I Remember The Day She Told Me It's Over

I should have known better than to go with him. Going out with Zachary Baker might have been alright. But tonight, when we walked into Johnny's bar, I knew I was in the company of Zacky Vengeance.

"Hey Zacky!" a waitress greeted him cheerily, her smile turning to a frown when we locked eyes.

"Come on," Zacky grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the back of the bar where everyone was sitting around the pool table drinking. Syn was making a shot while Matt waited on him.

"Hey," Zack greeted them with confidence.

"Hey," they chorused back with less enthousiasm.

"Bailey," Rev greeted me with a head nod.

"Hi, Jimmy," I whispered softly.

"You want in?" Syn asked Zacky, waving the end of a pool stick in front of him.

"Sure," Zacky let go of my hand and grabbed onto the stick. I stuck my hands in the front pockets of my jeans.

"Do you want in Bailey?" Syn asked me next. I eyed the pool table, knowing full well all eyes were on me.

"Alright," I replied. He looked surprised but handed me a pool cue anyway.

Matt sank the eightball and soon we were ready to start a new game. I felt so awkward and out of place with them. No one wanted me there, and quite frankly, I didn't blame them.

"Do you want to break?" Matt asked as he pulled the triangle from around the pool balls.

"I can yes," I moved to the end of the table. "But I'm not very good."

"Ahhh come on, think of it like...breaking hearts," came the comment from behind me. "That should make it easier."

I didn't even have to look back to know the comment came from Meg. She'd never liked me. Not from the get go. I took a deep breath and focused, hitting the ball just hard enough to break the formation of balls at the other end of the table apart.

"Good shot," Zacky smiled. "We're stripes."

"Alright, we're solids," Syn glanced at Matt.

I was surprised Zacky had taken me on his team. Syn leaned over the table, lining up his cue, but his hit was distracted by Jason and Matt Berry joining the group with more than enough drinks.

"Holy shit," Jason chuckled as he handed Zacky a beer. "Bailey Jenson, I haven't seen you in forever."

"Actually that's a lie," Matt Berry cut in. "He saw you in June."

I closed my eyes for a moment and wished this hadn't been brought up. But, with these guys it was bound to happen.

Jason grinned, "very nice by the way."

"Thanks," I uttered before stepping away from the table, unsure of what else to say exactly.

"Alright, you have a choice," Jason approached me again with two drinks in his hand. "Beer," he lifted one hand in emphasis. "Or long island ice tea?"

"Thanks, but I - "

Zack cut me off, "she'll have the ice tea."

Everyone else including myself glanced at Zacky. I was amazed that he remembered I didn't like beer. But I knew everyone else was shocked that he'd be telling me what I could drink.

"You're not paying for your own drinks," Zacky muttered only to me as he stood beside me, handing me the long island ice tea. "I brought you out, not the other way around. Besides," he locked eyes with me. "You'll only piss them off if you think you're to good to drink what they bought."

I frowned, "that's not what - "

"I know," he cut me off again. "It's your shot."

That snapped me out of our little conversation and I went in search of the cue ball.

"So what exactly do you do for a living?" Emily asked me.

"Em - " Matt started but I cut him off. They were welcome to try and bring me down.

"I'm a model," I replied flatly as I hit the ball, knocking the green and white striped ball into the pocket. "And yes, playboy is included in my list of clients."

"Didn't you feel weird taking off all your clothes for a camera?" Ashleigh asked quietly. She was the one, if any, that I would get along with the best.

"Well, I've done lingerie, and bathing suits," I took a sip of my drink. "So this wasn't that much further. And they're only pictures. Everyone knows what girls look like naked. To me it was a modeling gig, that payed much better than most."

"But now you're what, playboy of the year?"

I nodded and watched Syn take his shot, knocking two balls into two seperate holes. "Yes I am."

"So what does that entail?" Mara asked me.

I could tell they'd all sat down together and talked this over. My guess was that they were trying to embarass me.

"Just the promotion of playboy. Probably a few more photo shoots. Making appearances wherever I'm asked, stuff like that."

The questions ceased for a little while again while we focused on playing. Jason and Matt kept coming back with more and more drinks. Zacky had tried to keep sober, but his one beer here and one beer there were now turning into Jack Daniels and Tequila.

By the end of the night, I felt like I'd been quizzed by the Spanish Inquisition. But, I'd been able to keep my cool, and turned every possible fight into a simple answer. By two in the morning we were climbing into the back of a cab with Syn and Ashleigh.

The driver dropped them off first then took us to Zacky's place. It was a small house, not far from the beach, not far from main street, and not far from Syn's.

He passed the driver some money then opened the door, "come on," he smiled, holding his hand out for me.

With his help I climbed out of the cab and followed him up to his house. He opened the door and made me enter first.

"It isn't much," he muttered. "But it's home to me. Especially after coming back from a long ass tour."

I didn't allow me to see in much detail because he only turned on the entryway light.

"Umm," he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. In my experience, booze made people more confident, not nervous.

"It's only a one bedroom place," he continued.

I laughed softly, "don't worry, Zack, I'll sleep on the couch."

"Alright," he dropped his hands to his side. "I'll get you a blanket and a pillow."

He left me standing there as he wandered off down a hallway. I wandered into the living room and took a quick look around. It was definately a guy's house. There was a deck of cards splayed out on the coffee table along with a few empty beer bottles and half full glasses of what looked like water. Cushions were on the floor and a fish sat in a tank on a nearly empty book stand.

The silence was broken by growling and yapping. I looked down the hall and a black furball came barreling out of a room towards me. I sat down on the couch and pulled my legs up beside me. The little dog barked like he was ready to tear me to pieces, but he was too small to even jump up onto the couch.

"Ichabod." Zacky growled. The little dog looked up at his owner and quit barking. "Sorry," Zacky apologized and handed me a blanket and a pillow. "When I'm gone during the day he stays in his kennel so he's always happy to get out. And he hasn't really met anyone other than the crew."

I nodded in understanding. Zacky bent down and picked up Ichabod.

"Thank you by the way," as I gestured to the blanket and pillow.

"No problem," he smiled. "Thank you for holding it together tonight. The girls aren't usually that cold."

I shrugged and smiled softly. "They know who I use to be, Zack. Like I said before, I hope at least you can see that I've changed."

"I'm beginning to see it," he smiled softly. "Have a good night."

He moved and shut off the light before I could reply. I placed the pillow at the end of the couch and removed my sweater before laying down. Pulling the blanket over the length of my body and burrying my face in his pillow and inhaling his scent. God he smelled good.