The Other Dibenedetto Girl

The next morning was kind of surprising. A long time ago, Zack couldn't make toast without burning it some. Yet, here he was, dressed in a black shirt, boxers with bed hair, flipping bacon on a pan. He seemed to be pretty good at it; even ignoring the barking, standing and whimpering Ichabod gave as he stood next to Zack. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air making my stomach growl in the process. The sound of sizzling became louder the further I went towards the kitchen. This was another thing I loved about Zack: He always managed to surprise me. When I reached the doorway, Ichabod suddenly forgot his begs for bacon and trotted over to me, licking my ankles and standing to be petted. I giggled as I scratched behind his ears.

"Good morning, little cutie," I said to him as I bent down to pick him up and cuddle him.

Zack smiled at me when I put him down on the ground and watched the small furry mass go back to wanting his bacon. I walked closer to Zack, who wrapped an arm around my waist and gave me a soft kiss.

"Morning," He said, kissing me again.

"Morning," I stood in his arm for a moment, "And since when have you known how to cook so well?"

"Since I started living on my own. Mom's not around anymore, so I gotta take care of myself, right?"

I smiled, "Yeah. Maybe some time I can cook for you."

He kissed my neck softly, and talked with a muffled voice that tickled my neck, "I would love that. Your food's always awesome."

I let go of him and walked over to the counter to look for a coffee mug. Holding one in my hand, I began fixing a cup for myself. I felt my stomachgrowl again at the strong smell of breakfast. It was nice to not be the one not cooking meals for once. Normally, back home in New York, I would wake up with an empty stomach and going through the torture of the scent of food. I heard the soft clicks of the stove being shut off and more pattering from Ichabod who followed Zack's plates of bacon and eggs.

"Oh my God!" I heard Zack say a bit aggravated, "Here you go! Little demon thing..."

I giggled as I turned back to the two: Zack shaking his head and Icky chewing on the crispy bacon he was given. While I sipped a bit of my hot coffee, Zack went towards me. I grinned when his hands went over my sides and wrapped one in a warm embrace. It felt so good to wake up to something like this for once. It was good to come out of bed, come into the kitchen and not be shouted at for not being up earlier to make breakfast or hit across the face for sleeping in that day. I drank some more of my coffee to fill up the silence between him and I.

"You know," He said finally, "You talk in your sleep."

"What? How do you know? You watch me sleep or something?" I asked amused.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and I heard you talking. At first I thought you were on the phone with Leana or something, but when I went by your room to check on you, you were there thrashing around and mumbling." He ran a hand through my hair and I shut my eyes to the gentle touch, "What were you dreaming about?"

I thought. Nobody ever remembers the beginning of their dreams; some people recall the endings or bits and pieces. Then I remember my dad...he was standing over me and I saw flashes of silver fly through the air...I was begging for my life...I was sobbing and pleading with him...I crawled on a floor I could not see; felt pain I could not identify...The flashes went on...and on...and on...All around a crowd of people watched with blank faces...I saw Michelle, Matt, Mom, Johnny, Brian, even Jimmy and Leana...I called out for them to help me, but none of them moved...It was almost like they were statues...The my dad disappeared and Mark came into my vision...He was yelling out words I could not make out...I felt shoving...There was a hurt in my side and back I couldn't feel but knew it was happening...

I felt tears sting my eyes, and Zack held my closer to him. "What was I saying?" I asked him.

"I didn't know, you were muttering. I didn't like seeing you that way, because I had a feeling I knew what was going on in there. I know it sounds creepy, but I stayed there with you until you stopped. I couldn't sleep knowing something was happening to you."

Then I remembered that too...There had been a soothing comfort that came to me...It was a soft, very faint sound I did not recognize...Mark vanished...Everyone vanished and there was nothing but darkness. I looked up at him. I knew now what that comforting feeling had been. I pictured Zack laying beside me and stroking my hair like he always did. I kissed him deeply. There was a silent understanding between the both of us that he returned equally. I kissed him for a few more minutes before he spoke again:

"How about we eat breakfast before all my hard work gets cold?"

I laughed a little and went over to the table nearby. As we ate, the wheels in my brain kept turning. The events of my dream replayed in my mind like some terrible horror film. Usually, I only dreamt about my dad sometimes; Mark even less. I suppose it was because I was back here that they were coming back to me. Of course, nobody here knew about Mark and I was not planning on telling anyone about him. They would think I'm seeking more attention; that I'm causing more drama than what was needed right now. Plus, it's not like any of them would really care or want to know. If anything, Zack would ask and worry over me. He would never know. Maybe when we have sex he'll find out since I would have to be naked. Until then, not a word.

We finished breakfast and Zack suggested I go get dressed so he can take me to Valary's place. Honestly? I did not believe this outing with them was going to go well. Michelle was coming along and she's always hated my guts, so spats and name calling were bound to be said; I'm probably going to be invisible if they're bringing more girls with them. I didn't mind Leana because her and me kind of became friends in the way she was calling to see how I was...She liked me for who I was...She was bothering to get to know me, while they all stood there and judged me...Assholes...

