No Matter What (Synacky)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Zacky

I knocked on Jimmy's front door, nervously shifting from foot to foot. After about two minutes, he opened the door, staring at me blankly for a moment as he waited for me to speak.

When I stayed silent, he sighed, "Yes, Zacky?"

"Um, can we talk about something?"

He opened the door wider, letting me in the house. We stepped into the living room, sitting on opposite couches.

Before beginning, I handed him Brian's ice cream cone. I had already eaten mine, but saved Brian's incase we met up again in a few minutes. Unfortunately, it had been longer than that, and it was melting already.

Jimmy thanked me, quickly licking the edges so that nothing dripped onto the floor.

"What's up?" He asked after a minute, waiting for me to begin.

"So uh, a while ago, Brian's parents found out about us." I paused, "And um, they didn't really... Agree with our relationship? I guess."

Jimmy's expression was blank, still not understanding what I was about to say.

"So, his dad kinda... Beat him."

"Kinda?" His eyes were now full of concern.

"More than kinda, I guess. He had to go to the hospital and-"

Jimmy interrupted me, "What the fuck? Why did no one tell me about this?" He threw his arms out for emphasis, almost dropping the cone.

"No one knows, Jimmy." I replied, holding my hands up and trying to keep him calm.

"Matt knew." He spat back.

"No, Matt knew about our relationship. He never knew about this."

"Okay," Jimmy finally sighed, "Go on."

"So, we got a hotel for a few days and we've been staying there. But we're running low on money and need a place to stay until we can get an apartment."

"What about your house?" He asked.

"Well, my parents are kinda the same, and I was like, kicked out." I responded, awkwardly staring at the floor.

"You guys can stay here then." He offered.

I looked up, meeting his eyes, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Uh, so where's Brian?"

I sighed, "That's sorta why I'm here. You see, we were walking around town and stuff, and we saw his dad and stepmom. And we tried to stay unnoticed, but they recognized us. And his dad told me to go home, and then Brian made me leave. So, I guess he's still talking to them."

Jimmy didn't respond, so I continued, "I didn't wanna leave but Brian didn't want me to be there. So, I came here because I couldn't go home. Plus, I had to ask you if we could stay..."

"Oh." Is all the drummer said.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket. After taking it out, I saw that Brian was the one calling.

"It's Brian." I informed Jimmy, before answering.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, where are you?"

"Jimmy's house."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." With that, he hung up.

I looked up at Jimmy, who raised an eyebrow, "What did he say?"

"He'll be here in a few minutes." I responded, nervously licking my snakebites.

"He didn't say anything else?"

"No."

~*~

As Jimmy and I sat in an awkward silence, the doorbell rang. I immediately jumped up, quickly walking over to the front door with Jimmy right behind me. I opened it to see Brian, and I embraced him with a hug.

"I was scared he was gonna hurt you again." I whispered, leaning my head on his chest.

His fingers brushed through my hair, "I'm fine."

"Come inside." Jimmy spoke behind us.

Once we did, he closed the door. We went back to the couches, Jimmy and I both holding our gazes on Brian.

"What happened?" I asked impatiently.

Brian took a deep breath before he began, "Well, my dad told me he had come up with a solution."

Jimmy and I listened as Brian told us about the entire incident.

"Wow." The drummer breathed out after he finished speaking, finally finishing the ice cream cone.

I stayed silent, thinking about what he had told us.

After a while, Jimmy told Brian that we were allowed to stay over for as long as we needed. He also informed us that his parents were visiting family members, and wouldn't be back for a day.

"And they don't care?" Brian asked.

"They don't know, but they probably won't care." Jimmy replied, shrugging.

He then showed us the guest room, where we'd be sleeping.

"No sex though, my sisters are asleep and you'll end up waking them up." He snickered, closing the door behind him as he left.

Without speaking, Brian and I climbed into the bed. I reached over and turned off the bedside lamp, before wrapping my arms around Brian's neck.

"Goodnight, Zee. I love you." He whispered.

"I love you too."

After a while, Brian's breaths slowed, and I knew he had fallen asleep.

Though, I laid awake. I was unable to sleep, as bothersome thoughts kept me up.

What if Brian's father is right? What if he doesn't really love me? I've lived my entire life being told lies. Maybe this is just another one of those lies.