Adopted By Why Don't We [Completed]

Chap 22: Just You, Me, And Her

Zach's Pov

"Hi, what can I get you today sir?" A man asks me behind the cashier.

"I'll take two double doubles, two fries, and two large sodas."

He writes down the order and tells me the price as I place down the money. "Have a great day sir, your order will come shortly."

"Thank you," I say finally. What a liar. Who is he trying to fool? It took me twenty minutes just to place my order. I scan the room and I find Kristen sitting down in a booth with a woman across from her.

Maybe I shouldn't intrude. "What?" Kristen screams at the top of her lungs. I barge in on their conversation, slipping next to Kristen.

"What's going on?" I say.

"Well look who it is," the woman smirks, licking her lips.

"Ew, stop," Kristen gags. "If you're gonna hit on someone half your age then do it on an employee here."

She rolls her eyes. "Why is this your boyfriend?"

"No, it's just a friend."

I sigh at those words but I started it. "We-uh-met before."

"We did? When?" The woman asks.

I scratch my head. "Um-like two weeks ago I think."

"That's a long time ago dear. Who can recall such a thing," Kristen's mom says.

"A non-alcoholic," I hear Kristen whisper to herself. "So, how long are you staying for?"

"Another week."

"That's great-" Kristen starts but ends up getting cut off.

"Mind if I stay with you?"

Kristen's eyes widen. "W-what? Are you drunk or something?" I nudge her gently by the arm but she ignores it.

"Perhaps. But when am I not?" She giggles. "So do we have an agreement or what?"

"Excuse me? Hell no-" Kristen shouts as I cover up her mouth. "What did you do that for?" She complains.

"People are staring. And not in the good way. Can you please calm it down by just a little bit?"

Kristen's eyes are boiling red. "I'm sorry but I can't help it. How would you feel if you found out the person you have been growing up with is actually a family member of yours."

I take a minute to sink in her words. "Are you talking about Jonah?"

"Yes, what else would I be talking about-wait, how do you know about that?" Kristen asks.

"Oh, I kind of-uh-overheard you guys talking about it," I lie, biting down on my lips. She nods along and I concentrate on the rhythm of my foot tapping.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this. Why didn't Jonah tell me about this? Ugh, I don't even know anymore. Does Jonah even know about this?"

I fiddle with my fingers. "I don't know. You can ask him if you want."

"Okay, fine. Where is he?" Kristen asks.

"Santa Monica I think," I say. That wasn't much help.

"What? Why?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Something about a date I think."

"Well that's just great timing isn't it?"

The humidity of the place is really thick. It's probably just me. "Do you think they sell any beers here?" Kristen's mom asks.

"Uh, does coffee work for you?" I ask.

"No thanks dear, I'm sick of caffeine," She slurs, resting her head on the neighboring seat. The family near by notices her actions and quickly moves away.

Kristen nudges me by the elbow. "They sell coffee here?"

"I think so. I saw a woman walking out with a cup of coffee," I say.

"Did you mistaken that for soda or a milkshake?" She says coldly.

"That tone is not going to get you anywhere," I reply.

She loosens up and relaxes her arms. "Sorry, I'm just really worked up about what she told me."

"It's okay, I would be pissed off too if I found that everyone I knew is keeping a secret from me for such a long time."

"Thanks for understanding." She says, slowly raising up her head. "Wait? Everyone? Who's everyone?"

My mouth is dry. "Your mom-uh-your Dad?"

"Jonah knew all this time? Wait, hold on. Do you know about this?" I didn't dare to respond back. Who knew that would be the worse move in history. "You did didn't you?" She says lowly, looking down.

"Let me explain. But to be fair, I technically didn't know it was you until afterwards." A blank expression is left on Kristen's face. "Look, when we adopted you, we had no clue about it. Not even Jonah. We didn't find out about this until years later."

"How many years later?" She questions at me.

I scratch the back of my head. "Uh, like about a year," I pause. "And a half."

"A year?" She raises her voice.

"Don't forget the half. That half is very important," I chime in. Her face expression didn't look much different from before.

Kristen bites down on her lip. "Zach?"

"Yeah?" I say shyly.

"Can you drive me home please?"

"Finally," Kristen's mom spills out of her mouth. I almost forget she was here. "I call shotgun!"

"Is she actually coming?" I whisper into Kristen's arm and she shrugs her shoulders.

"Why not? I can handle a couple of days. Plus, I need a good explanation from her when she's sober."

With that, the three of us left the restaurant. I follow Kristen's orders and drive her back home with her mom following slightly behind.