Chocolate Chip Cookies And Pink Nails | A Coming Of Age Story

19 | One Day To Go

Copyright of Butterfly Fingers

This chapter nor any other chapter is edited unless indicated otherwise.

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Chapter Nineteen: One Day To Go

The next month leading up to graduation was interesting, to say the least. The school was about a thing of the past, we just had to finish up last minute things and then call it a day. The average day was mostly just watching Zack do his morning workout, take the dogs for a walk, make lunch for the family, work on the paperwork for my travels and then around 2pm, I will go over to Sasha. She was still very much so a shell of a human being without any real drive. I knew I couldn't force her. She needed time to heal. I simply stayed by her side as we watched Gossip Girl. We wouldn't really talk much, simply just watch the drama unfold on the TV screen and on occasion snack on some sweets. We would do this till dinner time and I would bid my second family goodbye and head on home. After dinner, Zack would come over to watch a movie or play board games, whatever we feel like doing for the night. Zack would leave around 10pm and I would then just get ready for bed and read till I fall asleep. It was a mundane routine but also very much so needed. Everyone felt a bit raw if I was going, to be honest. My nose quite literally felt raw, Mason was stressing about this girl in his class. The boy is smart but he can be quite clumsy, read incredibly awkward when it comes to socializing to humans that aren't his family. To say he has a crush on her would be a gross understatement. It also didn't help that the girl was the queen bee and very much so involved with one football player. It was a lost cause really. Mason had his first heartbreak just moments after experiencing his first love. It sure as hell stung.

Daddy Dearest was so deeply involved in creating new recipes that he mostly spends the day in the kitchen. Although he refused to let it show, the divorce was hurting him. Once a day he would be on the phone with the lawyer to discuss who gets what in the divorce and all of that jazz. He would always hang up clearly upset and return his attention to baking. The strangest, I couldn't exactly call it baked good, came out of the kitchen. Flavors that really shouldn't belong together but we simply tasted the food, pushed the urge to puke down and gave him a small smile before making a run for it before whatever he was brewing came out of the oven. It was quite painstakingly clear that the baking only served as a distraction and he tried to unravel the bonds that sixteen years of marriage created. Zack, he was just acting strangely. I couldn't put my finger on it but he wasn't himself. His corny, almost dad jokes, were suddenly rare. He constantly looked exhausted with ugly blue bags under his eyes. He also seemed to be sporting more boxing-related injuries. His knuckles almost never-ending red and bruised. He also strangely kept loading on his cologne. He was overdoing it really, almost as if he was hiding something but that could be was beyond me. He would get calls and suddenly leave and the list of strange behaviors just goes on and on. When questioned, he would simply laugh, change the subject and make some excuse to leave in the next twenty minutes. He will talk to me when he is ready. I can't force him to talk to me.

"I still don't understand why you're making such a big deal about the dress. No one is even going to see it under the robe." I groaned as I watched Sasha hold another dress in front of her. She was absolutely obsessed to find the perfect graduation dress. Sasha rolled her eyes and examined a purple dress. "Everyone will see it at dinner." She simply replied before taking the purple dress to try on. Minutes passed as she grunted in the fight to get the dress on. "Nothing fits!" Sasha moaned and not even a second past before her sobbing met my ears. I rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug. She still had some baby bump left, her body still experiencing some of the pregnancy symptoms. I think it's what stung the most. The fact that even though she was no longer carrying her child, if you looked at her appearance you wouldn't be able to tell. The doctor said it will take a while for her body to adjust. It still stung. "I forget sometimes that his gone, you know. I would catch myself in the mirror and it would come crashing down on me...and it's-" Sasha broke down in sobs. My heart broke for her but once again the right words were lost on me. What am I supposed to say? What can I say to make her feel better? 'He is in a better place now.' How can that help her? He was her world. I have no doubt in my mind that Sasha would've done everything in her power to be a great mother and always be that ray of sunshine for her son. How is he in a better place? The best place he could've been is with her. Knowing that nothing I will ever say will make the situation better, I did what I could. I comforted her and cleaned her face once she stopped crying. "I liked the red one." Sasha just laughed as she pulled off the purple dress. "Yeah, me too."

