Fracted (Book #2)

Chapter 17: Strike One

I wrap my arms around the two. They were glad to see me, almost crying.
"Jess, I thought we'd never see you again." Zach said.
"What happened to you?" Alice said, "You look the same but different."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Where are you heading?"
"Back to our hotel room. Wanna surprise them?"
"Absolutely," Zach said, "Wait... who is she?"
I look back at Eiffel. "Oh, um... this is my--"
"Nice to meet you," she said, "Eiffel." She shook theit hands firmly.
"Zach."
"Alice."
"I'm his..." Eiffel couldn't find the right words, so I jumped in.
"Friend." I said, slightly uncomfortable.
"Great," Zach said, "Everything's great!"
I could see the uncomfortable look in their eyes. Awkward convo.
"Yeah." Alice laughed nervously.
The doors open. I was almost glad to say, "Finally! No more awkwardness!".
I knocked on the door Jackson opened the door. Zach and Alice popped out of the doorframe and barged inside the room.
"Hey! Look who's back!" Sarra stood up, wiped off the crumbs from her face and hugged Alice.
"Good to see you, weirdo." Alice said.
Robert and Zach high-fived and hugged each other.
"I thought Jess had an amnesia," Alice looked at me in surprise. "You look happy, Jess. What happened to you?"
"What happened to you?" I returned Alice's question.
"You answer first!" Alice said. "You seem too happy about your life."
"Why don't we," Jackson suggested, "sit down and eat. Then we can all talk about our day."
"Sounds great." Zach said.
The two set their bags down next to the small closet and made themselves at home.

"So..." Zach said, "when did you meet her?" he asked, romantically winking at me and Eiffel. His mischievous hints annoyed Jackson. I laid off the eye contact for a while.
"Well..." I said long enough to make it obvious that I don't want to answer his question. I clear my throat and summed it up. "yesterday before our flight, Eiffel was having an argument with her stepdad. He slapped her, I punched him, you know, normal rescuing stuff."
"That's it? No other injuries? You sure know how to tell a suspensful story." Alice said.
"The guy shoved me down the floor. I hit my head, then my memory came back."
"That's nice." Zach said, as if he didn't care.
I stopped looking at Eiffel as well, avoiding more awkward situations. Is this really what it feels like to grow up? Things are too fast, I thought. I hope that when I find love, it'll last long. I don't want to find something and lose it that quick.
"So what about you, kid?" Zach said to Ace.
"Nothin'. Just stinky boring." he shrugged, like nothing is on his shoulders.
I took a small bag of beef jerky and zipped the bag of mini-donuts closed.
"Alright, enough with the how-are-your-days questions." Jackson seriously said, like he ran out of patience.
"Eiffel, would you mind stepping outside for a moment, please?" She left without saying a word. Her hair brushing smoothly against the back of my head. As Eiffel's footstep outside departed, Jackson bursted out. I felt his knuckles strike across my face. My head turned and my cheek stung.
"You gotta be kidding me, Jess!" he furiously shouted. "A Zip? Really?"
"What are you talkin' about?" Those words felt forced, like I was automatically going to lie.
"Don't play dumb with me! I saw you two at the beach." I shifted away from him after he slaps my face with more power. I'm not afraid of my own friend am I?
"Y-you saw that?" I said. "But I didn't kiss her. I swear, she wouldn't--"
"She's gonna get us all killed if she finds out about us--you gotta dump her."
"Woah, woah, dump her? Dude, we just rescued her. We can't just throw her away like that!"
"Um, "we"? Excuse me, but you brought that trouble upon us. She's your responsibility. And you... just gotta throw her away."
"But why?" I almost cry. "What did she ever do to you?"
"Oh yeah?"
He stood up and lifted his shirt. A huge scar, possibly a stab wound, was embedded across his waist. Red scab covered most of it.
"That was when I dated a Zip... Sky." he said.
My heart froze. My lungs stiffen. My stomach tangled in frustration. I wanted to scream inside. My mouth was dry all of a sudden. And suddenly, all I wanted was to vomit in the toilet.
Sky? Really? I thought I was the one with felony issues.