New Life

Part Twenty-Six

"You can still come with us, you know. Besides college stuff, we're gonna go out and all hang out," Derek walked behind you as you shook your head.

"Dude, I said no. You have all been trying to convince me to go to college with you guys, but it's not gonna work. I've made up my mind," you laid down on Derek's bed while he finished packing his bag.

"Does Zach even know about your plan?" Derek asked.

"I'll be 18 by then. The only thing I promised Zach was that I'd finish High School. It's up to me after that," Derek scoffed, before shaking his head.

"Part of that deal was that you wouldn't hunt," Derek reminded.

"Oh, hurry up and leave," you rolled your eyes before he smirked.

"What are you even gonna do here without us?"

"I'm... hanging out with my dad," you noticed as Derek froze.

You sat up, moving closer to him before he looked back at his bag.

"Have fun with that," he muttered.

"Yeah..." you could tell Derek didn't think it was smart for you to hang out with your dad, he didn't like him.

He never talked to you about it, you decided to let it slide. Deep down you knew it would be a bad idea.

You were falling for his excuses and his words when you told yourself not to.

Your dad would tell you stories of your mom, how they met, everything about her. Things Zach didn't even know about.

It always pained you to talk about her to anyone, but your dad understood.

"Well, Em's outside," Derek said.

"Have a good time. I'll call you when I can," you smiled softly.

You stood up, wrapping your arms around him tightly while he hugged you back.

Something about hugging Derek made you feel better, your anxiousness would fade, your heart was replaced by a warm feeling.

"Stay safe," you muttered.

"Right back at you," you heard Derek's phone buzz again before he pulled away.

"Emily again. Sorry. Bye," you gave him a smile before walking him down the stairs, watching the three of them drive off.

---

The first two days were lonely. Zach was away on a hunt, as well as everyone else. Your dad has been out of town, he was going to return later on tonight.

You tried to ignore the empty feeling, but you couldn't.

You constantly checked your phone, waiting for a text from Derek.

You hadn't been away from him for longer than a day.

Stupid Derek

Ruining my life plan

You knew you were going to be alone, everyone else was moving on, you were going to keep hunting full-time.

It was all going to be okay.

But now, you didn't want to be alone. You didn't have to be alone, because you had people in your life.

You wanted to hunt, but you wanted to be with your friends. You wanted to be with Derek.

You heard the front door unlocking as you snapped out of your thoughts, taking a deep breath.

"Zach?" you said.