Changing You ✦ 𝑍.𝐷.𝐻.

Chapter 22 {R}

The return of his dad changed him.

It made him absent, his mind on something that I didn't know about. It made him silent, and even though there weren't any words leaving his mouth, I could tell by his eyes that he was bottling things up inside. It made him distant, playing with his rings and biting his inner cheek the entire time.

Like he had promised, he had called me last night. The first thing he had done was apologising for sending me home like that, without an explanation.

When I told him it was okay and I was just concerned about him, he immediately told me to stop worrying. He explained that his dad had got home, after being away for almost a month, and he hadn't known about it.

It made me realise his dad had left right after they moved here, which meant he had left Zach alone to get settled in their new house while taking care of two kids and getting into a new school himself.

I understood why Zach had turned cold when he had recognised his dad's car in front of his house.

I got pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of metal clattering against a hard surface.

Zach picked his ring back up, which had slipped through his fingers as he kept taking it off and shoving it back on, while he stared at something in front of him.

His actions made me nervous, and as he started doing the same thing again; his habit of taking his rings off and shoving them back on, I stopped him by holding his hand.

At my touch, he snapped back into reality. "Sorry," he muttered under his breath.

I slipped my fingers through his and stroked my thumb over his skin softly, hoping it would give him some kind of comfort to get through whatever was eating at him so badly.

"So, were you guys planning on going to the party tomorrow?" Jonah asked after he had swallowed the bite of his sandwich.

I nodded, taking another glance at Zach. "Yeah, we are."

"So are we," Lexa chimed in, Corbyn nodding, as all of our eyes shot to her.

"But tomorrow is a fu-"

Full moon.

I kicked Jack under the table to cut off his protest.

"Ow!" He looked at me, pulling a face that asked 'what the hell was that?' When his eyes landed on Zach next to me, he cleared his throat. "Um, tomorrow's a f-fun party."

I mentally facepalmed at his weak cover-up. I thanked Zach for his absent mind as he didn't seem to notice what was going on.

"Yes, and we're going," she said firmly.

I didn't take my eyes off her until Zach got up. "I'm gonna go to the restroom, I'll see you in class," he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder and kissing my cheek before walking away.

As soon as he got out of earshot, Jonah turned to Lexa. "Are you sure that's smart? What if you lose control?"

"I won't, I feel good, I promise," she told us, and we couldn't deny that she was right. She looked a lot calmer than she had ever been this close to a full moon, and I was almost sure that was because of the blond guy that held her hand.

Jack sighed. "You might feel good now, but trust me, the combination of a party with lots of people and music blasting through the speakers together with a full moon isn't good."

I nodded, agreeing with my brother. Our senses were extra heightened during a full moon, and it wouldn't take much more than the loud music to make her lose control.