This Love | ✓

Part 15

"Whew," I exhaled, my back slumped against the wall as I counted the books piled around Zach and me.

Having nearly emptied the second bookshelf in Athena's Used Books, Zach and I were surrounded by waist-high stacks of books that began to resemble a wall that shielded us from the outside world.

"Just a couple more," Zach huffed as he stretched to reach a handful of books from the topmost shelf. 

The movement caused his dull red t-shirt to hike up, revealing a strip of his rigid, muscular torso.

"Uh, Leena?" he called, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant. 

"What?" I asked, craning my neck to look at him.

Zach turned around and crouched next to me, holding a few books in his brawny arms.

"Aren't these the books that your stepmother gave to the store?" he asked, eyeing me cautiously. "Sorry, ex-stepmother."

For three blissful seconds, I hadn't the slightest clue what Zach was talking about. When the realisation finally hit, I was at a loss for words. I reached for the hardcover classics, holding them in my arms with great care.

"Hey," Zach murmured, peering at me closely. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, no," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "I'm okay. It's just . . ."

"You were going to tell me about these books when you saw the register, remember?" he asked, laying his large palm on my shoulder gently.

"I remember," I murmured.

"Hun, I'm here for you if you want to talk about it," he soothed. "But if you want me to, I can just stuff these books somewhere else and pretend like they don't exist."

I looked up at Zach's face, his flawless features creased with curiosity and earnestness. Yet again, I was overwhelmed by the urge to confide in him.

"No, I want to tell you," I said, setting the books down on the floor in front of me. "Can I?"

"Of course," Zach replied immediately, moving to sit beside me.

"Okay," I exhaled, knotting my hands together in my lap. "Well, my father and Claire dated for a long time before they got married over two years ago. At first, I wasn't very happy. I was a typical teenager about it for a while."

Zach smiled understandingly. "Was Claire nice?"

"Yes, very," I nodded. "Right from the start, she made such an effort to bond with me."

Clearing my throat, I continued, "My dad was on his way to becoming the CEO of the company where he worked when he met Claire. He was buried in work, but he managed to make time for us. But after he landed the CEO's position, we hardly ever saw him. He was always busy. I mean, he stopped using his personal cell, so Claire and I were put on hold by his assistant, Rita, whenever we wanted to speak to him. Sometimes, we would be on hold forever only to find out that he can't take our calls."

"I'm not complaining," I hurried to clarify as Zach examined me with sympathy. "Dad is such a hard worker, and he's given me so much to be thankful for. And although Claire was upset that he wasn't spending any time with us anymore, she wouldn't show it too openly. But that changed when we found out that Dad wasn't going to be in town for my eighteenth birthday. Claire and Dad's wedding anniversary was just a week after my birthday, so she had this special celebration planned for the three of us."

I sighed before continuing, "Part of me knew from the start that my dad wouldn't make it, but I still hoped he would because the three of us hadn't gone out as a family for months. When we found out he wasn't coming, we both felt awful."