Smile for Me

“Zacky’s home?” I asked nervously as she parked next to his car in the driveway.
She shook her head as she pulled her keys out of the ignition. “No, Johnny picked him up and they went into the studio together.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and got out. At least I could avoid some questions for another few hours.
I hadn’t driven this morning, but had had walked to school. My head was bothering me so much that I didn’t think I’d be able to concentrate on the road.
We entered the house and she locked the door, dropping her stuff to the floor and passing me the phone. We decided that if we both called in, it would look suspicious so she said she would get Zacky to call in for her when he got home this afternoon. We were sneaky.
I made up some lie about how I had a migraine headache, but she said it was fine and that she would let my teachers know. I hung up and put the phone down before flopping onto the couch with a groan.
“I hate lying to people.”
“I know, but you were fine. Besides, it was for a good cause.” She said with a smirk.
I frowned up at her. “Which is…”
“How long has it been since we’ve had a movie marathon?”
I grinned at her and nodded.
“Okay, you pick the first movie and grab some food from the kitchen, I’m going to the washroom and then I’ll be right down.” She told me, jogging up the stairs.
I pulled myself off the couch and crouched in front of Zacky’s DVD collection, smiling when I noticed that Emma had already brought quite a bit of her own movies over. I narrowed my eyes as I scanned the titles and smiled when I came across a Johnny Depp movie. That man could always make me feel better.
Putting the case on the coffee table, I pulled myself to my feet and skipped off to the kitchen to get some food and drinks for us.

Emma carefully went into Zacky’s bedroom and then his bathroom, closing the door behind her before pulling out her cell phone. She took a deep breath and prayed she was doing the right thing before dialing the number she knew so well.
“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Zacky chided in his greeting her and she smiled.
“How’s the studio?”
“Eh, it’s okay. We’ll be done in a couple of hours. What are you doing?”
“I need a favor. Well, two favors.”
“What’s up?”
“First, I need you to call my school for me and tell them I’m not going in.”
He chuckled. “Playing hooky, huh? Can’t you call in for yourself?”
“Katie already did the same thing, so it would look funny.”
“I see.” He laughed again, and then asked her what she wanted him to say.
“Be creative.”
“Baby, I’m always creative.” He said slyly and she laughed. “And what’s the next favor?”
“Um…do you know what Syn’s doing after you guys are done?” She asked slowly, not sure how to ask this without making him suspicious.
“I don’t really know. I think he might see if Katie wanted to hang out or something. Why?”
She sighed and glanced at the door before lowering her voice. “If I tell you something, you have to promise me that you won’t tell anyone. I want Syn to see for himself.”
“Okay.” He answered seriously. “What’s going on, babe?”
“It’s Katie.” She sighed and set the lid of the toilet seat down before sitting on it. “Her dad hit her again last night and she…hurt herself.”
“What do you mean, she hurt herself?” He sounded really worried and there was no more background noise, which meant he had left the room so no one would overhear.
“She’s a cutter, Zacky.”
“Fuck. Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. She’s been doing it for a few years now, and I saw the marks this morning. Brian doesn’t know and she needs to tell him, but she won’t unless she’s pushed.”
“And you want to do that today?”
“Yeah. Can you get him to drive you back here and maybe…get him to come in? If he sees her today, the way that she looks…she might have to tell him.”
“I can do that.”
“But Zacky…”
“What?”
“He won’t dump her because of it, will he?”
“Shit, no. He is so in love with that girl, Emma, he wouldn’t break up with her over that. He might give her shit or something, but he won’t end it.” He sighed. “It will be okay.”
“Okay.” She sighed and smiled into the phone. “I love you.”
“Love you, too, babe. See you in a few hours.”
“Bye.”
Flipping her phone shut, Emma stood and slid it back into her pocket as she decided to head back downstairs, feeling relieved.
Everything would be okay.