Mary Mae and the Boys

Chapter 6

"Mary Mae, I like you," Zach's words came out so quickly.

"I like you too Zach." Mary Mae responded.

"Well good, but I meant, I like you as more than a friend." Zach said. Mary's expression changed about twenty times in the instant that Zach said those words to her. This was probably the most straight-forward he had ever been.

It was as though someone was spinning a wheel and it merely kept spinning until it landed on the final emotion: anger.

"Why are you telling me this? Why now? You've had our whole lives to share this information."  It infuriated her. It was like she was the shirt that her mother never wore and once somebody else wore it, she wanted the shirt back.

"I just, I didn't know how much you going on your first date would affect me..." Zach shrugged, his brown eyes boring into Mary Mae's green ones.

"So you're jealous?"

"Yes."

"Well Zach, if I'm going to be completely honest, I really like Gilbert, he's mature and a real gentleman, and we're going on our second date tomorrow. I'm not sure what you are expecting from me."

"I... I don't know either Mars, that's why I'm so.... I don't know how to deal with these emotions."

"What are you feeling Zach, maybe we can talk through it." She watched him fumble with the strings of his black hoodie as his expression darkened.

"Mary Mae," Zach said, "I want to kiss you, and hug you, and be with you. It's not too early in your relationship with Gilbert to change your mind."

Mary Mae stared at him in utter disbelief. He was... unbelievable.

"Zach, please leave. Can we talk about this tomorrow? I'm just not in the mindset for this right now, I'm sorry." Mary Mae said, refusing to make eye contact as she looked at Zach's shoes. His checkered vans were worn out.

"Mary...." he whispered, leaning toward her. She felt a storm brewing inside her and she didn't want Zach to be there when she exploded.

"Zach, please just leave." She said, still refusing to look at him.

"Uh... Mary are you still planning on coming to our movie tonight?" He asked, standing up and placing his backpack on. She shook her head as Zach's tall figure slowly walked toward the door, expecting her to say something yet still afraid to talk. He'd need to talk to his therapist about this this week.

She had no idea who to talk to now that things had imploded with her best friend. She would've considered talking to Luka or Brian, had they not been best friends with Zachary too.

She rolled up into a ball on her bed and tears started to flow. She was conflicted and bothered by how manipulative Zach could be. Perhaps she was overthinking, regardless, she felt upset and angry.

He chose the absolute worst time to share this information. Mary couldn't even talk to her mother since she was going to be at work until nine a.m. of the following morning.

She decided it would be a good idea to go for a walk, but she was afraid to walk alone, especially when she didn't own a taser or pepper spray. She felt uncomfortably alone. The entire house was empty and while that had never bothered her before, the feeling was exaggerated now. She was struggling to process the information.

To: Gilbert 😍
Hey Gil are you free tonight?

He responded almost instantly.