Chapter 15 - Tension in the Air
967 Words
When school ended Zack followed behind Katie’s car as we drove home, letting them in after unlocking the front door I led the way to the living room with a sense of relaxation.
“You guys should settle down; I need to head upstairs and get Clover."
We didn’t want her staying outside today so we locked her in.
“I’m going to head home,” Katie states, and I turned to stare at her in surprise. “I have some things I need to take care of and honestly, I’m tired of my mother’s constant worrying over when I’ll come back home.” She says, giving me a quick hug goodbye before she starting moving back towards the door.
“You guys have fun studying and if you want to do anything else that’s cool too. See ya!”
We watch her skip her way out of my home, banging the door close behind her. Letting out a sigh, I walk towards the couch in the living room and drop my bag on the cushion.
“That’s my best friend, the subtle one.” He smiles in response and I say to him. “You can sit anywhere and pull out your notes, I’ll be right back.”
Not waiting for a response I head upstairs to get Clover and found her lying on my bed asleep, she comes awake once she heard me slip into my room and her tail wiggles excitedly in the air.
“Come here Clover,” I whisper, beckoning her forward as I draw closer to my bed, and she quickly rises to her feet with a bark. “Good girl.” I smile, placing a small kiss on her forehead once she shuffles to my arms.
Heading downstairs I found Zack patiently waiting for me on the couch with his books pulled out, he smiled at the sight of Clover in my arms and stares at me while I carry her towards the back doors.
Letting her down, I pull open the sliding door and watch her run out to the backyard in excitement. Turning on my heel I head back to Zack and settle beside him on the couch.
“When is your dad coming back from work?” He asks, his question causing me to pause for a couple of seconds.
“Why?”
“I want to know when to make my escape in case he’s going to get overprotective about his little girl being alone with a guy.” He says in response, and I couldn’t find a word to describe how ridiculous that statement was.
“We aren’t in some 90’s sitcom Zack, and you can rest assured that my dad won’t be coming after you for being alone with his little girl. My parents are divorced, and my father lives in New York.”
“Oh,” He mumbles, an apologetic expression slipping onto his face. “Eva I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay Zack, I’m not mad. Let’s just start studying okay.”
He nods, his shoulders slumping with relief. “So, you guys must be rich for your family to afford this place.”
“Not really, my mum-” I hesitate, knowing I can’t reveal what my mother does for a living considering she writes under a pen name. “She does freelance work that helps us afford this place.”
“Wow, what kind of work?”
“Copywriting and other stuff Zack!” I sigh, my awkwardness at lying and his sudden nosiness making me irritated.
“And since you’ve decided to investigate my entire life my father doesn’t skip out on child support either so that helps. Oh, and just for added knowledge, my parents come from wealthy families, though my mum doesn’t like to take her parent's money because she’s an independent hard working woman who's capable of taking care of our needs. Is that enough information for you or would you like a detailed biography?”
“Eva, I’m sorry if I seemed rude or noisy about your life. I was just trying to know more about you and failed at that immensely,” Zacks says apologetically, even though I just yelled in his face. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with my questions.”
I shut my eyes close in embarrassment and groan, scratching the back of my head with a stiff smile. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m sorry as well.”
He waved off my apology. “You shouldn’t apologize to me, it’s not any of my business how your family works.”
“How about we simply work on tutoring and forget about the last 10mins?” I ask, and he nods, much to my relief.
We spent the next three hours with our heads buried in our biology books and it felt great to concentrate on something else than the awkward tension between us.
I was also grateful he didn’t bring up what had almost happened between us at school, I spent a long time killing off my desire for him and now that everything is over I’m not ready to go back to that hopeless lovesick fool I once was.
Whatever is happening between Zack and me, has to be discarded.
He has a girlfriend, and I have other priorities to think about.
Like a dying Kingdom for example.
- Writer
