The Broken Road - A Zac Efron Novel (18+)

Chapter 62 - Neighbors

Despite our earlier endeavors, I was wide awake at two in the morning. Zac was sleeping soundly beside me, with gentle, adorable, snores escaping from him as he breathed deeply. He was still in the same position I'd left him- sprawled along the bed, laying on his back with one arm tucked behind his head.

I rolled onto my side and gently scratched his perfectly toned stomach, trying to gently rouse him. When that didn't work, I straddled his waist and gently pressed kisses across his chest and along his collar bone.

"Mmm...I'm so tired baby," he murmured without opening his eyes.

"Not for long," I purred as I nibbled at his neck and on his ear lobe.

I felt him getting hard as I continued and I knew he couldn't resist for long. I let my hips grind against his before moving his other hand above his head, pinning them both there.

"What are you up to?" he smirked, with his eyes still closed.

"I want you. Right now," I whispered into his ear and his perfect, swollen cock stood at attention for me. His eyes slowly opened and his lips met mine. He tangled his hands in my messy bedhead as he pulled me into him. I carefully lifted my hips off him and lowered them back down slowly.

I rocked and rolled into him, slowly, letting him feel every inch of me. That time with each other, we connected in a completely different way than we had just a few hours before.

After what felt like hours, our bodies, both slick with sweat, melded together as I collapsed into him as we both reached our climax together. I pressed my lips to his temple, dotted with sweat and I could feel his eyelashes flutter against my cheek. I ran my hand through his hair, also damp with sweat and just stared at him.

"What are you thinking about?" he said, his exhaustion still evident in his voice.

"How much I'm going to miss you," I replied before brushing my lips over his again.

"Me too," he said sadly as hands kneaded into my bum. "This shoot is going to be so crazy though. Some days I'm scheduled for 20 hours of filming. I know it sucks, but I promise, even though we're spending time apart, it won't change how I feel about you."

"Promise?"

"Promise. You worry about spending time with your parents. And about spending time with your friend and her new baby. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

"Can I come visit?"

"Of course you can. Four weeks, or however long you decide to stay...it's nothing," he said as he tucked my hair behind my ear. "We have our whole lives ahead of us."

"I love you. So much."

"I know you do. And I love you too. More than I ever thought it would be possible to love someone else. We'll be back in each other's arms before you know it."

~*~*~*~

What I didn't know at the time was that our relationship with each other would never again be the same after that morning. That morning, we were perfect. We were the couple everyone wanted to be.

Our friends thought of us as the perfect couple. A couple that never fought and who had nothing but love for each other. Of course we fought with each other, but we always managed to keep our fights clean. We never called each other names. We never hit below the belt. We were as close to perfect as any two people could be for each other.

This really was the first significant period of time her and I were going to be spending apart since we started shooting That Awkward Moment. It felt like her and I had lived an entire lifetime since then, but it had only been 8 months since her and I spent those early days filming and getting to know the other.

We had been together a relatively short period of time when we left on our trip, and that definitely changed our relationship dynamic. When we were at home and had a disagreement, or were generally getting on each other's last nerve, we had the freedom to go back to our own house, or even go to another room and shut the door for some space.

When we were traveling with each other, that wasn't an option. There is nothing more frustrating than being annoyed with your significant other and then being trapped in a small hotel room or on a sixteen hour flight with them. There were flight delays, the weather didn't always cooperate, sometimes what we wanted to do in a respective country wasn't the same as what the other wanted to do. There were only so many hours in a day. All of those things can test the most solid couple. It changed the way we communicated with each other. We had no choice but to work things through with the other.

Our relationship was strong and sturdy. I was about launch a cannon ball right into the center of it.

Before Jess and I left on our trip, I had been seeing a therapist and was in Narcotics Anonymous. I was working with a sponsor and was doing great. I had never in my life felt better than when her and I were together and on that trip. I had myself convinced that I no longer needed help.

The set of Neighbors was the worst possible environment for someone who had a propensity for drug addiction and who was in complete denial about it. The drugs flowed freely on set. It started out with me wanting to lower my inhibitions and fit in with the "in" crowd. I wasn't into using all the drugs those guys were. I did have a fear of missing out, fear of being the only guy who wasn't in with that crowd on set, so I convinced myself I would go and hang out, and that I'd pass on the drugs I was offered. I had no idea the kind of fire I was playing with.

It started off with smoking weed. It was no big deal, I'd certainly smoked plenty of times before. But this was on a wholly different level. It wasn't long before I was sleeping till noon on a regular basis- something that was totally out of character for me.

Then, it was back to using cocaine. I started saying I would only use on the weekends. I told myself I could get as fucked up as I wanted to on Friday and Saturday nights. On Sunday I'd sober up and be as good as new by Monday morning. That mentality lasted through the first weekend, and by the second weekend, I was using coke every day. I was showing up late to set - still high - or not showing up at all.

I would crash hard each night from my high and needed to use Adderall to get myself out of bed in the morning. My entire life was foggy and hazy. And, with Jess 3,000 miles away in New York, I was able to easily hide the truth from her. I told myself that when she came home, I'd be able to stop and go back to the amazing life I had with her. This was just a release - an escape - one last hurrah before I settled down forever.

And then, I crossed a line I never thought I could, or would, cross. After snorting a few lines of coke, I took a hit of Molly. I was euphoric. I missed my girlfriend and wanted nothing more than to feel her next to me again. I wanted to kiss her and to remind her how much I loved her in person instead of over the phone.

The next morning, I woke up with another girl - a costar - in my bed.

I was horrified by what I had done. I had betrayed the one person who really ever loved me. I didn't even know what happened. I had to ask her what transpired. I had to have her confirm, and promise, that we didn't have sex the night before. She swore up and down we only kissed before we both passed out in all of our clothes on the bed in my trailer. I'll have to take her word for it because I don't remember any of it. By my own standards, I cheated on Jessica that night, regardless of if anything else happened with that girl. The thought of having to tell her was devastating to me. I couldn't bring myself to hurt her more than I already had, so I swore I would never, ever, tell anyone what I had done. I still wanted, needed, my happily ever after with her, and I couldn't allow that one little slip up to derail it all.