Vengeance Is Mine

(Zephyr's POV)

After Zoey was discharged from the hospital later that night, things went from pretty bad to even worse then they already were. She screamed and yelled the entire ride home while Mom tried her hardest to keep the chaos to a minimum until the car came to a screeching halt in the driveway. Zoey was furious that I was still even allowed to be in our house after the horrible beating and disfigurement I had caused her today at school in front of everyone and all of her stupid friends. Mom had finally had enough of it and sent Zoey to her room to recover while she made me remain downstairs for us to have a long talk. She said she didn't understand why I couldn't just leave her and Zack alone, she didn't understand why I had to go off and cause a huge disruption like this. She didn't understand anything.

That's when I truly let her have it. I went off on her like if she was someone I had never even met before, holding absolutely nothing back. I told her I wished it was her who had died of cancer years ago and not my dad. I told her that I wished that I could have killed Zoey, that way I could be an only child like I had always dreamed. I told her that Dad was the only person who ever understood anything about how I was feeling, that he was the only one who ever truly cared about me regardless of anything that I had done. No one was ever going to take his place, no one was ever going to care about me the way he did. I needed my father, not my mother. She was always on Zoey's side of everything no matter if she was wrong or not. Not dad, he knew when Zoey was lying, he knew when she was trying to play victim.

So after a much anticipated hard slap across my face, my mother had gave me my ultimate punishment. "If you think I'm such a hard person to live with, if you think it's so terrible living here with me and your sister, your own twin, your own clone of you, Zephyr, then you can leave. I don't think it's a good idea with you being here right now anyways. Your sister needs time to rest and recover, you've done enough damage. So I think it'll be in everyone's best interest if you go, now. I'll give you time to pack up some of your belongings." My face immediately fell. All my defenses were shot to the ground as those words tore through my like a knife. She was kicking me out, she was picking Zoey over me, like she always did. "I'm the one who make's sure the bills are paid around here, I'm the one always making sure there's money for the month's rent. If it wasn't for me, you'd be out on your ass so fast you wouldn't know where to begin, Mom. Ever since Dad died, I have been the one stepping up and taking care of you. So fine, if you want me gone, I'm leaving."

She didn't say another word to me as I shoved passed her roughly and headed into my room. I grabbed a couple of my empty backpacks before throwing in whatever I thought was necessary, over stuffing them to the rim. By the time I was finished I had practically taken almost everything, leaving only the obvious big things I couldn't carry and the stuff I felt wasn't necessarily important as of now before locking my door tight and slamming it shut behind me as I walked out. I didn't say anything to either my mom nor Zoey as I pushed her aside to make my way outside. It was already ten at night so I honestly wasn't exactly sure as to where the fuck I was going to go this late, Val and Michelle's parents were exactly too fond of house guests and the guys were definitely not my first choice either. And there was no way in hell I was going to try and ask Zacky for any sort of help.

So without using my best judgement, I headed in the direction of the cemetery. I was going to go and see my father, regardless if it was closed or not. I needed to see him, needed to talk to him. Only my dad knew how to fix things, so I needed him to know what was wrong. It was about a good six mile walk, so it took me all about two hours to finally reach the thick iron gates. Thankfully there was no one around and it was a pretty easy squeeze between them. I tossed my bags over the top before dashing off in the hopes of finding my dad's headstone in the middle of the night. It wasn't easy to navigate seeing as it was pitch black and almost all of them looked the same, but I eventually found it, stopping almost instantly once I reached it. It had been months since I last came.

I sat down beside the lonely stone, brushing off the dust that had settled on the top. My dad's picture was gleaming under the moonlight, the image of his face instantly bringing tears to my eyes. God, I missed him so fucking much. "Hey dad. It's me, Zephyr." I knew I wasn't obviously going to get a response but I still felt better at least knowing he could still hear me. "I miss you so much dad. You have no idea how hard this is without you. Mom kicked me out because of Zoey, we got into a huge fight in school today. I hurt her pretty bad, but she deserved it. Zack won't talk to me anymore, he hates me pretty much. I just wish you could be here to help me, dad. I don't know why this all had to happen. I don't know why it has to be me that has to have all the problems. Why me, dad? Why?" I was sobbing now, the harsh wind whipping across my face.

"Because you're the strong one." I shot up suddenly, seeing a shadow of person hovering over me. I almost froze in complete fear, but I relaxed some when I could see the facial features bleakly. It was Zack. "What-How-What are you doing here?" I was cold and my face was wet, the tears not once stopping. He handed me his sweater before embracing me in an awkward but much needed hug. "I saw you leaving from my bedroom window. Did she really kick you out?" I nodded, sniffling some. "I'm sorry, Zeph. I really am. I know it's not all you, I'm to blame for this shit too. You're my best friend and I've been treating you like total shit. I haven't been myself anymore and I know you're not the only one who thinks that. Everyone does, even my own self. I'm breaking it off with Zoey."

I had to try my hardest to keep the shit eating grin hidden from my face that started to make its way the minute I had heard him say that. "I don't want to come between you guys anymore, I don't want you to be treated so cruelly by her because of me. You guys are sisters, twins for fucks sake. But she's been terrible towards you since you were kids, since I've first met you guys. I know this is all moving pretty intensely, but listen, I want things to be like they used to. I want to hangout and go to the beach and do all the things we used to do. Just me and you, and the gang of course. Your dad would be really upset if he saw all the things that had gone down today. So I just want to wipe the slate clean. So what do you say, can you forgive me?" I stayed silent for a few minutes, unsure of what to say.

Finally after a few agonizing minutes, I shook my head. "I'd really like that, Zee. I'd love to go back to the way things used to be. But I still don't have any place to go." He extended his hand out to me and I shook it weakly. "Come on, do you really think I'm going to let you just stay here? You're going to stay at my house. I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. You're my best friend, it's time I started to treat you like it. I'm sorry for all the shit I said to you early today too, about not being mature and all that bullshit. I just feel a little lost, so if you're willing, I'd love to have some help finding myself." As confused and surprised as I was, I still agreed to it. I agreed to everything he said, because that's all I really wanted too, my best friend back. "Now it's almost two in the morning, we really should get out of here before we get caught trespassing." I snickered lightly.

We said our goodbyes to my dad who I promised that I would come see more often and bring him some flowers some time when I wasn't so busy with school. Suddenly remembering that I along with Zoey and Zack, were expelled for the next week or so, he suggested that we could stop by later on tomorrow afternoon to bring him some. "Thanks Zack, that means a lot. You know my dad always thought of you as the son he never had." He gave my hand a light squeeze before sighing. "Yeah I know and I'm almost positive he would have kicked my ass a long time ago. I'm gonna make it up to him though, I swear. And you too, Zeph. I'm going to make everything right again."