Suffocated

Chapter 9
Scream
The next morning, I woke up, Zacky's head still on my chest. I smiled to myself remembering what had happened the night before. After I pushed him off of me gently, he rolled over onto his side, then woke up.
"Oh, hey, beautiful." he grinned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Hey, handsome." I smiled, kissing his cheek. I was searching the floor for my clothes when there was a knock at the front door.
"I'll get it." Zacky sighed, quickly putting on his clothes from the night before. I had just finished getting dressed when I heard him open the front door.
"Oh, great. What do you want?" I heard him groan.
"I want to fix things between us. I love you, Zack. I've been a shitty girlfriend. I'll admit that, but I want to work this out & be happy together again."
"Actually, that's not going to happen. First off, I dumped you already. We're done. We've been done. I have a new woman in my life now & she's way more amazing than you'll ever be."
"Let me guess. That Taylor slut? She'll never be able to give you what I can."
"Bitch, you are about five seconds away from me calling the cops for harassment."
"Don't do that, baby." she whined.
"Then get the fuck off my damn property! I warned you. Try this again & I'll make sure your ass is thrown in jail." he shouted, slamming the door in her face. When he turned around, I shoved him up against the door, crashing my lips to his.
"Well, hello there." he smirked once I pulled away.
"I love you, baby. You think she'll ever leave us alone?"
"Not a chance. But, next time she tries something, I'm calling the motherfucking police. I don't need this shit." he sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
"Hey, calm down. It'll be okay. Come on. Let's go see what Johnny's up to." I said, lifting his chin so his eyes met mine.
"Sounds good." he said with a small grin. He grabbed his keys & walked out to his Audi, unlocking it & getting inside next to me. Once we were at Johnny's, we went inside, but couldn't find him.
"Hmm. Maybe he's taking a nap." I said, walking towards his bedroom. Sure enough, short shit was sprawled out on his bed, fast asleep.
"HEY WAKE UP ASSHOLE!" I shouted, jumping on top of him.
"Oh, what the fuck?" he screamed, damn near pissing himself. Zacky laughed his ass off, standing in the doorway.
"Good morning, short shit." Zacky chuckled, crossing his arms, leaning against the door frame.
"Yeah, right." Johnny yawned, stretching his arms.
"So what's everyone doing today?" I asked him.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I just woke up, remember?"
"Well, I didn't know if you'd made plans to all get together today or not." I told him.
"Nope. Let me get dressed & then we'll all walk over to Jimmy's & see what he's doing." Johnny yawned again. Zack & I walked into the living room, waiting for Johnny to join us so we could head on over to Jimmy's.
"Hurry up, fucker!" I yelled to him from the couch.
"I'm comin!" he yelled back, sliding his studded belt through his belt loops in his jeans.
"Move out!" Zack said, marching towards the door. I just shook my head & followed him. Once we were at Jimmy's, I knocked on the door. A zombie like Jimmy opened the door & groaned a somewhat understandable 'come in'.
"You were still asleep?" I asked him, surprised.
"I didn't get to sleep until like five a.m. last night. Shut up." he groaned, rubbing his eyes as we walked inside.
"So is that why you're a zombie now?" I laughed, plopping down in his recliner.
"Ha ha ha. Very funny. So what's up with you guys?" he yawned, opening a can of Monster from the fridge.
"Queen slut bag stopped by my house again this morning." Zack sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Oh, fuck, dude." Jimmy sighed, putting the half empty can down on the counter.
"So what are you gonna do about her?" Johnny asked us from the couch.
"I don't know, but this is horse shit." Zack said, hanging his head in his hands.
"You'll just have to call the police. There's no other way around it." I told him.
"You're probably right. It might help her sanity anyway." Zack sighed.
"Sanity? She's never been sane a day in her life." Jimmy laughed.
"When you're right, you're right." Zack chuckled, standing up & walking into the living room.
