Zoe And The Beast

Chapter 10 | The Viper

I stepped into the house, a small smile settled onto my lips. That date was far more enjoyable than I had expected. Blooming kisses, a handsome bad boy, and gambling could not have been more fun.

Still feeling the lovely tremors from the way Vince protected me today, I practically flew through the room. His impeccable lips, his irresistible smirk, his sly technique. Everything would come back to haunt me in my dreams, blow me away from my nightmares, and cradle me into a bliss of heaven.

As I danced my way around the coat hanger and through the foyer, a gentle hum escaped my lips. Soft, sweet, endearing, yet a little bit--

"Where the hell have you been?"

Startling me out of my thoughts, I jumped back and stared at Zach with wide eyes. He stood at end of the hallway, his eyes bleak and shaded, his face slammed into a pit of fury. With his arms crossed over his chest, he tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, waiting for my answer.

Oh crap.

"Um..." I started, not sure how to approach this. Think, Zoe, think. You put yourself in this mess, you get yourself out. If only I had thought of something better. How could I let myself do this? If only I had told Zach everything beforehand, if only Vince hadn't shown up, if only...

Why was I regretting this? I shouldn't be regretting this. I kissed Vince Mascars today. It wasn't my fault that Zach hated Vince.

"That was not Jared's car out there, Zoe," my brother pointed out as he took a daunting step forward. Each move was filled with intolerance. "You told me you were going to a swim team party with Jared."

Ah, that's why I was regretting this.

"I did!" I squeaked, trying to come up with an excuse in my mind. "I just...we were in Savannah's car this time."

Zach raised an eyebrow. "Savannah has a Viper?"

"Well..." I kept my eyes on the wall behind him, in fear that he would catch me. Gosh, why was I such a terrible liar?

"Savannah -- who, as far as I remember, lives in a two-bedroom apartment with five other siblings -- suddenly has a ninety-thousand-dollar car?" Zach's voice almost dripped with skepticism.

Come on, Zoe! There must be something you can say.

"...her boyfriend does?" My voice came out more as a question than an answer.

"Oh." Zach nodded slowly. "So now Jared has a Viper?"

"Jared isn't Savannah's boyfriend," I chuckled, trying to change the subject. It was better to talk about Jared, Savannah, and Derek's love triangle than to talk about this. Anything was better to talk about than this. "Did you think Jared was Savannah's boyfriend?"

"Zoe," Zach wasn't buying it, "who were you with?"

I groaned, tired. He kept asking me questions, but wasn't willing to answer any himself. Why did he not want me to be around Vince? He never interrogated me like this before. "Why do you care so much, Zach? I'm a responsible kid. Why can't you just trust me and move on? You—"

"You lied to me today, Zoe," he cut in. "I think that justifies itself."

I almost rolled my eyes at him. "I didn't lie!"

"Then just answer my question," Zach stated, firm. Shrugging his shoulders casually, he raised an eyebrow, daring me to answer with the truth. "Who were you with?"

I paused for a moment, just as a lightbulb flashed over my head. "Derek. I was with Derek."

Zach shot me a look of confusion mixed with intolerance. "Who the hell is Derek?"

"Savannah's boyfriend." I smiled at myself. That rounded up pretty well. "Derek is Savannah's boyfriend. He has a Viper and drove us around. Jared decided to be my date for the night and came with us."

Zach stared at me, a moment longer, his face hard. The severity of how much my lies were affecting him finally began to dawn over me. I was doing exactly what Jared had said: I was lying to the one person who cared about me. Why was I doing this? What was I getting out of it? Absolutely nothing but thrill. What was my brother getting out of it? Pain. How could I let that happen? What was wrong with me?

Finally, he calmly let out an exasperated sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. "You know, Zoe, it was never hard for me to communicate with you before. You're a good kid. I know I'm not actually Mom or Dad, but sometimes I feel like I treat you as if I were. Because, to be honest Zoe, you're my only family. You're my little sister. It shocks me to see you lie to my face like this."

"I—"

Zach put a hand up in the air before I could continue. "I'm putting a lot of trust in you right now. Don't break it."

And with that, Zach turned around and went back to his room, shutting the door behind himself.

But the problem was, I had already broken his trust. Guilt finally began to skim over me, quietly creeping into my head. I had lied to my brother, and he knew. I had broken the trust he held in me, the only trust I could truly rely on.

God, I was a terrible sister. Lying to the brother -- the only family member who ever even bothered to set up a meal for me -- wasn't something I would normally do. I was that good girl. Out of all my friends, I was known to be the good one, the one who would never do anything to hurt the ones who cared who cared about me.

Every ounce of dishonesty that left my lips would whip across Zach. He wasn't being unreasonable. I was being unreasonable. I was the person that disagreed with him and left him, only to be with a man I had just recently met.

I never wanted to hurt my brother. He was kind. He looked after me. He protected me. He never lied to me. Yet, I was lying to him. And he knew it.

What was wrong with me now? Why had lying become such a second nature for me? Why did it feel so great to lie? To get away with it? To feel the excitement of deceit slip through my lips?

And above all, why did I still want to go out with the Beast and defy my brother's trust?

AN// I don't have a whole lot of inspiration atm. Thank you so much for reading though :)

Please vote or comment on this if you think it deserves it! It means a lot! :)//

Edited: May 20, 2018