Childhood Friends

Chapter 11

(*Zac POV*)

I didn't go to school for the rest of the week. My parents either didn't notice, or didn't care. They really stopped caring about me when Bea started going to college. That was almost four years ago. For four days, I stayed in my room, the door locked, the window and curtains closed tightly, blaring my music, and laying in bed either on my phone or staring aimlessly at the ceiling. I didn't really do anything. I would stay up all night with the music blaring, on my phone. I didn't eat anything, either. My phone rang near the end of the fourth day. Oh, yeah, I also hadn't been answering any texts or calls I got, despite the abundance of them coming from my sister.

*INCOMING CALL FROM: BEA*

I hit the decline button, setting the phone next to me on the bed to stare up at the ceiling. It rang again. It was Bea. I declined. It kept ringing until I finally picked up.

"What the hell do you want, Bea?" I asked, my voice kind of hoarse from not being used in a while. 

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?" She automatically asks. "Or your texts?"

"I don't feel like it. What's it even matter?"

"Don't get huffy with me, Zac! I  did not do anything!" Bea growls over the phone. "Now, Kai told me that he told you that you were not allowed to interact with him anymore. I blocked him, obviously. Now, I want you to tell me exactly what happened that day."

She was annoyed with me. That was never good. I sigh, and tell her everything that happened on Monday.

(*Kai POV*)

For the past four days, I haven't seen Zac at school. As far as I can tell, he hasn't left the house at all. I bet he hasn't even eaten in days. I sigh heavily, all week I've been thinking that I made a mistake by choosing Jason, even if he was really nice to me.Of course, he wasn't exactly nice to Zac...yesterday  his Instagram story said "Emo boys are fake. Omg I hate them. I know one and I want him to die"

We had a huge argument after that. He took the story down at least, so things are kind of back to normal. I feel a tension, though, between me and Jason. As if he's distancing himself from me. I'm not gonna talk to him about it because I don't want to start another argument. I begin to walk to lunch, for some reason thinking about Zac. When we first met, he was grouchy and mean. As time went on, he showed me exactly who he was: a misunderstood, funny, slightly broken, playful boy that just needed to be...cared for...

And there was the guilty feeling again. I think back to my text conversation with Bea on Monday. She had the feeling that Zac was physically hurt. He had no reason to be. I knew why she felt that, though...

(*THIRD PERSON POV FLASHBACK*)

Kai walks into Zac's room. They have gotten so close in the past five years that by now he can just walk in, invited or not. The first thing he registers is the loud as fuck My Chemical Romance music. Then he hears the loud sobbing. He follows the sound and sees Zac knelt on the floor, a razor held to his skin. Zac looks up at the shadow Kai casts.

"Zac?" Kai stares at his best friend, slightly horrified by what he is seeing. The blood on Zac's wrists, dripping slowly to the carpet, the razor in his hand...

"K-Kai?!" He jumped into action, trying to hide everything incriminating, but Kai has already seen it.

"Zac," He mutters softly, bending down and grabbing him by the upper arms. "Why?"

(*Kai POV*)

Why? God, that was the question that seemed to always need answering. Why do this, why do that, why feel something, why did Zac cut his wrists, why did Jason give me a choice, why did I make my choice? All of these stupid fucking questions that hardly ever get clear answers. I groan loudly, punching the wall.