TW: Domestic Violence/Physical & Verbal Abuse
z a c h
"What are your plans for this weekend?" Kaden, my best friend, asks me as he slides in the seat beside me on Tuesday morning.
"I don't think I have any...why?" I reply, looking up at him.
"My parents had tickets to go to San Diego this weekend, but something came up--I think someone died--and they gave me the tickets and said I could take a friend. We'd leave at 3:30 on Thursday morning to go to the airport and we'd come back on Sunday evening. Do you think your parents would let you go?"
"They might...I can ask them tonight."
"Tell them if you don't go, I'll be very lonely and sad."
"Ok...I'll ask them tonight."
"Hey, Mom?" I ask shortly after getting home from school.
"You can go, Zach," she says, not looking up from making dinner.
"Wait...really?!"
"Yes, but be safe. You will text me when you get there, every night before bed, every morning when you wake up, and before you board the plane to come home."
"Alright. Deal! Thank you, Mom!!"
I turn around and run up the stairs to my bedroom and pull my suitcase out of my closet and start packing.
"What'd she say???" Kaden asks me the next morning before first period.
"She said I could go!!" I say.
Kaden beams at me. "You'll need to stay over tonight, though, so we can get to the airport."
"Okay, I've already packed most of my stuff, did you drive today?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't, can you take me home after school so I can get my stuff?"
"Yep."
"How long is the flight?"
"About four hours, because we're flying out of Charleston (South Carolina)."
"Bye, Mom," I say, hugging her.
"Bye, honey, be safe!" She says, hugging me again. "Have fun, and BE SAFE!"
"We will, Mom!"
"Kaden, look after my baby," she says, addressing Kaden.
"I will!"
"Call me if you need anything!"
"We will. Bye, Mom. I love you!"
"I love you too, sweetie! BE SAFE and have fun!"
As we back out of the driveway, she comes running out of the house and I'm 99.9999999% sure she's mouthing the words 'be safe'.
I'm laying in Kaden's bed, a pillow in between us when I look at the clock. 2:03 AM. We've gotta be up in 27 minutes. I sigh softly. Kaden rolls over, still sleeping. He kicks the pillow in his sleep and rolls over onto me, pressing up against my body. I gasp quietly, feeling the warmth and weight of his body against me. He grabs my arm and wraps it around him, lacing his fingers through mine, and I'm sure he's awake now. I consider saying his name softly, but he lets out a soft snore. I close my eyes and drift back off to sleep. I wake up 20 minutes later, being shaken by Kaden, who's leaning over me.
"Wake up, sleepyhead." He says, yawning. I roll over and fall off the bed and hear Kaden burst out laughing. I sit up.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking," I say.
He looks at me, still shaking with laughter.
We grab our stuff from the back of Kaden's mom's car and head into the airport after saying bye. We check-in and go to Starbucks to get coffee and breakfast. After getting our coffee and sandwiches, we head to the waiting area and eat. It's 3:22 when we sit down, but 3:30 approaches quickly. Soon, we're filing on to the plane and finding our seats. Kaden gives me the window seat and sits down beside me, buckling up and pulling his blanket out of his carry-on and yawning.
I fall asleep almost immediately after take-off, and again, get shaken awake by Kaden.
"We're about to land. We need to get our rental car," he says quietly. I stifle a yawn and nod at him. We file off the plane and go get our rental car.
"I vote we take a nap once we get to the hotel," I say yawning widely once we've gotten our rental car. "And then when we wake up, we can explore."
"I like that idea...it's currently 7:48 back home, but since it's different time zones, it's 4:48 here," he says.
We check into the hotel and head up to the fifth floor to our hotel room.
"Since my parents booked this, there's only one bed," he says on the way up to the room. I shrug and look at him. I'm suddenly overcome with so much emotion--toward him. I shake my head, trying to shake the feelings off, but they're still there. He unlocks the door with the key and the door opens. We walk in and put our bags on the floor. He walks over and falls on the bed, but I go in the bathroom, shutting the door and looking at myself in the mirror.
Snap out of it, Zach! I tell myself. But my heart only beats faster, my nervousness increasing. I groan quietly and mentally curse.
Why now? Why when we get on the other side of the country?? I walk out of the bathroom, trying to make it look like nothing is wrong. He looks up at me as I walk out and collapse on the bed beside him.
"So...what do you want to do when we wake up after lunch?" I ask him.
"I was thinking we could go down to the beach since it's right there, and then go to dinner and go shopping? And then tomorrow, we could go to SeaWorld and the Zoo? And then Saturday, there's a Baja California Coastal tour that was booked."
"Sounds good to me! Are we going shopping before or after dinner? I would suggest after dinner because taking bags into the restaurant might not be that good of an idea--"
He cuts me off by pressing his lips against mine. I close my eyes and pull him on top of me, pulling him down closer to me, feeling his body press against mine. His lips move against mine quickly, perhaps too quickly, but even though it's messy, it's something I don't ever want to end. I put my hands on his waist, wrapping my arms around him and inclining up into the kiss. He breaks the kiss and moves his lips down my neck gently, moving back to my lips moments later. I put a hand on the back of his neck and run my fingers through his hair. He pulls away and tips his head against mine. I keep my eyes closed a few seconds longer, savoring the feeling of his lips that had been against mine. When I open my eyes, he meets my gaze and studies at me. He doesn't say anything; he leans closer and touches his lips to mine.
"Lay down," he says quietly, looking at me.
I look up at him through my eyelashes as he pushes me further back onto the bed. His hands rest on my waist as he still rests on top of me, snaking up my body and reaching my face to press his lips against mine. I cup his face but move them quickly to his waist. He breaks the kiss to look at me and mutters the word 'don't'. I look at him, confused.
He grabs my hands and pins them above my head, lacing his fingers through mine. He releases my hands and moves his hands back to my waist. Our lips move together in sync. I move my hands again, and he pins them back without breaking the kiss.
"Let me treat you right," he whispers, almost seductively.
I take a deep breath and look at him. He presses his lips to mine again, his body pressing against mine. I savor the feeling of his lips and his body on mine.
