Broken(13 Reasons Why)

6.8

"Sick ride, Dempsey" Justin teased Zach as we made our way to the minivan that he's driving today
"Do you want a ride or no?" Zach shot back as he unlocked the car
"Jeez, you start driving around in a minivan and you change. What a shame" Justin continued as he shook his head
I couldn't help but laugh a little
"Don't you dare laugh or else you'll sit in the back with him" Zach glared at me
I rolled my eyes and got in the passenger seat
"Oh, and she's got a leather seats" Justin exclaimed as he got in
Zach groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel
"Watch it, you don't want to ruin your pink camo cover" Jus told him
I let out a huge laugh and Zach looked at the both of us with pleading eyes
"Okay, now I'm done..." Justin said "For now, Karen" He quickly added
A smile appeared on Zach's face as he tried not to laugh
"That one was a good one" He admitted
Justin sat back in his seat, proud of himself

"Yo! I still can't believe you guys are missing a party to babysit kids, that's so fucking dumb" Justin spoke after a while of silence
"It's not dumb" Zach told him
"Plus, we get free candy AND no hangover the next day" I added
Justin thought for awhile
"I mean I guess but it's still a bit lame" He shrugged "Also can you save me some candy" He asked
I nodded my head

"Have fun giving out bags of vegetables at soccer practice, Suzanne" Justin said as he got out of the car
I snorted out a laugh as Zach flipped him off
"That might have been the most interesting car ride ever" I spoke as we backed out of the driveway
"Oh yes" Zach replied sarcastically
I rolled my eyes and reached for his hand

The rest of the drive to the kids' school was pretty quiet except for small talk here and there.
Once we got out of the car, Zach grabbed my hand and led me inside the school towards the office

"Well if it isn't my Zachary" The secretary exclaimed as we walked through the door
"Hi, Mrs Flake! How are you?" Zach asked her as we approached the desk
"Good, good. You?" She questioned
"I'm great" Zach replied "This is Althia" He introduced me
Mrs Flake smiled at me
"Nice to meet you, dear" She said
"Same here" I responded
"You aren't from around here, correct?" She asked me
"No, I'm from way out of town" I shook my head
"That would explain why I don't know you" Mrs Flake nodded
"You didn't tell me you went to this school" I said, looking up at Zach
"No wonder, he didn't tell you .He was always causing some sort of trouble" Mrs Flake said before Zach could say anything
"That's not true" Zach argued "I would always come here and help you with whatever you needed done" He added
"Yes, but only because you got detention" She said
I laughed as Zach frowned
"Are you two here to pick up the kids?" Mrs Flake asked us
"Some would call them monsters but yes" Zach answered
I smacked him while Mrs Flake shook her head
"You're early, Zachary" She told him as she looked through a binder that was filled with notes "But I won't tell Analicia" She added which made him smile
"I'll call them but you can go and meet them in the hall" She told us
"Thank you, Mrs Flake" Zach cheesed at her "It was nice seeing you again" He added
"You too, dear" She smiled
"Thank you" I smiled at her
"Take care, sweetheart" She replied
We walked out of the office and Zach led me to the classes
"I'm nervous" I whispered to him as he grabbed my hand
"Why?" He questioned, whispering back
"What if they don't like me and then that makes your aunt not like me and then that makes your mom not like me even more" I said
"First of all, my mom likes you" He started and I looked up at him, while making a face "She does" He repeated
"I haven't even properly met her yet and I know she doesn't. Plus that one time I was waiting in the car while you got something, she stared at me from the window before shaking her head and walking away" I told him
"Exactly, she hasn't met you yet so you can't say that she doesn't like you" He argued "And, they're gonna love you. I promise. As for my aunt, she'll love you too. How can you not like someone like you" He continued before I could say anything
"That was super cheesy but thank you" I smiled at him
We turned left into a hallway and I saw two kids attempting to put their coat and shoes on
"Uncleee Zaaaaach" They both exclaimed as they saw us approaching
"Hi boys" Zach ran up to them as they jumped in his arms
I stayed back smiling while enjoying watching Zach with kids
"James, Julien, this is my girlfriend Althia" He introduced us "Althia, this is Julien and James" He told me as he pointed since they both looked alike
"That's wrong" A girl said while she approached us
"Ahh, Beatrice! What would I do without you" Zach exclaimed as he stood up "Babe, that's James, Julien and this is Beatrice" Zach told me "Beatrice, this is Althia" He told her
Beatrice gave me a shy smile
"Aren't you going to give your favorite uncle a hug?" Zach asked her as he held his arms open
She nodded before giving him a big hug
Julien was still struggling with his boots and James was struggling with his coat
"Julien, do you need help?" I asked him
He nodded
"Okay, here, sit down" I told him as I helped him take a seat in his locker "Here we go" I said as I put his shoes on
While I was doing that, Zach was helping James with his coat
"Thank you" Julien said after I had helped him
I smiled at him and then James started to whine
"James, you need to take off your costume to put your coat on" Zach told him as he continued cross his arms and whine
Zach looked at me with pleading eyes
I bent down to James' level and looked at him
"James, sweetie, you don't want to ruin your awesome costume, do you?" I asked him
He shook his head
"Alright, so you're gonna need to take it off so it doesn't get ruined before we go trick or treating" I told him as his eyes lit up at the words 'trick or treating' "Or worse, you don't want to get sick and have to stay at home instead of getting candy" I added
He shook his head again and started to take off his costume
"There you go" I spoke as I helped him into his coat
"Okay, kiddies! Outside we go" Zach announced as they all started to run towards the nearest exist "You're a natural at this" He whispered to me as he grabbed James' costume from my hands
I simply smiled up at him before we followed the kids