The Unofficial Zack Warren Fan Club

by J. C. Isabella

  “But we can’t hide in here.”

  “I know! We’ll make a salad.”

  So the little chat about me being nice to my freaky father turned into the best stall session mom and I have staged in a while.

  “So, you want to enlighten me, Chloe?”

  “About what?”

  “I know this is the wrong time to ask, but we haven’t had time talk lately. Glenn and I’ve been so busy with the house.” She chopped the cucumbers like they’d pissed her off, showing no mercy, while I peeled carrots. Underneath her smiling exterior she was just as mad my father was here. “I don’t know what to think about what’s going on between you and Zack.”

  “Oh, uh, there really isn’t anything going on.” It took everything in me to keep from flushing bright red.

  She snorted, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth. “I see the way you look at him. You’ve got stars in your eyes. Glenn and I were wondering how…I mean, you are an adult now. Legally.” She slanted me a very pointed look, “I know we had the talk, but I want you to be able to tell me anything.”

  “Mom, I know how hard you had it. I’m not going to get knocked up.”

  “I almost didn’t accept Glenn’s offer, part of me thought it was a bad idea. If I had a cute boy living with me I’d have gone nuts. I’m only thirty-five. I’m not so old that I’ve forgotten what it was like to be young…not too old to have another kid either.” We tossed the veggies together, and she grabbed the dressing from the fridge. “You’ve got enough to deal with. Zits, hormones, and now you have to worry about a guy seeing you first thing in the morning with less than perfect hair.”

  “This is why I’m glad you’re my mom.” I grinned, pausing the salad prep to hug her. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” I’d never had an adventure like this before. I also wanted to get to know Zack better, see how this attraction played out between us. The want was strong and the need to kiss him, but there was more to it than that. I had to explore it.

  “Shocker.” She said, “I never would have thought you’d say that.”

  “I know!” I shook my head, fighting a smile, “I’m curious, and you said we were going to have an adventure. I think I’m starting to like it.”

  “What about you and Zack?”

  “We are friends, period.”

  “I see the way he looks at you, too.” She said, tossing the salad with master precision. Not one leaf or tomato flew out of the bowl onto the counter. “He’s a nice young man, and I trust both of you. Just make the right choices. Remember, you have to live with him when you’re not at school.”

  “Oh, I’ll remember.” I promised, and then lowered my voice. “Helga is really getting to you.”

  “Uh, no.”

  I poked her arm. “Yes.”

  She blurted. “How can her hair be so blonde? You can’t use chemicals with a baby on the way! And it looks like she shaved off her eyebrows and painted them on.”

  “So we won’t be surprised if the kid has six toes, three eyes, and speaks backwards.”

  “I can see the headlines—Mutant child born to ex sausage model and car salesman.”

  “That kid is going to need therapy.”

  “I come to help!” The kitchen door swung open and Helga waddled in.

  Chapter 23

  Zack

  “Horse races.” Vince said with enthusiasm, flipping through the TV channels. “Now that’s a sport.”

  Never in my life, not once, had I ever resorted to violence to solve a problem — since have I reformed myself— except for pinning Max to the fence when he talked about Chloe.

  Okay, so one time I’ve used physical methods. But I wouldn’t mind making it two. I imagined grabbing Vince by the back of his too big suit and kicking him out the front door. He was one of those people you wanted to swat, like an annoying little fly buzzing your sandwich. I wanted to chat with him about as much as I wanted a baseball to the crotch.

  “Gambling’s not a sport.” I said under my breath. My dad, sitting on the couch next to me, nodded in agreement. Vince wasn’t scoring points with him either.

  “So, Zack, tell me what you do.” Vince jingled. The man had on so much gold he actually jingled. I couldn’t believe he and Chloe were related for a second. His lady, Helga, boy was she a trip, too.

  “I go to college.” I said, trying to keep my voice friendly.

  I mean, what kind of question was that? I only had enough time for a job during the summer.

  He nodded. “Yes, with Chloe. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  Dad clapped me on the shoulder, “Zack’s into sports.”

  “Really?” Vince didn’t seem impressed, more like bored. He uncrossed then re-crossed his legs so tightly, he either had to take a piss, or he’d been cursed with balls the size of grapes and a dick like a gherkin. It just wasn’t normal for a guy to do that.

  “I play baseball,” I supplied. He didn’t react. Not even a raise of his greasy black eyebrows. What the hell, maybe I could get him interested in something else, “I practice martial arts too.”

  His eyebrows shot up now. “Isn’t that dangerous?”

  What a wiener.

  This guy was a serious hot dog.

  “Only for the person up against me.” I said, mostly for effect. Thinking, not only did he lack balls, he probably wilted in the sun too.

  My dad laughed uncomfortably. “Zack takes after me. I was a boxer.”

  Much to my relief, Chloe floated into the room and announced that dinner was ready. The way her little blue dress swished around her thighs made me hungry for something other than food though.

  I wanted to pull her into the hall and taste the gloss on her lips, feel her fingers dig into my arms as she pulled me closer.

