Claudia

Chapter 9

Claudia's POV

I look up to see Zach staring at me. His mouth was hanging wide open. He barely blinked. A few bags of groceries were by his feet. He must have dropped them in shock. Some of the items have shifted out of the bag. 

"Zach," I spoke slowly. He looked absolutely terrified. Obviously, the poor guy was just getting groceries when he stumbled upon me beating some guys up. The best thing for me to do was to calm him down. "I can explain."

"What is there to explain?!" Zach shouted. Luckily, the parking lot was almost empty so no one heard him. "What are you even doing here in the first place?"

"What are you doing here? You weren't in class today so I figured you were sick!"

"I had to leave early for a dentist appointment! And I had some things I needed to pick up at the last minute! Plus, you still haven't answered my question!"

"Please, Zach. You really need to calm down."

"Calm down? I just saw you beat those guys up like it was nothing even though they were twice your size! You can't seriously expect me to be calm!" His face seemed to have slightly softened. In his state of panic, he must have finally noticed my bloody nose.

"What did they do to you?"

"Zach..."

"They hurt you, didn't they? We need to report this! This is crazy and those guys are not getting away with whatever they're doing!"

"Zach, please. That won't be necessary. As you can see," I gestured to the unconscious men on the ground, "I am more than capable of taking care of myself." Zach made a face upon hearing that.

It was only a matter of time before someone would find out the truth. Even if they didn't, they would at least get suspicious and think that something isn't adding up. Whether I wanted them to or not, someone would eventually know. It was just a matter of time and I knew that when I first came here. The question is, who do I want to know the truth? Who am I able to trust enough to confide in? Who would be willing to take this secret with them to the grave?

I sighed and turned to Zach.

"Do you want the truth?"

"Yes! I want the whole truth and nothing but the truth!" I looked around the parking lot to make sure no one was nearby and walked closer to him. While I haven't known Zach for very long, he was the first person at this school who didn't seem completely terrible. I feel like I can trust him, and as mean as it sounded, I don't think there were a whole lot of people he could tell my secret to. 

"What I'm about to tell you stays between you and me. You are not to tell a soul. Not even your mother, not even your father. Not even your best friend or Clara."

"I promise," Zach nodded.

I looked around once more and lowered my voice.

"I'm a spy."

He looked taken aback. "What?"

"I'm a spy. Or at least I used to be. Now I'm considered to be rogue. Basically, I lived but I also left without a trace." 

"Lived?" His eyes were bugging out of his head.

"Yes, Zach. I lived. Just to clarify, that is good." 

"What were they making you do? Who were you working for? How did you get yourself involved with these people?" 

Oh boy. I should have expected to be asked a lot of questions after dropping this kind of bombshell on poor Zach, but that doesn't make it any less overwhelming. 

"It's a pretty long story, but..."

"Actually, forget it. You can just tell me tomorrow during lunch or something."

"What?" Now it was my turn to be the shell-shocked one making a face.

"If it's going to be a long story, then maybe we should talk about it another time." He checked his watch and his eyes widened yet again. 

Zach, you're nice and all, but you can't just bombard me with questions one minute and then blow me off the next. It really bothers me. 

"I thought you wanted me to tell you everything!"

"I do, but now is not the best time." He gestured at the sky. "It's getting pretty late and my mom wants me home by nine. Besides, it's not really safe to be out at night, especially if you're by yourself." 

"Wait, Zach!" He turned to face me once more.

"Remember what I told you. Do not. Tell. Anyone." 

"I won't. I promise." He ran his fingers over his mouth as if he was zipping it shut.

"Thank you. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Alright. Bye Claudia." He waved as he hopped in the driver's seat of his car. 

As I walked towards my motorcycle, I noticed the grey insignia on the men's uniforms. It was a flame surrounded by sparks. My heart instantly sank to my stomach. What did they want? Of course, there's no point in me asking that question. 

I already know.