Life's Long Journey

Chapter 3

  As we drove up, I could see Carlie and Logan at a table having what seemed like a simple conversation. Carlie obviously saw me arrive, because she got out of her seat to come greet us. When Logan noticed what was going on, he got up with a smirk to come greet us as well.

  "May! Zack! Y'all finally made it!! Took you long enough." Carlie exclaimed as she wrapped me a giant bear hug. Zack gave me a quick warning look telling me to be careful. When Carlie pulled away, I saw Logan ready to come in for a hug as well. Carlie and Zack both watched as I decided what to do next. I grabbed Zack's hand and wove my fingers through his. Logan looked lost has he tried to come in for a hug.

  "Hey Maya. Long time no speak, huh?" When he went to the other side of me to give me a little hug, I felt a little uncomfortable doing this. Zack kept a tight grip on my hand the whole time. When Logan let go, Zack took the opportunity to sling his arm around me. I looked up at him with a thankful grin.

  "Well, why don't we go and order. May and I will be with y'all in just a second." Zack led me in the direction of the counter to order. He took his arm off of me just for a split second to pay the kind woman who had taken our order. I shifted a little closer to him feeling a little uncomfortable in the same room as Logan. When we walked over to the other side of the counter to wait for our drinks, I felt someone grab my shoulder. I stiffened when I saw Logan .

  "So, what are y'all getting?" I saw Logan reach for my hand, but I immediately went up to grab Zack's hand that was know resting on my shoulder.

  "Oh. I'm getting a vanilla latte and Zack is getting iced coffee, de-caf." Logan stared at me when I explained our usual. I had gone out several times while Zack and I were dating to get coffee that I had memorized his order. Finally, our drinks came out. We headed over to where now, only Carlie was sitting. She motioned for me and Zack to take the seats next to each other, but I was way ahead of her. I yanked Zack down to his seat when he tried to sit across from me. He seemed lost, but clearly figured it out because he got comfy in his chair pretty quickly.

  "So Logan, what's been going on in your life?" Zack asked as he took a sip of his coffee. I just looked at Logan waiting for an answer as I took a sip of my latte. When the hot liquid hit my tongue, it shocked me a little but tasted so comforting. I immediately flashed back to the first date Zack and I had when he got out of the hospital. It was at a small coffee shop on a corner in the busier part of Seattle. We got them same thing as today. I ended up spilling my latte on me and Zack had to clean it up. I was wearing a blue skirt with white polkadots on it with a white tank top and a white sweater on top. I couldn't save that outfit. It had stains all over it, so it ended up in the trash.

  "Well, I live a few blocks from here, I'm enrolled at Kasher high, and I work as a salesman at a store not far from my house. So that's about it. How about y'all? What's going on in y'alls life's?" We all exchange looks as I begin to talk.

  "Well, lets see. Nothin really. High school takes up so much time. I'm in the dance team at school, I've applied at 3 universities, Zack and I are still dating. Oh, and I work as a barista Monday through Thursday.That's about it on my end." I looked at Carlie who was getting ready to speak.

  "Yeah, nothing to tell. School, homework, jobs, the usual." Carlie looked down at her phone. I assumed she was looking at Instagram. Then my phone went off. When I checked, my mom texted me "How's it going?" I just responded with a simple "Good:D"  Once we were all done with our drinks, we decided to leave. We all said our goodbyes then left. While we were in the car, I got a text from... Logan. It said "Loved hanging with you today babe. Hope we can do it again. Love you. ;)"

  "Zack. Logan texted me." I looked at him with a scared look in my eye, and he obviously noticed it, because he seemed to get worried as well.

  "Okay. May, don't respond. I'm pulling over. I'll deal with this." My scared look now became worried. What was Zack going to do? We pulled over into a gas station. Zack took my phone and read what it said.

  "What in his right mind told him to send you something like this!?!?! It was VERY obvious we are still together!!!! I'm going to get his number and take this into my own hands!!!" Zack was extremely angry. I'd never seen him like this before. It honestly scared me. He punched the number into his phone and called Logan.

  "Listen hear Logan!!! I'm not in the mood to deal with you so you listen hard and close!!! Maya is with me!! She has NO feelings for you!! How about you stay away from her or you will never see her again!! You are the reason she lives in fear!! " I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I could also hear Logan on the other line yelling. He wasn't happy  either. He was threatening to kill Zack. As well as yelling curse words through the phone. When Zack looked back at me, I gave him a "Please stop, I don't want you to worry. I can deal with it." look. Zack took a deep breath and ended the call with Logan. He looked at me with a sad face.

  "May, I love you. I don't want you getting hurt. Can you please just let me deal with this?" I exchanged a face with him.

  "No Zack. If you get hurt, I'll get hurt. Please stay out of it. I love you too, and I want you to be safe, please?" I asked quietly. I waited as he sighed and laid back on his chair. I was so relieved. I reached over and grabbed his hand. He picked it up and kissed it. I leaned over the seat and gave him a little kiss on his cheek.

  "Thanks." I whispered against his skin before backing away back to my side. He didn't let go of my hand the rest of the time we drove to my house. When we got to my house, he walked me in then sat on my bed with me. I laid my head on his shoulder as he put his arm around me to hold me close. I felt his warmth and I felt safe. We sat there for about ten minutes. He kissed me on the top of my head and patted my arm indicating he was getting up to leave. I followed him to the door and gave him a big hug before he left.

  "Want to go out tomorrow night? We can go to a movie or do what ever you want." He whispered in my ear. I looked up at his big brown eyes and nodded.

  "That sounds wonderful." I smiled at him as he walked away. I stood there in the doorway until I couldn't see him anymore.