Sorry, I Love You.

3.19

Teddy couldn't get that conversation out of his head. No matter where he was or what he was doing, it always lingered somewhere in his brain. It was hard to fall asleep and made him feel like shit once waking up. Thinking about Zoe made his stomach hurt and looking or talking to her made him feel even worse. How did everything turn out like this so suddenly? Everything was fine. They had finally settled into a comfortable, daily rhythm. Now everything was changing again.

"I don't feel so good today," Teddy admitted as he collapsed at the edge of Zoe's bed.

Zoe turned away from her closet, where she was packing a few of her things. "What's wrong, love? Is it because we're leaving today?"

"Part of it," Teddy muttered, looking down at his hands as he fidgeted. That nagging feeling in the back of his mind bit viciously at him, reminding him to be honest with Zoe and tell her what was going on. Teddy pushed that horrible feeling back and cleared his throat. "I don't like being away from you, but Rin is going to pull us apart anyways."

"Only for a little while at a time. We'll both be working and then see each other at night. Just like normal couples."

"We're not a normal couple."

Zoe chuckled as she strutted out of her closet with a pair of heels on hand. She tossed them into her suitcase, grabbed one half of it, and slammed the whole thing shut. "I suppose we aren't. Still, you're not gonna lose me. I promise. We'll see each other all the time."

Teddy sighed and watched Zoe struggle with her suitcase. She didn't have to pack everything, since they would only be working for the summer, but she still wanted to take a lot of clothes. Too many clothes. She had to sit on the suitcase just to get the zipper to close two inches. It still wasn't enough, but Teddy enjoyed watching her bounce on her suitcase to make it close. She looked so determined and helpless at the same time. She was adorable.

"Need help, babe?" Teddy asked with a smirk.

"Nope," Zoe instantly replied, turning over the sprawl on top of the suitcase and drag the zipper around it. "Don't worry about me. I got it."

"Looks like you do," Teddy teased.

Zoe huffed as she flipped her hair out of her face and climbed off her suitcase. "Anyways, try not to worry. That's what I'm doing. Every part of me is dreading the fact that you have to return to my mother with me, but... we'll be okay. You just have to remind yourself that we'll be okay. It's the only thing keeping me sane right now."

Teddy hesitated before asking, "are you scared of your mother, Zoe?"

Zoe gave a thoughtful pout as she crossed her arms and looked around her room. She eventually shrugged. "I'm scared of the things she's capable of. I'm scared of the things she might be willing to do to you. But I'm not scared for me."

"You're not? Even though she controls everything in your life and uses you for her own gain?"

Zoe awkwardly laughed and shrugged again. "I mean... I don't know. It's tough always doing what she says, but she's only as intense as she is because she loves me. She wants the best for me."

Teddy could feel a frown tugging at his features but tried not to show how upset he was by that sentiment. Even if he thought Zoe was wrong, he didn't want to insult her. He was only asking her about this because of Hiro's stupid guys. He wanted to know how Zoe felt. If she hated her mother, it would be much easier to get behind a plan to kill her. Unfortunately, it didn't look like Zoe did hate her. Not as much as she should anyways.

"You truly believe that she loves you?"

"Yeah," Zoe gulped. "She's my mom. I mean, I know it might not look like she loves me to some people, but I know her better than anyone else does. She's the one that raised me after all. She wouldn't go through all the trouble she does if she didn't love me."