The Golden Boys

Chapter Three

All of Saturday was spent cleaning up and scrubbing the place spotless until Sam was satisfied. Cersei offered to hire cleaners, but Sam said no, so instead the girls mopped and picked up trash until ten at night. As they worked, they listened to music and talked about their night. Cersei gave a very detailed description about hers, apparently Beckett did a very good job that night and they were going out on a date next Saturday. Kenji spent the night and the morning, he helped put away some shit before he received a call from his family telling him to get home. Damien ended up arriving at the party with Andrei according to the unreliable Kenji who was very waisted at the moment and in the pants of a girl. They left no later than ten minutes after they arrived, neither of them speaking to anyone.

Her hangover fucking sucked. She drank Sam's famous concoction that she called miracle juice and many cups of water throughout the day. She threw up three times that night and woke up at five in the morning to find people stumbling out of her house or passed out on the floor. Zara thought the party was a success despite her encounter with Andrei. She texted Brooks and apologized for that night, he never replied. Was Andrei that intimidating? Why the fuck was the school afraid of him? She had to keep reminding herself that none of them knew him like she did. Or was it the other way around? Zara had asked Cersei about Brooks, her best friend saying that he and Andrei don't get along and left it at that.

She didn't tell Cersei about her little talk with Andrei and probably never will. There are just some things that need to stay hidden.

Once the girls were finished to Sam's liking, they took long showers and changed into comfortable clothes. They both passed out on the couch moments later, though around two in the morning, Zara woke up to her phone ringing.

"Hello?" she managed to say, still lying on her stomach with her feet over the edge.

"Zarita?" Enzo whispered through the line.

"Hey Enz," she said with a yawn. "It's two in the morning."

There was some rustling in the background, followed by voices shouting. "I know, I know. Can you come pick me up?"

The fear in his voice was all she needed to hear. No questions asked.

Zara immediately sat up and grabbed her car keys. "Where are you?"

Enzo sent her his location. He was less than an hour away from the city. She took her Jetta, purposefully choosing a low class car because she had a hunch that she shouldn't draw attention, and drove nonstop. Through traffic lights and past the signs, the streets slowly became more empty with less light.

She arrived at the location and found him leaning against a broken lamppost. He tried to stand up and get to her car, but immediately fell back to the ground. Zara parked the car and rushed to his side.

"Enz..."

"I know, I know. I look like shit."

Shit didn't cover it all. He had a large black eye, swollen lip, busted cheeks, and many small cuts leading from his jaw down to his neck. When Zara swung his arm over his shoulder to help him stand, he grunted in pain and she knew that he was injured everywhere. It took them a couple of minutes to get him into the passenger seat before they drove off.

"Where to?" she said after a moment of silence.

"I can't go home," Enzo muttered.

Zara nodded and drove to her place.

♛

Cersei was still sleeping when they got Enzo up to a spare bedroom. Enzo didn't want her to call a doctor, he said he could treat her own wounds and gave her a list of supplies that he needed. She gathered all of the requested things and walked in on him with his shirt off. Zara bit her tongue to hide her shock. Bruises, deep scarring that seemed months to years old, dried blood and dirt. Enzo didn't turn around, he was on the phone and speaking softly. She left the things on the table and went back to the kitchen to make herself coffee.

There was a knock on her door after she downed her second cup of coffee. Zara filled herself another cup and answered the door. Outside stood Kenji, Damien, and Andrei. They all looked worried and angry.

"He's upstairs on the second floor, third door to the right," she told them. She avoided Andrei's eyes as she spoke. It was childish, but still.

"Thanks Z," Damien said.

They all filled inside and walked upstairs to see their friend. Zara made sure to lock the door behind her and returned to the kitchen. She was glad her father wasn't home, as if he ever was, but she knew that he would not approve of her parties and late night drives. Sam slept in her own small building that was a part of the estate and couldn't hear everything that was going on in the main building. Their security was shit. Zara learned how to turn off all the cameras and replace the footage when she was in middle school so that she could sneak friends over. Her father had never found that out.

Zara's curiosity was killing her. She wanted to know what happened to Enzo and why he couldn't return home. She wanted to know why he called her and not the boys.

"He's sleeping," Kenji told her when he came into the kitchen. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat next to her. "Thank you for getting him."

"Anytime," she replied and she meant it.

Kenji took a long sip. "I know you're dying to know what happened. It's his story to tell and he'll tell you when he's ready."

"Yeah, I figured," Zara shrugged. "I'll be here when he's ready."

Damien and Andrei came down next.

"He's sleeping," Damien said and took an apple from the fruit basket. "We'll be going soon. Thanks again, Z."

Zara nodded. "You all don't have to leave. We have enough space for you to crash."

"I have to get back before my parents notice that I'm missing," Kenji said and finished his coffee. He kissed the top of her head. "See you tomorrow."

Zara had forgotten it was Sunday. She checked the clock. It was six in the morning.

"I should go too," Damien said and hugged Zara.

He and Kenji left the kitchen. It was just Andrei and her.

"Cersei's the living room," Zara told him as she put away the mugs in the sink. "I know that your mom will probably want her home."

"I'm not going to wake her up just yet," Andrei replied. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, his eyes filled with exhaustion like the rest of them. "You know how she is in the morning. The little devil."

"I thought that's what they called you," Zara muttered loudly enough for him to hear.

Andrei cracked a small smile. Fuck, that smile. "You never called me that." His voice had gone rough, a low whisper. She felt her heart hammer.

Zara gathered her strength, turned and met his stare. "What do you want from me?"

He never got the chance to answer because they heard footsteps coming into the kitchen. Cersei was awake. How the hell was she awake?

"What are you doing here?" she asked her twin brother.

"Picking you up," Andrei said with ease. "Mom wants you home right now."

"This early?" Cersei yawned and stretched her arms. She took the last mug from Zara's hands and made herself a cup of coffee. "It's six!"

"Cece," Andrei said sternly. "Don't argue with me."

Cersei rolled her eyes. "Give me ten minutes."

She handed the cup back to Zara and went upstairs to get her belongings.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Caddel," Andrei said and went to meet his sister out front.

Zara couldn't help herself but watch him walk away. Fuck his confidence and swagger. It showed in every step that he took.

"He's going to be the death of me," she said to no one.

poor enz, what do you think happened to him? and what do you think andrei wants from zara? (go ahead and be dirty minded when answering the second q 😚) honestly i love cece, always sleeping through and missing the drama.