The Heart Of Zac: Book 4 (Completed)

Chapter Five

I watched as she ran out of my life. Part of me wanted to run after her. To tell her that I had made a mistake.

I touched my Britt tattoo on my arm. There was no way I'd ever get rid of it. It was part of me now and would be for the rest of my life. I sat there trying to justify that I hadn't just made the biggest mistake of my life.

Days turned into weeks. Suddenly my life had a lot of spare hours. I had two great passions in my life. Britt and surfing. Now it seems I had neither.

Britt had been avoiding me the entire time. I didn't blame her. The rumour mill at school went into overdrive about how I had cruelly dumped her. I didn't care as long my Britt's reputation was safe. However it also made me public enemy number one at school. Nobody wanted to be associated with the guy that broke sweet, innocent Brittany's heart.

I had been avoiding the beach as well since that incident with the jelly fish. It brought back too many sad memories. I used to enjoy the thrill but what always made it sweeter was seeing Britt on shore waiting for me. I just didn't have the heart for it anymore.

So it wasn't surprising then that I had all this spare time. After all, the two greatest passions in my life had disappeared.

Things between Kai and myself seemed alright though. After that punch up incident I took it upon myself to be the bigger man and apologise. He seemed ok. Perhaps his sense of pride had been injured more that day but we were back on friendly terms. He knew about my break up with Britt and I was thankful that he didn't mention it.

He introduced me to his work at the garage. They were looking for a spare hand to fill in after hours and since I had nothing but time now I gratefully accepted.

Strangely enough it had felt like I had met my calling. I'd never considered working with my hands before but for some reason I took to the job quite easily.

It started off simply enough. I observed Kai as we worked. Eventually I was allowed greater responsibility and soon enough the boss recognised my ability and offered me an apprenticeship for when I left school. I took the opportunity gratefully. At least I had some idea of where my life was headed.

I heard bits and pieces from around school that Brittany was applying for a writing internship. She had always been a fantastic writer but kept that part of her life hidden. I knew the real reason why she never pursued it before. The fact was that she would need to leave for the big lights of the city in order to fulfil her dream. Our hometown though charming as it was provided no opportunity in this area. I had a feeling the only thing holding her back was the thought of moving away from here and from me. With that now removed from the equation, she was free to pursue her dreams.

It was thoughts like this that kept me going and stopped me from running back to her. I couldn't be the one that held her back. She might have been happy enough if she had stayed here but the dreams that she would have to give up for it. Well that guilt was too much to bear.

It was another ordinary day in the garage. The radio was going and Kai and I were sorting through the part orders for the day. This was my life now. I was fairly contented although my heart still ached for Britt.

Kai was talking about the surf and other various things. I listened with one ear. I wanted to make sure the orders were 100% correct.

"So I was down the beach the other day and guess who I ran into...Brittany."

The sound of her name made me stop. Even though we went to the same school and lived in the same street she was always quite good at avoiding me. The truth, I hadn't seen her for a while.

"Is she ok?"

I tried to make my voice light and breezy but I'm sure hurt came out as well.

"Yeh she was looking fine...I mean well. We chatted for a fair bit."

I didn't really want to listen anymore but I needed to. I couldn't avoid Britt conversation for the rest of my life.

"She told me she had been accepted for an internship at a big city newspaper. She'll be leaving in the Summer after graduation."

"Oh that's great."

I was happy for her. Truly. I knew that this was a huge opportunity for her and it made me glad that she was grasping it with both hands.

"So the thing is. I kinda want to ask her out. You know on a date but I wanted to run it past you first. If you don't want me to I'll forget about it."

My heart contracted painfully at his statement. As much as it pained me I knew I had no right to say no. Britt didn't belong to me, nor had she ever. She was her own person and she was capable of making decisions on her own.

"Sure that's fine." 

"Zac seriously? I mean I'll forget the whole thing if you are not comfortable. You know the whole bro code and all."

"Nah it's cool. Just remember. Treat her right. She deserves to be treated like a Princess."

"Aww you've made my day. I'm going to call her now."

With that he hurried off to find his phone.

I knew I was doing the right thing. If Britt truly belonged with me she would return one day. I couldn't stop her from pursuing life and new experiences. Still it felt like my heart was being shattered all over again. The thoughts of my Britt in the arms of somebody else hit me straight in my heart.