"There's no milk, no sugar,” Chloe said as she checked the cabinet and the fridge simultaneously. She was going grocery shopping soon and would be needing to buy some stuff for the cereal they sometimes have for breakfast as well. She wrote it down in her planner. Oh, yes she had one because it was her job to get those things for the people in her house if they don’t want to starve. It was her responsibility to feed her sibling when and every time her parent have to work late or something. For some reason, her father wasn’t coming home until maybe after dinner or something and her mother was working night shifts. She was kind of the mom of the house, and she had always taken her job, or maybe a better fit was duty, so seriously. There was one time she forgot to get milk for the house, and she told her mom about it. She and her siblings are their cereal bland without milk for a whole week. She had learned her lesson and know never to rely on them to get them fed.It wasn't as if they
Coming here wasn’t part of his plan this afternoon, but he just couldn't get out the things Liam had told him over the phone. He just couldn't get it out, because there was no way he could overlook the relationship between them, whatever it was. It wasn’t until he got to the door of the house that he thought of not actually going through with it. It doesn't make any sense, but this was Chloe’s doing. Ever since he knew her, she had made him do unreasonable things, things he wouldn't normally do. His sense of reasoning and logic seemed to have been thrown out of the window. There was no explanation enough to act like a fool though, but his blinding anger raised his hand to the doorbell and he pressed it, then he waited patiently until the door was open. He heard the running footsteps coming towards the door and he tried to calm himself just before the door was open. The fact that he had no idea who would open the door and what to expect added to his need to calm himself. For all he
Using her left hand, she picked up his free hand and squeezed it, to reassure him. She realized what he was talking about, and, although she had no control over what happened with his family, he didn't either as well, but she surely understand the place where his request had come from. It was a place of hurt, and desperation, trying as much as possible to grab hold of whatever was available for holding unto until he was able to heal."I'm so sorry to hear that Zack, truly I am." She said, using the pad of her thumb to run circles against the inside of his wrist.Chloe's grandmother had taught it to her when she was little; it was a kind of calming technique with soft pressure against the pulse beating at the wrist, and so far, it had been effective. "Just stay far away from her,” he said, his voice calmer than it was a few minutes. For a split second, Chloe wondered how Zach knew about her meeting Ally, but she realized that it wasn't important. Besides, this town had its way of get
Zach drove away, his jaw trembling. He had certainly knew he was going to cry, but he realized doing that in front of Chloe would make him appear a weak person. He wasn’t weak, in fact, he was far from being a weak boy, but if he had tried in front of her, then it would have said otherwise. As he drove off, the tears he had been holding off streamed down his face, and all he could do was let it. For a moment there, when Chloe grabbed his hand and patted it as if she was reassuring her that things would be fine, he had found it so comforting, and warm, so much that he had wanted her hand on his for a long time, but when she removed it, his anger had replaced it. He was angry that he had let himself feel that way, and that all of what he felt was gone just as soon as her hand was gone. His happiness or comfort shouldn't come from anyone but himself, and he surely wasn’t going to let anyone become his weakness. It was also why he had been so hurt and angry when she said what she said.
Chloe had no one to talk to in this class, she realized as she looked around, then she walked up to the empty chair and sat down. As she did, she looked around one more time to see someone she didn't see before. Zach was sitting in the corner with Liam, and they were facing the back of the class with their back to her before when she walked in. That must be why she had missed them. Quickly before he saw her, she turned back to face her front, telling herself not to look in that direction again. She sighed, defeated and then she turned to look again, but this time, Liam saw her. He leaned over to Zach and whispered something to him, causing him to turn to look at her as well. He smirked as soon as his eyes met hers and Chloe whipped her head to face the front so fast she heard a pop sound in her neck. Thankfully, she hadn't broken it, so it wasn’t painful or anything. Chloe heard someone talking behind her and she looked over her shoulder again to see Zach standing there. “Give me
During lunch, Zach walked into the cafeteria to look around for Chloe and then he saw her sitting with a girl from one of her classes. He had maybe seen her in math class or something like that, he wasn’t sure. He started to walk towards them, then he heard the girl talking to Chloe.“Hey, Chloe.” She said cheerfully. “Hey, Hailey.” Chloe smiled at her as she saw her sit beside her. Hmm, so that was the girl's name. He must have seen her somewhere before math class, but he wasn’t sure. Well, he hadn't really been interested in any girl’s affair until now. Chloe Miller’s affair. “What's up, Chloe? What's up with that guy, Zach?” she asked as she move to inch closer to her. He watched as Chloe lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Huh, not much I guess?” She said, and it sounded more like a question to her than an answer. “Well, I don’t think I can believe that. I was kind of late to science class, so when I came in, I had to sneak in. Saw him offering to pay or something in exchange