"Hey, get your ass over here. Like now! Yeah. No. I don't give a fuck. Flying or grounded. Now! I'll disown you, fucker. Ha ha okay. See you in a bit." Johnny said, talking on the phone.
"What?" I asked him after he hung up, slightly chuckling.
"Matt & Val will be over soon." he laughed, slipping his phone into his pocket.
"What's up, bitches!" Brian yelled, walking in, cup of Starbuck's coffee in one hand.
"Perfect timing. We just called Matt over here. Him & Val will be here shortly." Jimmy said before chugging the rest of the Monster he had. We all sat around talking for a while before Matt & Val finally showed up.
"Hey, what's going on everybody?" Matt grinned, holding Val's hand as she was standing next to him.
"Hey, girl." I shrieked, walking over to her.
"Hey. How are you doing?" she asked me, excitedly.
"Good, good." I grinned, darting my eyes to Zack for her to see. She winked & gave me a smile. We sat around for most of the day watching movies. Then, Matt decided it was a good idea to have a tournament to see who played Call Of Duty: Black Ops the best. Matt was always playing that game. It was close, though. Him & Zack were head to head now. Zack had beat out everyone else. They're score was tied. They needed one point.
"BOOM! I win!" Zack shouted, jumping up from the couch.
"Lucky ass!" Matt laughed, tossing the controller to Brian.
"Hey, it was close, though. You're a tough one, dude." Zack said as he high fived Matt.
"Hey, Brian. You got any cigarettes on you?" I asked him.
"Yeah. I'm headed that way. Come on." he said, standing up & walking to the back door. We both sat outside & he handed me a cigarette, lighting it for me, too.
"Thanks." I said, breathing in the smoke.
"You okay?" he asked me, worriedly.
"Yeah. That bitch is just stressing me out a little. Should I be worried?"
"Nah. She ain't got nothing on you. Zack is head over heels for you. He may have seemed like they had a thing a while back, but he was just trying to make you jealous. It really didn't mean anything. He wouldn't even fuck her. You don't have anything to worry about. Trust me." Brian laughed, lighting his cigarette & taking a drag.
"I just don't want to be disappointed, ya know? I want this to work. I think he wants it to work, too."
"Oh, he does. Look, just chill. You'll be fine. Just relax. Besides, if she comes around again, Zack will call the cops. Val will kill that bitch, too if need be." he chuckled. We sat there, chatting & smoking our cigarettes until we finally were ready to go inside. I could hear the guys laughing like a pack of hyenas as I entered the living room.
"What could possibly be so funny?" I asked them.
"We're just being stupid." Matt chuckled, looking over at me as Val walked up next to me with a tray of mixed drinks.
"Ooh la la." I grinned, looking over at her.
"Guiness beers for the guys -" she started. "But I wanted -"
"Cork it, Matt. I didn't forget about your damn Grey Goose & Cranberry." she laughed, shaking her head. Matt didn't even bother saying anything. He just shrugged his shoulders & gave her his guilty little smile.
"Would you care for a Peach Tea Vodka?" she asked me.
"Thank you, madam."I chuckled.
"Brian, Michelle is on her way over now." Val said, handing him a beer.
"Righteous." he nodded, taking the toxic beverage. We sat around drinking for a while before Michelle finally arrived.
"We thought you'd never get here." Brian greeted her with a small chuckle.
"Well, um, did you know your tires are slashed, Zack?" she asked him, worriedly.
"Fuck!" Zack screamed as he threw his beer bottle against the wall. I watched as it shattered into a million pieces.
"Man, you need to put that bitch on a leash or something." Brian said.
"I just put new fucking tires on that bitch!"
"I'd say it's high time for a restraining order, dude." Jimmy sighed.
"I guess so, Jimmy." Zack laughed.
"So, uh, you weren't kidding about her not having been sane a day in her life, Jimmy?" I said, looking over at him.
"See? She's fucking nuts!" Jimmy shouted, jumping up & down.
"She seemed okay for the 8 months there were together." Johnny piped up.
