It's Not What It Looks Like (Recently Completed)

Chapter 5

Zach

Bang... Bang... Bang...

"Go away", I scream at the person who is behind the door and duck under a pillow to drown the loud banging.

Bang... Bang... Bang...

The noise gets louder and I throw the pillow at the door and get off the bed. My steps flatter and I take the support of the wall so I don't fall to the ground. Shit! I groan in pain because it feels like there is a musical band in my head.

Bang... Bang... Bang...

I stumble to the door and open the door with so much force that it shakes at the hinges.

" Who the....", I begin to give a piece of my mind to the person on the other side of the door but catch myself seeing that it's none other than my father.

"Good morning, son", he says in a conceding tone only parents can produce.

I grumble good morning and trot back into the room searching for a water bottle. As I grab the bottle of water, Dad says,

" I have been trying to get in touch with you since yesterday", he says calmly.

I raise my index finger gesturing I need a moment while I down the bottle of water in one go.

Dad is impeccably dressed in a black suit as always. From the firm stare, I can sense as much that I am in trouble. It's the same expression he gave me when I dyed my sister Zoya's hair bright pink a day before her junior prom. He grounded me for a month and didn't even let me attend a football match against our rival team even when our school coach literally begged him that the team will lose the match without me. Nothing could sway the man. Even though I am much older now, I am a little scared.

Once I down the entire bottle of water and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Coach gave us a weekend off after a long time and the party got out of hand. I am sorry if some pictures got out. It will blow over. It's not a big deal", I say before he blocks my credit card or something.

"That would have been a much easier disaster to handle", frown Ms Claire Hayley Dad's PR manager who treats every news as the end of the world.

"There are thousands of girls in the city, yet you had to go mess around with Mr West's daughter", grumbles Mr Doug Stamper, Dad's campaign manager and the man with a permanent scowl.

At the mention of Col, my body goes rigid. Shit! Did Col go crying to daddy dearest? Truth be told, I didn't want to confront her publicly in front of everyone but Ryan took matters into his own hands and I didn't want to stop him in between his rant and embarrass him. He is my best friend and we always had each other back. But when I saw Col's pleading eyes to listen to her reasons after she was thoroughly humiliated before everyone, I felt we went too far. The guilt I felt made me realize how much I was willing to soften myself for her which angered me. I told myself she deserved the humiliation and drowned myself in alcohol in the old fashioned way of forgetting the anger, guilt and the heartache that caused by a woman.

" What happened?", Dad asks calmly and I tell him everything except my feelings for her because I am over her. With each drop of alcohol, I burnt anything I felt for her.