Vengeance Is Mine

(Zephyr's POV)

When I finally woke up the next morning the rain had stopped thankfully and the sun peeked out just enough to start warming my soggy, cold skin. I gathered all my mess together before checking around to make sure no one was in view as I began my journey out. I said my goodbyes to my Dad as I walked past, thanking him for letting me make it through the night on my own. Once I exited through the gates, I decided now was a good time to check my phone. 15 missed calls, 10 voicemails, 21 texts. All from Val, Matt, Jimmy, Brian, Johnny, and last but certainly not least, Zack. I returned some of them, saying that I was fine and safe but decided to leave Zack's unopened. After he didn't answer my call last night, I figured he didn't want to be bothered with me and my problems anymore.

I made my way through downtown before stopping at a small coffee shop. When I stepped inside, I immediately could feel all eyes on me as I approached the counter. I did my best to ignore it while I ordered my favorite triple shot espresso with extra cream. The warm aromas of the different baked goods made my stomach growl loudly. I was hungry, but sadly didn't have anymore cash left on me besides enough to pay for my drink. To my surprise though, the barista was kind enough to throw in a small banana nut muffin for free. "No charge, you look like you could use it." I smiled weakly before thanking her and taking a seat at a small table hidden away in the back corner.

As I casually sipped at my drink and nibbled on the muffin, I couldn't help but feel like someone was still keeping a close eye on me. Only it wasn't until I felt someone slide in the booth beside me and stare directly in my face did it finally register with my brain to yell. "Shh! It's just me! Chill out!" It was Zack. I instantly felt embarrassed, shielding my face away from all the people who were beginning to stare over at me again. "What the hell are you doing here? How did you even find me?" I grumbled, sending him a narrow eyed glare. He threw up his hands in defense and showed me his phone, the screen reading as follows; "Check the coffee house downtown near the beach, she loves their espressos."

Val, she knew this was my favorite place to come whenever we had nothing else to do after school some mornings. "Of course." I huffed, stuffing a large piece of muffin into my mouth. Why couldn't everyone just leave me alone? I wasn't bothering them, and worst of all, they sent Zack of all people out to look for me. "Don't be mad at her, everyone's worried about you. Especially me, I saw your missed call and freaked out all morning trying to get a hold of you. Where did you go anyway? You look like a train wreck." I shot him another sideways glare before giving him the finger.

"I stayed the night with my Dad, if you must know. In the pouring rain, during a lightening storm, huddled under a tree, in a pile of my dirty laundry." His face was stiff and showed an immense amount of shock. "You slept in the fucking cemetery? How come you just didn't come over to my house?! You know I was home!" I shrugged my shoulders without saying anything simply before continuing to pick at my food. I didn't want to be around him, he played with my heart, pretty much broke it. So if we were being honest, the last place I wanted to be was around him at all. "Are you seriously being like this right now? I know I fucked up, clearly I'm still paying for it, but this is your life. You can't just go around sleeping from place to place, it's not safe for you out there."

I put my hand up to silence him but he still continued to ramble on angrily. "I'm not fucking ten, Zack. I can take pretty good care of my fucking self, thank you for your concern. I have been, for the last 5 years since I lost my Dad." His voice lowered some and became more soft. "I know Zeph, I know you've been handling everything since your Dad passed away. But this is different now, this is just about you now. We're all trying to be there for you, especially me. You're not just going to wander around aimlessly anymore, Zephyr. I don't care what you say, you can fight me all you want, but you're going back to my house. And you're going to stay there, and you're going to have Thanksgiving with me and all of my family. So hurry up and finish, because we've got a long walk."

I didn't say a word, I didn't protest, because honestly at this point, anything was better than sleeping outside and looking like a homeless person. The walk to his house was agonizingly long but when we made it, I was extremely exhausted. Thankfully no one was home because they were all out shopping for dinner tomorrow so privacy was unlimited for the moment. "Have you seen Zoey at all?" I was dreading asking him that question, but I was still curious, I did still miss my own family. He shook his head with a sad smile. "No, besides whenever she would go outside the house or stuff like that. I haven't seen your Mom either." I replied with a simple "Oh." before taking the clean clothes Zack offered me and heading towards the shower.

You couldn't imagine how amazing it felt to wash all the dirt and rainwater from off of my skin and hair. The hot water was a blessing in disguise, to put it lightly. I still couldn't keep my mind off of my Mom and sister, I still wondered about them and what they were going to do for tomorrow, but when a soft knock at the door came, my mind was quickly shifted away. "Hey Zeph, just come up to my room when you're finished alright?" I rinsed off the remaining soap from out of my hair before shutting off the water. I dried myself thoroughly with the soft towel before changing into the last clean pair of underwear and bra that I owned and slipping on the shirt and shorts Zack lent me.

Once I stepped back inside his room, I immediately noticed that he had separated all my dirt clothes and put them into the laundry basket, organized all my bags neatly in the corner of his room, and even changed his bed sheets, putting a pillow beside his. "I'll get your clothes started in a little bit once my Mom gets here, I don't wanna ruin anything. The bed's clean and all, so feel free to take a nap. I'm sure your body could use the proper rest." I chuckled lightly before pulling him into a hug tightly, catching him completely off guard. He didn't resist though and hugged me back just as tight.

"I'm really sorry about everything still, Zeph. I love you, I really do. I just want to know that you're safe and not in any trouble. My parents know you're going to be staying again so it's not a problem about anything. I felt the tears start to swell up in my eyes and spill down my face as I started to feel bad all over again about the things that we had said to each other the last time we were in this room, face to face with Zoey. I looked up at him, seeing that he hadn't kept his eyes off of me the entire time. "I love you too, Zee. I know you're sorry, but it still really hurt me. I just want to work through all of this first before we even think about trying to become anything."

He shook his head vigorously, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I totally agree. Anyway, you get some sleep, I'm gonna be downstairs if you need me, okay?" I nodded before standing up on my tiptoes and kissing his cheek. "Thank you, again. I mean it." His cheeks flushed a light pink before he turned and kissed the tip of my nose, making me laugh. "What are friends for."