The End Zone

Chapter 7

Garfield. Will's car's name is Garfield. But not after the cat. His car is named after James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States.

Personally, a white Toyota Camry doesn't strike me as a Garfield but he's thrilled by it. He spends the majority of the car ride discussing every detail of Garfield's life and then moves on to 1880s history.

"So how confident are you in your history knowledge out of ten?" I ask.

"Ten," he answers immediately. "American history, at least."

"Really?" I say. "So if I ask you a question, you're 100% confident you'll know the answer."

He grins. "Like I said, American history."

"Alright," I say. "If you get it wrong, then... you cover one of my shifts. Any day I want."

His brows raise with interest. "And if I win?"

"What do you want?" I ask.

He presses his lips together. "A kiss."

I smirk. How romantic. "Deal."

"Ask away," he says with a flourish.

I tilt my head to the side. "When was President James Garfield born?"

"November 19, 1831," he answers easily. "That was easy."

"Was it?" I ask innocently.

"If I had known you were gonna be like this, I would've asked for a sports car," he says, pulling into my apartment parking lot.

"I'll ask you some more," I say as he parks smoothly. "If you wanna come inside."

The car comes to a stop so he finally looks over at me with a smile. "I'd love that but don't go easy on me."

We take the elevator up to my room and he gives me time to search up questions on my phone. As expected, the living room is empty when we walk in.

"Ready?" I ask and he nods. "When are the start and end dates of the Civil War? Month, day, and year."

He shakes his head. "Too easy."

As he's about to sit, the door swings open and Zack steps in, earphones in and sweat glistening on his skin. All three of us freeze.

Zack clears his throat, resuming his walk without a word, as Will dazedly says, "April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865."

I start to reply when I see Zack looking at me.

He smirks.

Nice guy, he mouths before disappearing into his room. Even as he walks away, I'm staring at where he was standing. I thought he had dinner plans tonight. Even if he didn't, what are the odds of him coming in at that exact time?

Life, that conniving motherfucker.

"Wasn't that Zack Darrington?" Will asks, adjusting his glasses.

"Huh?" I say. "Oh yeah. It was."

"But I thought... Isn't he your ex?"

"Yeah," I say.

"You live with your ex?" he asks incredulously.

"We live in separate rooms," I say quickly. "We're just friends now."

Will stiffens. He stares at me like I'm a hag and then scoffs, starting to step away. "I'm out of here."

"Will, wait," I say. "Can we talk about this?"

"No," he says harshly. "Seriously? Amelia, if you think any guy is going to date you when you're living with your ex, you're fucking delusional."

"It's really not like that," I say. "We've been broken up for a while."

"I don't care!" he exclaims, shouting at this point. "I'm over this. You're crazy."

My eyes flash at him. "Don't talk to me like that-"

"Hey, what's going on?" Zack's voice fills the room, his eyes like daggers as he looks at Will.

"Nice," Will scoffs. "Get your fucking ex to step in. You bitches are crazy-"

Zack steps forward, grabbing Will by the collar and lifting him off the ground.

"Call her a bitch one more time," Zack dares. "See what happens."

"Zack, put him down," I say, stepping forward. "He's leaving." His eyes flicker to mine and we fit inaudibly until he finally sets Will down and storms into his room.

Once he's gone, I set my focus on Will. "Don't ever speak to me again," I say. My hand goes to the door handle. "Leave."

Will's eyes are wide as saucers, his hair tousled as he scoffs. "Whatever, Amelia."

Will walks out the door, slamming it shut behind him. I don't bother going after him. Because you know what? I think I'm a little crazy too.