Long Way Home ~ Reggie Peters

Chapter 11: Everything Stays (Edited)

(Flashback)

1995

Zach was riding his bike to Bobby's house with a duffel bag. He had a fight with his mom and her boyfriend, Matthew. They grounded him because he dropped out of school just to fully commit in the band, but that didn't stop him from doing what he loves most.

As he was riding his bike, he heard quiet sobs in the distance. He stopped when he saw a figure sitting on the bench crying. The figure was also wearing a familiar flannel shirt.

It was Reggie.

"Reggie?" Reggie whipped his head toward him and his eyes grew wide.

"Z-Zach! Um, hi," Reggie said frantically as he stood up and wiped the tears off of his face. "I was---I was just... leaving." Reggie grabs his bag and tries to walk away from him.

"Hey, wait!" Zach called after him as he catches up to him and stops him by grabbing his wrist. "Reggie, what's wrong? Did someone hurt you?"

"Oh, no! No. I was just... uh..." Reggie said as he struggles to say the words, until he gave up and sighed. "This is so embarrassing. I didn't think I'd bump into one of you guys along the way here."

"Hey, don't worry about me. What's wrong?" Zach asked.

"Nothing! It's nothing, I'm just... not having a really good day right now," Reggie responded.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Zach asked. "You don't have to tell me everything, but I'm here to listen. Only if you're comfortable too, of course."

Reggie thought about it for a moment before he nodded and they sat on the bench next to each other. Reggie starts picking his fingers. Zach knew it was a habit, so he grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers together, allowing Reggie to play with his fingers.

"Everything is just so exhausting," Reggie said. "When they're both in the same room, the fighting never stops. There was never a moment of peace, just screaming and shouting."

"When I got home, the fighting has gotten worse. I... I think it's happening, Zach," Reggie explained.

"What's happening?"

"I think they're gonna get a divorce," Reggie said, his voice breaking.

Reggie broke down in tears and Zach immediately pulled him into a hug. Reggie sobbed as he wrapped his arms tighter around his torso and buried his head in the crook of his neck. Once Reggie stopped crying, he pulled away from Zach.

"I'm sorry. I'm really pathetic," Reggie sighed.

"No, you're not. It's fine," Zach assured him. "You shouldn't be sorry for something that you didn't do, and we all know what it's like to have... family issues."

"But it's different. My parents are separating and I'm not ready for one of them to leave at all," Reggie said. "I'm not ready to leave you guys."

Reggie rests his head on Zach's shoulder. Zach lets his head rest on top of his. They sat like that in comfortable silence, with their hands intertwined together while the sun was setting.