Sorry about the wait! I just got back from a trip (where there was no WiFi) and made sure to post this when I got back. I'm thinking about ending this soon, but I have no clue how I am going to do that. So we shall see.
I am also thinking of taking a break and doing some major editing on the chapters. I always proof-read my chapters before posting them, but there are still grammar errors and I hate bad grammar, especially if I'm the one to do it. We shall also see, I don't know for sure yet.
Anywho...
Don't forget to vote! The more you vote, the more chapters I want to write! It's a win-win for the both of us.
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The drive home was quiet. Every time Zak tried to talk, I would just hum a response. I was far too busy looking out the window and admiring the Las Vegas view as we drove through its streets. After seeing nothing, but white walls and white floors, anything would have been more interesting to look at.
After pulling into the driveway, Zak got out of the car and walked over to open the door for me, but I was already at the front door. I was more than happy to be home. Even though I was kidnapped and held at gunpoint, it still strangely enough felt like the safest place on earth.
The second I opened the door, Gracie lunged at me, and I was ready.
"Hiya Gracie! I missed you so much! How did you like it at Billy's huh? Was it fun?" I kept starching her ears and hugging her and she wagged her tail in excitement. She didn't even notice Zak.
I heard him whisper 'ouch' as he walked past us and made his way further into the house. I was still at the front door hugging and petting Gracie.
After a solid five minutes of scratching Gracie's belly, I stood up and waked into the kitchen. Everything was still the same, nothing had changed. The mess that was made when Jeff was here was cleaned up, and the bullet hole in the wall had been filled in. Zak caught me staring at it.
"I fixed it when you were in the hospital. It let me think about something else" he gave a half smile. I ran my finger over the wall. You could feel the grooves of the wall, and you could feel where the bullet hole once was.
"You did a good job" I smiled, keeping my finger on the wall.
He grinned and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me and put his head atop of mine. I turned around the hug him back. The smell of his cologne filled my senses as I dug my nose into his black shirt. "I'm so happy you're alive and safe" he mumbled. I just hummed in agreeance; we needed to hug more often.
He was the one to end the moment. I still wanted more.
"What's the plan for today?" I asked as he walked toward the fridge. As he opened the doors, the familiar sound of glass condiments clinking filled the air.
"Uh, I was going to do some work. You know, since I missed so much when you were in the hospital"
I looked down in disappointment "Oh"
He stopped what he was doing at looked at me with a concerned face. "Charlie if you don't want me to work I won't. Whatever you need I'm here"
I gave him a half smile. "No dad it's okay! I'll find something to do. I want you to do some work; you need to catch up on everything"
He gave me a 'thank you' face and went back to whatever he was doing. I just went back into feeling disappointed.
He forgot it was my birthday. I turned 18 today and he completely forgot. Not that I blamed him. The last couple of weeks had been quite rough. I walked into my room and without closing the door behind me. My room had been completely untouched since I had last been inside it. The majority of my clothes were still on the ground and my bed wasn't made, it even still smelt like tropical air freshener I sprayed in it just before Zak and I left for the museum.
The feeling of a presence behind me made me turn my head slightly to the side.
"I can't tell you how many times I stood here and just stared" Zak's voice came behind me. I turned around and faced him.
"Why?" He gave me a small smile.
"Because you were in the hospital. Every time the guys sent me home to shower and eat, I would just stand here. It just made me feel you. When you were in your coma, your body was there, but you weren't. So when I came here, I felt you here. I made sure not to touch anything too, even though I wanted to clean it so much because you are such a damn mess" she stuck his hand out gesturing to the clothes strewn about. I definitely did not get Zak's OCD gene. "I wanted you to come back to home just as you left it" he leant his head on the doorframe and looked at me lovingly.
My heart swelled. "I love you dad"
He stood up straight "I love you too"
I turned back to my room and heard him walk down the stairs. I put my hand through my hair and pushed some behind my ear. I noticed how gross it was and how much I needed to shower. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked exhausted, and Zak's oversized Ghost Adventures Crew hoodie smelt like death. As much as I loved that sweater, it needed a wash—badly.
I pulled the sweater over my head and took off the fluffy grey sweatpants I was wearing and threw them on the floor; joining the rest of my clothes. It was time for a shower.
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I turned off the blow-dryer and set it on the marble counter. My hair was much more bouncy and definitely had more life to it, rather than before. I ran my hand through it; my hair had darkened. Before it was more of a light brown with a few natural ash highlights, but now, it was dark brown. It was like the more time I spent with my dad; the more I looked like him.
I stared at my complexion in the mirror. It was the first time that I had really looked at myself in the mirror. I dropped the white cotton towel I had tied around my body. It hit the tile ground with a thud, then silence. I stared at a fresh scar that ran straight through the center of my chest and stopped just below my sternum; joined by a small circular scar only a few inches over. I lightly traced it with my finger. The pink surface had almost completely healed, leaving behind no feeling around surface of the affected skin. I lifted my forearm, where yet another battle scar from Jeff lay, and compared it with the large one on my chest. Tears began to form in my eyes, but I wiped them away before they could fall.
I wasn't a victim. I was a survivor.