one love, two mouths ▿ abels

Chapter 19 - Damage

One Love, Two Mouths - A Zachary Abels Story

Chapter 19 - Damage

Everything is red; his hair, his smoke his dreams and now I'm slowly fading color he don't know what it means - halsey

'&'

It had been two weeks since Noah stormed through her loft and demanded her to be his fuck buddy, and she hadn't heard from him since. The manager said he quit, but Kendall knew that couldn't be good news. That just meant he had more time to plot against her and her boys.

She and Zach have been lying low lately, spending long nights in watching movies or going out on occasion for pizza. She felt targeted in public, and she didn't know how to tell Zach - or any of the boys for that matter - what exactly was causing her to be so strange for the past fourteen days. The first week had been blamed on her monthly gift, which was easily believed. But now, faking sick seemed shady and she could feel them catching on. Well, Jeremy had.

"If you're so sick, where the hell is your medicine?" He asked one day when they all came over. She hadn't been ready to be called out like that and struggled to reply with something convincing.

"I just haven't gotten around to it," she said smoothly as she unloaded her dishwasher. The boys exchanged weird looks until Zach piped up.

"Why didn't you just ask me? I would've been willing to get you some stuff."

She blanched and just shrugged her shoulders, not trusting her words. Knowing herself, her voice would betray her and break.

That had only been two days ago and he hadn't seen Zach since. He had dropped her off various medications because she never revealed what was actually wrong with her, just that she felt sick, so he made sure to get everything that covered every symptom. He really was trying and she appreciated that, a lot. It was nice to feel wanted again.

The relationship with her sister was still broken, but she couldn't be bothered with that. She loved her sister yes, but she needed to get herself sorted out first. Once the neighbourhood left for their tour, she could sort everything. She would rekindle with Jensen and figure out what the hell to do about Noah. If he even tries anything.

It was now a Wednesday, and her boys were leaving Monday. Zach was due to be over at her loft any minute now, and she couldn't bring herself to put on anything besides an old volleyball tshirt and running shorts. She hadn't worked out since college. It's not like it mattered though, because every time her and Zach were alone they never had clothes on.

She hears fumbling outside her door and the next moment Zach's face appeared in the doorway as he shut the door behind him. Giving a spare key wasn't a terrible idea; it saved her the effort of getting up and opening the door for him. He gave her a cheesy smile and sat down on the couch next to her. They looked at each other for a few moments before he opened his mouth.

"Cut the shit, I need to know what's up."

Kendall swallowed. She knew he would get fed up eventually. He wasn't dumb and she knew that, she just figured one of the other boys would've called her out first - like Jeremy - because Zach was the one who believed in the phrase 'Ignorance is Bliss'.

"I don't know how to explain it," she mumbled as she brought a pillow to her chest. Explaining it would make it sound like she was being dramatic and he probably wouldn't understand.

"Just speak and I'll try to follow."

She swallowed. "I feel threatened. I feel like a target. I can't go out in public or do anything because I'm afraid I'll be putting myself or worse, you and the boys, in danger. And I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you guys."