Here To Stay

Chapter Ten

Leah

After introducing Sandra to Zach, I moved the unlock the door. Sandra and I were supposed to meet to edit the updated drafts and approve other written content (Sandra) and photographs (me). The practice fight at the gym held me back. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday were three days when I went to the gym to train. Fighting as a professional was not something I was interested in, but kicking ass was my favourite hobby.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

Meeting with silence, I turned to face my neighbour. His eyes were locked on my junior, who was... doing the same. I felt my eyebrows furrow. The glint in their eyes was familiar and held a certain depth to it. If there was any drama between them, I wanted to be far from it.

"Zach," I called a second time, making him shake out of his thoughts and look at me. "Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Cam sent me to check if you were back since you weren't answering your calls. He said you were expecting Sandra around this time." His sentence wavered at my friend's name.

"Well, I am here, and so is she. So shoo." Wordlessly, he followed and walked back to the Red Brick House.

Walking in, I moved upstairs to change into non-sweaty clothes and get my laptop as Sandra headed toward the kitchen/living room. The platform was mostly used as a study table by Charlie and me than as a cooking platform. One of the reasons for it could be that we crashed the guys' place most of the time. Especially the past few days because along with Charlie and Xander, Zach had made his place quickly as a responsible adult.

And he made good food.

It was also why I had recommended him to 'Ella's Corner,' the neighbourhood bakery. The close proximity between the bakery and school was one of the reasons why it was my and Sandra's go-to place. So, when I saw the 'HIRING' sign outside the bakery after learning from Charlie that Zach was looking for part-time jobs, I gave them his contact number. I was unaware I even had his contact information until I opened my chat with Charlie to find that she had sent it to me.

By the time I walked into the kitchen, Sandra had set out her laptop and a small diary. It was where most of her comic planning took place. The pages lay open, but no attention was directed toward them.

Seemed like I had the curiosity disease from Zachy boy when I looked at the scene. "Alright, S?"

She blinked and looked up as if just realizing she was at my place as I walked to her. "Fine."

One thing about Sandra that I got to know in the early days of our friendship was that she was incapable of lying.

"Actually-," and she tended to prompt whatever was on her mind right after denying her feelings, like right now. "This Zach, what is he doing here?"

Before answering, I took a moment to decide if I should confirm what pieces were fitting together in my mind. After Charlie and her parents, that glint of familiarity made itself clear to me soon enough, if not immediately.

"You know him, don't you?" I questioned, not beating around the bush. The quiet girl shook her head vigorously. "Just curious."

A lot of that had been going around lately.

"As far as I know, he goes to UOA- University of Ashetown. Transferred in the third year."

Her eyes widened, "He transferred universities?"

She definitely knew him, I gathered from her reaction. Finally making a decision, I looked her in the eyes. "Zach is your older brother, isn't he? The one who left." Although Sandra never mentioned her brother's name, she did say he was three or four years older than her. My new neighbour definitely fit the criteria as far as age and last name were concerned.