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"So, tomorrow is the big day. Are you excited M?" Sasha's mom asked as she removed the pan out of the oven. "Yes, I guess. I'm mostly just excited for the holidays." Zack laughed and tickled my sides. "Yeah, we've been talking about maybe going to New York for a week." I smiled, happy to have the normal Zack back. "As long as you two don't come home with another couple tattoo." Sasha snickered which caused the table to irrupt with laughter. How matching chocolate chip cookies always seemed to get some chuckles. The fact that we got a couple tattoo seemed to humor those around us. Although I would admit the cookie on Zack's wrist did seem to stand out as it didn't quite match the man behind it. He got quite a bit girly jabs at the boxing club when they first saw the tattoo. Zack couldn't be bothered and showed off his tattoo with pride. Who cares if society would tell him to get something manly. A cookie is manly. Everyone loves cookies. "Zack told me that you're going to travel next year?" My third dad, wait maybe my fourth dad, asked. I must be the only girl in this world that could consider herself to have four Dads'. There was my biological father, my two gay fathers and Sasha's father. What a handful. I chuckled at myself before launching into a full-blown speech about my travel plans. "I'm flying straight to Italy from here. They have the introduction week at some villa and then they place us. I might stay in Italy or they might send me somewhere else in Europe." Sasha swooned, apparently, Italy is packed full of hunks. "It truly sounds like a one in a lifetime experience. You must be so excited!" I could only smile, stupidly excited for the future. "I just enjoyed New York and learned so much about myself. I figured a good travel around the world would be just perfect." Zack smiled, quite obviously proud of himself for the role he played in my decision to travel. I shook my head and poked his leg in response. "Dork!" Zack grinned his shit-eating grin before poking my ribs. "But, I'm your dork!" Sasha made a gagging sound at this which caused the family to break out in laughter. I forced a laugher as I tried to calm my racing heart. Relax M. He meant it in a friend type of way.

"Zack, why don't you walk M home?" I pulled on my winter coat and waved my second family goodbye. "I will see you tomorrow!" Zack kissed his mom goodbye before pulling on his winter jacket. I unlocked my bicycle and Zack being the true gentleman he is, took my bicycle so I didn't have to push it all the way home. The cold wind nipped at my nose and I rubbed my hands together for some source of warmth. Zack turned early quite for some reason. I could practically feel him distance himself from me. Something was clearly bothering me but I didn't want to push it again. I didn't want him to leave yet. "Why don't we go sit in the park for a bit? There is something I need to tell you." My heart stopped, shocked at his words before restarting with a bang. He can't hear it right? I bit my lip but nodded. My gut was telling me that it was going to be bad news. My heart, however, was just stupid excited that he was finally going to talk to me. In my moment on inner turmoil, we arrived at the park and seated ourselves on the freezing cold bench. Moments of silence passed and Zack seemed to struggle for words. Just as he opened his mouth to finally break the tension in the air, a hooded figure appeared from the darkness. "Give me all of your money!" Zack sprung into action, calmly placing his body before mine and removing his wallet and phone. "Take everything you need, man. Just don't hurt us." I frowned, surprised at his response. Zack probably had a good twenty pounds on this guy. He can take him. I glanced around his shoulder and froze in fear when my brain processed that the mugger was packing. Holy fuck. He has a knife! Zack, calm under the pressure of danger, handed his phone and wallet to the shaking guy. He was clearly not used to holding people up at knifepoint. In a way, that made him more dangerous. That's what all the cop shows told me at least. I held my breath as I clung to Zack's back. "Bitch, give me your ring." I sob broke through my chest and with shaking fingers I removed the only keepsake I had from my biological mother. Your life is more important than this ring. It's okay. Your life is more important than this ring. I continued to chant this to myself in my head and I clumsily dropped my ring in his awaiting hands. The mugger moved as if to run away but a rustle in the trees spooked him. He jerked and I could only watch in slow motion as he pushed the blade into Zack's stomach. I scream left my mouth as Zack fell to his knees. The mugger ran off and I could only very numbly take out my phone (luckily I had it tucked away in my bicycle bag) and call for help. "Please be okay." I cried as I held onto Zack. Considering the man was stabbed and losing blood fast, he was quite relaxed about the ordeal. "It's okay. Don't worry. A stab wound is nothing." The ambulance arrived, ten minutes later. The paramedics jumped into action and I could only numbly watch the scene unfold. Did this really happen? Did Zack just get stabbed? This shit is only supposed to happen in movies!