Chapter 437 - Just Us

Chapter 437: Chapter 437 - Just Us

Roxie woke sometime late in the morning with Zac still beside her.

For several seconds she stayed exactly where she was, facing the wall with his arm resting across her waist. Her eyes felt swollen and dry, and the moment she became fully awake, everything from the night before came back so clearly that her stomach tightened.

Dylan’s house.

The door.

Their faces together.

Zac coming home hours later and telling her there was nobody else.

He was still asleep behind her.

Roxie kept staring at the wall.

She had wanted him home so badly last night. She had waited for every sound outside the apartment, watched the clock until she stopped understanding the numbers, then cried against him when he finally came back.

Now she almost wished he had already left for football.

It would have been easier to think without him touching her.

Zac shifted behind her and slowly woke. His arm tightened around her for a moment before loosening again, and Roxie could tell from the way he moved that he was checking whether she was awake.

"Morning."

Roxie swallowed.

"Morning."

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before moving closer and pressing his mouth lightly against the back of her shoulder.

Roxie closed her eyes.

She wanted to move away. She also wanted him closer.

Zac seemed to feel something was wrong because he stopped after one kiss. "You sleep okay?"

"A little."

"Your eyes still hurt?"

Roxie nodded.

His hand moved carefully over her stomach. "I thought you’d sleep longer."

She finally turned enough to look at him.

His lip looked worse in daylight, swollen at one corner with a dark bruise beginning underneath. Roxie stared at it longer than she meant to.

Zac noticed.

"It looks worse than it feels."

Roxie looked away again. He had gotten that because he defended Dylan.

Then stayed with him.

After the kiss.

She pressed her lips together.

Zac watched her for another moment before sitting up. "Coach moved film later. I told him what happened, so I’ve got a little time."

Roxie nodded.

He seemed to wait for something more.

When she gave him nothing, he got out of bed and started pulling on clothes.

"I’ll make breakfast."

Roxie looked at him.

"You don’t have to. You can go for practice or sleep a little longer."

"I know. It’s been a while since I cooked for you." He said it quietly, almost carefully with a small smile on his face.

Zac made breakfast while Roxie sat at the small table with coffee she barely touched. The apartment stayed too quiet, and Zac seemed increasingly aware of it because he started talking more than usual.

He told her Coach had been pissed when he heard about the fight at Dylan’s house. He talked about film later and the upcoming game. He told her one of the receivers had messed up his shoulder during practice and would probably sit out for a few days. Then he shifted to cheer and asked whether Roxie planned to attend the next open practice before the skills evaluation.

Roxie answered when she needed to.

"Yeah."

"Probably."

"I’m still going."

Nothing rude.

Nothing enough for Zac to accuse her of being angry but nowhere near enough for him to relax.

Roxie could see him trying. She wanted to try too but she is tired. Her whole body felt heavy after all the crying and the sleep she barely had.

Every time the silence stretched too long, Zac filled it with something else.

He asked what skills she wanted to work on. He reminded her that she had already hit the liberty after months away from cheer. He asked whether she wanted him to help with conditioning later.

Normally Roxie would have teased him for just wanting to watch her dance for him. Normally, they were all over each other.

Today she only stirred her coffee.

Zac eventually stopped talking.

The silence that followed was worse.

Roxie could feel him looking at her from across the table.

She kept her eyes on her mug.

"How’s Dylan?" she finally asked.

The question changed something in Zac’s face.

It was small.

A pause before he looked back down at his plate then he took another bite and chewed longer than necessary. "He texted this morning. His aunt’s coming to deal with the rest of the family and force them back home."

Roxie nodded slowly. "He’s not coming here?"

Zac looked at her again. "No."

That answer was quicker.

Roxie lifted her cup and took a small drink.

"Why?"

"I think he needs some space. He’s a bit emotional last night."

The response sounded normal enough.

Maybe it was.

Roxie looked at Zac over the rim of her mug. "From everybody?"

Zac’s hand slowed around his fork.

"For now, probably."

There it was again.

That little hesitation.

Roxie set her mug down. "Is he still mad at me?"

Zac frowned. "Why would he be mad at you?"

Roxie shrugged and tried to make the question sound lighter than it felt. "Because of before. When I thought he still liked you. Maybe he thinks I made things weird."

Zac went completely still for a moment.

Barely long enough for anybody else to notice.

Roxie noticed.

"He’s got bigger things on his mind right now," Zac said eventually. "I really don’t think he’s thinking about that."

Not an answer.

Roxie looked down at her coffee again.

She felt something cold settle in her stomach.

Zac kept eating, but the talking stopped.

Neither of them mentioned Dylan again.

After breakfast, Zac cleaned everything while Roxie moved to the couch. She turned on the television mostly because the silence was becoming unbearable, but she barely understood what was playing.

A few minutes later Zac joined her. He sat beside her instead of at the opposite end, massaging her feet like he usually did.

He had been careful with her all morning, like he was trying to figure out what would make things better without asking too directly.

As far as Zac knew, this was still about their fight.

The phone.

The hormone comment.

Him leaving while she was upset.

Roxie almost wished that was still all she was angry about.

Zac rested his arm along the back of the couch behind her.

For a while he said nothing.

Then he started talking again, quieter this time, telling her something about practice next week and whether he might be able to get away early one afternoon.

Roxie answered when he asked something directly, but most of the time she just listened.

Eventually Zac stopped in the middle of whatever he was saying.

"Rox."

She looked at him.

"You’re barely talking to me."

Roxie’s throat tightened.

