Not Thinkin' Bout You

Chapter 41

PREVIOUSLY: Everything was different, and for once, Ellody wished she was still at the airport hugging Zach goodbye.

Ellody rolled over, pulling the covers over her head as sunlight streamed into her eyes. Noises of people walking up and down the hallway reached her ears as she slowly woke up.

"Christina, did you do a load of laundry yesterday?"

"No, I think Daniel did."

"Oh, OK... DANIEL!"

"Yeah?"

"Where's my blue and black towel?"

"I have no idea, Jack. I washed our clothes, not our towels."

"Then where's my towel?"

Ellody sighed, opening her eyes to see Jonah sitting on the edge of his bed, wrapped in a bathrobe.

"Morning," he smiled. Ellody rubbed her eyes until splotches of light appeared, and she blinked them away.

"Morning... why is everyone up so early?" Ellody mumbled, her voice scratchy.

"Beach day. Corbyn wanted some sun and everyone else played follow the leader," Jonah joked. Ellody sat up and stretched, last night's events reappearing in her mind.

"Do you think everyone will be mad if I don't come? I'm really tired," Ellody wondered aloud. Jonah shrugged, walking into his wardrobe to get dressed.

"Nah, I doubt it. Hey, how long are you planning on staying?" he called.

He wants me out already... what's going through his mind?

"Not sure... I'm still figuring things out. But Jonah, I think we need to talk," Ellody said bravely, putting a hand on her stomach that was filled with butterflies. There was silence before he walked out of his wardrobe with a tropical-themed shirt on and matching shorts.

"Sure," he nodded, taking a seat on the edge of his bed. Ellody took a deep breath, preparing herself for what was about to happen.

~

ZACH'S POV: THE NIGHT BEFORE

Kay pushed open the door and quickly shut it behind her before walking past the bed and into the ensuite. Zach picked up his phone and texted Daniel.

ZACH: what's going on down there

The front door closed and there were voices downstairs. The milk frother was turned on, and the TV was on again. No reply from Daniel.

Zach would've normally just gone downstairs and investigated himself, but Kay had insisted he wait for her while she went down and got something.

"Zachy?" Kay whispered. Zach turned to see Kay wrapped in a towel with the bathroom door open. Steam was wafting out, and the smell of fruit reached his nose.

"Huh?" he mumbled, staring at his girlfriend. Kay gestured towards the bath full of hot water, and he realised she had used about a thousand bath bombs to make it smell like that.

"Wanna have a bath with me?" she asked, a small smile on her face. He sighed, debating having a bath right now. He honestly didn't want to, since they had planned a day at the beach with everyone else the next day.

"Um... maybe another time? I'm really tired, and I want to have fun tomorrow," Zach explained, checking his phone. Daniel still hadn't replied.

"Zach, you can't reuse a bath bomb! Plus, I used three of them from a pack of five. Don't let them go to waste!" Kay insisted.

"I'm sorry baby, I really don't want to," he mumbled, glancing at Kay's face to see anger. He expected her to be disappointed, not mad. "What's that look for?" Zach added, smirking.

"You are zero fun," she announced, slamming the door and locking it. Zach sighed, running a hand through his hair. As he picked up his phone, the door opened and Kay threw a small flower on the carpet.

"Wow," he mumbled as she slammed the door again. He scrolled through his Instagram feed and liked a few posts and watched a few stories he was tagged in before someone knocked on the door. "Come in," he called.

"Dude, is everything OK up here? All I could hear is slamming doors," Daniel frowned.

"Yeah, it's cool. Just..." Zach stopped and pointed his thumb at the bathroom door. Daniel nodded and backed out slowly, and Zach noticed a few bags that seemed familiar on the floor by Jonah's door. Ah. Tate's staying. I think he mentioned something about her wanting to come a few days ago. That'll be why there were voices downstairs.

"Zachy, we need to talk," Kay yelled from the bathroom. Zach slowly pushed his blankets off and walked into the bathroom to see Kay sitting in the bath, bubbles covering her whole body from view. Her head was just visible.

"What's up?" he asked. Kay regularly said that they needed to talk, so it hardly worried him that she was saying it again.

"I feel like our relationship isn't strong enough. Like, my mindset is that you'd run back to Ellody if I broke up with you right now, and I don't want to think that! I want to think that, finally, we've overcome our immaturity of breaking up and getting back together all the time," Kay explained. Ellody's face popped into his mind, and he let a small smile rest on his face. "What are you smiling at?" she added.

"Oh, nothing," he sighed, refocusing his attention on Kay. She pushed some of the bubbles away from her neck, and Zach wished she hadn't. He wasn't in the mood for anything with Kay tonight, he just wanted to go to bed.

"Are you sure you don't wanna join me?" she pouted, giving him hopeful eyes.

"Sorry, Kay, I really don't want to. Not tonight," he decided, forcing himself out of the bathroom and back into bed. There were footsteps outside his door as someone walked past, and Jonah's door opened, then closed. Huh. I thought he was already in there. Dismissing this thought, Zach rolled over and tried to get to sleep, Ellody on his mind.

Half an hour later, Kay climbed into bed next to Zach, facing the other way. Grudgingly, he rolled over and slipped his arms around her stomach and spooned her to sleep. She relaxed into his side and turned her head slightly to kiss his jaw. Zach quickly realised what she wanted, and he let her go and rolled over to sleep.

~

The next morning, Jack pushed open Zach's bedroom door to wake them up for the day.

"Beach day, remember? Wake up, you two," Jack insisted. Kay sat up quickly, and Zach realised she was wearing his shirt.

"Lainey is going to kill me if I'm late home," Kay mumbled, jumping out of bed and grabbing her stuff that was scattered around his room. Zach yawned and rolled over, deciding that he'd get out of bed once Kay had to leave. But to his surprise, Kay was in such a rush that she didn't even want him to get out of bed. "Bye Zach, I'll see you soon, OK?" Kay promised, climbing on the bed. He rolled over as she pressed her lips to his slightly parted mouth.

"Um, yeah," he muttered, pulling away from her to go back to sleep. Kay rolled her suitcase out of his room, which was bursting at the zips, faster than Zach had ever packed even half a suitcase. The door shut, and it wasn't long before he was fast asleep.