Capturing Memories

°•°Chapter 12°•°

"There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family."

-Unknown.

Chloe's POV.

Grabbing a hand towel, I wipe off the beads of sweat rolling down my neck as I got off the floor. That was one hell of a workout. I walk out of my room with Snowy hot on my heels and head into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of freshly brewed coffee. I pour out the coffee from my French press into a mug before taking a seat on a barstool.

I sigh looking at the note Zach left me, he left for work before I even woke up.

Got some important work to get to Sugar. Meet you in the evening and have an amazing day.

Just like that, he walked in back into my life and it all feels so unbelievably normal. Is it good or is it as fucked up as my heart is? I have no idea where we stand but for some absurd reason, I want nothing more than to have my best friend back.

A part of me doubts that he left early so that he could skip the talk but I didn't want to believe he'd do that, he promised he would talk to me. He wouldn't break the promise, would he? What if he chickens out?

Stop fucking overthinking Chloe, you're not helping yourself!

These questions never left my mind since I woke up, probably because I fell asleep with the anxiety of how the talk would go. Picking up my phone from the counter, I scroll through the messages, one from Dan and another from Blake. Both checking on how I'm doing cause, oh well, I was occupied catching up with my best friend to message any of them yesterday.

As I replied to both of them, a message from Zach pops up on the screen making me smile and forget all the insecure thoughts – Are you free for lunch?

Checking on my itinerary, I make sure I have nothing important around lunch and message him back with a 'yes'. But, my thoughts pull back to my scheduled calendar and I open it again before breathing hard looking at the date, the day he relapsed.

The day he relapsed after moving to Illinois just a month after he left the rehabilitation center here. If I didn't know any better, I know he suffers from the anniversary effect. Oh, how I remember September 25th, the day I tried contacting him the most last year, and the day I rushed to Illinois two years ago, only to return disappointed. He didn't want to see me or rather, he didn't want me to see him in the condition he was. Maybe that was the reason, he got drunk at Lance's party.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts when I feel Snowy resting his two limbs on my thighs and licking my elbow making me chuckle before giving him some attention. I close my eyes as I rest my head against Snowy's furry head, "We've got Zach's back, right Snowy?"

I talk to him with a small smile, while he just tilts his head making me chuckle. Got to make sure he's alright at least when we meet for lunch. I can't risk losing him again.

~•~•~•

"We've finally got the complete photo series to hold an exhibit!" Dan squeals hugging me, "Yes! Finally!"

We've been working on these photo series for half a year now and now it's finally complete. It's a personal project that I started and then we both just took it to the next level when we decided to collaborate on the project, "I can't wait to start planning out the exhibit,"

I say as he releases me from a hug and drop back down into my chair, "Damn! It's already one p.m.! I need to meet Zach for lunch," I almost jump out of my seat before grabbing my car keys, phone, and wallet.