Taken Away

*Flashback Chapter*

Zack was sitting on the end of Alex’s bed watching the older boy sleep. They had a fight earlier that day and had made up about an hour ago. Zack had woken up sweaty with Alex’s arm wrapped around his waist. He was getting tired of this though. All the fighting was starting to wear him down. He was tired of having to share his time with Alex; he wanted Jenna out of the picture.

Zack knew he had no right to say that though, he was the one who was stealing Alex’s time. He was keeping Alex from Jenna, letting Alex cheat on her because he didn’t have the strength to let it go. He never wanted to let Alex go, he had fallen so hard in these last 6 months. The sneaking around, stealing kisses in the skate park, gentle hand squeezes while out with friends, and Alex’s cheeky grins that meant nothing to anybody but him.

“Uhh…” Alex let out a sleepy groan and buried his face into his pillow, reaching out for Zack and whining when he found nothing but cold sheets.

“Zaaack” Alex whined reaching out blindly. Zack laughed softly and leaning forward, grasping Alex’s hand.

“Come back to bed!” Alex tugged on Zack’s hand pulling him forward a bit, but Zack willingly crawled the rest of the way. Alex snuggled back into Zack’s chest.

“What were you doing?”

Zack just shrugged “Thinking ‘bout stuff.”

“Hmm?”

“Just our relationship and stuff. I’m just tired, Lex. I don’t want to share you anymore.”

Alex had moved to a sitting positing, and was giving Zack a quizzical look.

“I’m sorry, Alex, I just…I don’t know. I love you, but I can’t do this anymore. Jenna doesn’t deserve this! I don’t deserve this, so you have to choose. Me or Jenna, Alex.”

Alex stared dumbfounded at Zack. He had just been given an ultimatum.

“Umm…” Alex just shook his head; he was at a loss for words. How was he supposed to choose? He loved Jenna, they’d been together for 2 years and they never fought. They were perfect, but he loved Zack too. These last 6 months had been the craziest, most amazing 6 months of his life.

Alex watched as Zack stood up with tears in his eyes and starting walking toward the door, and he made a split second decision.

He grabbed Zack’s wrist.

“I want you.”

Alex nervously paced the floor of his room, he had asked Jenna to come over tonight. Tonight was the night he was ending things with her, Zack had told him that he wanted him to choose so he had.

Alex jumped when he heard the soft knock on his door and watched with a sinking stomach as Jenna pushed it open. She smiled and walked over to him, her blonde hair held in a loose ponytail, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips.
Alex laid his hands on her hips, not really feeling the kiss and breaking it off in less than a minute.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Jenna looked concerned and lead Alex over to his bed, pulling him down next to her. Alex just shook his head; he was feeling nauseous and was suddenly not so sure he wanted to do this. What did Zack have that Jenna didn’t? Jenna was beautiful and sweet, his parents loved her, she was the best girlfriend he could ask for and not only were they lovers they were friends.

Zack, on the other hand, was impossible. They constantly fought, neither set of parents were particularly fond of the boys friendship, but there was an undeniably chemistry. Alex loved Zack’s personality, the tiny quirks, and the way he would blush when Alex grinned at him. Zack made him feel in a way that Jenna never did.

“We need to talk…” Alex started off, and watched Jenna give him an uncertain look.

“About what?” She was so honestly nervous that Alex’s stomach clenched painfully.
“We…we can’t be together anymore…there’s someone else and I can’t do this to either of you anymore.”

“You’ve been cheating on me?” Jenna whispered in a devastated voice. Alex could only nod his head, she had trusted him, had put her faith in him and he had let her down. He had been sneaking around behind her back.

“How…how long?” she was crying now and Alex tried to put a comforting hand on her knee. She threw it off and stood up.

“How long, Alex!?”

“6 months.” He answered quietly. She glared at him.

“Who!?”

“…Zack.”

Jenna’s jaw dropped. He was cheating on her with Zack, another guy, another guy who she trusted and thought was her friend. She bit her lip and tears fell harder and faster down her face.

“Jenna…I’m so sorry…” Alex reached out to her again.

“Fucking save it, Alex! You meant everything to me, you were my first! I fucking trusted you. I hope he’s worth it Alex!”

She walked over to him and smacked his face, and yanked the silver key from around his neck. She had given it to him as a Christmas present last year, it matched the one she always wore, and he never took it off.

“I hate you!” she screamed, picking up the picture of the two of them Alex kept on his bedside table and throwing it at the wall. Alex flinched as the glass shattered and watched as Jenna shrank to her knees and cried.

“I have nothing to live for without you.” She said in a quiet voice.

Alex watched with tears in his eyes as she got slowly to her feet and walked toward the door.

“I loved you with all that I had, and you threw us away. I hope he’s worth it, Alex. I’ll never forgive you for this and you’ll live with the consequences of your actions.”

She closed his door with a snap and Alex was left staring at the place she had just been, with broken glass littering his floor.

It wasn’t 2 hours later that Alex’s parents got the call. Jenna had been in an accident on the way home, she had hit a tree. They all said she had lost control, the streets were wet and it was raining. Alex knew better though, she had warned him. She had killed herself and now he had to live with the guilt that he’d taken her life. Him and Zack, they had inadvertently taken the life of a 17 year old girl with their actions. He knew right then that him and Zack had a 2 percent chance of ever making it work between them again.