"I’m tired."

"I know, but you’ve been tired before."

She looked back at the television.

Zac shifted closer.

"Are you still pissed about last night?"

Roxie could feel him waiting.

She wanted to say yes.

That would have been easier.

Instead, she shrugged.

"A little."

Zac nodded slowly, like he had expected that.

"I figured."

His hand moved toward hers where it rested on her thigh. He didn’t grab it immediately. He touched her fingers first, giving her enough time to move away.

Roxie stayed still.

Zac threaded his fingers through hers.

"I’m sorry."

Her chest tightened.

"For what?"

"For being an asshole."

Roxie stared at their hands.

"That covers a lot."

He almost smiled, but Roxie didn’t, and the expression disappeared from his face.

"I mean last night. The fight. I was pissed and I kept making it worse."

Roxie swallowed.

"You were pissed because I didn’t trust you."

"Yeah."

The answer hurt more than she expected.

Zac squeezed her hand lightly. "But I shouldn’t have talked to you like that."

Roxie stayed quiet.

He leaned closer.

"I hate this."

"What?"

"You barely looking at me."

Her eyes finally met his.

For one terrifying second Roxie thought the question was going to come out.

Did Dylan kiss you?

It was right there.

She could ask.

Zac was inches from her face and she could finally end this.

Instead, her throat tightened and nothing came.

Zac mistook the silence for something else. He lifted his hand and touched the side of her face carefully. "Come here."

Roxie should have moved away.

She didn’t.

Zac leaned in and kissed her.

It was soft at first, almost hesitant, like he was waiting for her to decide whether she wanted it.

Roxie stayed frozen for a second.

Then she kissed him back.

The second she did, Zac relaxed.

His hand slid behind her neck and he kissed her again, slower this time, the same familiar way he had kissed her hundreds of times before.

Roxie’s eyes closed.

For a few seconds she let herself have it.

His mouth was warm.

His hand was gentle against the back of her neck.

He smelled like soap and the coffee he had been drinking.

This was Zac.

Her Zac.

The boy she knew.

The boy she loved.

Roxie moved closer without thinking.

Zac pulled her onto his lap, his arms settling around her waist as he kissed her again.

Then the image came back.

Dylan’s face against his.

Roxie broke the kiss.

Zac immediately stopped.

Her eyes filled so quickly she barely had time to turn her face away.

"Hey."

Roxie pressed her lips together, but the tears were already falling.

Zac’s expression changed completely. "Roxie. Babe."

She wiped at her face angrily.

"I’m fine."

"No, you’re not."

"I said I’m fine."

Zac wrapped his arms around her anyway, and this time Roxie didn’t fight him. The second her face hit his shoulder, whatever control she had left disappeared.

She cried quietly against him.

Zac held her tighter, one hand rubbing slowly along her back while the other stayed in her hair. He looked genuinely worried now.

"Baby, what’s wrong?"

Roxie shook her head against his shoulder.

She couldn’t tell him.

Not yet.

If she asked, everything changed.

If he answered wrong, she couldn’t put the answer back.

Zac pulled back enough to look at her face.

"Why are you crying?"

Roxie wiped beneath her eyes and tried to force herself to calm down.

She needed something.

Anything.

An explanation he would believe.

"My period’s coming."

Zac stared at her.

Roxie gave a weak shrug.

"You know how I get before my period."

The regret on his face was immediate.

"Fuck."

Roxie looked away.

Zac touched her cheek.

"No, I’m serious. I’m sorry about what I said last night."

She didn’t answer.

"I shouldn’t have blamed shit on your hormones."

Roxie swallowed hard.

Zac kept his voice quiet. "Even if you’re more emotional right now, that doesn’t mean everything you feel is because of that. I was pissed and I used it against you."

That almost made her cry harder.

Because he sounded sincere.

Because he was apologizing.

Because he was sitting there trying to fix the wrong fucking problem.

Roxie leaned into him again before he could see her face fall apart.

Zac wrapped both arms around her.

"I’m sorry."

She nodded against his shoulder.

He kissed the side of her head.

"I love you."

Roxie shut her eyes.

"I love you too."

That part was still true.

Maybe that was why everything hurt so badly.

Zac stayed with her until she stopped crying. After that he barely let her move away from him. He kept one arm around her while they sat on the couch, occasionally kissing her forehead or her temple like he was trying to reassure her without starting another conversation.

Roxie let him.

She even rested against him.

She hated how much she needed it.

When Zac eventually left for film, he stood by the door longer than usual.

"I’ll come straight home."

Roxie looked at him.

"You can go wherever you need to go."

His expression tightened.

"I want to come home."

She nodded.

Zac crossed the room again just to kiss her.

Roxie let him.

His thumb brushed beneath one of her eyes before he pulled away.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Then he left and the apartment became silent again. Roxie stayed on the couch exactly where he had left her.

For most of the day, Zac had tried to make things normal.

He made breakfast.

He talked until Roxie barely gave him anything back.

He apologized.

He kissed her.

He held her while she cried.

He told her he loved her.

He never went to Dylan.

And he still never told her about the kiss.

Her phone buzzed beside her and Roxie looked down.

Dylan.

Her stomach tightened before she even opened the message.

Can we talk?

Roxie stared at the screen.

Another message appeared a few seconds later.

Just us.

She sat straighter.

The typing bubble appeared, disappeared, then came back again. Finally another message came through.

Can you meet me at the coffee shop near you? I need to tell you something.

Roxie stared at it until the screen dimmed in her hand.