I reveled in that first glimpse of my face in the mirror — splotchy skin around swollen and bloodshot eyes.
The last part of that hour was spent in reparations. I became the surgeon, painstakingly reconstructing my face after a gruesome accident and the artist, carefully layering the canvas.
Zack texted me when he was on his way to my house, saying he’d already stopped at home to drop off his belongings. Since all our business had been concluded, I hovered in the doorway and smiled as he handed me my keys.
“I’ll walk home. It’s a nice day.” His eyes darted away as he mashed his lips together. “As far as everyone else is concerned, Daniel’s still around, which is the reason we’ve given my family for me spending the night here. We have no idea how he’s going to handle his banishment and we’re probably not going to find out until Monday. So…”
“You have to sleep here tonight?” My stomach clenched at the thought of being subjected to Zack when he didn’t want me. At the same time, my heart soared at spending more time with him.
“No. My mom and Cara just need to think I’m sleeping here.”
“Oh.” I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it would be a bad idea to invite him in, even though I desperately wanted to. If he asked, the answer would be yes.
“I have a way around that,” he said.
Asking him to explain and engaging in further conversation would only stretch out my agony, so I kept my mouth shut. When I offered only a smile, I thought I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. In a flash, it was gone and he smiled. “See you at school tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Thanks for everything.” My chest felt heavy as he walked away. “’Bye.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
I paused, my back against the closed door. There had to be a way to get through this heartache. Other people survived broken hearts. I could too.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Steadier, I grabbed my laptop. I needed an escape, something to take my mind off Zack and how he’d left me.
Scrolling through the movie thumbnails, I considered downloading a horror flick, but feared having nightmares again. That went double for anything with vampires or werewolves. That kind of thing was too real now. And I didn’t want anything depressing or stressful either, so that eliminated the dramas. The action flicks would remind me of Zack and how he saved me. The love stories would also remind me of him for obvious reasons.
I finished scanning the new releases and discovered there wasn’t anything that wouldn’t make me think of Zack. In the end, I picked a couple of my old favorites, the ones where I knew exactly what to expect — a sappy, happy ending.
I made some popcorn, soaked it in salt and hot butter, then flopped onto the sofa and started the first movie.
† † †
When I awoke hours later, I was still on the couch. I felt stiff from tossing and turning all night. What time was it? I fumbled for my cell and saw it was after four. All that time trying to escape thoughts of Zack and here I was again. What would I do to keep my mind off him now? I dashed up the stairs to my room, threw on some sweats and flew out the door. If I ran now, I could be back before the sun came up and maybe I could stay home tonight when I’d be more likely to run into Zack.
I’d missed my runs. It was nice to know I could live without them, but I was grateful to be free again. Morphing into a cheetah, I ran as fast as my long, furry legs could carry me.
When I returned home, I was just as emotional, but physically, I was less sluggish from my Zack hangover.
I killed the rest of the extra time getting ready. Since hitting new lows on the depression scale, it was more important than ever to do everything possible to feel better about myself. I wore a sundress and sandals, then took the time to curl my hair.
Sailing into the school lot, I realized by the lack of cars it was still too early. If I stayed, I’d see Zack arrive and perhaps accidentally run into him. On the other hand, not seeing Zack was the quickest way to get over him. Plus, I’d feel less pathetic.
Despite knowing I must avoid him to get over him, I scanned the lot one more time for the red Jeep. Disgusted with myself, I got out of the Mustang and saw the red Jeep drive into the lot. I leaned into my car pretending to dig into my backpack.
“Autumn!” Maya shouted. She stuck her head out of Zack’s Jeep window and waved to me.
I waited for them to park. As far away as she was, I could still hear what she said to Trevor.
“I’m going to talk to Autumn. I’ll see you in a couple minutes.”
He nodded and said something to Zack, but I didn’t listen in.
“Hey.” She sprinted to me, a little out of breath. “Did you hear about Daniel?”