Heavy Heart

Chapter 24

Sunday came too soon. We ended up sleeping in till noon, which I hadn't planned on. I had chores to do around my house and I needed to do laundry before the work week started. I groaned when I saw the clock and rolled over. Zack didn't move, his arm draped around my waist. I shoved it off and sat up, "It's time to get up and get moving, Zack. I have stuff to do today."

"Like what?" he mumbled, still half asleep. I stood up and stretched out my back, "Like laundry, cleaning, cooking. You know, all the stuff your mom does for you at your house." He frowned without opening his eyes. I chuckled and shook my head.

Zack groaned and hid his head under the blanket, "I don't want to get up." I went to the kitchen and made coffee, I called to him, "Well I'm not coming back to bed so you can do what you like." I took out some eggs and made a large lazy omelette while the coffee brewed. I tossed in some bacon bits, shredded cheddar cheese and green onions while the eggs cooked up. As I stirred them up, I heard Zack clear his throat and roll out of my bed. He pulled on his boxers from the night before and winced as he walked into the kitchen, the sunlight apparently too strong for his eyes.

"Coffee?" I asked. He nodded slowly as he sat down at the table. As I poured him a cup of coffee and set it down on the table in front of him. Zack didn't look up, he avoided looking at my face and stared at the table top. I raised my eyebrows slightly and retrieved the eggs from the stove. I asked him, "Do you want some?"

Zack nodded, still not looking up. I filled two plates and set one down in front of him. As I sat down and started to eat I noticed how uneasy he really was. He poked at his food but didn't eat it, he just moved it around his plate slowly. I ate my eggs quickly and washed up my plate in the sink. I finished off my coffee before I told him, "You should get going. I've got lots to do today and I'm already behind."

Zack pushed his chair back from the table and stood up quickly, "Alright, I will take the hint. I'm going." He stomped off to the bedroom to get dressed. I rolled my eyes and followed him, "What's wrong with you?" As he pulled his pants on he scowled at me, "What's wrong is you are kicking me out as fast as you can. Like I'm nothing."

I paused for a moment, "I'm not trying to be rude. I just have a lot of things I need to get done today. It's not personal." Zack scoffed as he pulled his shirt on, "After last night, it feels very personal. I let you do something to me that was incredibly personal and now you are kicking me out like I'm some one-night stand. That's cold, Layla."

"Zack, come on, I don't mean it like that." I told him. His eyes wouldn't meet mine as I tried to reach out to him. He walked past me toward my front door. I caught his hand in mine as he passed and pulled him to me, "Baby, come on. What's this about?"

He looked at the floor, his face was flush and I could tell he was upset. I tried to touch his cheek but Zack pulled away from my hand. He cleared his throat before he whispered, "I'm going to go. See you later." He pulled his hand from my grasp and rushed out my front door. I stood there, dumbfounded as the door slammed behind him. I wasn't quite sure where his outburst had come from. I wasn't trying to be rude or hurtful, I was just in a hurry to start off my Sunday chore list completed. Sure, I enjoyed having Zack around but he was also a distraction.

I thought about sending him a message to make sure everything was ok but before I could open the screen I got a call from Jackie. I answered, "Hey, what's up?".

"My aunt is leaving today, and home care is coming tomorrow for my mom for the first time. I am kind of nervous because I'll be at work all day while she is home with some stranger." she told me. I smiled, "I'm sure the company has strict standards for their employees. They are probably screened repeatedly before they come into a home."

Jackie was washing dishes, I could tell. I gathered up my laundry and piled it into the washing machine while she continued, "I know. She came with a bunch of reference checks. I'm just nervous because it's the first time I'm leaving my mom with a stranger. I hope they don't hate each other." I chuckled as I tossed the detergent over the clothes and turned the machine on, "Well if they do, you can try again with a different nurse."

"True. Uhh, it's just so stressful. Thank you again for yesterday. Please pass that on to Zack as well." Jackie said. I cleared my throat and whispered, "Sure, no problem.". Though honestly, I wasn't sure he wanted to hear from me for the next while. As Jackie continued to chat about her mother, my mind drifted away from Zack to my own Sunday rituals. Soon, he had slipped my mind completely.

Update for my readers:  Chapter 25 will be the only part of this story from Zack's perspective.  I hope you enjoy it.