Run Away

Chapter 24

"Children I'm home!" Mr. Felton called us.
Zack and I had gone to our own rooms as we needed to shower before Zacks' parents came. I slid off the bed, and quickly found my way downstairs. I saw Zack was waiting for me at the last landing.
"You good?" I whispered.
"Yeah, you?"
"Yeah."
We head out to the dinning room walking side by side. I could tell Zack was nervous. I don't blame him. You know after running away from your parents, then meeting them a year later, who knows how the might react?
"Oh here they are. We were just talking about you." Mr. Felton said as we entered the room.
"Uh mom, dad. This is Kendall. Kendall, these are my parents."
"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Cook." I smiled at them, not really sure what to do.
"It's very nice to meet you Kendal." Mrs. Cook said. "And Zack. It's so good to see you." She gave Zack a hug. It almost sounded like she was crying. She let go, and gave me a welcoming hug, while Mr. Cook gave Zack a hug. I noticed Mrs. Cook was thin, she had blonde hair with brown eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned, while Mr. Cook had a bit of a stomache. He had brown hair, like Zacks', ice-blue eyes, and no tan. He also had a bit of stubbles on his face, but no mustache.
After a few minutes of hugging eachother, Mr. Felton cleared his throat.
"Shall we eat?"
"Yeah!" We all said together. We took our seats. I sat beside Zack, across from us was Mr. and Mrs. Cook, and Mr. Felton was setting out the food.
"I got us all hamburgers, with fries, onion rings, and popcorn chicken. Hope that's alright." He finished passing out the food, and stood up straight once again. "Well I better be off."
"Why don't you stay with us for dinner?" Mrs. Cook asked.
"Oh no, I mustn't. I have very important work to take care of."
"Who will we be staying with tonight?" Zack asked.
"You can go home with Mr. and Mrs. Cook if they'd like. All the forms are signed, there's nothing left to be done." He looked at Mr. and Mrs. Cook, and added, "Just leave a note on the fridge if you do decide to take them."
"Of course." Mr. Cook said.
"Well good bye Children." He left the house once again. A small smile appeared on Zack and I's face. Mr. Felton is gone. We might not have to see him again.
"So Kendal, how come you ran away?" Mrs. Cook asked.
"Oh, um," I didn't know what to say at first, I was a bit startled by the question, but I knew it would be best to tell the truth. "My parents were abusive. I thought it would be best if I ran away before things got worse."
"Oh I'm so sorry dear." Mrs. Cook said. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of you."
My smile became a bit bigger. "Thanks."
"So Zack what have you been up to lately? Been- uh- dating any girls?"
"Bill!" Mrs. Cook slapped his arm.
"What dear? It was only a question."
Zack and I started laughing. "No dad, I haven't been dating anyone."
"Oh what a shame. 'Cause I see a keeper right here." He pointed his head in my direction. I blushed a bit, but laughed along with Zack.
"What's this?" I asked, completely changing the topic, pointing at the container it was in.
"Popcorn chicken dear." Mrs. Cook said. "Haven't you ever had any?"
"No never."
"Well they're really good." Zack added as he grabbed a few for himself. I picked one up, and took a bit. All it was, was breaded chicken that was round. But it was really good.
***
It was a few hours later. Zack and I were packing our things, while Mr. and Mrs. Cook cleaned up. It felt weird having someone clean up for you. Yet at the same time it felt nice.
It didn't take long to pack as I have very little. All I had was 7 tops,  7 pants, and a few hair accesories. Most of the things I have now I got from B-Dads. The only thing I have from when I first ran away was a bag I carried my food in. I rushed back downstairs. I couldn't wait to get out of here. As much as I'll miss the Private Room with all it's hidden doors, that's about it. I won't miss Mr. Felton, or his friends, or his long list of chores and demands. I can't wait to start my new life. And maybe for once being normal.
"You two ready?" Mr. Cook asked as I entered the room. Zack was already done and waiting for me. We both nodded our heads.
"Alright. Well let's get going then."
