Bullied; A Jachary fanfic

Chapter 7

Jack Avery

I wake up the next morning with a sleeping Zach attached to me. His hair is in his eyes, and he has a smile on his face. I turn to my clock and see the time; 10:45.

"Zach," I say, shaking him slightly. "Zach, come on wake up."

His eyes flutter open and he looks at me with sleepy eyes. "What time is it?" He asks. His morning voice is kinda deep and husky.

"Almost 11," I reply.

"Oh." He says, sitting up. "Do you wanna meet the boys and do something today?" He asks.

"Uh, sure. Where?" I answer.

"We could go ice skating. There's this place that Jonah's Dad owns. I don't think there's a lake we could use." He answers.

"Sounds good," I say nodding. "Uh, if you don't wanna go home, you can borrow some of my clothes again. I've got plenty of extra Jackets and hoodies; I've got hats."

"Uh, sure. Just let me call my Mom. I should tell her where I am." Zach says, getting his phone. He goes to the bathroom and calls his Mom. I get my clothes out of my closet and wait for him to come out.

"Um, I'm gonna shower, there's a bathroom right outside, towels in the cupboard. You can wear any of my clothes, just put the dirty ones in the hamper by my closet. Okay?" I say, getting my towel from the back of my door.

"Okay. Thank you." He says smiling at me.

"Oh, there's extra toothbrushes in the cupboard above the towels," I add.

"Are you saying my breath stinks?" Zach asks jokingly.

"Well, I have met dogs with better smelling breath," I reply with a laugh.

"Haha, very funny." He says smiling and rolling his eyes.

He disappears into the bathroom and I walk into my own. I throw my clothes onto the floor and turn the water to hot. I take a quick shower and get out, wrapping the towel around my waist. I stand at the mirror and brush my teeth. I go to my closet and put on a shirt and a pair of boxers. I can still hear the shower running and I realize Zach never took clothes in with him. I grab pants, a shirt, and a pair of boxers. I walk across the hall and knock on the door.

"I'm leaving you some clothes!" I yell through the door.

"Thanks." He yells back.

I open the door and place them on the counter. I go back to my room and put a pair of pants on. I walk downstairs and see a note on the counter.

Gone to the store to look into that Plexiglas for the windows. Then going to change the locks. Isla's with me, we're going to be out all day. Stay safe, 

Love Mom 

I go back upstairs and see Zach standing in the bathroom in the shirt I gave him and boxers brushing his teeth.

"My mom and Isla are gonna be out all day so we don't have to worry. Are we meeting the others there or somewhere else?" I ask, trying not to look directly at him, as he was in his underwear.

"We're gonna drive up to the Taco Bell, eat, and then go ice skating." He says, looking at me. He finishes brushing his teeth and puts the pants I gave him on. We both go back to my room and I give him a pair of socks so, you know, his feet don't freeze. He puts his shoes back on and I give him a hoodie.

"Thanks, Jack." He says and puts his Letterman jacket on over it.

"Uh, could you wait in the hallway for a sec?" I ask.

"Sure." He says. He walks out and I go to the bathroom. I lift up my shirt and try to clean the cuts and stuff on my stomach and chest. I didn't want Zach to come in again and get all worried. I put my shirt down and grab a hoodie, putting a jacket over it. I grab 2 beanies and walk into the hallway and hand Zach the grey one. 

"Uh, it might get cold in the ice rink," I say, shrugging.

"Thanks." He says smiling.

We get to his truck and go to meet the boys at Chipotle.

"Hey, guys," Zach says, bro-hugging them.

"Hey." They all say.

"Hey, Jack," Jonah says, hugging me too; Corbyn and Daniel following.

"What's up?" I say with a smile.

We talk and laugh while we wait for our food. We eat and I can keep seeing Corbyn looking at the bruises and the cut on my face.

"Jack, can I talk to you?" He says.

"Uh, sure," I say. We walk out to the hall where the bathrooms are and he turns to me.

"What the hell happened to you? Where did those bruises come from?" He asks.

"I fell. Tripped over a root in the woods." I mumble.

"Jack. No, you didn't. What happened?" He asks again.

Could I trust him with this? He seemed like a person I could trust, right?

I take a breath and sigh. "Ok. It was my Dad."

"Why haven't you told anyone?" He asks.

"Zach knows. But if I told anyone, he'd hurt my Mom and my sister. She's 8, Corbyn. She'll get hurt over my dead body." I answer, angry at my Father.

"I'm sorry," Corbyn says.

"I'm Ok." I insist.

"No, you're not." He says, hugging me. Like really hugging me, not like one of those 'bro-hugs' he gave me before.

"Hey, could you not tell Daniel or Jonah. I'm not ready to tell them yet." I say before we walk out.

"No problem." He says with a smile.

We walk back out and I sit next to Zach again. I guess I looked a little tense because he put his hand on my knee. He looks at me and smiles. He keeps it there the whole time we're there and like an hour later, we leave.

"I told Corbyn," I say as we're driving.

"Really?" He asks. "I thought you weren't ready to tell anyone." 

"Well, I kinda didn't have a choice. He figured it out. He saw the bruises on my face and got curious. He asked me and I tried to tell him what I told you, but he didn't believe me." I say shrugging.

"If I'm gonna be completely honest with you, it was a pretty bullshit lie," Zach says, looking over at me, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Thanks," I say, rolling my eyes, returning his smile.

We drive the rest of the way talking, laughing and singing along to the radio. Zach pulls in the parking lot and looks at me.

"Ready?" Zach asks.

I sigh and nod. "Ready."