Retaliation

Something New

The next morning Zack woke up, the sun was creeping through the curtains. With a groan, he got up and threw a towel over his shoulder. Flash was already up and bounding around the room sniffing everything he came across.

"Good morning Flash." Zack stooped down to scratch him behind his ears.

Flash acknowledged him with a small bark, his tail wagging excitedly. Zack stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

Today he wanted to make an effort, last night he saw how the way he came home made his mom feel. And he wanted to at least try and make himself look better. He washed his hair and took a long shower.

Before he stepped out he let the water hit his head, relaxing him and making him feel like a new person. He caught himself in the mirror and saw that he looked better. The bruise and the swelling on his face had subsided slightly.

But in places such as his stomach, the bruise was a dark purple bluish color. He made his way out of the bathroom and quickly but quietly made his way into his room. He was not trying to let his mother see the other bruises he had.

Once in his room, he began to get dressed, he chose black jeans, his best pair of shoes which were green converse sneakers. He then finished it off with a long-sleeved green shirt, he stood in front of his mirror. 

"This looks good right?" He whispered to himself.

He nodded and grabbed an elastic in which he tied his hair into a low ponytail. He spritzed a little bit of the cologne he had gotten from a distant relative.

 Then he had to resist the urge to grab a hoodie and instead grabbed his backpack walking down the stairs.

The smell of breakfast wafted into his nose and Zack stopped at the kitchen door. His mother was darting across the kitchen, flipping pans and grabbing plates.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"Yes, please." His mother replied not turning around.

Zack took a step into the kitchen placing his backpack on his chair and standing beside his mother who immediately started handing him pans and spoons to dry. They worked in silence and the whole time his mother didn't look at him.

"Did you sleep well?" He asked quietly.

"I slept fine." His mother still didn't look at him, now she grabbed two plates and placed them on the table.

"That's good, um you think you can drop me off at school today?" He sat down moving his backpack to the other chair that was beside him.

This time his mother did look at him, and she did a double-take. She looked him up head to toe and smiled, he sat there awkwardly twisting in his seat at his mother's gaze.

"Yeah, that's no problem." She went back to the sink. "So what are you dressed up for?" He could hear a smile in her voice.

"Nothing, I just thought it'd be good to try something new." Zack started to eat his breakfast.

"That's good, and will you need me to pick you up?" His mother sat down.

"No, I think I'll walk home." Zack planned to buy his mother something, during the summer he had worked. So he had enough money to buy her something nice, maybe a bracelet or necklace.

"Okay that's fine, just make sure you call me." His mother had started eating.

"I will." Zack stood up and placed his plate in the sink, washed it, and dried it before placing it on the counter. He went back and grabbed his backpack throwing it over his shoulder.