Weightless

The next morning, Alex woke with Chloe still wrapped in his arms. He blinked his eyes, trying to clear the sleep from them, and saw Zack standing in the doorway. Alex thought he would see anger in the boy’s face, but Zack just smiled at him. Alex gently removed himself from the bed. Chloe mumbled something when he stood, but then took a deep breath and rolled in the spot Alex had just been in. Zack jerked his head to the side and Alex followed him out of the room. They made their way into the kitchen. Zack leaned against the counter and gazed at Alex.

“Chloe is going to move in here.” He stated simply, confidence radiating off of him..

“Good.” Alex replied with a smile. He hated the thought of Chloe ever going back to theat house. Zack sighed.

“But first we have to get all of her things from her parents house.” He sounded remarkably less sure of himself now. Alex frowned.

“How are we going to do that? She can’t go back to that house. She’ll ever leave if she does.” Alex frowned. Hundreds of scenarios began racing through his head, none of them good.

“She’s not.” Zack reassured him. “My dad took the day off of work, so we’re going to go over there soon. My aunt and uncle leave pretty early and I found Chloe’s key so we’re just gonna grab her things. My mom already talked to my Aunt Eme. She didn’t tell her that we’re getting Chloe’s stuff today, but my mom told her Chloe was moving in.” Zack ran a hand through his hair. “They’re not happy, my aunt and uncle. They said they would call the cops, but Chloe turned 18 last week so they can’t actually do anything.”

“Wait, what?! We missed her birthday?!” Alex exclaimed.

“Yeah.” Zack said sadly. “I tried to call her and I tried going to her house, but Marcus had blocked my number and her parents wouldn’t let me in.”

“That’s just not right.” Alex said, shaking his head.

“I know, but we can worry about that later. For now, I need you to do something for me.”

“Okay.” Alex agreed immediately.

“Can you watch Chloe today? You know, make sure she gets to class and Marcus doesn’t try to take her out of school or anything? She doesn’t know what we’re doing and I know she would try and go talk to her parents if she did. She hates upsetting or disappointing them, but this has to be done, so we have to make sure she doesn’t try to stop it.”

Alex was slightly stunned. He had completely forgotten that they were supposed to be at school today. He glanced at the clock and noticed that if Chloe got up now they could actually make it to class on time. Alex was pretty shocked by that. He almost never woke up in time for school, even with an alarm. Zack cleared his throat and Alex realized he had completely spaced out. He shook his head quickly to clear the clouds from his thoughts.

“Of course, Z.”

“Thanks, Lex.” Zack grinned. “I’ll go wake her up. Go ahead and eat whatever.”

Zack left the kitchen and Alex grabbed himself a cup of coffee while he waited. He didn’t even care that he was going to school in the same clothing he had worn yesterday. He was more focused on how he was going to keep an eye on Chloe. He sent a quick text to Jack and Rian and enlisted their help as well. All of the boys agreed, no one was going to lay a hand on Chloe ever again. They would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

When Zack entered the room Chloe was currently occupying he was surprised to see her sitting up in bed. She looked like she had just woken up. He watched her glance around before frowning slightly. Zack smiled to himself.

“He’s in the kitchen.” Chloe jumped at his voice. She turned to her cousin and smiled.

“Okay.”

“Lex is gonna take you to school today, so get ready okay?” He asked softly. She nodded her head.

Chloe felt her smile grow bigger as Zack left the room. Alex had stayed. He hadn’t abandoned her like she thought he had when she first woke up. She bounced off of the bed and quickly pulled an outfit together. Chloe ran a brush through her hair and quickly cleaned her teeth before grabbing her backpack and making her way to the kitchen. Both boys smiled when they saw her. Zack pulled her to him, hugging her tight and placing a kiss on her forehead.

“Have a good day at school, Bo. I’ll see you when you get home, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too.” Chloe whispered, kissing his cheek before pulling away.

