Succulents on the Window Sill

Chapter 13

Corinne could hear the doors swinging open beside her, breaking the moment of silence the empty hallway had given her. She didn't look up, didn't glance his way at all as Zach marched into the corridor and began to pace it. He didn't acknowledge her, and Corinne didn't bother to make that first move. 

He walked up and down, deep in thought with a frown in place. Corinne kept her head hung, wanting to put off this conversation for as long as possible. Eventually, Zach stopped his pacing, and Corinne could feel his eyes on her. He simply watched, before his shoes appeared in front of hers, his toes almost touching her own. 

"You heard that, didn't you?"

Corinne shrugged. It was a stupid question. Jake's voice may have been muffled behind the wall, but it had still been loud enough for the sound to filter out. She had heard him telling Zach straight up that he knew that he had been lying last night. Corinne wasn't going to answer such a silly question.

"Corinne." He dropped to a squat, and Corinne couldn't avoid looking at him any longer. Head hung or not, he was in her line of sight. "Babe, please." Hands were on her knees, and she shook them off. 

"Don't call me that. Don't call me anything Zach." She stood, but she didn't know why, or where she was going now that she was on her feet. 

Zach rose to his full height, hands falling to his sides, palms up as if asking her what he was supposed to call her. "You're the one who's been nagging me to take Sara on a date to shut her up!" 

"Yeah, before you told me that it was me you wanted, me you loved. And a hotel, Zach? What were you thinking? What were you even doing there?" 

She must have winced at the thought, because his hands were on her arms, his lips hushing her. "I wasn't thinking, okay? We were there for food only, and the food was all we got."

Corinne shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought of the lips in front of her being on anyone else's. She'd seen Zach kiss Sara a hundred times, but the thought now sickened her.

 "Corinne, you know how hard this is for me-"

"Yeah, that doesn't mean that you need to make it any harder on me though." Zach paused, eyes growing wide as if only just realising what Corinne was going through. His grip on her arms relaxed to a ghost-like touch before his hands fell back to his sides. As much as she wanted Zach's hands off her, Corinne missed the touch. 

"I'm sorry, you're right. I wasn't thinking of you and your feelings. I don't even know what your feelings are, but..."

"That's not a reason to go back on your promises."

"I wasn't going back. Corinne, I was breaking up with her."

"What?" Corinne took a step back, hating how the chair behind her knees made it practically impossible to. "But why?"

"Well duh, I told you; I choose you. It's you that I want, Corinne." His shoulders shrugged, before a hand took hold of Corinne's fingers. 

"But why are you're dumping her so quickly?"

"Because this has gone on long enough. What's the point in waiting when I know this is what I want?" Zach nodded to their clasped hands, a sign of their relationship.

"She was so happy today though. You clearly didn't dump her." Why not? If this was really what he wanted, what stopped him?

"I know. I'm sorry, I chickened out. She was just so overjoyed at going on a date, that I couldn't go through with it."

"You can't lead her on, giving her amazing dates, letting her think your relationship is stronger than ever, then crush her heart." It wouldn't be fair on Sara at all. With how distant Zach had been with Sara lately, she was almost expecting this breakup. If he started messing her heart around though, it would break her. Corinne loved her too much to let him do that to her.