True Love

The guys had received a group text from Zack that simply read Johnny's Bar. 6:00. 911

He didn't have to elaborate for the guys to know it had to be bad- Zack had tagged along this afternoon on a school tour with Mia and the girls. It was a local private high school, and honestly, from start to finish the whole thing had been nothing short of a fiasco. Upon arrival, neither of the girls were talking to Mia or Zack- Mia had confiscated the girls' cell phones so they'd actually pay attention, but Chance had called and Mia -apprehensively, of course- let them take the call, which ended with them calling Chance 'daddy', which broke his once hopeful heart into a million pieces. The Headmaster had all but implied that Zack was too stupid to father girls like Emma and Mackenzie. It was just...a disaster.

There truly was no other word for it.

The boys sat gathered around the pool table at Johnny's Bar.

Matt and Johnny shot a half-assed game of pool as Zack, Brian, and Arin sat around the table sipping on a bottle of Heineken. Zack's head was still spinning from the events of this afternoon and he hadn't really said much more than 'hi' and 'beer, now' to them or the waitress.

"So-" Matt was the first to break the awkward silence permeating form Zack. "how'd the school tour go?"

Zach let out an exasperated sigh, his hands twisting around the emerald bottle. "Well-" he finally managed, taking one last grand sip from the bottle before sitting it on the edge of the table. "it cost me $84,000."

"I'm sorry-" Brian crooned, his eyes wide with disbelief. "what the fuck did you just say?"

"Apparently-" Zack faltered, pulling the pack of Lucky Strikes from his shirt pocket. "good schools aren't cheap and they're too advanced for public school but-" he finally managed to look up, catching the same wide-eyed-disbelief from each of the men as he flipped the Zippo open, lighting the cigarette. "I don't give a shit about the money. They could have it all for all I fuckin' care." he took the first drag from the cigarette, blowing the cloud of smoke up towards the light hanging over the pool table. "I thought that that snooty bitch acting like I wasn't good enough to be their dad would be the worst of it but..." he finally let out a sigh, "they're still talking to Chance...and calling him dad." Zack seethed at that last word.

But, that's precisely the moment Brian had the best (and worst) idea he had ever had.

He'd simply call in a favor- Larry surely knew-somebody-who-knew-somebody, and One Direction was coming to town just two nights from tonight. The commercials had been airing relentlessly on the local channels, though, why, he wasn't quite sure- the show had sold out within minutes.

And if seeing some wretched boy-band was what it would take to win the girl's affections, well...he wasn't above buying their love.



Zack watched closely, each arm planted firmly around a girl. Moving them as quickly as he possibly could to shuffle them out of the buzzing arena to the safety of his car.

His ears were still ringing, so much so that he was actually sure they were about to chime his brain right out of his fucking skull.

He had just spent the past three and a half hours watching One Direction and their opening act.

He wanted to hate it.
He wanted to hate that he had wasted four hours of his life on such shit music-- pop music, driven by catchy hooks and mediocre guitar chords.
Surrounded by screaming little girls.

But he just couldn't.
Not after he saw how happy it made the girls.
And especially after how wonderfully the band had treated the girls.
They took pictures, signed CD's and even held a conversation.

Zack let out a sigh of relief as his black BMW came into view.

"Alright guys," Zack huffed, nudging them towards the door, constantly looking over his shoulder like some sort of paranoid nut job, "backseat!" he stood behind the car, watching vigilantly until the girls climbed into the car, shutting the doors.

He then jumped into the driver’s seat, firing up the car. He took a moment, watching the girls interact excitedly in the backseat.

"I totally can't decide who gives the best hugs-" Mackenzie gushed, starting with a wide smile at the signed copy of the CD, "Niall, or Zayn!"

"Uh no!" Emma scolded in complete and total disbelief, "Louis definitely gave the best hug!"

Zack smiled, putting the car into reverse.

"You guys have fun?" he asked, driving through the parking lot, which was quickly filling with throngs of people. He came to a slow stop at the cop who was directing traffic.

"Oh my God!" the girls squealed in unison. He smiled, watching their reactions in the rearview mirror.

"The best!" Emma squealed.

"Best. Night. Ever! Thanks daddy!" Kenzie articulated.

That very word.
It stopped him dead in his tracks.
His heart began to thud against his rib cage with an intensity he had never felt before.
He felt a knot form in the back of his throat.

Tears formed in the corners of his emerald eyes. His hands tightened around the leather steering wheel.

"Yeah dad..." Emma began, biting her lip, "tonight was the best..."

The girls both waited silently.

"Is it...okay-- If we call you dad?" Mackenzie began, hesitation dripping from her voice. Zack quickly reached up, wiping at his eyes before he turned around, looking at the girls. He managed a smile so wide, his cheeks actually hurt.

"Of course..." he reached back, grabbing Mackenzie's right hand, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand before doing the same to Emma's left hand, "I love you guys...I hope you know that..." both the girls smiled before nodding vigorously.

"We love you too..." Emma began, looking from Zack to Kenzie.

"Yeah...we do..." but Zack was startled as he heard something bang roughly against the hood of his brand new car. He turned to see the policeman had hit his car with his light-stick, anxiously waving Zack ahead.

