one love, two mouths ▿ abels

Chapter 17 - Domestic

One Love, Two Mouths – A Zachary Abels Story

Chapter 16 – Domestic

I pray for all the wrong you could do to me, baby – blackbear

 

‘&’

That morning, the sound of pelting rain and thunder awoke Kendall. She leaned up and rested on her elbows as she watched the glass stream. She narrowed her eyes and read the numbers on the digital clock in the corner – 3:42 a.m

She turned her head to see Zach facing away from her, arms behind his head. He had a tendency of letting her go when they fell asleep in each other’s arms. Zach tossed around too much and Kendall hated waking up to it. She felt suffocated and smothered.

She ran her hands through her hair and laid back down, staring at the ceiling as the crack of thunder would shake the complex and the flash of lightning would illuminate the room. She turned on her side and faced Zach who was now lying on his back, the duvet low on his hips.  She wriggled closer and began tracing the lines of his chest; the curve of his collarbone, the dip of his stomach, the subtle outline of his rib cage.  She realized that he probably wasn’t eating and she immediately felt heavy with guilt.

She didn’t mean harm. She thought that she could disappear without anybody thinking much about it. She always thought of herself as a burden, and figured that when she was gone her friends would be concerned, but also exhale a breath of relief.

The concern coming from Jesse and Zach was evident enough that she was wrong. No matter how minuscule, her absence made a difference in the atmosphere. Leaving put a bigger weight on their shoulders.

She hated herself every day for it.

She heard Zach groan and turn his body, wrapping his arms around Kendall and pulled her tightly to his chest.

She would’ve noticed how even when he was sleep deprived he still managed to smell so good, but her face was pressed too hard to his chest and she was struggling to breathe. She pried herself from his grip which unfortunately woke her up.

“What the hell?” His voice was raspy. “I thought girls liked waking up to being cuddled.”

“Not when the cuddling involves being squished and struggling to breathe.”

He chuckled and pulled her body back to his, laying her head on his chest as he ran his hands through her hair absentmindedly. Another powerful crack of thunder sounded and Zach jumped.

Kendall laughed as she buried her face in his neck.

“I didn’t even know it was raining,” he said in a serious tone but was smiling none the less.

“You’re so ditsy,” she mumbled, pulling away from him and rolling onto her back. They weren’t touching as they lay side by side, but the electricity between them was enough. The time now read 4:07 and Zach groaned.

“I’m going back to sleep,” he said as he threw his arm across her bare stomach.

She smiled as she ran her hand up and down his limb, lulling him to sleep.

She could get used to this.

‘&’

“Wake up you mother fuckers!”

Zach leaned up with a start as his vision focused and Jesse came into view. He could hear Jeremy, Brandon, and Mikey laughing from outside the bedroom. Zach quickly threw some blankets over Kendall’s exposed body and tried to shield her with himself. How she wasn’t awake he had no idea.