That Liz was not his wife and that for as much as he was concerned Liz was never going to be his wife.
As Liz went back to talking to Sara and Tristin, Zac zoned out until Liz finally pulled away and told him it was time for Jude to open his presents. Then Zac followed behind Liz and watched intently as his son opened his gifts. A smile formed as he watched how happy Jude was at everything he got, especially the gifts that had to do with Lord of The Rings. There was no denying that Jude was his son.
After that was done, Zac let Liz wonder off inside with a few of their friends and he went to go and find Taylor who was by the swing sets talking to Eleanor. "I didn't know you two had gotten so close," he said remembering that in California Eleanor could not stand Taylor.
Eleanor turned to face Zac, "Things have changed," she shrugged as she gave a tiny smile. "Taylor isn't that bad," she shrugged as she ran a hand through her red hair.
"And Eleanor isn't that much of a bitch," Taylor laughed as he shot Eleanor a look and she turned to face him, glaring. "Eleanor kind of knows who I am dating and she has been helping me."
Zac raised an eyebrow as he listened to Taylor, "Ah the lady who you took home last night? The one who you sometimes talk about but will never tell me her name," he sighed as he shook his head. "How did Eleanor figure it out?"
Eleanor blushed some at Zac's words, "I sort of caught them on a date," she nodded as she chewed on her lip.
Zac just nodded and took Eleanor's word. "Well I will try to pry it out of you eventually," he smirked as he turned and left Eleanor and Taylor by their selves again. Going towards his house he went inside and raised an eyebrow as he saw Sara standing off talking to his some of the other women Liz had came inside with but no Liz.
Walking over to them Zac looked down at Sara. "Where is my wife?" he asked as he locked eyes with his ex sister in law.
Sara looked at Zac hoping she didn't seem too nervous. "She went upstairs with Tristin," she whispered as she avoided Zac's gaze.
Zac made a face and shook his head. Pushing past Sara he headed upstairs where he heard voices coming from the room he shared with Liz. Feeling his anger starting to grow as he reached the room he opened the door and glared as he saw Liz and Tristin kissing.
"What the hell?!" Zac spat out and Liz and Tristin pull apart from the kiss. Liz looks utterly remorseful but Tristin has a smug look on his face. One that Zac wanted to wipe off or smack off, maybe smack.
Liz moved away from Tristin and shook her head, "I...he...I told him I didn't want to kiss him," she stammered as she glared at the man who was now smirking at Zac.
Tristin shrugged, "She wanted it, she is just denying it now that you are here," he winked as he kept eye contact with Zac.
Growling Zac charged into the room and went right for Tristin, his fist connecting with Tristin's eye hard. "You fucking bastard," he spat out as Tristin fell to the floor and Zac fell on top of him hitting him a few more times. "You ever touch my wife again and I will kill you."
Tristin pushed Zac off him and stood up, holding his face, his eye hurting and his nose bleeding. "Bastard," he yelled as he shook his head. "You are the one who ruined your marriage not me," he said before he left the room to go get Gavin and leave.
After Tristin was gone, Zac stood from the floor and looked over at Liz who was looking at him shocked. "How could you kiss him?" he asked harshly. "How could you bring him into our bedroom?"
Looking away from Zac Liz ran a hand through her hair, "I just wanted to talk to him somewhere privately. I wasn't expecting the kiss and when I saw him leaning in I said no but he kissed me anyway."
"But he did kiss you," Zac reasoned as he laughed feeling angry at Liz. "Maybe it's best you don't know what to do about our marriage because I'm not sure what I want to do now either," he frowned. "You just keep making dumb decisions."
Before Liz could say anything else, Zac walked out of the room and back downstairs, glad that no one had seemed to notice his fight with Tristin upstairs though some had probably seen the results of Tristin after the fight when he came down to get Gavin.
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A few hours later, Liz who had came back downstairs, looked at Zac as they stood in the kitchen cleaning up some of the mess from the party. The kids were both getting ready for bed upstairs so she knew they didn't have long to talk but maybe a few minutes would do.
"Are you going to keep giving me the cold shoulder?" she spoke up as she raised an eyebrow, her blue eyes boring into the side of his face.
Zac turned to look at Liz and he shrugged, "I might," he sighed as he broke the silence between them. "Does it matter to you if I do?"
Liz rolled her eyes at Zac's last statement. "Of course it matters to me. I hate this, being ignored by you."
"Then you shouldn't have allowed Tristin in our room," Zac stated as he made eye contact with Liz. "What do you think made him kiss you? Made him think it was okay too?"
Looking away from Zac, Liz knew he was right. "I'm sorry for making a dumb decision Zac," she whispered finally apologizing for her part in things. "I just..I guess I'm not thinking properly right now. I just I needed a friend to listen and Tristin was there."
Zac chewed his lip as he looked at her. "You are acting as if you slept with him," he said as his voice went low at that. "D..did you sleep with him?"
Liz chewed her lip as well, still unable to look at Zac, "No, but I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it. That before he forced a kiss on me I hadn't been considering having sex with him at some point in time."
At Liz's admission, Zac just looked down feeling a few tears stinging at his eyes, "I feel like I'm losing you Liz," he confessed as he looked up at her. "That you don't even want to fight for what we have. If you wanted to fight you wouldn't have been entertaining thoughts of sex with that asshole."
Seeing tears in Zac's eyes, Liz walked closer to him and rested her hand on his cheek, "I'm here Zac. You aren't losing me, not now, not ever," she whispered as she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips.
Zac pulled away from the kiss and looked at Liz, "No," he said not letting her get by with her admission so easy and then trying to kiss him. "I think maybe I should go stay with Taylor for awhile," he said knowing that Taylor's new place had one extra bedroom.
"I am going to go back get my bag. I will call you tomorrow," he told her as he left the kitchen and headed upstairs, where his bag was still in the bedroom. Before he picked it up he undid the necklace he wore around his neck with the wedding band around it.
Taking it off he laid it on the nightstand and fought back more tears. He was leaving Liz for a reason. Maybe, just maybe with his being gone and even going as far as to take his ring off he could show her what she'd be giving up.
Picking up his bag he left the room and went downstairs, exiting the house quickly. He didn't want to give Liz a chance to stop him from leaving.