Zoey's First Crush

Chapter Eight: Her Secret

She grabbed her phone and frantically texted James. In her rage, she had decided to tell him everything that had happened. And he replied immediately, trying to be comforting. However, it was not working and so he decided to call instead, thinking it would be more effective that way.

"Zoey, Zoey, Zoey, calm down. Listen to my voice. It's okay. He's just a jerk. Don't let him get to you. That's what he wants. You need to be there for your mom. She's probably getting it worse right now."

She sucked in a breath. She had forgotten about putting the blame on her mother. She winced.

"Its all my fault... If I had just kept my mouth shut, he would have been over it after yelling at me. But I just couldn't keep my temper. God, I'm so pathetic. I hate myself."

"No, don't say things like that, Zoey. That's not true. He would have found out one way or another. And she knew the risks when she hired me. You're not pathetic, Zoey."

"You think so?" She sniffed. "I feel pretty pathetic."

"I know so. And hey, maybe she'll finally get rid of him and you two can be happy."

"I doubt it. She always forgives him. It drives me nuts. She can clearly see that I can't stand him. And she can also see why. But she keeps letting him come back. Even after he screams and insults her and breaks things.

James thought for a minute. "Maybe you guys need him more than you think. I'm sure your mom wouldn't keep him around without a good reason."

"A good reason? Like what?"

"I'm not sure. Why don't you ask your mom? It'd be good for both of you to talk about it."

"Hmm maybe you're right, James. I might just do that."

"Good. And by the way, even if they do fire me, that doesn't mean we can't still be friends and hangout, right? Nothing wrong with that."

Zoey hesitated. "Are you sure you still want to be friends?"

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I want to be friends?"

Zoey flushed and nervously insisted it was nothing and for him to forget she said anything.

By this time, the sun had set and they were both getting tired.

"Hey Zoey, I'm pretty tired. I'm gunna go try and get some sleep. You okay?"

Zoey yawned. "Yeah, I think I'm okay now. Go get some sleep."

"Okay. Bye, talk to you tomorrow."

"Bye." She hung up and curled up under the covers in her bed. They were warm and inviting. And soon after, she fell into a deep sleep.