Zachery Williams

"Mom, I brought dinner for you." I said as I entered her room with a tray.

It had been almost a week since that incident. My mom was holed up in her room. She hardly spoke to me or Lucy.

I had been taking care of Lucy and mom, which resulted in me missing school. But I couldn't care about it. Right now, my family was my first priority. And I needed to help my mom get through this.

"Mom, come on, just eat something." I sat on her bed. She was leaning against the headboard of the bed, deep in thought.

I kept the tray on the bedside table and took her hands, squeezing them a little to get her attention.

'You can't keep going on like this. It's been almost a week and I know you need time to get everything together. But you need to stand up and you have to keep moving forward. You have to be strong, mom." I said as she looked at me.

"I don't know if I can get through this Zach. I don't think I'm strong enough." She answered, tears glistening in her eyes.

"You can, Mom, you're a doctor. You tell all your patients that they are strong. You give them hope that even if at the moment everything is bad, later things will turn out fine. That applies to you too." I told her.

"I guess you're right honey. But I never expected your dad to do something like that. That is the hard part. That little expectation can hurt a lot," she said as she wiped her tears away. "Have been going to school?"

"No, school can wait," I said, smiling a little.

"Well, tomorrow is Wednesday, right? You have to go to school tomorrow. I will look after Lucy, since I took leave from the hospital. We have a lot of things to change around the house." She said with a weak smile.

"Okay, but we will do it together." I said as I gave her a reassuring smile.

************

The next morning, I was glad to see mom making breakfast in the kitchen. Lucy also looked content as she happily ate her breakfast.

"Morning, Mom." I greeted her as I gave a quick peck on her cheek.

"Good morning Zach." She gave a small smile as she sat on her seat.

We made small talk while having breakfast and I left for school shortly after that.

I met with Liam and we both rushed to our first class together. After being absent for a while, I had a hard time keeping up with the lesson. I was glad when Liam offered to help me catch up with the lessons.

At lunch time, I sat at our usual table, Liam following right behind me.

"So is your mom okay now?" Liam asked, concerned.

The last week when I was busy with my family Liam dropped by my house, and I explained the situation to him. Liam really adores my mom and he was furious with my dad for hurting her.

"Well, she is doing better, I guess," I replied, opening my orange juice bottle.

"What about the date with Kayla? Any progress at all?" Liam asked as he took a bite from his sandwich.

"I think I'll ask her if she is free on this Saturday and take her out if she is," I said as I sipped my orange juice.

"Mel told me that she met with Kayla last week. She wouldn't tell me what they talked about but I swear that girl has something planned in her mind. She had this excited but scary smile on her face when she talked about it. She really looked like a maniac with that smile plastered on her face. But don't tell her I said that. She would rip my balls off and feed it to the birds." Liam said breaking into a sweat while I started laughing at his imagination and how scared he was of Melissa.

"What are you laughing about, Zach?" Melissa took the exact time to drop near our table, and slid in next to Liam.

Liam shot me a panicked look which looked like he was sending a silent prayer. I chuckled at how ridiculous he looked at that moment.

"It's about the latest rumors regarding the jocks and the cheerleaders. He just caught me up on the gossip." I answered carefully to save Liam's ass.

Melissa gave me a long hard look before she looked at Liam, as if she didn't believe my story.

"Babe, you know me. If I didn't update Zach with the latest gossips, how will he survive school?" He finally said as he took her hand smiling at her.

"Yeah, I know that you're a total girl. Both of you," she glanced at me.

"But you love us right? Especially me," Liam said as he kissed her.

"Guys, I'm trying to eat here." I pointed out before they could start a heavy make out session right in front of me.

"Have you seen Kayla?" I asked Melissa as she pulled away from Liam.

"She was with me a few minutes ago. But she headed to the library because she needed to finish a paper before her English class."

"I haven't seen her all day. I thought I would at least see her at lunch," I said, disappointed.

We ate our lunch together and as I went to throw away the trash, Lydia stepped in front of me.

"Zach, you haven't talked to me in a while." She pouted. Lydia was wearing a shirt which had her cleavage on full display. Her short skirt was barely covering her up. I mentally cringed about the way she was dressed but forced a smile.

"Sorry Lydia, I just have been busy these days." I said throwing the trash and heading out of the cafeteria.

I heard Lydia's heels clicking on the floor as she followed me.

"You mean you were busy with Kayla," Lydia hissed.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face her. She looked pissed and she was breathing heavily.

"What is your problem Lydia? Why are you holding a grudge against her?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"She's a bitch, Zach. You don't know what she has done in the past. She is acting all innocent to win you over," she replied.

"Watch what you are saying Lydia. You don't know anything about Kayla. So I suggest you keep your mouth shut. Even though we have been friends for a long time I won't tolerate you talking about things you don't even know about. Remember that well." I warned her, anger evident on my face.

I turned around and headed to my next class, leaving a very shocked Lydia in the middle of the hallway.

***************

By the time Saturday rolled in, I was a nervous wreck. I had met with Kayla when school ended on Wednesday and asked her if she was free on Saturday to go on the date. When she answered saying yes I was beyond happy.

I gave a lot of thought on what I should do for our first date, but knowing Kayla, I knew she would like it when it's a bit simple. She enjoys the little things, which I really liked about her. All I wanted was to make her happy and enjoy the night.

When I climbed down after getting ready for the date, I saw mom and Lucy on the couch watching a movie.

"Don't you look handsome?" Mom said as I stood near the couch.

I was wearing a simple blue t- shirt with black jeans and my jacket.

"Where are you taking Kayla?" Mom asked, smiling.

"Well, it's a secret," I grinned.

