Double Back - Mistwater Chronicles #1

Chapter Forty-One

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed last chapter and can forgive me for taking so long to post haha. This one's a bit shorter than last chapter but I had to cut some stuff so it wasn't too long! It's sort of a filler but...they're necessary.

Currently jamming to Fifth Harmony and Ariana Grande. Sooo many talented girls. Definitely recommend listening to them!

Anyways hope you like this.

xoxo,

Morgan

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The rest of the day passes without incident. Zack remains indifferent when I present him with my idea, but I swear he looks like he's about to cry when he touches the photograph I got from my father, who took it from my mother. It's him as a little kid, suntanned and freckled from the summer, with his grandmother standing behind him. She has her arms around him, hair blonde instead of gray and bright in the sun, grinning widely at the camera. He's missing a front tooth, but he doesn't seem to care; behind them are the tall twists and turns of a roller coaster, with tons of people walking around behind them.

Bianca calls and speaks to Tatiana the next morning, inviting her sister to come and see her. Of course, she agrees, since it's Bianca's second to last night before their winter break ends and she has to return to California. They're going out to dinner and Tatiana is going to sleep at Bianca's friend's house, which is where her sister has been staying the past week.

I'm doing some of Tatiana's laundry for her when Zack walks over to help me put the clothes in the washing machine. I pour out the detergent and add it to the mix, and he puts it back on the shelf as I punch in the amount of time that I want it to run for.

"Thanks," I say, picking up her now empty hamper and moving it to the side.

"No problem," he replies, and then hastily backs up to make room for me. This leads to him backing into the hamper, which he knocks over, and then immediately uprights with a blush. I chuckle at his lack of coordination.

"Sorry," he says sheepishly, closing the door behind me.

"You're fine," I say, walking down the stairs. He follows me, taking a seat at the kitchen counter as I go about heating myself up a pan of Ramen Noodles.

"How are you today?" I ask him as I wait for the water to boil.

"I'm okay," he replies. "I...I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?" I ask innocently, turning away from him as I rummage in the cabinet for a bowl.

"I forgot about that trip," he says, and then sighs wistfully. "I was six, I think. We went to Disneyland for the first time and it was probably one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me as a kid."

"I've never been," I remark, smashing noodles under my big spoon. "How was it?"

"Seriously? Never?" he asks incredulously. "We should go sometime. But it was fun — she went with me on all the roller coasters when my mom wouldn't."

"My mom was always complaining about that," I say softly, and something in my voice must sound sad, for he walks over and wraps his arms around me from behind, fitting his chin to my shoulder.

"You don't have to comfort me," I protest, though I do pat his hand affectionately. "It really should be the other way around."

"Why? Do you not want me to try and help you feel better?"

"That's not what I meant." I sigh, grasping the pot by the handle and swatting him away so I can walk to the sink and carefully pour the noodles into a bowl. "I just...I want to help you. It's not about me right now."