Safe | ZACK FOSTER [ 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝟐 ]

Chapter XVI - PAST AFFILIATIONS

It was him..
Him..

You shook your head, walking in the corridors of your house, the only noise being your footsteps that echoed through the hallways.

You probably shouldn't have left Zack so confused in the room; the guy looked genuinely worried about you due to how you'd reacted.
It wasn't his fault, and you sure as hell hoped he didn't think it was his fault.

That dream...why is it those dreams are coming back now...? 

You headed to the living room, sitting on the cushion of your couch that provided enough comfort for you.
You couldn't think. So many thoughts ran by, but you couldn't process a single one, and it irked you. As much as you wanted to be held by your beloved psycho, you'd told him you needed a moment and it seemed he really was giving you the space you needed.

Brought out of your space of gloom, you saw a familiar, black-haired male approach your disheveled form. "...You okay, N/N?"

Speak of the devil, ey?

You blinked a few times before your lips quivered slightly and you swallowed hard. You stood up and immediately rushed to him, hugging him as tears welled from your eyes.
Taken aback by the sudden gesture, Zack stayed, not a single word coming from his mouth as he let you calm down.

He rubbed your back, his eyes half-lidded and his brows furrowed as you sobbed on his clothed chest. Holding you tight, he sighed, looking down at your form.

Once you started to calm down, your tears dried up, and your whimpers and sobs diminished. Your eyes were red and your face was slightly puffy.

You tugged at Zack's jacket, and he hugged you, a small smile curving on his lips. His warmth embraced you, the dampened, heavy air slightly dissipating as you relaxed.

"You alright now?" he murmured, and you nodded slowly, a slight smile forming on your expression. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Sighing, you separated yourself from the man, and you signaled him to follow you to the couch, which he did.
"It was a nightmare of an event that occurred long ago. About one who I mistakenly loved."

Zack's eye slightly twitched, but he nodded. "What about it?"
"He and I used to work together in an affiliation. I... can't remember it too well, I'm still trying to recall it, but I know he...betrayed my trust. That is the memory of the conversation, but, I don't want to remember it."

Zack's eyes were wide, a hint of disbelief in them. Beneath what lay his surprised exterior, his blood boiled, and he was angered beyond possibility. Enraged.
'He lied to her, betrayed her?' 
It made him want to laugh. It made him want to kill, to find that man who'd hurt you, to rip him and tear his body to fleshed shreds until the blood pooled from him like a crimson river.

"Anything else?" he said. "I think he...died, at the end," you replied. "Do y'know how?" Zack stated.
"I'm not sure how, the memory is too hazy," you answered, Zack's muscles relaxing.

"Do you know his name?" Zack asked. "I don't remember it, and I don't want to," you replied, a grim feeling emitting from you.

Zack's eyes narrowed before he sighed sharply. "Don't tell me you were planning on ending him yourself?" you asked, looking at him.
Forbidding himself from lying, he stood up and left, leaving you with a clear answer. "...So you were."

You held yourself tightly, and then sighed, deciding to go out for a walk. You slowly trudged toward the door and twisted its knob.

You then exited, slowly making your way out of your house. The rays of the sun slowly fell upon your skin, your eyes half-lidded as you exhaled, walking down the street.

The wind tickled your skin, and your eyes traveled down to the road ahead as you began running away, letting the scenery welcome and embrace you.

For some reason, it seemed different than when you last walked out here; the scenery actually looked proper, and the walls of buildings weren't vandalized or dusty.

It looked beautiful if you could even call it that. You stopped as you saw a familiar paper—a wanted paper.
Your eyes widened as you recognized the bandaged face on the paper. You could recognize it anywhere—it was Zack, his hood lowered.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

Who...?

A voice snapped you out of your thoughts as a male figure looked at you, a bit puzzled. His eyes were a viridescent green and his hair a dark gray. Given you couldn't tell him you knew the man on the paper, you nervously shifted your gaze back to the paper.

"...Who is this on the paper?" you asked, trying to rid yourself of the nervous feeling that regurgitated within you, burning your throat.
"You don't know?" the male replied.

You shook your head, hoping that the same male on the paper wasn't watching you from behind far away.
"He is Isaac Foster, a violent murderer. The upper armed forces have been trying to catch him for a long while now. By the look on your face, I'd say you know him as well as I do," the man stated, a lighthearted chuckle leaving his lips. 

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Y/N."

You stood back, shaking your head rapidly. "No no no, that's not it, I don't know him! He simply, uh, reminded me of someone that I knew long ago, and, for a second I thought it was the same person. Sorry if I concerned you!"

For a split second, you could've sworn the look on the male's face was one of skepticism and doubt but it was soon taken over by one of plastic delight.
"I see, it's a shame then. I hope you're able to find whoever it is this man reminded you of," he said.

"I'll see you around!" he said with enthusiasm, leaving you with a twisted feeling that surged ever so slightly within you.
"..Yeah, I'll see you around."

You shook your head, taking the paper as soon as the doctorate man left, rushing back home. This wasn't alright, Zack was being hunted down, and he needed to know.
This small neighborhood was getting weirder and weirder and you clearly didn't like it.

Please be there at home, Zack.