Zoe And The Beast

Chapter 8 | Son of a Gun

When I got home, Zach was gone.

He was never really home at night. He would always have some sort of excuse, usually about his girlfriend who I never met, and then he'd take off and show up again in the morning.

They probably did the nasty all night long.

Yawning, I slumped onto the couch in my living room and thought about Vince.

He told me we were going on a date. We were going on a date. If Zach ever found out that I had possibly agreed on going on a date with the Beast, he would kill me. I still didn't know why he disliked Vince Mascars so much, or why he kept telling me not to talk to him.

This was going to be a disaster.

Before I could think of anything more, Savannah's call popped up on my phone. Flipping it open, I held it against my ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Zoe. How's it going?"

I slumped further into my couch. "Awful. Vince Mascars and I are going on a date."

"Oh my God, what?" I heard her gasp.

"Trust me," I snorted. "I feel the same way."

Savannah's voice came muffled on the other side. "Hold on, I'm adding Jared to the call."

"M'kay."

After a few moments of quiet noise, a boyish voice came up. "Hel-lo ladies! How are you all doing today?"

"Awful," I repeated, my voice coming out sullen. "Vince Mascars and I are going on a date."

Jared's voice went silent for a second and then with a higher pitch voice, he yelled out, "What?"

"That's what I said!" Savannah responded, quickly. "But you saw what happened at the bowling alley last week. It's not really that surprising that something like that would happen."

"But dude, wait," Jared's voice was louder this time. "Zach told her she can't see the Beast again. What the hell is she doing seeing the Beast?"

"Um..." I started, my words forming a question. "I tried not to talk to him? I mean, I told him I wouldn't go on a date with him, but if he shows up on my doorstep tomorrow night, I have to go. I can't let Zach see him. I'm already not listening to Zach, I can't let this slip out, too."

"You don't just not listen to your brother, Zoe," Jared reminded me. "Your brother is a scary man. If he hears about this, he's not going to be happy. He's going to go ballistic, and you know it."

"He's not scary," I protested against Jared's words. "He's just a little sensitive about Vince."

"He is scary," Savannah interjected, agreeing with Jared. "He's very hot, but he's also very scary. Plus, he's a college boy. You know how attractively dangerous college bad boys can be."

"My brother is not a bad boy," I scoffed. Where in the world were they getting these stereotypes from? "He just has a couple tattoos and wears all black. That doesn't make him a bad boy."

"He has a gun." Jared's voice was solemn.

Surprise crept in my mind. My brother with a gun? I don't think so. "He does not."

"He does. I've seen it."

"You, what?" My voice went flat. What was up with this boy? "You've seen my brother's imaginary gun?"

Jared's voice remained hollow. "He showed it to me once when I was staring at the spinach between your teeth. He told me that if I ever did anything to you, he wouldn't hesitate to use the gun."

"He did what?" Savannah was flabbergasted too. "It was a plastic gun, right?"

"It wasn't. I'm sure of it."

Savannah paused for a minute. "That makes him sound even hotter. A bad boy with a gun."

Not wanting to hear anything more about what they thought of my brother, I changed topics quickly. Jared was being delusional. "Okay, but what do I do about the Beast? How do I stop him?"

"Just say no." I could practically see Savannah shrugging her shoulders. "Once he gets the memo, he'll be done."

"I tried!" I replied. "But he just ignored me and said he'd pick me up at seven, tomorrow."

"That's so hot." Savannah's voice was dazed.

"What the hell were you doing talking to him, anyway? You should have ignored him!"

"Well, Jared, he came to me when I was working at the library. I must help every visitor that needs help, so not talking to him would make me lose my job. And from the way things are going on at home, I don't think Zach and I can afford me losing this job. Our mother hasn't sent us any money in a while, so I need this to keep us a little bit on track."

"Can't you call her and ask for more?"

I sighed. My family life was way too complicated to explain in one go. "No. Don't ask."

"You know what I think, Zoe?" Jared's voice was scruff. "I think you're just a pushover. You do whatever people tell you to do, and don't think about what it's going to do to you. And the one person who cares about you and is making sure you're okay, is the one person who you're lying to right now."

"That person would be Zach," Savannah concluded. "Hot, sexy Zach with a gun."

"He's not sexy!" Jared protested. Then very quietly, he added in. "He's just a little bit hot."

I sighed again. This would be a long night.

"Okay, here's what I think," Savannah's twinkling voice tinkered. "You distract Zach tomorrow. If the Beast actually shows up at your doorstep, go outside and tell him to go away. He'll go away, and then you go back in and relax. If the Beast comes again, relax again."

"Can we not call him 'the Beast'?" I frowned. "His name is Vince Mascars."

"Yeah, yeah," Jared waved away. "Also, make sure you keep this a secret from Zach. You don't know how your menacing brother would react if he found out you and the Beast were interacting."

I nodded, understanding what they meant.

"Hello?"

"Oh yeah!" I replied, instantly realizing that they couldn't see my nod. "Yeah, you're right. I just ignore him until he goes away. And I never tell Zach that this happened."

"Pretty much."

"Sounds good."

"Thanks guys," Crawling out of the couch, I headed to my room. "Anyway, enough about me. How's it with you guys? What's new?"

"Well, Jared was being a dumbass, but you already know that."

"Hey!"

A smile crept at my lips. My best friends were awesome. "Go on."

Author's Note

Do you like Savannah or Jared more? Or are they just incomparable?  Would they make a good match? (I've said this before, but I have a book called My Kind of Guy that's about Savannah and Jared. Feel free to check it out on my profile)

As always, if you feel like this deserves it, please vote and/or comment. Voice your opinion on what you think. :)

Picture = Savannah 

Edited: May 20, 2018