Before I Wake

I let out a loud moan as the incessant ringing of my cell phone hit my ears. Reaching out from underneath my haven of blankets, I snatched the object of my distress from my bed side table and snapped it open.

"What?" I groaned into the device, willing myself to arise from my sleepy haze.

"Good afternoon, beautiful! Get your sorry ass up, we are going to the beach." I heard him smiling on the other end of the device. I let out a light laugh as the realization dawned on me as to who it was that had decided to awaken me from my slumber. Anyone else and they would have had my fury on their hands.

"Zachary, it's," I threw a quick glance toward my alarm clock and narrowed my eyes, fighting off the sleep that was still presently fogging my mind. The obnoxiously green numbers read that it was much too early for any human being to be awake. "7:46 in the damn morning, are you insane?"

"Alaine," he whined. "I haven't seen you in forever, please?" He begged, dragging out the last word of his sentence. I let out a sigh as I felt myself sitting forward, knowing full well that I would give in to just about anything that the boy asked of me. I let out a grumble as the blankets fell down to my sides and I was left to face the chill of the morning.

"Fine, but, you have to give me at least an hour to shower and stuff." I made my way toward the bathroom, grimacing as my bare feet touched the cold, wooden floor of my room. Placing the device between the crook of my shoulder and my face, I leaned over the tub and ran the shower on full heat, not daring to step foot into it until the water had had enough time to run through the cold pipes and warm.

I could practically hear Zack jump up and down out of pure excitement as he agreed to my terms. "You need any help in there?" he asked, the smirk evident in his voice. I couldn't contain my laugh as I bid him farewell and quickly snapped the phone shut, eager to get into the warmth of the shower. Oh, if only you knew, Zachary, if only.

I allowed my clothes to drop into a heap at my feet and stepped into the warm waters, relishing as it flowed over my body, warming me from the inside out. I let out a small sigh as I mechanically began to wash my hair, face, and body, having my thoughts drift toward the boy I planned to spend the day with.

Zack Merrick, with his numerous tattoos, insane hair, and handsome smile, it was no surprise that I had fallen so hard for him, especially after my previous failed attempt at a relationship. I felt myself scowl at the memories of him, willing them out of my mind. Zack was different than the rest. Seems like a cliché thing to say, but it was only the truth. He was a talented musician, something that had always attracted me, he was kind and not quick to judge, but, perhaps my favorite quality about him was the fact that he listened.

I quickly dragged my thoughts from him as soon as I felt the water becoming cold, realizing I had spent much too long in the shower. As I stepped out, wrapping a towel around me as quick as humanly possible in order to avoid the cold, a sharp pain had me suddenly reaching to grab hold of the closest thing to me, the counter. I scrunched my eyes in pain and let out a sharp breath, as the pain rippled through me.

"What the fuck?" I whispered harshly. I stayed immobile, as to not invoke more pain. After some time, the pain subsided and I loosened my tight grip on the counter, not realizing that my knuckles had begun to turn white. I let out a long breath and straightened myself back into a standing position, trying to be cautious. I felt myself blink a few times and tried to process what had just happened.

I let out a groan as realization dawned on me, I was going to be getting my period. "Wonderful," I mumbled as I made my way back into my room, "just fucking wonderful". Stepping out of the steam filled chamber, I was greeted with a mop of brown hair and shining brown eyes sitting on my bed, dressed in nothing but his swim trunks and a towel adorning his shoulders.

"Zack, what the hell!" I scolded him as I made my way toward my dresser, trying my best to hide my blush and the distress that his uninvited presence had caused me. He watched me make my way across the room, a smirk adorning his face.

"You said an hour. An hour has passed, so, here I am!" He all about yelled, throwing both of his hands into the hair and grinning at me. I let out a grumble as I snatched my pink and green bathing suit, as well as some shorts and a tank from the inside of my dresser. I stalked back into my bathroom, throwing him a middle finger before shutting the door.

"Back to you, love!" I heard his muffled voice through the door. I quickly slipped into my suit, throwing my still wet, dark hair into a messy bun. I wiped as much steam from my mirror as possible, creating a circular opening for me to gaze into. I gave myself a small smile, willing to have a good day. I threw a bit of moisturizer onto my pale face and dabbed a bit of mascara onto the eyelashes surrounding my bright, blue eyes. I quick brush of my teeth and I headed back into my room.

"Let's go, pain in the ass." I smirked as I tossed my own towel at his face, catching him off guard. He let out a laugh and rolled off my bed in an ever-so graceful manner as I made my way down the stairs, careful not to wake my roommate, Chelsea, from her deep slumber.

Zack and I quickly made our way out the door and into his car, rolling out of the driveway without any fuss. "I see that Ol' Yeller here decided against giving you any trouble this morning, yeah?" He let out a laugh as he affectionately rubbed the dashboard of his 1992 Honda Civic. "Yeah," he smiled down at me, the wind whipping our hair around the vehicle in a tornado-like fashion, "she's a trooper." I let out a small giggle as I closed my eyes, trying to catch up on what little bit of sleep I had obtained from the previous night and trying to shake the feeling from this morning.

The rest of the drive was a quiet one, as it normally was between Zack and I. We had an odd sense of communication, not having to share any words to understand one another. We were comfortable with silence, which was another attribute that attracted me to him. There was no need to fill these moments with pointless conversation.

As we reached the beach, I received a text from Chelsea asking to my whereabouts. I sent her a quick reply and climbed out of the vehicle, making my way toward the shore. Zack raced ahead of me and I let out a loud laugh as I watched him dive into the cold waters, quickly regretting it. "Holy shit!" He screamed, popping up faster than I ever thought humanly possible. I stopped my decent toward these waters, noticing the goosebumps that were covering his toned body and not willing myself to get any closer.

"I don't even think your dick can get up as quick as you just did, Zachary." I yelled toward him, my body racking with laughter. His eyes narrowed and I immediately regretted my previous choice of words. "No, no, no!" I screamed as I tried to gain some ground on him as he raced toward me. There was a reason I wasn't on any sports teams during high school and I quickly ended up, or bottom up I should say, as Zack picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, making his way toward the freezing waters.

The cold water chilled me to the bones the moment I made contact. "Oh, my fuck!" I screamed as I came up from the murky depths, gasping for breath. My body was covered in goosebumps and my long hair was now a tangled mess atop my head. I found my target of hate, keeling over in laughter and I couldn't help but soon join in, relishing in these sort of moments.

Little did either of us know that these moments would soon be coming to a permanent end.