Zack rolled his eyes, had the girls not been in the car he would have given the son-of-a-bitch the finger, but he wouldn't. Not now. Because some idiot with a light stick wasn't going to ruin this moment for him.

Zack felt his stomach rumble.

"Your mom doesn't get off shift for another two hours," he began, carefully following the Honda in front of him through the crowd, "are you guys hungry?"

"Starving..." the girls again mumbled in complete unison, something he would undoubtedly have to get used to.

It must be that twin thing that everyone talked about...

"You guys up for some hot dogs?" he asked mindlessly, keeping a close eye on the traffic light which was still illuminated red, "I know Pink's is still open..."

He received a chorus of agreement from the backseat before the girls seemed to fall into another deep conversation, which likely pertained to One Direction.

He continued to watch the traffic light, which much to his dismay still had not changed, "fuckin' seriously?" but he let out a quick sigh as the traffic light finally flashed green. Zack followed the Honda into the intersection.

But the last thing Zack heard was a horn blaring and the girls screaming from the backseat before he felt the impact.

And suddenly, everything went black.

"Sir!" the voice was loud but muffled like someone was screaming through a pipe, he felt something warm running down his face and his body was struck with pain. He opened his eyes, the image was fuzzy but he managed to make out what looked to be a handful of paramedics and firefighters.

That's when it hit him.

He had been in an accident...
the girls had been in the car.

He started to squirm and panicked at the realization that he was in a neck brace, and he seemed to be strapped down, "Kenzie! Emma!" he thrashed a little harder trying his best to look around.

"Sir!" the paramedic screamed again, placing a hand on each side of Zack's face.

"My daughters! Where are my daughters!?" he screamed, tears forming in his bloodshot eyes.

"They're both in an ambulance, we're preparing to transport both of them. But before we can transport Mackenzie we need to get her breathing! Can you tell me what sort of asthma medication she takes?" Zack began to panic.

He didn't even know she had asthma-

"I-I don't know!" Zack shouted again attempting to look around, "Their Mom!" Zack huffed through his pain, "She's a doctor at UC Medical! Please take them there!" the medic nodded.

Zack couldn't even speak as they wheeled him towards an ambulance, pushing him into the back.

Instead, he began to sob.



Zack stared at the heart monitor hanging from the wall.

It was his own and at this very moment, all he wanted was that green line to go flat.

He hated himself.
He hated the paramedics.
He hated the doctors.
But mostly, he hated this hospital.

He had been begging for some sort of information about the girl's conditions, anything about the girl's conditions but since he wasn't legally recognized as a guardian they wouldn't tell him a goddamned thing.

He closed his eyes, which still stung from all the tears.

He heard the curtain to his triage bed pull open, but the voice made every hair on his body stand on end, "Zack..." he opened his eyes, and there she was.

Her brunette hair was knotted on top of her head.
She had on foam green colored scrub pants and a fitted white v-neck t-shirt. A hospital badge hung from the waistband of her pants. A pink stethoscope hung around her neck.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her face tired and tear stained.

"Mia..." Zack croaked but stopped the moment tears began to form in his emerald eyes.

She walked over, taking a seat on the edge of his hospital bed. She didn't even hesitate as she took his hand in hers. She examined his arm gently, taking in all the bruises, scratches and bumps.

"I'm so sorry Mia-" he croaked again, but Mia looked up, shaking her head.

"It’s not your fault Zack."

"No Mia, I should have been-" but Mia reached up, placing her finger over Zack's cut lips.

"No, Zack..." she only tightened her hand around his, "the other driver. They just took him into custody. He was drunk." Zack let out a deep sob, the tears falling, stinging at his scratched cheeks.

"how are they?" Mia smiled, examining the lion tattooed on the back of Zack's hand.

"They're going to be fine. We're keeping them both overnight for observation. They both are absolutely covered in bruises, Em had a dislocated shoulder and were doing breathing treatments on Kenz every two hours to open up her airway..." Zack cringed at the very thought, "they suctioned a floating piece of bone from Kenzie's knee...but all in all, they're just going to be sore..."

"You're so calm..." Zack muttered as he began to play with Mia's fingers.

He thought she would be angry, or furious- or never let him see the girls again.
He thought she would hate him.

"Zack...they're alive, you're alive...I see people's kids come in day in and day out that die on my table. They're alive and sore, I can't ask for much more than that..." Zack just nodded, "I called your family by the way," Zack cringed at the very thought, "they're in the waiting room...you don't have to see them right now if you don't want too-" Zack just shook his head quickly from side to side, "the girls have asked me a hundred times if you're okay..." she mumbled, but Zack felt his mouth tug into a smile, "how is dad, is he okay? Is he awake?"

"So it wasn't a dream?" Zack mumbled, "They are calling me dad?" Mia bit at her lip before nodding.

"They've been asking for a few days. I told them you probably wouldn't mind..."

"Not at all..." he mumbled, cringing as he moved, making pain shoot through his body.

"Hey..." Mia asked, making Zack's eyes meet hers, "you live alone and, I think maybe you should stay with the girls and I while you recover. You're going to be extremely sore for the next few weeks and I just think it would be a good idea. We have two spare rooms and-"

"Yes..." Zack mumbled, not even giving her a chance to finish.