Two Sides of the Same Story

Loree’s POV

Do you know that awkward silence that everyone hates? And no matter how much you try to avoid it, it always comes back and bites you in the ass.

After the funeral, the reception was back at the house. Matt took me upstairs to my bedroom, so I could explain my actions, little did I know, I’d be explaining them to all of the girls and guys one by one. Surprisingly, they all understood.

So, here I sit on my bed, waiting for the last person to walk up the steps.

That person would be the man, whose heart was crushed by my words.

Zacky.

To be completely honest, I’m nervous about seeing him again. At the funeral I had only made eye contact with him once, and I know Zacky, the only that was shown in his eyes was hurt, and I was the cause of it.

And I hate that.

I sucked back a breath when I heard footsteps coming towards my door. Exhale, Loree, exhale. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.

“Loree?” I heard a whisper.

I opened my eyes and saw Zacky standing in my doorway.

“Hey Zack.”

He walked over and sat on the edge of my bed. He didn’t stay anything; he just kept his gaze fixated on the wall. I followed his gaze to see what exactly he was looking at. I wiped a tear from my eye.

He was staring at the picture of Rob and I, when he had first come home from his first trip. It’s my favorite picture of him and I, just the picture shows all of the pure emotion and….beauty. It was such a happy day, for both of us.

“He was a good guy, huh?”

I snapped out of my trance, and stared at Zacky.

“What? You’re not going to yell at me?”

He looked at me as if I had grown a third eye. “What?”

I took a deep breath. “Why aren’t you yelling at me? I walked away from you, breaking your heart in the process, and having Val lie to you. Why are you being so calm?”

“Loree.”

“I mean, I said horrible things to you, and you’re walking in here like I never said any of it. Why? Should I start telling you that everything I said was a big fat lie? I do care about you, and I really think that over the course of the tour, I fell in love with you, Zack. And well, I was scared, and I still am.”

“Loree.”

“I just didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t think straight, I thought that if I went and you didn’t have a clue what happened and where I was, everything would be okay. I’d be okay. The truth is I wasn’t. I thought about you every god damned day, and how I wanted to—”

I was cut off by Zacky placing his lips forcefully onto mine. Butterflies flew like a raging wild fire inside my stomach, oh, how I missed them. How I missed him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to get closer to him. I took his bottom lip between my teeth and gently pulled on it, earning a loud groan from him. I smirked.

We pulled away, desperate for air.

“You have no idea how long I wanted to do that.” He breathed out.

“I’m sorry, Zee.” I frowned, tears pricking in my eyes.

He cupped my cheeks into his hands. “Hey, now, don’t cry. It’s okay.” He said, gently placing his lips onto my forehead. “I love you.”

I smiled. “I love you too.”

“You never answered my question.”

“What question?”

“He was a good guy?”

Oh, that question.

“He was a great guy.”