Chapter 27
Present Day
Zack
It was Tuesday morning when I stood outside my apartment, packing my car. I wasn't taking much stuff, only clothes really. I didn't need anything else, this wasn't a permanent move. No, it would be temporary, although how temporary it would be I didn't yet know.
I'd spoken to Crash on the phone later on Monday after I'd got back home from hospital. There was a sympathetic edge to his voice, as though he felt guilty for telling me to leave. But I didn't care. After what had happened, I wanted to go, I wanted to get away.
He said he hadn't told anyone else I was leaving, and that was fine by me. I didn't want to say goodbye, I didn't want to look upon any more judging eyes. I just wanted to turn my back and leave. I didn't know if I'd ever want to come back.
I hadn't even told Gemma. I told her that I'd only be gone for a while, but I knew that might not be the case. She'd begged me to stay, but her words fell on deaf ears. I loved her, but I couldn't be with her. Not here, not now.
I heaved another bag into my car and slammed the boot shut. I felt strangely empty, like all of the strings of my life were being detached, leaving me with no direction, no plan. I'd always lived my life under orders: at my prison-like high school, under dad, and now under Crash. Everything I did was within a structure, part of a plan laid out by someone else. But now... now I was looking down the open road, no plan in place, no one directing me.
It felt scary, and yet liberating. I'd never gone out on my own before, never traveled, never seen the world. I'd lived my entire life in Branton, growing up as part of dad's master plan to stretch his influence further and further. Now I was free - if only for a fleeting time – to be my own master.
A smile crept up my face at the thought. Maybe now my life was only just beginning?
I took a deep breath and opened the door to the car. This was it, time to leave everything behind. I didn't know when I'd be coming back, I didn't know what I'd do, I didn't even know in which direction I'd drive. All of that, all of that freedom, that uncertainly, made my heart beat harder and stronger than it ever had.
With one foot through the door I heard the sound of a car rush up behind me, smashing through the silence of the street. I turned, more through curiosity than anything else, to see a cab pull up. When the door opened I felt an immediate surge in my chest. It was Gemma.
She jumped from the cab and rushed straight towards me. Her arms wrapped over me tightly, her breathing heavy and fast. She looked up and spoke hurriedly, her voice hurt.
“You'd leave without saying goodbye? Why didn't you tell me you were leaving so soon?”
I looked down at her wide eyes and spoke calmly. “How did you know?”
“Crash told me. I tried calling you yesterday but you didn't pick up. I called him and he finally admitted that you were leaving this morning. Why wouldn't you say something Zack?”
“Because it's hard Gem. I had to say goodbye to you once before, remember, and I hated it. I...I didn't want to go through that again. I thought it would be easier like this.”
There were tears building in her eyes now. “But it's OK Zack, you don't have to go. The story....it's not going to go to print...no one's going to know about it all. You don't have to worry about that. I tried to tell you yesterday but you didn't pick up. I even came to your apartment, Zack. You don't have to leave.”
I shook my head and put my hands onto her shoulders to calm her. It didn't matter that the story wouldn't get out. That wasn't what I really cared about. Nothing would convince Cade now...that's what really mattered. No, I wanted to leave, I wanted my life to change.
“It's not enough Gemma. I have to leave....I want to leave.”
A tear began sliding down her cheek now, her brown eyes shining brightly under the morning sun. “But what about me,” she said, her voice hurt. “Did you mean what you said yesterday...when you told me you loved me?”
I nodded slowly, my voice low: “of course I did.”
“Then why would you leave me?” she said, her voice beginning to rise, “without even saying goodbye!”
I took her by the hands, steadying her eyes on me. “I do love you Gemma....but nothing can happen with us here. I know that now. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but I have to leave...I have to go.”
Her eyes started to change, lighting up as a smile appeared across her face. “You really do love me?”
I nodded again.
She turned and walked back towards the cab, still rumbling quietly behind us. I watched on as she climbed in, waiting for the door to shut, waiting to see her drive off for the last time, once more disappearing from my life.
But she didn't. No, she climbed back out again, pulling a suitcase out of the car as she did. She looked up at me, a beaming smile now flashing across her face, and walked forward towards me once more.
“If you're leaving....then I'm coming with you. If we can't be together here, maybe...we can be together somewhere else?” Her words were confident, but remained unsure as she looked wide-eyed at me, awaiting my response.
I didn't need to respond with words. I stepped forward, sliding my hand onto her cheek, still streaked with drying tears, and kissed her. I heard her drop the bag and her arms and legs wrapped around me as she jumped into the air.
