Bi-stressed

CHAPTER 66

All five, hard covered in leather lie right infront of my feet. I bend down and pick up the books. I open the front page of each one.

'After' , 'After We Colided' , 'After We Fell' , "After Ever Happy' and 'Before'.

*"Oh my goshhh! Thanks so much."* I reply with the excited looking emoji.

*"You're most welcome. You can keep them as long as you want. Give them back only when you're done reading till the end."*

*"Okay. Thanks again."*

*"I mean it when I say, read till the end!"*

He waves out from his window and I do the same and go back in.
When I open the book 'After' and flip through the pages, most of it is covered in bright yellow highlighting.

It's 11 pm right now and I decide to read for a few minutes before I sleep. I keep reading and reading, without being bothered to check my phone nor the time. After God knows how long I attempt to check my phone and it's 6 am already and soon I realize I'm just 100 pages from the end. I decide not to reply to any of my texts and continue reading. My eyes burn as if I've put hot sauce as eye drops but I can't stop reading.

Now that I'm reading the book, I find alot of changes compared to the movie I watched. Hardin is much more insolent and impertinent to Tessa than he was in the movie. I feel slightly bad for Noah but I ship Hessa anyways. I almost cry towards the ending, at the bet scene. I hate Molly for doing that and I hate Zed for telling Tessa whatever. I feel sympathy for Hardin and Tessa, both. I finally close the book at 7 am and fall asleep.

The next day I awake at 1 pm and find Zac waiting for me to awake. In his hand, he holds the book 'After' the one I was reading just before I could fall asleep.

"Hey!" He says when he notices my lazy movements.

"Hi!"

"Here," he hands me a hardback copy of 'Wuthering Heights'
"It's mine but I want you to keep it, so yours now."

"From when did you start reading."

"I don't, just this one. It was my mom's, her favorite actually. She loved reading and that's where my sister gets her reading habit from and so does he."

"Oh. He?"

"My br- father. I'm the only one who doesn't read in the family of readers." He attempts to let out a laugh.

"Do you miss your mom?" I ask without thinking and wish to take it back. His face falls and eyes are almost teary.

"I'm sorry. I-" I say. I don't remember him telling me how his mother past away, just that he was only two years when she did. Did his father tell him how she died? Did she have any sort of illness or an accident or suicide or murder. Oh my God, I don't want to hear the answer.

"It's fine." Is all he says.

"How did she-?" I blurt out. "Fuck, sorry. Let's go eat something. My stomach-"

"You wouldn't want to know," he pauses then continues, changing the topic. " I can hear it." He says, looking down at my stomach. It's growling.

"Come on, go get ready! I'll take you out for lunch?"

"No, it's fine. My mom has already cooked."

"No, no. We're going out!" He drags me out of bed.

...

"La Chine? Ginsoy?" He asks.

"The restaurant you work at." I let out.

"No wayyy." He sighs.