The Bad Boy of Mine

Chapter +3 ll Just some occasional spooks and anxiety. Fun stuff.

Zoey's POV

The room is dark when I wake up from my nap, I blink my eyes in confusion as I try to get them to adjust to the darkness.

It's nighttime already? Why is it so dark?

I make my way out of bed, towards the door tentatively. Why is it so quiet? Did Chris bring Emma out for dinner without me?

It is cold. Even though it's chilly outside since it is late December, it is abnormally cold. I huddle further into Chris' hoodie that I wore to sleep in.

"Chris? Emma? Babe?"

It is dark outside too. Now, this is getting really weird - Chris never turns off the lights in the house if he is going to be away while I'm asleep. He knows that I'm a wimp and I get scared easily by the dark.

With an unsettling feeling seeping through my spine, I make my way through the hallway, into the living room.

"Chris?"

-

Third Person POV

The gathering is simple, just the usual boys along with Evelyn who is now sitting (too) comfortably in Levi's lap.

Chris glances at the time displayed on his phone, it is almost 3 in the afternoon, surely Zoey would be awake by now?

Chris frowns at the thought of Zoey. She was not able to join them for the gathering since she was too tired from staying up to finish her work. Being the overachiever that she was, she signed up for a bunch of seminars and assignments. It fills Chris with pride to see Zoey working so hard and achieving so much. What he hates is to see how drained she is every day from trying to meet the deadlines. He misses spending time with Zoey. He misses the warm feeling he gets when he hears her laughter. He misses the sunshine that radiates from her. Now, what he looks forward to the most every day would be wrapping Zoey up in his arms before bed. Zoey would stumble into the room, all sluggish and pliant after slaving herself away to finish her work. They will cuddle and Zoey will fall asleep with a small smile on her lips. Chris just feels so at ease with Zoey safe in his arms, he is contented - contented that he is able to be the shelter, the safe haven that she comes back to at the end of the day.

With his heart feeling warm, he takes out his phone to give Zoey a call.

-

Zoey cries.

She does not know what is happening anymore.

In the distance, she can hear something ringing. She wills her body to move, but everything feels numb and static. Her lungs feel constricted and she just - cannot - breathe.

It happened so suddenly. One moment she was walking around in the house, trying to look for Emma and Chris, the next moment she was on the ground, shaking, with an overwhelming sense of anxiety engulfing her.

She vaguely remembers her train of thoughts. How the house felt so empty. How the silence was too loud. How the room feels so unfamiliar even though she has been home for the past few days. How she wonders where Emma and Chris are and oh my god, she misses Chris so much how long has it been since she last had a proper conversation with him without her falling asleep on him? Does he still want me?

Zoey tries, she tries so hard, tries her best to reach for the phone that is on the couch. That ringtone - it's so familiar. She stretches her stiff yet trembling arms, so close - it's so, so close.

It's Chris.

A fresh wave of tears and emotions surges through Zoey as she stares at her boyfriend's smiling face on the screen. She picks up the call.