I went into my bedroom and took a quick shower. I was in the middle of trying to make an outfit out of the few clothes I had when the doorbell rang; followed by Ichabod barking. I ignored it for the most part because I knew Zack would get it, but then I heard a familiar voice downstairs.

"Hey Zack," I heard a perky voice say, "Is Mellie awake yet?"

"Yeah," He answered. "Upstairs...Sup Rev?"

"I hope she's not grouchy today," Jimmy's voice echoed up to my now open doorway. "I do not think I can put up with her improper attitude."

Zack laughed, "Nah, dude. She's fine."

I came downstairs to find Leana holding a large shopping bag and Jimmy facing Zack. "Did you do her yet?-"

"-No he hasn't," I answered for him. "Our time together has been totally innocent."

Jimmy nodded, but I knew what he was thinking. I didn't say anything about it. I looked over to Leana, who walked up to me, "What brings you two here this morning?"

"Leana thought it'd be nice to help you pick out stuff to wear when you go out today," Jimmy replied. "We know you don't have much to wear, so she-"

"-Brought some stuff," She grinned, holding up the bag. "You and me are almost the same size, so there's no problem with borrowing. Plus, I think I have a lot of stuff you might like. So, come on..."

She took my hand and lead me up the stairs to the guest bedroom I was staying in, and put the bag on the bed. She looked over her shoulder at me as she began laying stuff out. A lot of it was girlie or somewhat revealing. I was not sure I'd be comfortable wearing any of these things. It's not that I had nothing to show off, believe me, I did. It was that I knew I'd attract some kind of attention if I wore: A red halter that had jewels all around the round neck part; a tight green tank top with lace trim at the bottom; a blue one shouldered top where the side was a little to long for me and this pink short sleeved ruffled shirt with a black band tied into bow across the middle. The neckline was low, but not by a lot.

"So, why did you come with so few clothes?" She nodded to my open bag.

"I didn't think I'd be staying that long," I shrugged as I leaned against the dresser.

"Oh," She said, examining the maroon top by holding it up to me. "I think this one's nice...Or maybe the green," She held that one up as well.

"Um, I'm not sure of this, Leana-"

"-They're not as revealing as they look," She explained. "Jimmy told me you didn't like showing too much off, so I picked out stuff I thought were not too much. I would have brought more, but I would have ended up bringing my entire closet with me. I wasn't really sure what you'd like."

I picked up the pink shirt to feel the soft, cotton fabric it was made from. I could tell this was an item that was not worn as much as the others. I assumed she must have worn it to fancier occasions instead of just places to go out for lunch. I liked it. Plus, it would have gone nice with the dark denim jeans she brought with her as well as the light pink flats she brought with her. I picked them up. It was kind of weird how Leana and I were practically the same size, only the jeans were one size smaller than me. I chose this outfit; went to pull it all on and returned to her to find a makeup bag on the bed along side the clothes now.

"You don't you really to do this, Leana," I told her. "I'm fine with just doing it myself."

"Oh sit down," Leana said passively, pushing me down into a chair. "I love doing this stuff, so it's no trouble at all."

She began applying foundation that was my shade, the both of us talking about the events of the past few days. She told me that she didn't know the whole story; I was grateful when she told me she wasn't going to badger me about it because she figured it was a sensitive subject. What? Did she think I was gonna cry retelling the story I've told so many times before? Highly doubtful. I said nothing about this as she brushed powder and blush on my face. We talked about my relationship with Zack; with my sisters; with Jimmy. Once we began talking about her, I could tell there was a lot of emotional topics she did not like discussing either, but seemed fine telling me because she thought I'd understand. I did. I tended to relate to people who had been in similar or worse situations than mine had been. Jimmy's, for example, is a story that they can make in a movie or a book.

"There," She said to me with a large smile. "Take a look."

I looked a lot better than I had looked in a long time. It was natural, but had black eyeliner underneath my peach shadowed eyes. I was going to stand up until she forced me back into the chair. My hair seemed easy enough to manage, since she pulled it back into a long ponytail for me and placed a pink glittery bow-barrett to hold my fringe from my face. I thought I was good enough to go out into the world again. It was better than wearing a pair of worn out jeans and a dark hoodie over my clothes. She led me back into the living room where Zack and Jimmy had been talking on the large comfy chairs Zack had there. When those eyes rolled over to me, he seemed to be amazed by what he was looking at.

"You look beautiful," He told me with a smile. My body ended up in his arms again as he brought me in for a kiss. His lips brushed my ear and he whispered, "You really do."

"Thanks," I said to him, putting a kiss on his neck. "I just hope nothing happens that could screw it up."

"Well, if you try not to cause a scene or put too much focus on the things Michelle will most likely say to you; then nothing will happen."

"I hope so."

He kissed me again, "God I can't stop kissing you..."

We both had a longer kiss before it was broken up by Jimmy saying to Leana, "Should I go get my crowbar?"