After school, Chloe went home because they decided she should do her thing before they went for the ice cream, and she got things in place for her siblings and then she went upstairs to her room to shower and change into something nice. As she started to dry her body, she heard her phone beep and then she looked around her to know where she dropped it. It was lying on the bed, so she walked to it and picked it up. There was a text from Hailey. Hailey: You better don’t keep me waiting, I'm almost at your house.Chloe smiled at the text and then she shook her head. Hailey sure was interested in the ice cream Zach promised. She knew she had a crush on him, and hoped that it wasn’t something serious, because she couldn't become some "you don’t have to cry anymore” kind of friend. She sighed as she typed her response. Chloe: I just got out of the shower. Shouldn't you come upstairs to come to help me out, or do you prefer I look like a spider? She sent it and dropped her phone on the
When Chloe noticed it, she furrowed her brows in a frown again. "Huh, what's wrong?” she asked as she saw that her mood had made a three-sixty degree change from all smiles to getting a sad look on her face. “Huh, it's nothing,” Hailey said and Chloe shook her head with a grunt. “Oh, please don't patronize me. That's not nothing. I mean, one moment you were smiling so happily and the next you're looking as if someone peed in your cereal. It's absolutely obvious that something is up.” Chloe said. Hailey sighed, and then she looked at Chloe. "Well, I guess I only said it's nothing because I do not want to admit it. I've been kind of sad lately, depressed even. My parents are always fighting, even at night when they think I'm asleep, and they'll pretend like everything is fine the next day, only to start again when I turn my back.” She said. Well, that was definitely not something Chloe was expecting. She looked at Hailey like she was seeing a new person, someone she was only meeting
The air felt so heavy around Zach as he approached Chloe's house, his breath forming clouds in the chilly evening. “Oh shit, I’m nervous.” He whispered. It was as if he was there to ask for Chloe’s hand in marriage rather than just having a causal dinner with her family.He couldn't help but feel a flutter of nervous excitement in his chest at the thought of marrying her though, because he would like that very much.Although, Zach had eaten with Chloe before, but tonight was different; it wasn't just another dinner. It was a gathering, an invitation from Chloe's family so that they could meet him official and probably talk about his relationship with Chloe. As he reached the front door, it swung open right before he could knock on the door, revealing Hailey, Chloe's best friend and his own friend as well, and he wondered how she knew he was at the door. Well, she had probably heard the sound of his car. That was the most likely explanation for how she knew to open the door before he
All Zach wanted was to never have to talk with his father again, but he wondered what this was about now. He stood up and followed him, but his mind was back there on the bed with Chloe. "What's this about, father?" he asked, but his father said nothing. Sighing, he shook his head and followed him in silently, not saying anything after that. When they got to his office, Zach silently closed the door before turning back to face his father, watching as he walked to the window to stand over it. Be would have preferred to open the door of the room and just let them talk so that it would be easier fir him to escape, but he also didn't want it to seem like he had anything to run for. His father took his sweet time before he spoke though, clearing his throat even, so that his voice would come out in his desired way. "I'm going on a business trip," his father started. "And what the heck does that have to do with me?" Zach wanted to ask, but instead, he stood there quietly without
They were still on his bed, but they had stopped kissing, and Chloe was now sitting in front of Zach instead of his lap, their head pushed together as they spoke in a hushed tone even though the room was empty. “Wait a minute, Zach. I have a question for you.” Chloe said and she pulled back a little, and Zach's hands around her loosen. He looked at her with his eyes squinted, wanting to know what was going on. “What is the question about though?” e asked. “Can you tell me what happened with your mom? I know she died, and because of that, you hate your father and his wife so badly. If it's not too much, can you tell me what happened there?” she asked. Zach stared at Chloe for a full minute, contemplating on what to say and what not to say. He knew Chloe meant no harm and she was just trying to get to know him even better than she did before. He decided it was best to tell her about it so that she would understand him even more. She would see that he hadn't just woke up one day and