  Instead, I behaved and headed for the dining room. A very odd basket of fruit was in the middle of the table. I held the chair out for Chloe so she could sit. That got me a quizzical look from her. I grinned, and no one else noticed, because Vince was inspecting the silverware. My dad was rubbing his temples. And Molly was getting Helga seated. Once she was down, I had to wonder how she’d ever get back up.

  “When we were married, Molly sometimes forgot if the dishes in the dishwasher were clean or dirty.” Vince chuckled to himself at the memory, polishing his fork with a napkin.

  My dad thumped down in his seat and ran a hand over his head. For a second it seemed like he forgot he’d shaved all his hair off. Molly perched on the chair beside him, taking a gulp of iced tea. Helga shoveled food into her mouth.

  Apparently pregnant women are really hungry.

  Vince seemed oblivious to our exasperation.

  I ate, focusing on the plate in front of me, and stole covert looks at Chloe. She’d moved her peas and carrots into her potatoes, and stacked the cucumbers in her salad into a neat pile. Her steak went untouched.

  I could eat anytime, anywhere, in almost any condition.

  Chloe usually didn’t pick in her food. I wasn’t surprised at her lack of appetite. Vince wasn’t enjoyable dinner company. Even so, I was starved.

  Helga asked Glenn and mom if they planned to do anything else to the house, so I used their distraction and leaned closer to Chloe. “This is painful.”

  “Yep,” She pushed her plate away and eyed Vince. “Why are you here?”

  All conversation stopped. Molly’s fork clattered to the plate, and my dad leaned back in his seat with a groan. Helga kept eating, absentmindedly rubbing her massive stomach. Vince loosened his gold tie.

  Yes, gold.

  “Uh, well, that’s something I’d like to speak with you about. Alone.” He said.

  “You can’t tell me now, here?” Chloe asked, glancing at Molly.

  “No, I’d rather not.”

  Molly stood and gathered plates, muttering. She coaxed my dad into the kitchen. Helga heaved herself out of her chair and moved as fast as a hungry pregna
nt woman could, looking for seconds.

  Vince looked at me like I was the fly he wanted to squish. “Some privacy, please?”

  Chloe packed a punch, and I knew she’d be fine, but hell if I didn’t want to leave her alone with the man. I didn’t like him. I’d never think about trusting him. Looked like he’d sell his mother for the right price.

  “Sure,” I pushed my chair back.

  “No.” Chloe grabbed my arm. She gave Vince one of her most dazzling smiles. It was the kind of smile capable of making me agree to anything. “Mom is gone, and she’s the one you don’t want to speak in front of.”

  Chloe gave my arm another tug, and when Vince nodded I resumed my seat. She held my hand between both of hers in her lap in a grip tight enough to almost make me wince.

  Vince glanced from me to Chloe. He shrugged. “This is going to be hard to tell you. I hope you can understand, kiddo.”

  “Just get it over with, Vince.” She said.

  “I know I told you that you could run the car lots, but I’m going to give them to Dino. Helga is having a boy.”

  “You finally get a son.”

  “I love you Chloe, more than you could possibly know.”

  Chloe actually looked happy for him. Her reaction amazed me. How she could be so sweet, when I could practically see the corner of her eye twitching?

  Even though I thought Vince was pathetic, I smiled too.

  “I just don’t know what to do with a girl.” Vince continued lamely. “Not only that, I didn’t know what to do with your mother, and…well, that’s in the past.” He ginned, showing off a gold tooth. “Your mom is happy.”

  I nodded, smoothing my thumb along the back of Chloe’s hand. Her skin was silky soft, and she loosed her grip. “We all are.”

  For the first time all evening, Vince actually met my gaze like he meant it. “Keep it that way.”

  “No, problem.” And that was about as much of a fatherly warning I got.

  My dad ran into the dining room. His eyes were big and his face pale.

  Shit. This is not what we needed.

  “Helga’s in labor.”

  Vince shot into the kitchen after him. They brought Helga out and maneuvered her into the living room. She was eating a dinner roll, oblivious to the commotion around her.

  “We’ll drive you.” Molly said, grabbing her purse and keys from the table by the door.

  “Great, we took a taxi here.” Vince said, much calmer than I thought any man should be in this situation. I knew some pushing was involved, but what about gravity? What if the kid slid out of her while she was walking?

  Helga laughed, “I like the hospital foods.”

  Chloe and I exchanged a surprised look. Our parents were being nice to Vince. They wanted to get rid of him as soon as humanly possible, even if it meant driving him and Helga to the hospital.

  “Chloe, I can’t believe you and Vince share DNA.” I said as we waved goodbye from the front porch. Our parents said they’d keep us updated us on Helga’s condition.

  All I was really curious about was if the ravenous hunger went away once the kid popped out.

  “Neither can I, but biologically speaking, I come from my mom’s side. Her genes dominate, and that I am eternally grateful for.”

