Now I panic?

"What is wrong with you!" Megan screams as soon as she opens the door and sees me.

"Not the welcome I was looking for," I say, brushing by her and into her mansion.

The door slams behind me, and I wince.

"I know what you did!" she exclaims. "Mark and the guys just called me, totally freaked out, because Zach called and told them that you didn't come home last night. What in the world were you-"

"Zach called? Or his parents called? Zach doesn't care, Megan. I heard him say it myself. I did him a favor by leaving."

Megan just stands there, and I realize just how worried she actually was. Moving forward, I hug her. "I'm okay. You didn't hear, so I don't expect you to understand, but Zach hates me, and I left for his own good. I refuse to marry someone who doesn't like me. Would you?"

She lets go, sighing. "No... but you could have said that to them. Why just leave?"

I shrug. "You know they wouldn't have listened to me. If anything, they'd have made me marry him even sooner!"

Megan runs a hand through her messy hair, looking stressed. "I need to think. For now, I want you to go upstairs to my room, take a shower, and get an outfit from my closet. Then you're going to see your brother."

I nod, giving her a quick hug, and run upstairs to get clean.

In the shower, I pick the most expensive shampoo, just to change things up.

The plane ride back here was very tiring. I can't believe Derek actually drove me to the airport. He offered to fly here with me, but I turned him down. I wonder why he didn't tell Zach where he took me. I mean, I asked him not to, but I didn't think he'd listen...

Wrapped in a plush -deadly expensive- towel, I make my way to Megan's closet and pick out a t-shirt and cutoff shorts, keeping my shoes (only because she's not my size), and pick up my phone. I dial Derek's number.

"'Lo?"

"Why didn't you tell Zach what I was doing?"

He waits a beat before answering. "You told me not to. Was that chick speak for 'yes, I want you to'?"

"No, never mind. How is Zach?"

I can hear the surprise in his voice. "Do you care?"

"No," I say quickly. "I just want to know if he's happy that I left or not."

A voice speaks in the background on his end, and I strain to hear. Derek answers whoever it is, and then answers me.

"He actually seems a bit upset."

"Don't lie," I say, deadpan.

"I'm not." He's just as serious as I am. "He's worried about you. And he hates me for letting you listen in on our convo yesterday. We're guys, Kortney. We say things we don't mean sometimes, just to let off some steam. Just call him-"

"And let him convince me to come back, just to treat me like crap again? I don't think so. Our parents can find someone else for him to marry. They can have another kid for him for all I care. Goodbye."

Angry all over again, I hang up on him, and walk back downstairs, to find Megan sitting where I left her, sipping a cup of coffee. "Go home," she orders.

I leave without saying goodbye, simply because I know she doesn't want to talk to me right now.

...........................................................................

Standing on the porch, I hesitate. Will they be mad at me? I don't know what they're thinking... but I don't have anywhere else to go. I knock on the door, taking a quick step back, but no one answers. After a beat, I dig through my purse for my key, and open the door, but nothing prepared me for what I see inside.

Clothes are strewn everywhere, plates with leftover food litter the ground, and it looks like a tornado cut through everything. Gaping, I set my bag on the counter, and make my way to the back of the house, scared.

Finally, after looking through all of the rooms but one, I open the door to my room, where I find them, all sprawled on my bed, dead asleep. I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that they're not hurt or anything.

Quiet as possible, I slip in and move to the side of the bed, smiling. It seems like my room is the only clean room left, amazingly.

Accidentally, I step on a pencil, which snaps, and all of their eyes pop open. Why do they have to be such light sleepers...

They stare at me, no doubt wondering if i'm real or not, and I put my hands on my hips. "What have you done to the house? I knew I couldn't leave you alone."

A few moments pass by, before they're fully awake. One by one, they grin at me, and jump off of the bed tackling me, all speaking at once.

"Oh my gosh!"

"You're back!"

"What are you doing here?"

"I missed you so much."

Underneath all of their weight, I trip, stumbling back onto the floor. "Hey, I can't breathe! Get off, you elephants!"

Laughing, they all stand up, and pull me up, dusting me off. My cell rings in my pocket, and I pull it out, still laughing. "Hello?"

"Kortney."

My laughter ceases abruptly at Zach's voice. The guys stop too, at my expression, and I hold up a hand, walking out of the room.

"What." I try not to put any emotion into my voice.

"Where are you?"

"You don't care, so why should I tell you?"

"Are you safe?"

"Yes."

"Are you still in California?"

"No."

There's a pause, before he speaks again. "I didn't mean what I said yesterday."

"Fine. I have to go now."

"Wait! Please just talk to me. I'm sorry."

Finally, pushed to my limit, I burst.

"No you're not! You meant every last word you said, Zach. Every last word! I am not coming back, just so you can go back to hating me, and treating me like you care when you really don't care crap about me. Go back to your girlfriend. If she's as desperate as I think she is, then she'll welcome you back with open arms."

At this, Zach sighs. "All right, I did mean it."

"I'm glad you can at least admit to that."

"But I want you to come back. My parents are freaking out, and so are yours, and I just can't deal-"

"Too bad, Zach," I interrupt. "Deal with it. If I know my parents, they'll get over it, and i'm sure yours will too. The fact of the matter is that you hate me, and don't want me there. I'm gone, so now you just have to deal with the blame, until things calm down, and you can go back to dating your rich snobby girls and whatever."

He's quiet, and somehow, I actually feel bad for him. "Why are you making this so hard? Why aren't you calling to tell me how happy you are now that i'm finally out of your life?"

I hear him take a breath. "Maybe because i'm not happy about it."

I blink. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," he says, and I know he's being honest.

All the fight gone out of my body, I release a deep breath. "Well... call me back when you figure it out. Okay?"

"Yeah. Okay."

"Bye Zach."

"... Bye Kortney."

Flipping my phone shut, I lean back against the wall behind me, suddenly exhausted. It feels like everything i've been holding in, is crushing in on me, and I walk back into my room, where the guys wait on my bed.

Mark stands and walks over to me, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

I nod, stumbling a bit, and he rights me, sitting me on the bed. "Just tired."

"Go to sleep. We'll go out later on for dinner."

Tired though I am, I still manage to choke out a laugh. "Ha! No way. As soon as I wake up, you are all going to help me clean this house, from top to bottom. No excuses."

They all groan, but their smiles stay in place. Before they leave, they tuck me in and kiss my forehead, something I would usually not stand for under any circumstances. But seeing as how I missed them so much, and i've been starved of this kind of attention all my time in Cali, I allow it. If only for this time.