A week later, Zach called Chloe and invited her over to his house and Chloe wondered why he was asking her over. She had been cooking for her siblings when she received his call that afternoon, so she had to finish up before leaving. As she walked to the bus stop to get on the bus, her phone rang again, and she picked it up to see that it was her mother. After the day her father had caught her over at the Elliot's house, he had realized that they needed to spend more time as a family, and he had had that conversation with her one night after she managed to come home from work. It turned out that the only reason she kept taking shifts over and over was because of a promotion that she was eyeing, but she could have just explained that. After that, her mother had spoken to her and told her she just needed two days, because the period for working for the promotion was over then, and ever since, she had been cutting back on work and showing up at home most nights. It wasn't entirely the
“Hey, you!“ that was the first thing Hailey said to her when she opened the door of her house that afternoon, a mischievous smile on her face. Chloe shook her head at her as she followed her into the house and then up the stairs to her room. “You’re definitely so up for hearing what I have for you, aren't you?” “What? Did you finally grow some balls to kiss that boy?” she asked and she turned to look at her over her shoulder, right before she opened up the door of her room. Rolling her eyes, Chloe chuckled. “No, but I have more juicer news. You won't believe what happened at all.” She said. Hailey plop down on her bed and then she turned to face her, all fully ready to hear the gist she had for her. “Out with it, now.” She said, hitting her on the arm playfully. “Ow, Hailey. What do you think you're doing? You’re not going to let me get to it if you continue doing that.” She said, then just to tease her, she asked. “Wait, are we alone at home or something?” she was just trying to
The argument with her father wasn't as she had expected, but it was long, and by the time he was able to convince him that Zach wasn't her boyfriend, she went out of the house to go to Hailey, also surprised that he let her, even after knowing she had lied about sleeping over there before. She had told him she was going to have a sleepover at Hailey's and that he could follow her there if he didn't believe her, or call his informant, Mr. Elliot-Day if he didn't believe her, and surprisingly, he had just rolled his eyes at her and nodded his eyes. She still wonder what Mr. Elliot-Day had told her father, but it was all good, because as long as she wasn't grounded or anything, then it was probably not something she should be worried about. One thing she was grateful for was the fact that her mother wasn't there at the time. It was still two o'clock in the afternoon, and she shouldn't be going to a sleepover this early, but it was Hailey’s house, so she needed to do just that, or that
Chloe used her hands to cover up her face, embarrassed at the things Zach said she did, the ones she couldn't still remember properly. She knew she hadn't taken in the intake of the alcohol properly, so they were a fat chance he wasn't lying or pulling her legs. “You were so bad last night, trying to send me to an early grave. I wonder why you were so bent on seducing me last night, though, but I guess it was the alcohol.” He said. He had started to drive and was somehow stuck in a little bit of traffic, but still, he wasn't looking at her at all. He was so focused on the road ahead of him one would think he had his eyes glued there. He definitely was avoiding her gaze. She turned up the corner of her mouth in a surprised smile, squinting her eyes as she looked at him. Was it possible that she had succeeded in turning him on or something? She wondered for a second, then she leaned over the console that was between them and asked him, whispering into his ear. “Wait, did I succeed in
Can you please take me home, Zach?” she asked him after they had talked about their families, looking at him with a small smile on her face. Zach nodded his head in agreement. “Of course, little bird. Just give me a second to get something better on.” He said as he gave her a small smile. He pushed Chloe off him as gently as possible, and then he walked to his closet, winking at Chloe over his shoulder as he realized she was watching him go. Luckily, she didn't flush when he looked at him until he turned back and walked into the closet. She reddened when he was gone, blowing out a breath. Zach was just really handsome and being in close proximity with him like this was really making butterflies fluttering in her belly. About a few minutes later, he walked out and told her it was time to leave. As she stood up to follow him, she caught her leg and twisted her ankle, going down in a fall. Before she could get to the ground, Zach caught her, but she was still flailing around, and t
When he woke up and saw a call from Mr. Elliot-Day to have breakfast in his house with his family this morning, he had been so happy, because it was a sign that the man might go ahead with the deal, so without thinking about anything else, he had made breakfast for made breakfast for his sons as his daughter had spent the night over at her friend's place, and had his bath, before heading over to this place. The last thing he now expected was for his daughter to be here, walking into their dining room with confidence as if she belonged there. When he had arrived at this house, the one he happened to pass by two times every day to and from work without ever entering, he had been in awe of how beautiful the place was. And he was glad he had been invited. One could tell that the owners of the house were wealthy because everything in the house spoke of it even. He had expected the expanse of this all because he could see the outside shone and stood out. As he got to the house, a woman,