  The house was nice and quiet. We finished cleaning up dinner, dug into the brownies, and popped in an old action movie with bad effects. It was fun, and Chloe was the only company I cared to have. I didn’t feel any tension or awkwardness regarding our kiss. The easiness of having her around didn’t bother me either.

  I thought I would feel the need to talk or fill the silence. With other girls I sat stiff as a board, wondering what I should say next, feeling awkward. Except with Chloe things happened naturally, I couldn’t explain it. I just didn’t feel like I had to put on a show. It was fine just keeping each other company.

  Sometime later, Chloe’s phone rang.

  I paused the movie.

  “Yeah? Okay, I’ll let him know. Sure, don’t worry about it. We will be fine. Yes, I promise. You too, bye.” She hung up. “That was mom and Glenn. They are going to stay at the hospital until the baby comes.”

  I smiled. “Let me guess, they were worried about us here alone?”

  “No, Glenn didn’t say anything about that. He said there’s a storm heading our way, and that it’s nasty.”

  I flipped off the movie and turned on the weather. The storm hadn’t reached us yet, but it did look bad. There was hail and wind gusts up to sixty miles an hour. Three towns were already without power. The weatherman recommended staying away from windows, or taking cover inside if you weren’t already. This was typical Florida weather for the time of year.

  “Well this is going to be fun, especially if the power goes out.” I kicked off my shoes and propped my feet up on the coffee table next to Chloe’s. She had adorable feet. With little red toenails.

  She shivered next me. “Super, lets not jinx it.”

  I went back to our movie. By the time the credits rolled Chloe was barely able to keep her eyes open. I decided to break out an old gaming system, hoping that the power stayed on.

  I offered Chloe a controller. She mumbled, curling into my side, her cheek resting against my arm.

  I paused the game and watched her sleep for a little while, wondering what it was about her that got to me.

  It wasn’t just one thing. It was a lot of things. The way she kissed me, like she was starved for it. How sweet and warm her mouth tasted. I wanted to make her laugh and smile. And how she played with me, teasingly.

  When I combined all of that with her humor and courage, she was irresistible.

  So irresistible, I wondered if allowing myself to feel this way, to be in love with her, was the smart thing to do.

  She lived a bathroom away here and one floor below me at school.

  Our parents were married.

  Should I be fantasizing about kissing her? Thinking of ways to ask her out? Planning a first date that had nothing to do with dinner and a movie?

  No, probably not.

  If my father found out I wanted to be with Chloe…in every way humanly possible…he’d flip.

  I had to figure this out, decide how to handle it. Maybe I could be with Chloe and not tell our parents. But they weren’t stupid. I knew my dad suspected something was going on between Chloe and me.

  I debated driving back to Eckerd. I could be at my dorm by midnight.

  But I wasn’t sure if I could make myself leave Chloe, especially with that storm on the way.

  She woke up a few times, the last she complained she was cold. I grabbed a blanket Molly kept on the back of the couch and tucked it around her. I thought about telling her I was going, and not coming back for the rest of the weekend.

  But I stayed.

  Chloe dozed off again. Blasting sounds of machine gun fire from the game didn’t wake her. She only snuggled closer, resting her head on my shoulder as if she’d slept there a million times before.

  I could never leave her.

  Chapter 24

  Chloe

  A loud crash jolted me awake. I opened my eyes and pushed up on my elbows to glance around. I was in my room, still wearing my dress.

  My nightlight was plugged into the wall.

  I took a deep breath and told myself I was okay, silly to be afraid of the dark. I’m nineteen. I should be one with the night like any normal teenager, not hiding under my blankets or plugging in a nightlight.

  And yes, I still check the closet.

  Mostly for Kirk…and I tell myself that so I don’t feel like such a dork.

  I glanced at the clock on my bedside table. It was one in the morning. Zack must have gone to bed.

  But how did I get up here?

  Did Zack put me to bed?

  He did. He lifted me up off the couch and carried me too my room, then he tucked me under the covers and plugged in my nightlight.

  It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
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  I padded to the bathroom to brush my teeth and take care of business, and then I’d change out of my dress. But I didn’t go to the closet once I was finished. Out in the hall I heard Kirk growling.

  I flipped on the light to see what excited him.

  He wasn’t in the hall. I located him at the top of a short flight of stairs, pawing at the attic door. He barked. I opened the door and flipped on the light to see why he was so excited.

  It was a rat.

  A big. Fat. Rat.

  Kirk barked, and chased the rodent out of the attic.

  I slammed the door shut. The rat was now in the house, and I was safely closed in the attic.

  Kirk’s muffled howling floated through the floor. Great, he was probably following the rat all over the house, knocking over anything in his path. He’d chased squirrels and birds, but he’d never actually managed to catch an animal.

  The problem still remained that I was in here and the rodent was out there. Something had to be done to keep Kirk from sending rat guts all over the new furniture.

  I decided to wake up Zack and ask him if he’d mind catching a rat.

  What could be more entertaining?

  I grabbed the doorknob.

  It didn’t turn.

  “Zack?” I called out, thinking he was playing a mean joke. “This isn’t funny.”