Leaving

The rest of the night, all Anna could think about was what Zach had said to her. He was leaving? Going to Europe? Should she talk to him? Go to his house? No. She couldn't. She quickly pushed that idea to the back of her mind.

 

Maybe he had changed. Anna couldn't possibly imagine Zach as being a thoughtful, caring person. It sounded wrong, sure, but Zach was such a... player... back in high school. When he found Anna, he changed completely. His friends worried about him. They thought he was going crazy or something. Anna was the one thing in his life that he was proud of.

 

Zach lay back in bed thinking the exact same thing. He remembered the look on her face when he'd told her that he was leaving. She looked shocked. Disappointed, maybe. He couldn't read her expression. What was she thinking right now? Was she thinking about him? Probably. He remembered how Anna was.

 

She was always overthinking things. She worried too much. Anna was the kind of person who layed out her options, and carefully chose one. Zach was the complete opposite. He played everything by ear. That's why they were so perfect together. They completed each other.

 

Zach slowly got out of bed and crouched down by the side of his bed. He peeked underneath his bed, spotting the box in the corner, surrounded by dust. He slowly pulled it out and brushed it off. He sat back down on his bed and lifted the lid. The first thing he noticed was a picture of the two of them.

 

It was one night at his house. Their small group of friends were with them. Their friends included Anna's best friend, Melany, and all of Zach's friends, which included Greg, Kurt, and Peter, Melany's boyfriend. They were all hanging around, eating pizza and watching TV.

 

Anna was sitting on Zach's lap, her arms around his neck. Her head was resting on his shoulder and his arms were tight around her waist. He lifted up her chin and kissed her softly.

 

"I love you," he'd whispered.

 

"I love you too." she said.

 

Then Greg had said something funny, which made everyone burst out laughing. At that moment, Melany snapped a picture out of nowhere. Anna and Zach were laughing, her on his lap. You could see Kurt in the background, clutching his stomach with laughter. Greg must have said something really funny.

 

Zach sighed at the memory and dusted off the picture. He set it next to him on the bed before returning to the box. He found a note that she'd given to him one day.

 

They were at a party, and it was super crowded. Zach couldn't find Anna anywhere, he was searching through the huge crowd. He wanted to get the hell out of there. The place reeked of alcohol and pot. He found Anna in the kitchen, drinking something that burned his throat, just smelling it. She was with a few guys that he didn't recognize.

 

"Anna, there you are. I've been looking-"

 

"Zacky! Thereyouare," she slurred. She was obviously drunk. "Iwantedtogivethistoyou..."

 

She dug around in her pocket for a little bit, until finally coming out with a crumpled up piece of paper. He took it from her and shoved it into his own pocket, planning on reading it later.

 

"Come on, Anna. You're wasted."

 

"Nawthatwasted..." she slurred. Then she giggled. "Okay, maybewasted..."

 

He nodded. "Let's go."

 

She shook her head. "No, stay!"

 

"Anna, let's go. Now." She shook her head again. He gave up and put his arms around her knees, and hoisted her up over his shoulder.

 

She pounded her fists on his back. "Nononononono!"

 

He ignored her and went out to his car. He drove to his house. When he got there, she'd passed out in the backseat. He carried her up to his room and lay her down in his bed. He got in next to her and took out the note from his pocket.

 

Zach, I'm sorry. I know I'll probly get wasted tonight. So... sorry. Thanks for getting me home safe. I love you. -Anna.

 

Zach chuckled at the memory and slipped the note back into the box.

--

 

"Bye mom! I'm going to visit Melany! I'll be back... whenever. Bye!" Anna called to her mother, who was probably still asleep. Linda usually slept very late. It was noon.

 

Anna locked the door behind her and jogged down the steps. She got into her car and was about to begin backing out of the driveway, when she noticed Zach. He was sitting on his porch, drinking a can of something, soda, maybe. She paused and thought. Should she go talk to him? She shook her head. She couldn't.

 

She thought again, thinking about how they left it yesterday night. She got out of her car and made her way towards Zach's house. When he saw her, his heart jumped. She wanted to talk.

 

"Hey," she said.

 

"Hey," he repeated.

 

"So, I was hoping we could talk." she told him. His heart did another leap.

 

"Talk? About what?"

 

"About what you told me yesterday. Look, Zach, I'm sorry for being such a b***h. But you have to give me the benefit of the doubt. It's been three years since I've seen you, and earlier that day, you're a complete jerk to me. How did you expect me to respond?"

 

"Anna, I should be the one apologizing. I know that what I did was wrong. I was a b*****d. But I've changed."

 

Anna could tell he was being sincere. And actually, she was beginning to get butterflies in her stomach. That was the feeling she used to get while she was with Zach, or about to be with him. Those were feelings.

 

"I can tell." was all she said.

 

"And I'm leaving tomorrow." he said.

 

"I know." she said.

 

"Anna, can you ever forgive me?"

 

She knew he wasn't talking about him leaving. He was talking about what he did all those years back.

 

"I don't know."