Alex beamed at her and Chloe couldn’t help but give him a small smile as well. He held out his hand to her. Chloe laced their fingers together and they made their way to the door. Zack watched out the window as the couple got into the car and drove away. He felt a warmness build in his stomach. It spread throughout his chest. Zack let it fill him. Happiness. That’s what he was feeling. Happiness at the fact that Chloe seemed to have done a completely 180. Happiness at the fact that for the first time in two years, he believed she was actually going to be okay. Chloe was going to be okay.

Mark soon appeared behind his son and placed a hand on his shoulder. Zack turned to look at his father. There was a look of determination in his eyes. Zack remembered their task for their day and felt the same emotion overtake him.

“Ready?” Mark asked.

Zack nodded. They made their way out to the car. The radio stayed off as they made the short drive to the Danske household. As predicted, there were no cars in the driveway. Zack easily slid the key into its slot and made his way inside. He picked his way up the stairs, his father following close behind. Zack eased Chloe’s bedroom door open. Most of her clothing was on the floor. Quickly, they began to gather the clothing and place it into the boxes they had grabbed from the car. There wasn’t much more in the way of personal effects. Zack made sure to grab her laptop and pictures, though he left the ones of her and Marcus where they were. He grabbed the blankets off of her bed as well. The father and son duo finally began hauling the boxes down the stairs and into the car almost an hour later. Just as they were taking the last two boxes down, a door slammed. Zack and his father froze, looking at each other before rushing down the remaining stairs. They came face to face with the one and only Eme Dankse at the bottom of the steps. She looked pissed off beyond belief, but she also looked sad.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Mark?” She snapped.

“I’m getting Chloe’s things. I know Carla already told you she was moving in with us.” He stated calmly. Only Zack caught the undertone of anger in his voice.

“And I already told my sister that there is no way in hell Chloe Marie is doing that.”

“What are you going to do about it, Eme? She’s 18. You have no more control over her actions. This should have happened two years ago when Marcus first entered the picture, but Carla and I failed her. We are not going to let that happen.”

Zack stood by silently as he watched the adults exchange. He knew that his father was steadily getting more upset with each passing moment. He could also see that his aunt wasn’t her usual self. She looked like she was going to crack at any moment.

“Put those boxes back right now, Mark.” She said lowly.

“No. Chloe is not going to stay here and be neglected by you any longer. Now move out of our way.”

“You can’t just take her away!” Eme cried.

“Watch me.” Mark growled.

He pushed his way around his sister-in-law. Zack followed behind him quickly. He felt a twinge of sorrow for his aunt. When they were younger, Eme had been like a second mother to him. As much as he wanted to hate her for all the pain she had caused Chloe, he couldn’t. Suddenly, Eme was clutching at his arm. Zack was surprised to see tears streaming down her face.

“Please! You can’t take her! She’s all I have!” She sobbed. Zack shimmied out of her grasp. He looked at his aunt with sympathetic eyes.

“Let her go, Aunt Eme.” He whispered softly. “You know that’s what’s best for her. She can’t stay here. You have to let her go.” His aunt continued to cry.

“I love her. She’s my baby girl.” She said between sobs.

“That’s why you can’t stop this. If you love her, you have to set her free. I don’t know what happened all those years ago, but Chloe hasn’t been your baby girl for a long time. You have to see that. You have to see that this is the only way she’ll ever get better.”

“Just…please…tell her I love her.” She said softly. “And tell her I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t be a better mother to her or save her.”

Zack nodded and his aunt let him walk away. Mark had already started the car and Zack crawled into the passenger seat. He watched out the window as his aunt wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly made her way back inside. When her figure disappeared he returned his gaze to the front. His father smiled at him and Zack sent him one back. This was what had to be done. This was what was right. It was silent again as they made their way home, but there wasn’t tension this time. Instead, the car was filled with relief. Mark reached over and pulled his son into a one armed hug when they reached a stop light. Zack hugged his father back. Both of them felt as if they were 1,000 pounds lighter. Things were going to be better. Finally, everything was going to be just the way it should.