Read My Lips

Read My Lips: Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Walking into school the next day was what you would call awkward.

I wasn’t sure whether Zach was going to turn up today so I was constantly looking around for him. Also, I was feeling tense with the whole Amy and Luke issue yesterday. People were whispering however today, it didn’t seem to be aimed at me.

Of course that made me happy. Nobody liked to be talked about. No one noticed me as I walked through the school, automatically making me feel more relaxed.  Having no attention of me already made me smile on the inside.

Rebekah wasn’t at our normal meeting place making frown as I arrived. I was alone once again which only made me feel that bit more scared. If Amy or Luke came up to me then I’d have no one to make me feel just a little bit safer.

Surprisingly it wasn’t Amy or Luke who came up to me as I stood alone. Nor was it Rebekah. It wasn’t any of Zach’s friends. No, it was Zach himself. A gasp left my lips as I stared at his face.

It wasn’t as near perfect as it normally was. Instead this time, his face was covered in bruises and cuts. His lip was bust and there was a fresh cut through his eyebrow that was already bleeding slightly. I went to raise my hand to touch his face before I stopped half way remembering that we weren’t together anymore.

I couldn’t nor would I comfort him anymore. He left me, he could comfort himself. Call me bitter, but he’d broken my heart.

Zach awkwardly ran his hand through his hair as he stood in front of me doing nothing but stare at my own face. His eyes were fixated onto mine, never leaving even when I looked away from his gaze. He wasn’t speaking so I took that as a hint that I had to talk first.

“What happened?” I asked bluntly. I wasn’t going to add anything else to that, at this moment that was all he was getting. It was all I cared about too, if I was being honest.

“Nothing. Just a little fight, nothing to worry over.” He answered, smiling slightly. I noticed the way he winced slightly as he forced a slight smile. He was hurt. And I was being too selfish to comfort him.

“Don’t lie to me.” I warned at him, adding a glare to show him that I was being serious. We weren’t together anymore; he didn’t have to lie to keep me ‘safe’. If something was wrong and it wasn’t a top secret then he could tell me.

He sighed, finally allowing his shoulders to slump. “Fine, I got into a planned fight but it’s still nothing to worry about.” Zach finalised.

“Nothing to worry about?” I questioned, staring at him in shock. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m not hurt, I’m fine,” He stated, he looked around the room quickly before turning his gaze back to me. “It’s nothing permanent, it’ll go away.”

“That’s not the point!” I almost shouted, moving forward and slapping his chest. I automatically regretted that action when I saw him flinch. It obviously wasn’t just his face that was hurt. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. But what is the point? I’m hurt? Boohoo, it’ll go away. I’ve had much worse. Oh, and stop shouting everyone’s looking.”

I rolled my eyes at his reply, I was only being concerned about his injuries and he was throwing it straight back in my face. Also, I didn’t care if people were looking. They could if they wanted to. “Well sorry for caring.” I scoffed, attempting to step to his left and leave.

Zach grabbed my arm, preventing me from moving any further. “I’m sorry. Today’s just not being a good day.” He apologised, shaking his head sadly.