Kayla Wilson

Three days have passed after the party and I have yet to see Zach. He wasn't in school or at the café and I was getting worried, I tried calling him but it always goes to voicemail.

"Hey, it's me again, where are you? Are you okay? Please call me back when you get this." I left my 5th voicemail for him.

It was lunch break and I took a seat at my usual table. I was focused on my phone, and didn't notice when someone took a seat in front of me. The sound of a discreet cough caught my attention and I looked up to see Zach's best friend and his girlfriend sitting across from me.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" I asked, smiling at them.

"You're worried about him, right?" Liam pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean he didn't pick up my calls. Do you know where he is?" I questioned.

"No, we've been trying to call him too. But he doesn't answer. His mom doesn't know where he is either. She says he hasn't shown up at home in three days. She's already called me like 8 times to see if I've heard from him," Liam replied in a worried tone. "The last time I saw him, he said he would go and talk to his dad."

"Maybe they had a fight," Melissa guessed.

"He probably wanted some time away from everything," Liam said, digging into his burger.

We didn't talk much after that and ate our lunch before the bell rang. After lunch, I went to the girls' washroom to freshen up. There was no one there. I was washing my hands when I heard the door open but didn't turn around to see who it was. Out of the blue, I was pushed against the wall. My hair was yanked back by one of Lydia's friends. The queen herself stood in the middle of her gang.

"What have I ever done to you for you to be such a bitch to me?" I spat at her.

"Are you asking me that because you don't know or are you just that dumb?" she hissed.

"How am I supposed to even guess what I did to offend you when I haven't done anything in the first place? Drop this dramatic act and just tell me what I did. I think I deserve that much," I fired back, pushing myself away from them.

"Oh you don't know? How dare you say that after everything you've done?" she slapped me. "You took Zach away from me."

With some effort, I managed to look like I didn't even feel it. "What? I took who away? I'm sorry; I didn't know he was yours. He didn't have your name written on his forehead so I had no idea." I said, plastering a fake apologetic smile on my face.

Lydia practically glowered with anger. "You bitch! Zach was and is and always will be mine." She screeched.

"Woah, woah, woah, calm down there. You might spontaneously combust." I was barely holding back a laugh. I didn't know where all the sarcasm was coming from. This is the kind of situation where I would, in a normal circumstance, be paralyzed with fear. "Besides, I don't think Zach feels the same way about you. I actually think he wouldn't be too happy if he found out that you thought of him as an object that belonged to you."

"I'm warning you, Kayla. Stay away from him. Or else it won't be pretty for you." She said, snapping her fingers in front of my face.

I didn't even blink. "No, I am warning you. Don't threaten me again. You don't intimidate me. I mostly just think you're lame, coming at me when I'm alone, with your friends. I'm telling you. Don't. Test. My. Patience. I have a feeling you would regret it if you do." I bit through clenched teeth.

Lydia had the gall to look shocked. She quickly composed herself and opened her mouth to say something. I didn't wait around to hear what she had to say and made my way towards the door, flipping the bird at her without looking back.

Entering the English class, my thoughts drifted back to Zach. I wondered if he really did confront his dad about it. I wanted to be there for him when he was at his worst. He was the only person who had stood up for me in a long time. It was because of him that I had the courage to stand up for myself so I wanted to return the favor. I wanted him to know that he can count on me, just like I can count on him.

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

I was on my shift at the café when suddenly someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. I whirled around to see Jack.

"Hey, Kayla, have you seen Zach? I haven't heard from him in a while." He looked concerned.

"No, I don't know where he is either. I've been calling him but no luck so far," I replied, shaking my head.

"Did something happen with him?" Jack asked looking at me.

"I'm not sure I should tell you. You should ask him when you see him." I looked down at my feet.

"Oh, sorry, you're right. I should ask him. See you later then." He took out his phone waved at me as he left.

My mind drifted back to the moments I spent with Zach. He's such a warm person, trying to help everyone whenever he can. I don't know why bad things always happen to good people. Why do others always have to suffer for someone else's mistakes?

My thoughts were interrupted when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket at checked the caller ID. It was my dad.

"Hello?" I said, picking up.

"Is this Kayla? Are you related to the person this phone belongs to?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

"Yes, where is he now?" I inquired, getting a little concerned.

"He's here at Mike's bar. He's really drunk so I thought I would call someone to pick him up. And he was muttering about a Kayla so I figured that's who I should call." The man replied in a kind voice.

