Quietly His Fault

Ch 19

Everything was fine. For months everything was perfect. I mean Zach was my best friend. I was ignoring the loving him part of course. I had friends, other than Cuddles. My job at the dance studio I work at was great, making friends there even. Then I walked in to school and I just got the feeling something was amiss. Something was wrong that was going to change everything, forever, and it wasn’t the poster advertising the school dance, the wing formal. It’s called wing because they tried to combine Winter and Spring and failed. It wasn’t the poster. Something was up, something that would change everything. My first hint was when I went to my locker in the morning Pete was there not acting hyper instead of Zach.

“Hi Pete. What goes on? Where is Zach?”

“Aida!” Pete says jumping and giving me a hug.

“Pete, where is Zach.”

Pete still hasn’t let go of me and he mumbles, “I’m so sorry Aida. You don’t deserve this, but remember all of us guys are here. All of us. We would choose you over Zach any day.”

“Pete you’re scaring me.”

“I’m sorry sweetheart.” Finally Pete pulls away and then I see it. Zach has his arm around Marsha holding her close to him. Too close. A single tear rolls down my cheek. Pete wipes it away with him thumb then grabs me in a hug holding me tight.

“Do all the guys know?”

“Yes we found out yesterday, and we all pick you over those two. We were all going to come
to comfort you, but the other guys couldn’t get here early because of buses, parents, or little brothers or sisters.”

“Pete…” I say trying to hold in tears.

“Yes princess.”

“Is there somewhere I can go to cry?”

Pete hugs me tighter as more tears cascade down my face. I wish I brought Cuddles with me today. Not ten minutes later Adam has come and joined the hug. I have no idea what I would do without these guys. The five minutes to class bell rings. I pick myself up and get my butt to my first class with Adam walking with me. We have this class together.

Throughout the whole day I didn’t walk to one class without a guy from the hockey team walking me to class. These guys are amazing. Some don’t know me well, and we don’t talk much, but there is some bond between us all. Something holding us together. Something that makes me know in my core that if I need them they will be there in a heartbeat with no question. I may have lost Zach, but being his friend was the best decision of my life because he led me to these guys. These wonderful guys. The only period no one walked me to was my free period. That period I started writing a new story. It was coming out alright.

When lunch came around instead of sitting in the music room like I normally do I sat in the lunchroom. The guys insisted. Even Scott, who is a big lovable guy, who I have never said one word to said, “We want you at lunch with us. You are our friend, and we love you princess.”

Once Scott talked I knew I had to join them for lunch. Lunch was going perfectly as possible without Zach next to me and his arm around my waist like it normally was before all this, until Zach walked to our table with Marsha and they sat down.

“What the hell bro! she can’t be here.” Josh says referring to Marsha.

“Why the hell not. She is here.” He sneers looking at me.

I look away from him, his judging eyes, and sneer and turn to look at Scott who is now sitting where Zach used to sit. Scott grabs me and pulls me into his chest so I can silently cry. I can feel the draggers he is shooting Zach. Pete on my other side is patting my back and whispering to me.

“Zach, you are a f****ing jackass. You know that. No one wants you here so why don’t you leave.” Adam says.

“Is that anyway to talk to your captain?”

“The season is over, and we made you captain, we can easily take that away from you next year.” Scott sneers at Zach.

“Whatever. I am the best player anyway.”

“I think you need to let your ego to go down a notch or a million. If you do want to sit here you better shut the f**** and if I hear one rude word out of your mouth, especially if it is about princess here I will indeed beat your ass.” Josh tells him harshly.

“Whatever man.”

Between Adam and Scott’s comfort I was able to enjoy the rest of my lunch. Zach tried to talk to the guys, but no one would acknowledge him. Not a person. Even the ones I’m not close with, the ones who I have never talked to, the ones who I will never get to know and the ones who don’t even consider me a friend ignored him. Like I said before these guys are here for me, and I am there for them if we have never talked before is irrelevant. The bond we have goes beyond words. I have all of their numbers and if something went wrong I could call anyone of them and they would be there in an instant if they could. These guys will never leave me. We could have never talked, and ten years after seeing them last I could call them and we could talk and have fun. Our bond is that strong. It’s undeniable, and it is scary, but in a good way.

I get home and I walk into my room and cry. He’s gone. My Zach is gone, and in his place is Marsha’s Zach. I grabbed Cuddles and cried to her only to be interrupted by my doorbell ringing. I ignored the door only to have my phone ring a moment later. My phone lit up and started playing “Let Me Down Easy” by 2am club while lighting up and reading Scott.
I answer my phone with a sniffle.

“Open the door Princess.”

“I’m not the same girl here. He I am a child, a baby, I carry around a teddy bear for dear life.”

“We don’t care, you’re our princess, and we love you no matter what. Now please open the door. We would like to meet your bear, and Adam has a teddy bear, Pete has chick flicks, and Josh has ice cream. Come on let us in we are here for you. Let us be there.”

Every word that leaves his mouth gets me to take one step until I am at the front door, then he says, “let us be there” and that is all I need to open the door and fling myself with Cuddles at them into a big hug.

They hug me back, and I introduce them to Cuddles. What makes my life is they treat her almost like Zach does. They treat her like a person because I think they get to me she is real as each and every one of us. The guys and I have a great time eating ice cream and watching chick flicks with Cuddles and Baby (that is what I named the bear Adam got me). I wake up to find myself Cuddled into Scott with my feet on Josh’s lap, my torso on Adam’s lap, and Pete is next to me cuddling with Cuddles and Baby as am I.

My dad walks in on us like that and he doesn’t look worried, more confused. I explain to my dad everything which I can tell makes him sad because simply put Zach left me to dry, but these guys are here for me luckily. I don’t know what I would do without Scott, Adam, Pete, and Josh.