"She started doing blow, heroin, shit like that after 6 months. Finally, I just said fuck it. Kicked her out. Haven't looked back since. Well, except for you." Zack nudged me.
"No wonder she's so fucked up." Matt said while playing Black Ops.
"Hey, Matt." Johnny said.
"What?" he looked over & Brian had thrown a glass of water in his face.
"Shit. And I actually had a good streak going and everything." Matt chuckled, wiping his face off.
The rest of the evening was spent chilling. Jimmy took Zack to get some new tires while I napped with Val in her room. When I woke up, it was dark. I sat up in Val's bed & rubbed my eyes. She was already up & awake. I walked downstairs to find all the rooms empty. I walked outside to the patio & Jimmy had fired up his grill. Everyone was just sitting around the pool drinking while Jimmy was flipping stuff on the grill.
"We were startin' to think you died." Jimmy laughed, closing the grill lid.
"Nope, just zombiefied." I yawned.
"Hungry?"
"If you're cooking, hell yes." I grinned.
"Well, hello there sleepyhead." Zacky smiled, walking over to me.
"'Sup?" I waved.
"Matt & Brian helped me put the new tires on. Fuckin' slut slashed all four of them bitches."
"Oh." I frowned.
"I'm done with this shit. I'm calling the cops tomorrow & getting that restraining order."
"Yeah, might be a good idea." I sighed. A few hours later, everyone started parting ways.
"I'm gonna stay at Johnny's tonight. I'll probably be over tomorrow at some point." I told Zack as he climbed into his car.
"You sure?" he asked me.
"Yeah."
"Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then. Goodnight, sweetie." he sighed.
"Night, babe You'll see me tomorrow Don't worry."
"I know. I'll just be a little lonely."
"That puppy dog face is so not gonna work this time, Baker."
"Damn it. Fine." he hung his head, playfully.
"Night."
"Night." he said as as he pulled out of the driveway.
"You're scared Gina will come back, aren't you?" Johnny asked, knowingly.
"Yeah, but I can't tell Zack that. You know how he is."
"Yeah, but he's pretty tough. His house has crazy security all over it." Johnny tried to assure me.
"If that's the case, then how did Gina get in?" Matt asked Johnny as he & Val got into their car.
"I think she still had a key. Zack must've forgotten to get it. Bitch probably still has it." I sighed.
"You ready to walk home?" Johnny asked me.
"Yeah, I suppose." We had been walking for about ten minutes in total silence before either of us said anything.
"Are you happy?" he asked me, finally breaking the silence.
"What kind of question is that?" I replied, confused.
"One that deserves an answer." he said.
"Yeah. I guess. I'd be happier if that Gina bitch would go jump off a cliff."
"Believe me when I say we all do. At this point, I'm sure Zack shares the same feeling. She'll get hers. Don't you worry."
"Yeah, well, it'd be great if it happened asap."
"I used to be worried about someone breaking your heart & then I'd have to pick up the pieces. But this, you & Zack, thing. It's real. I see his eyes light up when he sees you. Gina ain't got nothing on you."
"Sometimes I wonder if it's worth the struggle."
"It is. You're gonna make mistakes. I've learned to deal with that. I just need to let you live. I didn't do that before. I was suffocating you. You tried telling me, but I was so blind. I'm sorry."
"Thanks for finally realizing that." I grinned, putting my arm around him.
"I was devastated when I realized what I'd done. Zacky wouldn't even talk to me for a while. It got bad for a while." Johnny sighed, putting his hands in his pockets & hanging his head.
"I almost came back, but I knew I couldn't. I had no choice. There was literally no other way."
"I know that now. Look, the point is don't give up on Zack. He won't give up on you. Gina won't be around forever." he said, quietly as he looked over at me.
"Thanks. I just have to forget about her. She can't ruin everything." I chuckled as we walked inside his house.
"Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning, okay?" he said, giving me a hug before heading to his room.
"Sounds good." I yawned. Walking into my room, I texted Zacky good night before finally crashing onto my bed.