My promise to him

Chapter 2

We arrive there an hour late much to my enjoyment and so everyone is already there – including Zack. "Mum, mum, mum, please don't let me do this, say I was sick or something-"I plead but I'm interrupted by lots of hellos and welcomes. 

Mum walks on but Frank grabs my wrist hard, "Don't mess this up or you'll know what will happen," he murmurs before releasing me and smiling like nothing happened and going off to introduce himself. I put on my fake smile and say hello to everyone as quick as I can, so I can go escape and sit somewhere alone.

I track my eyes across the room looking for a spare table. There's a boy sat at one of them. Zack. He wears a pretty cool black jacket with a tight navy-blue top that show of his new muscles well and he sits there one hand in his pockets looking at his phone. He's Zack alright but different. He's much taller and muscular and he looks, well older – definitely not like the little boy I used to know. His eyes lift from the phone for a second spotting me. For a moment he has that same surprised look in his eye until he's back on his phone.

"Zack! Get your phone and come say hello to Emma," Vicky says to Zack. He looks up sighing and reluctantly stuffs his phone in his pocket and walking over to me.

I'm used to us being the same height but now he towers over me and he's nearly twice as wide. I stare down at the floor feeling the awkwardness his mum obviously isn't picking up because next she says, "I'll leave you two to it then, you guys have a lot to catch up on." Then she walks off to sit with the other adults. 

"Hey," I say trying to break the silence, "You've changed a lot," I carry on when he doesn't say anything, then immediately realise how weird that sounds and regret it. He stifles a laugh, "Is that how you greet everyone?" he says making me blush embarrassed. He looks me up and down and for some reason I feel self-conscious, "I could say the same to you," he replies grinning his voice deep and unfamiliar to the squeaky one I was used too. 

I go to sit down, and he sits down next to me. I look up at my mum, she's laughing away with Vicky. I can sense him watching too, "Well, somethings don't change" he smiles, I smile back and reply "yeah guess so." 

He looks around at everyone before turning to me, "So, who's the guy your mums with?" he asks. I look over at Frank who is smiling along with everyone and if I didn't know what he was really like I would think he almost seems friendly. "He's Frank, my step dad," I grimace through the word. He notices, "What you don't like him?" he asks. Yes, I want to stab him, I think but instead say, "Something like that." 

He nods like he understands but he's so far from that, "Anyway where's your dad? Is he not coming?" he asks next making my heart swell. I swallow the lump in my throat, I've got to get of the subject before I start to cry so I'm trying to think of something to say when my phone buzzes in my pocket saving me and I quickly pick it up.

A message from Brandon pops up asking whether I've arrived, I smile and respond. "Who are you texting?" his sudden voice nearly makes me drop my phone. "Do you ever stop asking questions? I guess you still enjoy the whole interfering with my life thing," I snap at him already fed up, I hate when people bring up my dad. When me and Zack were younger, however, I always used to get fed up with him. He was always in my stuff and following me round at school but I found i kinda missed that when he left. 

"Hey, can't blame me for trying to make conversation. Anyway, I never interfered. I was just... caring," he defends. "Huh, it must not have been you then who spied on me for literal weeks when you found out I was keeping a diary just to see where I hid them, someone else must have just found them and then somehow given them to you," I exclaim, laughing. He laughs and for a second, we share some kind of happiness before it turns awkward again. 

"Ok, so I could have been what most people would say was 'curious'"-""used to be, so what changed?" I interrupt. "So, you still think you know everything about me huh?" he says raising his eyebrows at me. God, I hate when he does that. "No, I never used to think that, and I don't" He persists, "Oh, so you weren't surprised when you saw me?" I turn away. "What the hell are you talking about?" "You can't even admit it," he says laughing. "Yes, I can and yes maybe I was a bit surprised, why does it matter to you? Just your 'curiosity' you seem not to have I bet?" He grins, oh my god, I can't look at him anymore, I think.

My phone pings again and I go back to my phone. Just as I start to text again there he is again, "You didn't answer my question, who are you texting in the middle of our heart to heart conversation?" he says sarcastically, pretending to be widely taken back. 

I role my eyes at him, "If you must know, Brandon." Suddenly I feel him kind of shift back uncomfortably, "and is Brandon some sort of stuck up, posh city-folk boyfriend?" he says rudely. For a moment I could have sworn to sense some hint of jealousy in his tone, but it's gone. 

"Yes, by the matter of fact he is, and he's not stuck up thank you. Who seems to know everything about who now?" I come back. He stands up chuckling to himself quietly, "Just the same old Emma as you used to be" he says. Before I can ask him what that was supposed to mean, we get called over to go sort out rooms in the hotel and unpack.