"You okay, babe?" Zack asks me.
I wedge the phone between my ear and my shoulder so I can lace up my sneakers.
"Honestly," I sigh, "I don't know how I feel about this dinner."
It's Thanksgiving tonight and my mom and I are going over to Alex's for dinner.
I still haven't spoken to her, and if at all I do, we just end up fighting again.
It's tiring, and I hate it, but I'm still upset with her. And I don't want to listen to her explanation. There's nothing to explain because I already understand it all.
"It'll be okay. I'm sure you look hot."
I laugh. "I don't need to dress hot for Thanksgiving, you pervert. And it's not even that."
Zack heaves a sigh. "Still not speaking?"
"No." I mutter.
"You can't keep this up forever, you know that, right? She's not just your mum, Aubrey, she's your best friend." His tone drops. "She's been there for you."
"Only beca
"So, you're seriously not gonna tell me about your Thanksgiving?" I ask.Zack doesn't stop playing with my hair, which is splayed across his chest."Nope. And that's because I already told you there's nothing to tell."I lift my head off his chest and lean up on my elbow so my face is over his."You've been in a sour mood since you got back yesterday and you really expect me to believe that? How dumb do you think I am?"Zack stares at me deadpan for a few seconds before he replies. "On a scale of 1-10, I'd say eleven."He laughs as I slap hard at his chest. "Hey! Take that back.""I'd rather not."He's good at changing the subject. Really good.Feigning annoyance, I try to push away from his chest but he tightens an arm around me."Hey, where are you going?""Away from you." I mutter. "You're so annoying.""You could
This is all too much to process, and so fucking impossible. There's no way... Zack confessed to me last week when things got heated with Eric and everything, but I just thought he fell in love with me in highschool. I had no idea he's loved me since we were kids. I sit up. "Why didn't you tell me?" Zack scoffs. "Didn't know I was supposed to ask you out at ten years old." I glare at him. "That's not what I'm talking about. The years passed, Zack, and you didn't...you let me date all those people." "I wasn't sure you felt the same way. And let's face it, you would've rejected me because you wouldn't have wanted to ruin our friendship. And nothing hurts men more than rejection." His hands are linked casually behind his head. He's relaxed. He's right though. That's exactly what I would've done. "Wait." Zack sits up to look at me. "Are you crying?" H
Sometime during the night, my eyes flutter open. I'm on my bed, so it was certainly not a dream that I had about Zack.Though right now, he's not on the bed with me, and I know that because I can hear his voice."Yeah. She's okay." He says. He's on a phone call, but with who?The person says something and he sighs. "I'm not so sure about that. She's upset with me."Is it Audrey?I turn so I'm lying on my other side, facing the window. That's where he's standing, but his back is to me."I was going to tell her everything tonight, but I guess I chickened out."What?"Why?" He repeats the person's question. "Fuck, she's so disappointed in me. I hurt her too much this time. She thinks I was with someone else."Okay, so not Audrey."No. I know Aubrey. We've been best friends since we were 10, man. I already kno
I stare at my phone as it vibrates on my bedside table. The caller ID reads 'Dad', but I refuse to pick it up. I'm even tempted to switch it off but I'm afraid I might miss a call from Zack or Erika.Okay, maybe just Erika."Pick up your phone so your father will quit calling me, Aubrey." My mom's voice sounds just outside my door."I don't want to talk to him right now." I mutter.Mom asks to come in and I answer in the affirmative."Oh, honey." She sighs as she comes to sit beside me on my bed. I take in my mom's expression.My dad had left us two years ago when I was 15 after apparently having an affair with one of his patients at his hospital.They got married.Mom always tries to look strong. In fact, she's perfect at acting like nothing bothers her, but she can't fool me. I know that dad leaving really broke her."What happened?" S
"I'm sorry, Cody." I say, awkwardly standing in front of my now kinda ex-boyfriend, and trying not to cringe at the tears that are streaming down his cheeks.I hate this. I hate hurting people's feelings. Cody is the first boy I've broken up with who cried and it makes me feel even worse. I hate that Zack is making me do this. My ex-boyfriends are exes thanks to him. He'd taunt me into playing a game and making bets with him and I'd foolishly agree. I fall for it everytime, even though I know he's better than me at everything."We can make it work." He sniffs. "We can do fun stuff. We can..."We never even became official. I just went out on a few dates with him because truthfully, he's cute. I don't think I've ever seen a guy cry. It makes me uneasy.In my peripheral vision, I can see Zack leaning against his car, waiting for me. Probably laughing at me. Fortunately, the parking lot is almost empty."I can't,
I check the time on my phone: 4:30pm. Zack will soon be back from practice. Perfect.Time to get him back for teasing my boobs today. I don't exactly have anything in mind so I'll just go with the flow. Or maybe tear some holes on his favourite jersey. His dad got a famous basketball player to sign it for him on his fourteenth birthday. Zack will never admit it but I know it meant so much to him. It still does.Yeah, ruining his jersey isn't really a smart idea.A few minutes later, I'm standing in front of his house. I could go to his room through his window, but I'm scared shitless of trying that."Hi, Lauren!" I greet his mom as she opens the door for me."How's my favourite girl?" She asks, pulling me in for an embrace. Mrs. Norway is like a second mom to me. I relate with her just as much as I relate with my own mother."I'm good." I reply as she lets me in. Zack's dad is hardly ev
Why would I want to kiss you?Yeah, that still stings. It's been almost a day since that happened, and I've been avoiding him ever since.Zack basically made it clear that the thought of us kissing or even being together is gross, probably impossible, and it kills me, so yeah, instead of confronting my problems, I run away from them."Where were you this morning?" Zack demands as he joins us at the lunch table the following day. Never mind that there are people watching us, just yell at me in front of everyone like I'm your daughter."School. Which is where I still am." I mutter, picking on my lunch.I feel his glare on me. "I was supposed to drive you."I raise my eyes slowly to look at him. "You're not my driver. I have my own car."Our friends all have worried looks on their faces, and I'm surprised that they're worried because Zack and I fight all the time.Yeah, it's probably never
"So I was thinking," Erika starts as we stretch in preparation for field day "of asking Nick to homecoming."I turn to face her, but she's not even looking at me. Her eyes are on the guy she's been crushing on for years and hasn't had the courage to tell him how she feels, despite the crazy amount of confidence she has.Nick is standing with Zack, who winks at me when our eyes meet. I roll my eyes, ignoring-or trying to ignore-the pang of longing in my chest.Yeah, I'm back to square one, ignoring the things that Zack makes me feel. He's not making things any easier though, winking at me and throwing his arms around me.I know I know, he's used to doing that, but every thing feels different now, his touch, his smile, it all hits different.So I've been avoiding him. Not so much as to make it obvious, but just making up excuses just to avoid hanging out with him."So ask him." I say, turning my