EMPATHY | Z. DEMPSEY

THREE

it was almost seven, and Faith was in her bedroom pacing back and forth in a pair of ripped jeans deciding if she wanted to wear those or a more comfortable pair of leggings. 

she was undecided as she grabbed her loose grey tee off the hanger and pulled it over her head and decided against changing her pants once more.

the brunette sighed before tucking her phone in her back pocket and making her way down the staircase and into her kitchen.

the young girl was met by her two parents who sat in the kitchen cooking a sort of late dinner for themselves.

Faith had grasped her keys off of the rack with a small smile in her families direction

"You'll be home by curfew right?" her father asked, making her nod. "If anything changes call us and we'll extend it alright baby?" he continued.

"Of course dad, I love you both" she responded, walking over to the pair and kissing them both on the cheek before grabbing her purse and exiting the home and down the steps towards her driveway.

. . . . .

"You don't get it Dempsey, if Clay says anything we're fucked" Justin angrily spat through the phone, making Zach furrow his eyebrows.

"He's gonna wanna know what tape is his J, he's not gonna do anything until then" the brunette responded, playing with the open and close button on the disk tray of the player on his desk.

"What happens when he gets through everyone? He's gonna tell someone and then we're screwed. What are we gonna do then?" the dirty blond boy continued, fiddling with his hair as his phone sat on speaker in his kitchen.

"We'll figure it out" Zach told him sternly, stopping his movements with the player and playing his non-used hands on his leg.

Faith came up the stairs, her shoes being left at the front door as a house rule, her bag on her shoulder and her phone in hand as she heard her boyfriends voice sound closer with each step.

she heard his last sentence to his friend on the phone, confused she approached his bedroom door and knocked a few times before entering after a nod was given from Zach. 

she gave him a smile before placing her bag on the bed and sat beside it while he hung up with whoever he was talking to.

when she saw him take the phone away from his ear she tilted her head and leaned back on her hands. "So, who was that?' she asked curiously, watching as he sat back down in his chair and rolled it closer to the edge of his bed.

"Justin" he plainly answered, making her nod awkwardly. 

"and what are you both gonna figure out?" she pushed, making him furrow his eyebrows again and frown.

"What do you mean?" he asked dumbly, making her frown as well.

"you told him you'll figure it out, what did you mean?" Faith asked again, watching him carefully.

the male let out a sigh, placing his hand on her knee gently. "Its just something between us guys, its not important" 

"Its just a guy thing, got it." she mumbled, turning her head to look at the bulletin board on the opposite wall. "It is important if you're arguing over the phone about it Zach"

"Babe, its just a g-"

"You know, you keep saying that" she scoffs, aggravated.

the basketball player looks at her sadly, "I really cant tell you" he finishes.

Faith sighs to herself, shaking her head before standing up and his hand falling from her leg. 

"Faith" he pleads, watching her as she grabs her bag from the bed. "Please don't"

"Last time, you promised me trust and honesty." she breathed, "I feel like we're going backwards Zach" 

"I swear we're not, I just-"

"You need to have your secrets with your boys, I get that, I do. I just don't want you to keep big things from me." 

"If this was big Id tell you" he lied, making her look up at him. "I just need you here tonight, please baby"

Faith sighed, dropping her bag on the floor beside his nightstand. 

she'd given in, like she usually does. 

they laid together that night, enveloped in each other, their thoughts quiet and their small talk lowly spoken in the comfort of the fairly large bedroom.

while Zach went on about Sea Cucumbers and the interesting facts that belonged with the category of sea features, she sat with a small fond smile as she looked between the texts with her father and back at him every few seconds to make sure he knew she was still intrigued with his rambling.

the pair fit perfectly together, they always had.

they'd both always been genuinely happy with one another, with the common arguments that most couples got into, they'd experienced them as well but with the kind hearts dealt with both people they always made it through their faults.

Zach always cared for the small doe eyed girl, and Faith always cared for the taller brown eyed boy.

trust came with every relationship, but with every secret the trust was slowly going away and the youngest of the two wasn't sure how to deal with it.

she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the truth, or let it stay a secret for as long as it could.