C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N
Zach's P.O.V. (continued)
"So, your surgery has been moved ahead a week?" asked Kelsey when I told her the news. "That means it's a week from Saturday.."
I nodded, attempting to keep the nervousness I felt out of proportion. I hated feeling vulnerable in front of people other than my family, even Kelsey. Even though I know that she cares, I want to seem stronger than I actually feel. It seems like my confidence is deteriorating almost every day, and I don't like it one bit.
"It's going to be okay..," she reassured, entwining her fingers with mine. "I promise you that.."
She clearly could see through the mask I was attempting to put upon myself. I let out a sigh, putting my other hand in the pocket of my sweatshirt. Thoughts began swirling through my brain, and they weren't going to leave me alone anytime soon.
I felt Kelsey's arms gently wrap around me as she pulled me into a hug. Gratefully, I returned it, her soothing touch helping a little bit. I felt her head against my chest, her soft breathing comforting me.
"You two are so adorable!" Luke exclaimed playfully from a few yards away, ruining the moment. I'm not sure where he even came from. He just kinda appears.
My gaze darted towards the sound of Luke's voice, and his tone completely changed. I couldn't hide the emotion or whatever it was, that I felt anymore. "You okay, Zach?" he asked with genuine concern.
"I'm fine," I replied stubbornly, my voice cracking at the end of my statement.
"No you're not," Luke retorted. "What's going on?"
I bit my bottom lip, unsure of what to say. Kelsey and I had broken away from the hug, but she still clutched my right hand gently. I could feel my hands physically trembling, and her grip slightly tightened, making it stop eventually.
Before I knew it, I had spilt the entire story to Luke, about my parents, the plane crash, everything. I could feel tears struggling to roll down my face, but I forced them away. I wasn't going to freak out.
Not in school.
Not now.
When I had finished speaking, there was only silence. I lowered my blind gaze to my shoes, unsure of what to do or say. Why did I even say that..?
After a moment, Luke spoke up.
"Oh my God, Zach, I'm so sorry..," he said quietly, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
I brushed a single tear away from my cheek as I replied hesitantly, "It's okay, I need to get over it."
"You're handling the situation way better than I would," confessed Luke in an attempt to lift my spirits. "I'd be in full on panic mode.."
"I am in full on panic mode," I retorted, then quickly regretted it. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."
"Seriously, Zach, it's okay," Luke replied. "I understand, really.."
"We both do," Kelsey chimed in supportively, leaning into my shoulder in a comforting manner. "Honest."
"You don't know how much that means to me," I confessed almost silently, wiping yet another tear from my face.
A moment later, I felt Kelsey hug me again, and this time, Luke joined in from the other side. Gratefully, I returned both hugs, and it truly made me calm down just enough so that I wouldn't go insane in the middle of a class. A moment passed, and none of us said anything during that time.
"At which point is this going to start becoming awkward?" I joked, breaking the silence. "You two are squishing me."
"Probably right about now," Kelsey replied, her tone becoming more positive.
"What?" inquired Luke, his voice playful. "You don't want a hug?"
I laughed a little bit as us three broke apart, Kelsey still holding my right hand comfortingly. I noticed that Luke didn't blurt out another one of his 'cute' jokes about Kelsey and I, probably because he knows I actually need the support.
The three of us then made our way to the lunchroom since the bell had rung before our conversation started. It didn't take long to get there because we were a few doors down from it.
After weaving our way around large masses of people, we finally reached our usual table, where I had assumed Ryan and Marco already were sitting at. It turns out I was right because I heard their familiar voices in our direction.
"You're late," Ryan snapped in a friendly tone, then it changed as we sat down and he got a clearer look at me. "What's with Zach? His face looks like a tomato, it's so red."
"Nothing," I replied a bit too quickly.
"It doesn't look like nothing," Marco cut in. "What's wrong?"
"I don't want to talk about it," I stated in the calmest voice I could conjour up. "Please?"
"Why not?"
"If he doesn't want to talk about it, he doesn't have to," Kelsey piped up sternly, yet politely, in my defense. "Could we please change the subject?"
I gave Kelsey a grateful look as everyone started randomly talking about what restaurant they like getting their chicken nuggets at, Wendy's or McDonalds (Luke's choice of conversation topic).
Luke absolutely loves food. Honestly, it helped me get my mind off of next weekend. I really enjoy having friends at this school, especially Kelsey.
But I'm starting to think that it's a bit more than just friends..
~•~•~
"How was school, Zach?" Hayleigh asked from the back seat as I got into the car.
"It was fine, Hayleigh," I replied with a stable tone of voice. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you're my brother," she stated confidently. "And I like to ask stuff."
But I'm not her real brother. I'm a foster kid.
I bit my tongue, sort of wanting to tell her the truth, but I decided not to. She's only seven and I don't know if she'd understand. Then again, she's really mature for her age, so she might.
"Thanks, Hayleigh," I responded, giving her a friendly smile. "That means a lot."
"Sure!" she chirped, her tone extremely cheerful.