 

"Because, Anna, I'm really sorry. I know what I did was so totally horrible, and I don't know how I let it happen. I guess I was just... confused?" He laughed.

 

"Confused." she repeated. Her voice was shaky. "Right. Well, I need to go. I'm visiting Melany. And um, I forgive you."

 

"Really?" Zach asked.

 

She nodded. "I know what you did was horrible, but I also know how sorry you are." She leaned down and kissed his cheek. "We're both more responsible now. Maybe we can be friends."

 

He nodded, his cheeks flushing. "Bye, Anna. I'll see you later tonight."

 

"Tonight?" she asked.

 

"Yeah, tonight, when you come over to my house for dinner." he smirked.

 

She smiled. "I'll be here."

--

 

"Anna! Oh, my God. You wouldn't BELIEVE how much I've missed you!" Melany shrieked when she saw Anna. She ran up to her and gave her a huge hug.

 

"I've missed you too." Anna said.

 

"How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long!" Melany said, sitting on the couch.

 

"I've been good. How about you? Got a boyfriend? How's Pat?" I asked, wondering about her son.

 

"Pat's good. He's turning four in a few months." she said with a smile. "And yes, I have a boyfriend."

 

"What's his name?" Anna asked.

 

"His name's William. He's a lawyer."  She said proudly.

 

"Wow," She said.

 

"Yeah. So, how about you? Got a boyfriend?"

 

"Nope. Oh, you'll never guess who I ran into."

 

Her smile faded. "It's not..."

 

"Zach."

 

"He really missed you." she said. "I've been talking to him lately. He's leaving for Europe tomorrow."

 

"I know, he told me."

 

"You talked?"

 

"Yeah, we actually had a civilized conversation. The first time I'd talked to him since the phone call. But I didn't really talk to him during that..."

 

"Yeah, more like yelled. It was a voicemail, though."

 

"Did he get it?" she wondered.

 

"Yeah. He was crying when he got it."

 

"Really?" Anna asked.

 

She nodded.

--

After high school, all of Anna's friends were spending the summer doing nothing. Anna, on the other hand, was leaving right after graduation. She was going to New York for an internship at a newspaper office. Anna knew what she was going to be doing after high school, since middle school.

 

Anna was going to school to become a journalist. She knew that's what she was going to be doing since she was twelve. She worked hard, and came up with great stories and ideas. She didn't love doing it, but it paid the bills.

 

Zach was in school for photography. Going to Europe was a big deal for him. He would be able to see sights and take amazing pictures. He'd always been good at that.

--

"This. Is. Amazing." Anna said, taking another bite of the spaghetti and meatballs that Zach had made that night. She couldn't believe that only yesterday, she'd told him 'f**k you', and now she was eating dinner at his house.

 

"Thanks. I knew you always loved that recipe."

 

She smiled in astonishment. "You remembered that?"

 

"I remembered a lot of the things you told me." he said.

 

She took another bite. "Wow," she said after swallowing.

 

"Anna, I still love you." Zach said.

 

She looked at him, wide eyed.

 

"Sorry, I just had to tell you that." he looked down at his plate. She leaned across the table and lifted his chin up. She kissed him softly. When she pulled away, her lips tingled. She felt the way that she used to feel after kissing him.

 

They both put their plates away and went to his living room to 'watch' a movie. A few minutes into it, he leaned over and kissed her forcefully. He pulled his shirt over his head and she did too. They reconnected their lips and she unbuckled his belt. The rest of their clothes were quickly shed.

 

"You sure?" he asked.

 

"Yeah," she said, nodding. "I'm sure."

--

 

The next morning, Anna woke up on Zach's couch,alone, with a blanket wrapped around her. Her clothers were folded neatly in a pile on the floor. She got dressed and went into the kitchen. Zach was sitting on the counter, drinking a cut of coffee. He smiled when she walked in.

 

"Hey there," he said, kissing her.

 

"Hi," she said weakly. She walked over to the island and got herself a cup of coffee. "You're leaving today."

 

"Yeah," he said.

 

"This sucks." Anna said.

 

"I agree."

--

 

"I'll see you... in a few months." Zach said at the airport that afternoon.

 

"Yeah," Anna said. "See you."

 

"I'll miss you." he said.

 

"I'll miss you too."

 

"Bye," he said. He gave her a goodbye kiss and walked away. He waved back at her before giving the lady at the desk his boarding pass.

 

Anna couldn't figure out what to be thinking at that moment. Should she be sad? Should she be happy that she won't have to deal with him anymore? What about last night? They had sex. They slept together. Was he using her because he was leaving? Or did that actually mean something?

 

She was confused. She couldn't think straight. Did she still love him? She'd never actually said it. Only he'd said it. She shook her head before a tear escaped her eye. What was she supposed to do?

Reviews

[Livana Lowell]

I like the characters. This is pretty good. A lot a conflict between them. It's pretty funny and cute and I'm actually anxious to see how Anna's going to deal with that. Makes me wonder if there' someone else going to come into the picture. I hope you continue.