Chapter 14

Zack

An obnoxious, rasping noise cut into my sleep. I cracked an eye. A rectangle of blue light flitted around on the ceiling. I closed my eye. Seconds later, I popped up. My phone. It was about to vibrate-walk off my bedside table. I slammed my hand on it to shut it off and knocked it onto the floor.

"Z-zack?"

Shit!

I dove for it. My legs were still in the bed but the rest of me was on the floor.

"Zoe? What's wrong?"

What followed was unintelligible. I didn't know what was wrong, I only knew I needed to be with her. I crawled across the floor, dragging my legs to the ground, too, though tangled in my sheets. Twisting onto my butt, I reached with my free hand to disengage myself. "I'm on my way."

I grabbed jeans off the floor and searched around for a shirt as I scrambled into them, hopping around as I tried to fight them up. A T-shirt was hooked over my bedpost so I grabbed it on my way out of the room.

As I crossed my lawn, the night was eerily quiet, until a car across the street started their engine. I gave it a curious glance. I wasn't sure what time it was, but it was pretty late in our neighborhood for someone to be leaving. The car looked familiar, but I didn't think it belonged to anyone on the block. Forgetting about it, I jogged the rest of the way over to the McCords'. I knocked on the door and somebody gave a short, piercing scream, accelerating my heart further out of sleep mode. I tried the door, but it was locked, and a softer scream answered my action.

"Zoe!"

I ran over to the window. She was sitting on the couch, her knees curled into her chest, a T-shirt stretched over them. Her arms were locked around her legs and she was rocking back and forth and crying. I looked around the room but nothing looked amiss, and I couldn't see anyone else. I knocked on the window and she jumped, then put her head on her knees. "Zoe. It's me. Zack."

She lifted her head and listened. I knocked again and waved to get her attention.

"Zack!"

Even through the glass, I could sense her relief. She jumped off the couch and ran to the door to let me in. She threw herself into my arms before I even crossed the threshold.

"What's wrong?"

She was bawling, her words incoherent, and shaking from head to foot. The only thing I could make out was Dani. I steered her over to the couch and sat with her. She curled her legs to one side, buried her head in my chest, and sobbed. I ached to find out what was upsetting her, but I knew it was useless to talk to her until she calmed a bit. She clutched at the front of my shirt and I kept my hand around her shoulder. Eventually, she climbed into my lap and I put both hands around her. Her hair tickled me as she tucked herself under my chin. A lamp was on, perched on the sofa table behind me, but the rest of the house was dark, except the outside. All of the outside lights were on.

I kissed the top of her head, and for some reason I rocked her. It seemed to calm her, and I know it calmed me. Taking deep shuddering breaths, she tried to inhale and exhale more normally, but it took a while, and her voice still shook when she asked me if I could pass her the tissue box near the lamp behind us. She drew one out, set the box on the coffee table, and blew her nose, but her breathing still trembled and hitched. She laid her head back on my chest.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head rapidly.

"Okay."

After a few seconds, I laid my cheek on top of her hair, brushing my fingers along her arm. Taking several deep breaths, she drew another tissue out. She folded it into a square, then held the edges and turned it around in circles over and over again. Her phone rang and I released her. She scrambled to her knees and lunged over the back of the couch, snatching her phone off the table.

"Daddy? How is she?"

As she listened, I got my first good look at her. Her shirt was askew and something that looked like road rash marred her skin below her collarbone, the abrasions disappearing under the fabric. Her eyes were red and puffy, she had a bandage on her chin, and both her upper and lower lip were split.

What the hell?

She closed her eyes and let out a huge breath. "That's good." She sank back on her heels and the tension left her shoulders. "But she hasn't woken up yet?"

My arm came to rest on the top of the couch. She patted it, then wrapped her hand around it while she talked.

"Okay. Okay. You'll call? And the baby?" She smiled and looked at me with the first sign of excitement in her eyes. "You're holding him?...Was that him? Oh! He sounds cute." She spun around and sat, leaning her back against me, and I circled my arm around her again. "What's his name? You won't tell me? You suck." She laughed. "Okay. Okay. I'll wait. All right. Bye." She hit the off button and threw her phone on the cushion next to her, twisting to face me. "I have a baby brother."

"You do?"

She nodded.

"What happened?"

She pulled her legs up and crossed them, dropping her head. She still had the tissue in her hand and was running her fingers along its edges. "Dani—" She stopped and looked away, biting her lip, despite the cuts. "She was..." her voice pitched until it was barely a squeak, "in a car accident."

I sat up. "Oh, no. Is she all right?"

She nodded vigorously, taking a cleansing breath to get her voice back. "Dad says she's fine. But we weren't sure..." She looked at me and the tears flowed again.

"Oh, Zoe!" I cupped the back of her head and pulled her to me, skimming my hand over her hair.

She sucked in a breath and winced, putting her hand to her head.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh. I got a bump."

She shifted into a more comfortable position and I wrapped my arms around her again.

I thought about her injuries. "You were with Dani? When she had her accident?"

She tilted her head back to look at me. "No. Why would you say that?"

I looked at her chest. "Because of those scratches."

"Oh." She didn't elaborate.

I gently tapped her chin. "And your bandage." Something stirred in me. My gaze drunk in her face, and I brushed the back of my hand along her cheek. "And your lips."

"Oh. I fell." She glanced up into my eyes. "I'm such a klutz."

The tenderness rising in me cooled. "You fell?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Tripped over my own feet." She shrugged.

I drew back further. "So you scraped up your chest, and hit both the back of your head, and your lip and chin?"

Her eyes darted around, as if the way out of her lie was somewhere in the room. "Uhh...."

I sat forward, leaning my forearms on my knees and turning my head toward her. "Where were you tonight?"

"I.... This isn't about me, Zack. It's about Dani. Nothing's wrong with me."

I nodded once. Friday night. Was this the night she was supposed to go out with Ben? Had that asshat done something reckless that hurt her?

"Zack, please...."

Her face looked so pained. I couldn't press her for answers. But she'd have to answer me at some point. I lifted my arm. "Come here," I said softly. She snuggled up to my side and I kissed the side of her head. "We'll talk about that later, but for right now, tell me if I do anything that hurts you, okay?"

She nodded.

I rubbed her arm. Being close to her felt so good. I'd been out of sorts since our fight.

She must have been thinking something similar because she asked, "Zack?"

"Uum-hum?"

"I'm sorry about being such an idiot earlier this week." She lifted her gaze to look me in the eye. "You were only trying to help and I—"

I put a finger on her lips. Her cracked and swollen lips. "I didn't handle it well." I ached for her. I traced her lips with my finger. "I'm sorry." For what happened to you. For what I did. For everything. I lifted my gaze to her eyes and felt myself falling into her. I leaned closer, brushed my lips over hers, then softly took them. My heart was so full it hurt. I eased back a fraction and looked at her, stroking her face lightly... and I had to taste her again. Just one more time. The first kiss I could blame on being swept up in the moment. The second was harder to explain. After the next kiss, pulling away took everything I had in me. I laid my forehead against hers and closed my eyes. Should I apologize? She was so vulnerable right now. But I wanted her so badly.

Wanted her.

Zoe.

"Lay with me," she whispered, her eyes damp.

We didn't say anything else. I stretched out behind her on the couch, and she rested in my arms. My heart beat for her. I kissed the side of her face.

Oh, my God. I think I'm falling in love with you, Zoe.

What are we going to do about this?