I leaned my head back and stared into her sparkling eyes. “So which way to you wanna go?” I asked, her smile growing even wider.
“South...let's go South.”
Epilogue
8 Years Ago
Gemma
I sat in the yard outside school on a bench, the warm summer sunshine settling comfortably on my exposed shoulders. Beyond the yard was a wide wood, with glowing green trees and a tranquil, beautiful lake, nestled deep within. It was Friday and the end of another week, and Zack and I were doing what we often did at this time: we were going swimming.
I could hear the sound of other kids behind me, all shouting and chattering loudly as they were picked up by their parents or hurrying off in groups in search of trouble. Maybe Zack would get into trouble later, but not yet, not until we'd had out customary swim.
I felt a pair of hands suddenly descend over my eyes, blocking out the light of the sun, and a smile creased my lips.
“Guess who?” came the voice behind me. It was bright and breezy and so full of life.
I turned around quickly and saw Zack standing there, his backpack slung over one shoulder, his face tanned and beaming in a wide, white smile.
“Well come on then!” he said excitedly, “we're not going to get to the lake by sitting on a bench!”
He ran around the side of the bench and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to my feet. We began walking together, his arm hanging lazily over my shoulder, into the woods. The sound of swaying branches and rustling leaves filled the air, with birds darting this way and that, stopping to chirp and sing in the foliage above our heads.
We spoke as we went, catching up on the week just passed. It was my favorite time of the week: a time when we could walk and talk, alone, with no one else around. Soon I'd have to go home, my time restricted by my parents' draconian curfew, but for now it was just the two of us, and I loved every minute of it.
The woods were always so quiet at this time, something I could never work out. We'd see the odd hiker, trekking under the trees, but few of the kids bothered to go to the lake. It was like our own secret place, quiet and secluded.
It took us 30 minutes to get there, but the time always flew as we giggled and joked. Zack could always make me laugh, no matter what we were talking about, so much so my sides would often ache after an hour or two in his company.
It was less than a year that I'd known him, but it felt like a lifetime. He was the first boy I ever became friends with – proper friends, anyway. I mean, I knew boys at my last school, but never spent any time alone with them. Zack was the first, and we got along like a house on fire.
I swear I could smell the water as we got closer. Or maybe it was just because I knew where it was now, and my mind was just playing tricks on me. Soon I could see the light shining and sparkling off the water through a gap in the trees up ahead, ducks flying in and skimming down onto the surface.
When I dipped my foot in I felt the usual spark rush up through my body. It was cold, even on the shallow bank, and only got colder further in. But neither of us cared, we'd always get in and swim nonetheless.
We splashed around for a while, the water dripping off Zack's toned body. He was so lean and fit, his muscles beginning to develop and grow as he turned into a man. I'd noticed him change through the year, and so had every other girl in school.
But he never seemed to take much notice of them. Or, at least, I never saw him take any notice. Maybe he saw them at parties that I didn't go to? Maybe he saw them outside of school when I wasn't around. But I didn't care....when we were together it was our time; my favorite time.
We joked and laughed as we soaked each other to the bone. Then we'd swim to the other side, the sun beating down on our shoulders and back as we gently glided through the clear water. He'd tease me, of course, telling me there were sharks and crocodiles creeping below the surface. At first I believed him, half panicking at the thought, but when I saw him almost drown with laughter I knew he wasn't being serious.
It always felt so good to climb out onto the bank on the opposite shore, the warm rays of the sun warming my cold body. Sometimes we'd turn and swim back again, but today we decided to walk back around the lake, talking as we went.
When we got back to our things we sat under a tree, looking out over the shimmering water as light ripples swept across it. Zack reached into his bag and pulled out a small box, passing me a sandwich from inside.
We ate as the sun began to drop, neither of us talking for a while. But I didn't feel uncomfortable, I didn't feel awkward. I never did with him.
“This is like when we first met,” he said suddenly, out of the blue.
I looked at him and smiled. “Yeah, when you saved me down by the lakeside. Did I ever thank you for that...for introducing me from everyone and saving me the embarrassment?”
He shook his head. “You'll never have to.”
I kept looking at him as he turned back to the lake, the sun now painting a beautiful orange glow over the twinkling lake. He looked content, his eyes set on the post-card sight ahead.
“We'll always be friends, right Zack?” I asked him. “You'll always be there for me.”
I saw his smile grow wider as he arched his head back over to me.
“Always,” he said.