I ran my fingers across my right hand, the one that Kelsey had held earlier. I could still feel the warmth and comfort from it. I leaned against the car door as the vehicle drove off, the gentle vibrations from the engine seemingly comforting.
"Everything okay?" my mom's voice echoed in my ears from next to me.
"Yeah," I replied, making up an excuse last minute. "I'm just tired."
"Okay then," she stated. "I know you're overwhelmed by next weekend, so I thought I'd ask."
I nodded, not lifting my gaze at all. Honestly, I was quite a bit tired, but I didn't want to take a nap or anything. Instead, my thoughts drifted off towards my parents once again.
I was torn on whether I should tell Hayleigh anytime soon, or just keep it a secret. I chose the second option for now, even though I hate living a lie.
I hate it more than anything..
Kelsey's P.O.V.
After what had seemed like forever, I finally got off the school bus. I decided at that moment that I would start driving myself to school, since I absolutely hate the bus. I used to be too embarrassed to take my car to school, since it isn't the nicest in the world, plus, I had quite a bit of a reputation.
That doesn't matter anymore. I don't care what people think anymore.
I strided down the driveway, slinging my backpack over my left shoulder as I went. I felt the early autumn wind flow through my hair, putting a lot of it directly in my face. One thing about having long hair is that it always gets in your face. I whisked my long hair behind my shoulders with my right hand, putting it behind my ear.
I climbed up the porch stairs and opened the front door of my house, walking inside.
I shut the door behind me, putting my backpack carefully on the floor. Its weight almost made me topple over due to the amount of textbooks I had to lug around every weekday. I took my phone out of my pocket and checked it for the time, because I was curious.
4:32 PM.
I hate the fact that school took up most of my day, but at least I have friends there. Hanging out with Amelia every day did get old when all she did was gossip. A moment later, I heard the high-pitched bark of my beautiful dog, Ace, approach.
"Ace!" I called, getting down on the floor to say hello. "Come here, boy!"
Sure enough, Ace rounded the corner, his paws slipping on the hardwood floor as he almost slammed into the wall.
His tongue was out as he was panting heavily, and his crooked tail was wagging about a hundred miles per hour. He was running as fast as his short little legs could carry him. I opened my arms and Ace leaped into him, his front paws pressing against my shoulders.
"Hey there, buddy!" I exclaimed, giving him soft pats on the back.
I stood up, cradling the overly excited pup in my arms. I carried Ace into the living room and sat down on the couch with him. Ace rolled over and demanded a belly rub by just staring at me. I couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes, so I scratched his belly, almost immediately finding his tickle spot. Ace struggled to get off of me, so I let him go, laughing as he ran off, his tail still wagging a mile a minute.
"How was school, Kelsey?" my dad asked with a smile.
"Fine," I replied honestly. "It was fine."
"Everything go okay?"
"I think it did," I answered as I got myself comfortable on the living room couch.
Other than Amelia bothering me, school actually was okay for once. Sure, Zach still was pretty upset, but when he was with some friends, it seemed like he felt a bit better, especially when they talk about chicken nuggets, apparently.
I'm trying my best to help him build up his confidence, and I don't blame him for being scared. I can't imagine losing both my parents and my eyesight at the same time. That would be absolutely terrible.
"Zach's fine too," I added, knowing that my dad would ask that again like he normally does. Sure enough, he responded, seeming like he read my thoughts.
"How'd you know I was going to ask that?"
"Lucky guess," I joked, my eyes gleaming. "It gets repetitive."
"Sorry, I'll stop then," Dad replied in a teasing manner, sitting down on the couch next to me. "Unless you don't want me to."
"I don't mind."
"Okay then," he answered, giving me a soft pat to the top of the head, which messed up my already knotted hair even more.
"Dad!" I yelped, finding that annoying.
"Sorry!"
I rolled my eyes, knowing that he was doing it out of love. I believe I'm pretty lucky to have such encouraging parents. My stomach growled loudly, and I realized that I was hungry. I haven't had anything since lunch, and I'm a bottomless pit, so I went into the kitchen to get something to eat.
I decided to treat myself with a large bowl of popcorn and some ice cream for an early dinner. Honestly, I wasn't in the mood for anything else. I love ice cream and popcorn, but both together are amazing.
Well, maybe when they're not in the same bowl. My favorite flavor of ice cream is chocolate chip cookie dough. It tastes absolutely amazing.
I plopped myself down on the couch and turned on the tv, my popcorn and ice cream right next to me. I get quite bored around the house, being an only child. Sometimes, I wish I had a little sister, or a little brother.
Then, I thought about how Zach doesn't really have an actual blood family at all, and I let out a sigh. He's too much of a nice guy to have to deal with all of this. That's one of the main reasons why I want to help him out as much as I can, and to make him feel loved like he deserves.
~~~
Weeeeeeeee the surgery's getting closer!
Are you guys excited? Because I sure am! I'm getting myself excited and I'm the frickin author!
Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It brings me a lot of joy to be writing this story and sharing it with you all! Love you! :)
~Eclipsityy <3