I followed Mr. and Mrs. Cook outside. Since they didn't have their car here, we just took a city bus home. It was very weird- in my opinion at least. It felt like everyone was staring at me as I entered. I didn't like the feeling. I didn't like being the centre of attention. I tried ignoring them, and found a seat. Since there weren't four empty seats beside eachother, I sat beside Mrs. Cook on one side of the bus, while Zack and his dad were on the other side.
The bus ride felt long. It kept stopping, letting people on and off the bus. It started to annoy me as I just wanted to get off.  After what felt like hours, the bus stopped at Mountain Road.
"This is our stop."  Mrs. Cook whispered to me.
I got out of my seat, exiting the nearest door. We found Zack and Mr. Cook within seconds.
"We live just up this street." Mr. Cook said when we walked over to him. "25 Mountain Road."
Together we walked down the street, side by side. The street lights turned on, as it was getting dark.
"So your father and I have been doing some thinking." Mrs. Cook said as we walked down the street. "And we think it would be best that, after New Years, you two go back to school."
I was shocked by this news. I hadn't been to school in forever. I knew I would be fine starting grade 8, as Zack would always have little pop quizzes at night so I knew something. Just the fact of actual going back. Being around other people besides Zack and B-Dad is what shocked me the most.
"Okay." That's all I had managed to say. Really what else could I say?
"That would be cool." Zack answered.
"Great. We can go over some things you'll need to know. Of course we can start next week if you'd like. You know, give you some time to relax a bit."
Before we could answer we came to a stop.
"This is your new home." Mr. Cook said.
I looked up at the house. It looked very friendly, unlike Mr. Feltons'. There was a little driveway that led to the garage. There were a few steps that took us up on the front porch, with a couch and end table. In the front yard there was a tall, thick tree with a tire swing attached on one of the branches. The house was a light baby blue, with white trimmings and railings, the roof was a chocolate brown. I noticed the lights were still on. I had never really thought Zack could have siblings, or even an other family member waiting for him to come home.. He never talked about them. But why?
Mr. Cook unlocked the front door, letting Zack and I enter first. We had only walked a few feet inside when I heard a gasp, followed by; "Zack!" A red head girl came running, and gave Zack a big hug. "Oh Zack I missed you so much." I heard her say.
"I missed you too Lily."
The girl, Lily, let go and looked up at Zack, then looked over at me.
"Hi I'm Lily, Zacks' little sister." She extended her arm, wanting me to shake her hand.
"Hi I'm Kendal, Zacks' friend." I shook her hand, looking at her eyes. I noticed they were a beautiful shade of light green. I also noticed that she looked nothing like Zacks' step-mom. Lily looked more like Zack, but not quite like his dad. She must've gotten some looks from Zacks' real mom, assuming that she is Zacks' real sister.
"Why don't we go sit down, and chat. Get to know each other a bit." Mrs. Cook suggested.
We all agreed. We found a spot together in the living room.
"So are you two going to school?" Lily asked.
"Yeah," Zack started.
"But not until December." I finished the sentence for him.
"Oh okay." Lily seemed disappointed.
"Howcome?" I asked.
"Oh I was just hoping you two would be starting school sooner. I don't really have an friends, so I thought it would be cool if we could hang out at breaks. That's all."
"I'm sure you'll make some friends soon. How long have you been at school for?" Zack tried to make her feel better, which obviously didn't work.
"Zack it's almost October, I've been at school for nearly a month now."
"It's already October?" I looked at Zack. I didn't know how much time had really gone by. It had only felt like it was a few weeks, not 2 months. Zack just shrugged his shoulders. He too hadn't realized.
Lily sighed. "Anyways, what's been going on in your lives lately?"
We told everyone the story from the beginning. How I ran away, bumped into Zack, all the crazy things we went through, all the way up to today. They all listened, and didn't interrupt once.
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Hey! So here's the next chapter. Thankfully it didn't take too long to write. Anyways, I don't really have much to say, so don't forget to vote, share and comment what you thought of this chapter. Next chapter will hopefully be up in a few days, but I make no promises.
Thank you all sooooo much for reading. I love you all so much, and hope you have/had a fabulous day!