I was glad that I had the monthly allowance that my dad gave. I knew I couldn't take her on a fancy date yet, but I was confident about what I had in my mind.

"See, I told you. I knew you liked her," Lucy said.

"Yes, you were right kiddo. And I will allow you to say 'I told you so' this one time." I laughed as I ruffled her hair.

I took my phone and looked at the time. "I need to head out now. Kayla must be waiting for me to pick her up."

They wished me luck as I stepped out of the house. I climbed into my car and drove to Kayla's house.

After parking, I texted her saying that I was outside her house. A few minutes later, the door opened and Kayla stepped out.

I stood there without blinking as Kayla approached me. She was wearing a red dress which came up to her knees, with a black jacket and matching high heels. Her light brown hair was curled at the ends as it flowed down in beautiful waves. And she had a light makeup on which I really liked. As my eyes slowly raked her body, she started playing with her fingers nervously.

"You look really beautiful," I commented as I took her hands. She looked up at me and smiled which made me breathless.

"Thanks, Mel helped a lot." She answered blushing.

"Shall we get going then?" I asked her and she nodded in agreement. I opened the door for her and when she climbed I closed it behind her and went to driver's seat. After we settled in I drove towards the destination I had in my mind.

*************

"This place is really nice, Zach. I love the decorations and the designs here." Kayla gushed as we sat our booth in the corner of the restaurant. Her eyes roamed around the place as she looked at the frames and the decorations.

The restaurant wasn't very popular but still the food was really good which resulted in it being pretty well-known around the neighborhood. It was the place where I used to come with Liam in our rebellious stage. And the owners of the restaurant had grown close with us over the years.

"Oh my, if it isn't one of the troublemakers," Mrs. Owen exclaimed as she walked over with two glasses. "James, look who's here." She called to her husband who was behind the counter as I stood up to give her a hug.

Mr. and Mrs. Owen were at their early forties and they had been handling the restaurant since they got married.

"You have grown up well. Where is your usual partner in crime?" Mr. Owen said as he gave me a quick hug.

"Liam is around, probably with his girlfriend Melissa," I replied.

"And who is this beautiful girl?" Mrs. Owen asked, looking at Kayla.

"This is my friend and my date Kayla." I introduced them. Kayla greeted the couple politely and complimented about them about the restaurant.

"So, what do you guys want to order?" Mr. Owen asked.

**************

"That was so delicious." Kayla exclaimed as we paid the bill and thanked the couple.

"Do you want to grab ice cream as dessert?" I asked as we walked out of the restaurant.

"Where would we get ice cream?" She questioned.

"There is a small shop which sells really delicious desserts. Liam and I, we usually go to the restaurant and then head to the dessert shop after," I explained.

We both walked into the shop and bought ice cream and started walking down the street. I slowly moved closer to her and my hands brushed against hers. I took her hands and entwined our fingers and she looked at me and smiled. We both enjoyed the silent moment, holding hands while we ate our ice cream.

"Do you wanna go to that park and sit for a while?" I asked, not wanting the night to be over so soon. She nodded eagerly and we both headed to the park.

We sat on a bench, and I wrapped my arms around her shoulder and pulled her close to me. She laid her head on my shoulder and looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful night with stars scattered all over the sky.

"My mom loved stargazing with me. It was one of the best memories I have with her. Even if I had a rough day, I could feel all my tension fading away when I look at the stars." She explained softly. "And after her death, I couldn't do this much. It reminded me too much of her."

"Hey, it's not your fault." I said as I rubbed her hands to comfort her.

"That's not everyone back in my school said. They all blamed me. And the guy I dated ran away when I needed him the most," she said bitterly.

"You've dated before?" I asked, trying to digest the new information.

"Yes, Zach, obviously I dated. I heard that you did too," she sounded amused.

"Yeah, well, it's just you never mentioned a guy before. Except Nico," I muttered.

"Cause it was not important. Not after what he did. He basically ran off." She glanced at me.

I was curious about the guy she dated but I didn't press her to tell me everything. However, I guessed that was the reason why Nico was acting like he did the day we argued. I also knew why he didn't trust me with knowing Kayla's past. He wasn't sure that I would stay with her and that I might hurt her like the way that guy did. We stayed at the park for a few more minutes and then headed back to the car and drove off.

Parking my car in front of Kayla's house, I hopped out of the car and walked with Kayla to the front door of her house.

"So thanks for tonight, I really enjoyed it." Kayla said as she looked at me.

"That means you're agreeing to go on a second date with me right?" I asked, taking her hand.

"Yeah, you could say that," she answered, laughing lightly.

I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around her. I knew that she would probably want to take things slow, especially after what happened with that other guy. After what I found tonight, it made me feel like I had to be patient with her.

"I hope you know this by now, but I will still say this. I like you Kayla. I like you a lot." I mumbled as I pulled her even closer to me.

She stiffened a bit before relaxing and whispered the words I needed to hear badly. "I like you too, Zach."

I slightly moved back and looked deep into her eyes. My whole body felt all warm and fuzzy from her confession. I put a finger on her chin and pressed my lips on her forehead, and then, slowly, I kissed her cheek.

After a few seconds, I moved back and wished her goodnight. She looked flustered and mumbled good night before going inside her house. I went back to my car and leaned against it and sighed in relief, feeling content. I couldn't recall the last time I was happy like this.

**************

A/N

Hey my lovely readers! Here is another chapter for you guys. And I hope you guys like it and please vote and comment. :)

I'm really happy for the support I'm getting for this story and BH is halfway done. So I hope you guys continue to support me like you are doing right now. 

Thank you so much and I love you guys! <3