"Okay, thank you for calling. I'll be right there. Please make sure he doesn't leave." I said, quickly cleaning up the table.

"Becca, can you do me a favor?" I asked, approaching the cashier's desk.

"Sure, what's wrong? You look worried," she said, seeing the expression on my face.

"Yeah, it's my dad. Something happened so I have to go." I briefly explained. "So can you tell Jack and cover my shift? I promise I'll make it up to you." I pleaded.

"Of course, don't worry about it. Just hurry and go." She replied with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Becca, I owe you one." I hollered before rushing out of the café.

The bar where my dad was at was located on the other side of town. That area was infamous for being the bad part of town. People usually steered clear of that part. It really creeped me out but I had no choice. I took the bus and made it there in thirty minutes.

Hopping off, I looked around at my surroundings. The whole place was isolated. The walls were covered with graffiti of rude words. I quickly walked towards the bar, wondering what state my dad would be in. Knowing him he would probably be drunk out of his mind and making a fuss about everything.

"Excuse me, are you the person who called me from my dad's phone?" I asked the bartender.

"Yes, he's right over there," he pointed at a corner table.

"Thank you so much," I said and walked over to my dad.

He was passed out with a half empty beer bottle in his hand. There were plenty of empty bottles on the table. His hair was so ruffled; I was expecting a bird to come flying out of it any moment.

"Dad, wake up, let's go back home," I shook him awake.

"Helen..Helen.." He muttered under his breath as he came to.

My eyes threatened to burst into tears. Dad was always thinking about mom. I had no doubt he loved her with all his heart.

"Dad, let's go." I said again, trying to pull him to his feet.

"Get away from me. I don't want you anywhere near me. You're nothing but a pest to me." He barked out.

"You're drunk, let's just head home." I ignored what he said and made to pull out my phone to call a cab.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, I was roughly pushed away and onto the floor. Before I could get myself up, a bottle came whirling at me but thankfully it missed me and shattered on the floor next to me. My dad lunged at me and started throwing punches at my face. He didn't seem to care that we were in a public place and was screaming like a mad man with every punch on me.

I felt numb and my vision blurred. I felt the weight of him lift and heard noises of people buzzing around. As my vision cleared, the bartender took a hold of my hands and hoisted me up to my feet.

I looked around to see that everyone in the bar was staring at us. I felt scared and humiliated. I looked at my dad; he was trying to get away from the grasp of the two men that were holding on to his arms.

I couldn't bear to stay there any longer and didn't want to risk my dad humiliating me like that again. I only tried to help him but apparently he didn't want my help. I ran out of the bar with two feelings growing inside me. Anger at how my life never went the way I wanted it to and sadness that everything was falling apart because of me.

I stopped running when I was far away from that bar and slowed down to a walk. I didn't want anyone from the bar to see me. I was sure that everyone there would be gossiping about it now.

I was lost in my own world, trying to sort through my emotions and walking without a destination when someone called my name. Mildly surprised that there would be anyone who knew me in this area, I slowly turned around, thinking that the voice was familiar.

"Zach? Is that you?" I asked the person who was standing a few feet away from me. It was dark so I couldn't see his face clearly.

"Yeah, what are you doing in this part of town?" he questioned, walking towards me.

He stopped in front of me and even in the dim light of the street lamp, I couldn't help but notice how tired and worn out he looked. He had dark circles under his eyes and there was a small cut near his mouth. I also noticed that his hands were bruised.

"What the hell happened to you, Zach? You didn't show up at the school at the café. Do you have any idea how worried everyone has been? I called and called you but you didn't even bother to answer, did you? You could at least have let your mom know that you were safe. Didn't you think about how she would feel?" I fired at him.

"You don't have to worry about me." He said, looking guilty and not meeting my eyes.

"Zach, I'm asking because I can't help being worried about you. And I'm talking on everyone's behalf here. Why are you all beaten up? And what are you doing here?" I was furious at his uncaring attitude.

"Kayla, just leave me alone. You should go home. This is not a good place for a girl to be alone so late. You can go your way and I will go mine." He turned around.

"Don't push me away, Zach. I want to help you. I'm not letting you go through this alone." I refused to back off. Instead, I stepped in front of him and blocked his path.

"Move, Kayla. I'm serious. Leave me alone," he said in a low voice. I shook my head, implying that I wouldn't change my mind.

Zach moved past me and started walking away. I tried to go after him but my vision blurred for the second time that night. The last thing I saw before I slipped into the dark void was Zach running towards me.