a little death (zach abels)

chapter six - i want to get away

i glanced at my phone. 1:27 am on a friday. i looked to my right.

zach sat quietly, watching the road carefully while tapping the beat of the song on the radio on his steering wheel.

i hadn't seen him at all after the party up until today - it had been almost a week. zach felt like shit for it. claiming he "missed me so much," he finally texted me earlier today and told me he would be picking me up in an hour for our dinner reservations, which would be around 8. we sat at our table for three hours, completely immersed in conversation, until the restaurant manager had come to us and told us they were closing. it was then that i realized zach and i were the only people left to leave. once we had finally left, zach wasn't ready to say goodnight. so he drove us up to the observatory, which was also closed.

around midnight, we found ourselves sneaking in to the premises. we made our way over to the grassy area, where we lied and watched the sky for a while. he didnt let go of me at all, until he stood up and began dragging me to one of the walls of the observatory. on the wall, many people had carved their names - and so had couples. "watch this," zach whispered as he grabbed a rock from the ground. he carved our initials, a little plus sign separating them, and then added the neighbourhood logo beside it.

now, we were in his car, headed god knows where.

"you've been there before," zach said, over the radio.

i glanced at him. it was dark in his car, but i could make out the shape of his silhouetted face perfectly.

"i have too," he smiled, not looking at me.

i stared at the road. we looked like we were in the middle of nowhere.

zach sighed.

"why are you being so quiet?" he asked me.

"tired, i guess. i wasn't expecting to stay out this late," i explained.

"sorry about that," zach said, the tone in his voice changing.

i looked down to see his arm resting on the little block found in between our seats. i held his hand with mine.

"i don't mind at all," i whispered.

zach smiled. just then he pulled onto a gravel, dusty road and parked his car. he hopped out as i grabbed my bag from the back seat. by the time i turned around, he had already opened my door for me.

he held his hand out.

"my lady," he said in a terrible british accent.

i giggled, taking his hand and letting him pull me out of the car. "where are we?" i asked, looking around us. "you'll see," zach said. "you might get a little dirty though," he laughed. "wait, what?" i was so confused. instead of answering, zach took my hand and pulled me away.

"i can't believe you don't recognize this place," he smirked. we walked a bit more until we reached a bunch of trees, when he stopped and stared at me. "ready?" he asked. not even letting me answer (or ask what the hell we were doing, in this case), he dove into the bushes. i waited a bit until it got quiet and i heard him call me over from the other end.

"i am not doing this zach," i stared at the prickly bushes. "come on," he whined. "this'll be the last of sneaking in for the night, i promise." zach's persuasive words got to me. i closed my eyes tightly and shoved myself into the trees, making my way through until i felt nothing again, other than zach's arms wrapping around me.

"don't open your eyes yet," zach said, placing his hands over my face and blocking my vision. "okay turn around carefully because we're on a tight wall," he helped me pivot my body.