"Zack? What are you- Why are you..."

Well, that wasn't expected.

"Uh, I'm sorry. I really am. I rang the doorbell a few times and no one answered. And I know that's not a reason, but... I shouldn't have tried to break in." He mumbled, limping towards the nearest couch.

"What happened?" I didn't care how he got in. His busted lips and bruises made me not care.

"Fell off a motorcycle." He groaned as he fell onto the couch.

Right.

I rushed into the kitchen and wrapped some frozen vegetables in a towel.

"Broken?" I asked him when he touched his knee and grimaced with pain.

"Nah. Sprained, I guess." He mumbled. "I'm so sorry for practically breaking into your house and creeping you out. My phone got broken, so couldn't call anyone and your home was the nearest I could..." He trailed off with a grimace and I dragged my eyes from his head to toe.

A motorcycle with fists, I would say.

He had a bruise on his left cheek, busted lips, scrapes on his arm and a sprained knee.

"That's alright. Do you want me to call Sasha?"

"Yes, please." He whispered with a sigh, leaning back on the couch.

I dialled Sasha's number and greeted her with the little information I had.

"He's there? I'll be there in about 15 minutes. Let me see that idiot." She growled.

The call was in speaker mode.

"She really respects her big brother." He mumbled.

I sat next to him and started cleaning the scrapes on his arms before moving onto the wound, deliberately ignoring his protests.

"It's okay, Evelyn. You don't have to." he mumbled again as I came back with the first aid kit.

A cool night breeze made its way through the opened window and made me tremble lightly.

Uh, cold. I should've closed it the moment he got in safely.

On top of making me shiver a bit, it also made my hair dance around all over my face. So, I tried tying my loose hair into a bun without a scrunchie.

"No!" I heard his soft voice groan and looked up only to see him do a facepalm.

"Nothing, sorry." He muttered. "I just- it hurts."

So, I cleaned the wound more carefully. I haven't done this since Theo stopped falling abruptly during his runs.

By the time I cleaned and bandaged his forearm, he was asleep. So, I filled a bottle of water and sat next to him as I waited for Sasha.

I know I fought hard not to sleep but failed eventually because the next thing I know, my phone is vibrating in my hand.

It was hard to wake from the half-asleep state and when I did, I felt something heavy on my head. I opened my eyes to see Zack's shirt.

I tried to take a look at him but failed as he had his head on top of mine.

Well, this is awkward.

We were too close. I had a fistful of the fabric of his damp shirt and he had an arm wrapped around me as well.

Oh, no what if his shoulder was hurt and I made it worse by leaning on it?

Another set of vibrations made me answer and I heard Sasha's voice."I'm here, open the door."

"Okay." I whispered. I didn't want to wake him up. Poor guy's probably tired.

Also, I didn't want him to know that I was snuggled against his chest.

But all my plans of not wanting to hurt him failed when I moved a little and he woke up startled, hissing in pain.

"Sasha's here." I mumbled to myself, rushing to open the door.

"I rang the doorbell a few times." She muttered before getting in.

Was our doorbell not working anymore?

Sasha didn't gasp or looked worried when she saw her brother. She just crossed her arms with narrowed eyes.

"I got a call from Seth."

"Oh," He nodded. "I guess it's because I broke my phone."

"Yes, you guessed it right. He asked me to check on you and please don't try to fool me because he told me why."

"Alright." He sighed trying to stand. "Come on, let's go now. She's tired as fuck and probably has a dozen works to do tomorrow. So, let her sleep, yeah? You can interrogate me later."

"I don't want to move again anytime soon, so you better behave." Sasha said, poking his forearm intentionally, making him wince.

Why did she do that? That's a fresh wound and would hurt like hell.

"Bye Eve, Good night." She muttered, helping him walk. "We're so sorry we brought this here. He's an idiot. Sorry for troubling you."

I just shook my head. He did make me tremble with fear for a minute there. But apart from that, I was happy he didn't walk too far with that knee.

"Right. Sorry for that." Zack said with a tight smile.

I assured them against and again that they could come here anytime and it would never be a problem.

Now I realise why everyone wants me to not refuse their help.

                           ▪️▪️▪️

For the next two days, Zack stayed home. Sasha said his knee was getting better and thanked me nonstop.

"You're worrying too much. This is nothing compared to the last time." She waved it off when I asked about his wounds on the third day as well. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing this every day once your brothers grow up."

I hope not.

"Did he say who did this? He told me he fell off a motorcycle." I said and she chuckled.

"Of course." She chuckled. "And dad was right, Eve. It was those men. I thought dad was overreacting, o thought that case was settled. But nope, each of my brother's friends got jumped."

Holy crap.

"I never they'd fly to Ohio to beat him up." She shook her head. "Each one of them is an idiot for picking a fight with these kinds of people."

That I agree.

"He said there were three of them." She shrugged. "And even though this went a little too far, he deserved it. He's so confident with his Krav Maga that he thinks he's invincible. This might be an over-the-top reality check for him"

"Krava what?"

"Krav Maga. It's a form of martial arts. Dad made him take the classes when he was a kid. Bet he regrets that now." She mumbled with a smirk. "Anyway, what I originally wanted to say was..."

"Was?" I asked when her attention drifted to her phone and she smiled.

"Ah, yes. Dinner tonight at my home. And don't forget to bring my little cuties along with you."

That's...

"Is this a thank you kind dinner? If yes, please don't do that. You've already thanked me a dozen times and there's nothing to thank me for. Zack's my friend too, you know?"

"This is not a thank you kind dinner. It's more like Evelyn is our friend, we like Evelyn kind of dinner."

"That's not a-"

"Mom's strict orders. You won't say no. I'll pick you up. When will you get back from work?"

"Around 8:30?"

"Done." She smiled when her phone beeped. "There you go. Mom's text reminding us about dinner."

When I passed the information to Noel and Theo, chaotic energy erupted.

"You said yes, right?" Noel looked at me with curious wide eyes.

I see.

"Should I have?"

"Of course, you should have! We want to see their home." Noel said with such passion that I couldn't help but smile. "You didn't say no, did you?"

Looks like saying no was never an option.

"Get ready while I take a shower, we're going." And with that words, they were happy. 

I let the cold water rinse off the tiredness and slipped into some casual clothes. And by the time I was tying my damp hair into a ponytail, Sasha was here.

Noel and Theo were all dolled up and Sasha showered them with compliments. Noel was blushing and Theo was beaming.

"Little gentlemen, lead the way." She said to the boys and Noel understood the assignment. He opened the door for us and Theo being Theo jumped into the car.

******

Typing 'dinner' a few times made me hungry 😌😇

Thanks again to all of you who thought about giving this a read❤️
Please do vote if you liked the chapter 😊

Stay safe, stay awesome 🥰

And also...

What do you think about online classes?!