Caught // K.L.

14

Zoe

I woke up like I had for the past week, miserable. I hadn't been sleeping since he left, and I rarely ate. I had no personal desire to keep myself healthy. I trudged upstairs as I avoided everyone. I went into the bathroom, I wanted to avoid the mirror but I was drawn to it. The bags under my eyes had darkened. My smile was dull and forced, it was hard for me to smile without him.

"I cant drive you to school." My dad through the door. "Can you walk?" I stayed silent. My throat was sore from holding back all my anger and sadness. It felt like I had claw marks from regret. I had cried myself to sleep everyday for the past week almost two. "Zoe? Are you okay?" he asked as he slowly started to open the door. He seen me in all of my misery, he frowned almost instantly. "Come here." He wrapped his arms around his breaking daughter. "I'm so sorry Zoe, I didn't realize." I felt the tears pulling to my eyes and it kept getting harder to fight them.

"I need to get ready." I mumbled as I pushed myself from his arms. He nodded before he left the bathroom. "Dad!" I said loud enough that it stopped him. He slowly turned to look at me, he had so much pain in his eyes. "I love you." He smiled at me softly as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"I love you more." He said before he left me alone to get ready. I softly smiled at him before I closed the bathroom door.

***

I walked into the school with my head hung low, it was so different. I didn't have anybody that would protect me, or make sure I made it to class alright. It felt like I didn't have anybody. I slowly brought my head up from the floor when I knew I was getting closer to my locker. I seen him, he was smiling at me. "Kian?" I wasn't so sure that it was him or if it was my mind wanting him to be here. I kept moving closer to him as he did to me. "What the heck?" I said as I pushed my hands into his chest. I was angry, but I was mostly hurt.

"Zoe." He said as the smile fell from his lips.

"You left me like it was no big deal, and then you come back almost two weeks later. You wouldn't even text me to let me know if you were okay, I cried over you. I wasted my tears on someone who didn't care enough to even text me back. You would read my messages which done nothing but push me deeper into my own personal pit of hell." He looked lost, he looked so hurt. "You just left me like i meant nothing. All I could was cry over you and beg God to bring you back to me. My heart was physically breaking inside of my chest every single minute you weren't here with me. I could hardly sleep without you around, I could barely eat. Do you realize what you did to me?" I said to him as his eyes dropped from mine.

"I had to leave. I had to go but it was just until things died down. My mom told me not to message anybody especially not you. I went and stayed at an hotel a couple of miles outside of town. " I shook my head as I felt tears pulling to my eyes. "I missed you like crazy Zoe, you were all I could think about. All I wanted to do was talk to you or be with you. Leaving was a hard thing for me to do, I wanted to tell you where I was going. I wanted you to be there with me." He grabbed my hands and I didn't have the strength to pull away from him, I missed the way his fit in mine. "I was going insane without you, I promise you that I wouldn't intentionally leave you. I had to do this and if I could've told you I would've, but I couldn't. I was so miserable without you. I constantly had memories of us running through my mind. You were all I could think about. The last text you sent me broke my heart, I didn't want to lose you. I meant every single word I ever said to you. Nothing I experienced with you was a lie or a mistake, you are the love of my life." I smiled as I words drained from his lips.

"I missed you." I said before I wrapped my arms around his neck. I started crying into the crook of his neck as he pulled my body closer to his. "I love you to the moon and back." I whispered as I looked at him in his beautiful brown eyes that I missed so much.

"I love you too much." he said before his lips met mine. "I'm so sorry Zoe, I will never leave you again." He kissed me again. "You are the love of my life, and nothing will ever change the way I feel about you." The words that I had missed so much kept draining from his lips. I missed his voice, his voice would always calm the storms inside of my mind.

"Please don't leave again." He shook his head. "Unless you tell me where you are going and that you are safe." he nodded with a small smile on his lips.

"I am not leaving again unless you come with me." He kissed the top of my head as my body melted into his. "Leaving you will always be one of my biggest regrets even though it was only for a week. I have never missed anyone as I much as I missed you. I was driving myself insane without you by myside." I could feel myself becoming happier just by him being here. I hadn't felt this way in a week, and I didn't realize how happy he made me until he was gone.

"If you ever decide to leave again, let me know so I can go with you." We both smiled before we held each other closer again. The bell rang which signaled we had two minutes to get to class. He walked me to my class and it all felt normal again.