A Gallagher Girls & The Listen Series Promptober

Rainy Day In

Haven't read Gallagher Girls or The Listen Series? Please do not continue if you wish to avoid spoilers.

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Zach Goode POV / Timeline: Takes place after the Gallagher Girls series, but before the Listen Series. Matt is eleven, about to leave for Blackthorne/involves a flashback of Zach when he's around the same age.

Oct. 22nd | Rainy Day In:

"Hey. "

The dripping rain plunked on the piano, he raced over with his bucket, catching it. But soon, it was falling across the room, in two different spots and he searched frantically for something to catch it with, his bucket now occupied.

He found a dirty cup and a pot he normally uses for his mac and cheese, catching the two new drips. He placed his hands on his hips, proud of his resourcefulness.

" Zach ."

"Zachary, come here."

He flinched at her voice, her attitude for the last several days had him on edge. Anticipating the worst, he started towards his bedroom where she seemed to be.

He entered the room and watched her looking around his room. He made sure not to glance at his floorboard where his candybar and toys were hidden. He looked into her eyes, cold, the green almost black with how dark they appeared. She glanced away from him and held out a backpack to him.

He grabbed it cautiously, "What's this for?"

She sighed, crossing her arms, "You're leaving."

" I'm leaving?"

She walked over to the window, "Yes. That's what I said. Listen ."

He frowned, "Where am I going? Why?"

She huffed, walking past him, "I don't have time for this. Just pack your bag. You won't be coming back here."

"What? Where, why, mom!"

It was too late, she was no longer listening to him, trapped in the world inside her brain. The rain pounded down and he glanced around the sparse room, slowly pulling his shirts into the bag.

Wherever she was sending him couldn't be good. He needed to do something-

" Zach, hey, come on-"

He would run. He would-

A hand on his cheek startles him awake, his hands instinctively reach out but stop, seeing Cammie's eyes.

She smiles at him softly, her hands on his chest, "Hey, welcome back."

He blinks and rubs at his eyes with his palms, then pulls her closer under the covers, the rain pounding on their window and a soft gray light filtering through the blinds.

"Sorry, was I-"

"Kicking, rolling, mumbling?" she asked with a smile, her chin on his chest, "Yeah, all of the above."

He closes his eyes with a sigh and her fingers push his hair back from his forehead. It's quiet aside from the rain and she eventually whispers, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He opens his eyes, wrapping his arms around her and rolling them to their sides and burrows part of his face into the pillow, "Just...is sending Matt to Blackthorne the right decision?"

Cammie's fingers brush up and down his arm and she smiles softly, "We did leave the decision up to him."

Zach frowns, "Yeah, but he's eleven. He thinks it's cool to learn how to be a spy. It's not a decision he understands..."

She moves her hand to his cheek, "He can always tell us he doesn't want to do it anymore. But, I think he'll love it, and Joe is going to be there every day Zach. It's different. He'll be okay."

He nods, turning his head to kiss her palm, "You're right I-"

The door slams open against the wall and a blur of brown frizzy curls dive bombs the bed, shrieking, " Daddy! "

She wriggles in the sheets and pulls at them and he laughs, "What Mags?"

She falls to the bed with a huff, blowing her hair out of her eyes and a frown on her lips, "Matt stole all of the fruit loops."

Well, that happens on a daily basis, never usually eliciting such a strong reaction from her, so something else must be going on.

Cammie laughs and Zach puts on a fake tone of shock, "He what?! "

She sits up, nodding, green eyes wide, "He probably has to stay here right? Because he was mean? He should get in trouble and not go to that special school right?"

Bingo.

Cammie stops laughing, looking at him and then pulling Maggie towards her, kissing the top of her head, "You're going to miss him, huh?"

Maggie plays with Cam's fingers and he watches her lip jut out, "No."

Cammie looks over her head at him and he grabs at her ankles, "Really? Can you tell me how not to miss him? Cause I know I will, I've already cried about it."

He watches Maggie's eyes look up at him, big and blinking, "You did?"

Cammie smiles behind her, "Oh yeah he did. Me too."

She taps on Cam's fingers, her voice quiet, "I maybe will miss him."

Zach curls closer to the two of them, Maggie slipping between their bodies under the covers and he kisses her temple, "We'll miss him together. And we'll get to see him really soon."

She huffs into his chest, twisting and they all turn to hear footsteps towards the door and she turns and frowns at her brother in the doorway, "Go away."

Matt frowns, holding the box of fruit loops, "What is your problem? First you dump out all of the fruit loops and toss the box at me, and now you're telling me to go away?"

Zach and Cammie share a look over her head and then back down to her and Zach pokes her ribs, a giggle falling out of her, " You dumped out all of the fruit loops?"

"No."

Matt jumps onto the bed, looking at her and then his face shifting and he swallows, "Uh, no, I meant, she dumped out...the empty box. Cause I ate all of them."

Zach laughed, "Good thing you're going to learn how to do that better soon buddy. Nice try."

Matt grabs Maggie's ankle, shaking her leg a little and she blinks up at him and he smiles, "There's still cocoa puffs. And cartoons just started."

Zach jumps up on the bed, fully standing, " We have cocoa puffs?! "

Cammie laughs, and he scoops a shrieking and giggling Maggie up and then Matt, running towards the kitchen.

The rain pounding harder on their windows is muffled by their laughter all day.