I'll Be Here Waiting

Weeks were fading in the blink of an eye. It seemed like only yesterday Danni was returning to the streets of Huntington Beach where she grew up. Now summer was nearly over. Not that it really mattered in California, but the days seemed to be shorter & the lives of both Danni & Zacky were somehow more dysfunctional.

Danni was using more than she ever had before. Poisoning her body with whatever toxins she could get her hands on from Casey. And 92% of the time, that meant the harder stuff. She wasn't into buying any of those pussy drugs like Pot or Speed. Oh, no, she was getting the hard shit. The expensive shit.

It was mostly dimes of Blow, with the occasional bag of H when she really needed that release. It was getting to the point that she was visiting Casey down at Blue Cafe nearly 3 times a week, if not more.

Casey didn't care though, she was putting him back into full blown business. Let her destroy her life. As long as she doesn't kill herself with an overdose, he would be rolling in the cash flow of all of her drug deals.

It wasn't hard for her to hide it either. She would just throw a pair of thick-rimmed sunglasses over her perfectly bloodshot eyes & call it a day. Going for routine walks every other day to "get back into shape" was her alibi every time she needed to get her fix. And no one questioned it.

As far as they all knew, Danni was fine. No, not fine, she was better than she ever had been in her entire life. She never once gave them a single ounce of reason to even begin to think that something was out of the ordinary.

She was wonderful with make-up, as well, so covering up the occasionally track mark was no problem what-so-ever. Everything was wonderful. Life was fantastic, & everyone was everyone could not have been better.

Well, almost everyone that is. Zacky wasn't nearly as good as Danni when it came to hiding his true feelings & states of mind. When he was angry, or depressed, or strung out on heartbreak, everyone knew.

He was drunk every night now. Not to the point of no remembrance, just 3 or 4 beers to help that never ending edge that just couldn't seem to fade. But little did he realize it did absolutely nothing for him.

He would spend all evening just driving around Orange County for a while before picking whichever bar he was closest too. 9 times out of 10 that meant Johnny's Bar. It had been his favorite since he was teenager, when him & the rest of the gang had gotten their very first fade ID's. So there was no doubt that he would chose any other bar besides this one.

3 or 4 beers & a couple shots of Jack Daniel's, that was all he needed. And what he needed he got every night for the past month. He was so routine with it now, he didn't even need to say a single word.

By 10 o'clock the bartender would have a shot glass & the bottle of whiskey waiting contently for him at his usual seat. Zack would take a shot, have a beer, take a shot, have a beer & so on until he was satisfied. Then by about 3 AM after a little more driving around & sometimes an hour or so of sitting at the beach, he would return to the house to sleep the rest of his pain away.

No one would confront him, though. Even after the bags had begun to form under those perfect hazel/green eyes. They all just went about their daily lives, completely ignoring the fact that Zacky was clearly a dysfunctional wreck. It's not that they didn't want to confront him, they just weren't sure how to. So they let it go, letting him do whatever it was that he felt was needed. After all, who were they to say that there was something wrong with him?

It was now another evening of sitting at Johnny's Bar. Zack had just now finished his second shot of whiskey & was now sipping on another beer. The bar was almost entirely empty besides Zacky & an older man sitting a few seats away. He, too, was here almost every night, though Zacky barely took notice.

The man looked in Zacky's direction before asking, "What's her name?"

This caught Zacky off guard. No one usually spoke to him, or anyone for that matter. He looked around for a few seconds until realizing the man had indeed directed the question toward him.

"Excuse me?" Zack asked, puzzlement apparent in his soft tone.

"The reason I see you sitting here every night. What's her name?" This man repeated.

Zack merely huffed it off. "What makes you think there's a girl involved?" He asked, downing the rest of his beer.

The old man laughed. "Believe me son, I've been around long enough to know that when a young kid like yourself sits in a bar by himself every night, there's a girl involved. So you gonna tell me her name or not?"

Zacky sighed in defeat. " Daniell- Danni. Her name is Danni." He said, staring at the empty bottle in front of him.

"What'd she do?" Asked the man as he scooted himself into a seat closer to Zachary's.

"What DIDN'T she do?" Zack said, closing his eyes tightly for a second.

"I don't know, son, I wasn't there."

Zacky again sighed before delving into the entire story. He told of her departure, the reunion in San Francisco, her unexpected return to Southern California & everything else that had happened since she had decided to return with them nearly two months ago.

"I hate her, I hate her so fucking much!" Zacky screamed as his story had finished, hands shaking in obvious frustration.

The old man began to laugh freely out loud.

"What's so funny?" Zack asked at this mans sudden rudeness.

"You don't hate her, my boy. That's what we old folk like to call 'young love'"

Zacky rolled those intense Green eyes of his. "You're outta your mind!"

The old man began to laugh again. "Trust me, boy, I know young love when I see it."

Zack began to ponder it for a moment. What if this man really knew what he was talking about. Could it actually be true? What if he honestly did love Danni? In a way, it did seem to make sense.

Zack's eyes suddenly became wide as all he pondered & considered began to make sense. Oh my God, it was true. He was head over heels in Love with Danielle. All the trying to hide it, pretend it couldn't possibly be true, it all fell into place now.

"I'm right, aren't I?" The man asked, eyebrow raised as he took note of Zacky's sudden facial reaction.

"I-I have to tell her!" He spoke as he rose from the wooden stool.

"Damn right you do!"

He, Zacky that is, was rushing now. Rushing to get the money out of his pockets before placing it upon the bar.

"I'm gonna tell her, I'm gonna go home & tell her how I feel!" He was beginning to ramble now.

"Yes, go & tell her how you feel! Pull her into a kiss! Strip her naked and-"

"Okay, okay, I get it! I'm going." Zacky said laughing at this mans enthusiasm.

"Good for you, my boy! And I better not see you here tomorrow!" The man yelled as Zack frantically rushed toward his car.

He was finally going to do it. He was going to tell Danni he loved her!