Rock bottom? Well, I like climbing!

Arya:

I watched in dismay as Ethan stormed out of room.

Caleb winced and looked after him sympathetically. "Damn that's gotta hurt."

Renée frowned and tilted her head to the side a little. "What're you talking about? Is Ethan okay?"

I glared at her. "We met a few weeks ago and really hit off. His name is Derrick." I mimicked in a ridiculous, high-pitched voice, reasons for which were not entirely clear. Maybe it's the amount of caffeine in my system. "I'm such a big blockhead!"

She stared at me. "Umm... are you okay?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Nick hissed, stepping forwards. "Why would you say something like that?!"

"Well, why would he care, huh?" Renée fired back, crossing her arms and adopting a defensive stance.

"'Cos he likes you. Duh." Caleb rolled his eyes, sipping tea from a pink 'You go girl!' cup.

"Oh please." Rey scoffed. "He doesn't!" She said in a slightly sad tone.

"Even a blind person can see it." Jacob quipped in with a laugh.

Rey paled. "Wait... really?"

I smiled. "Have I ever lied to you, Rey?"

"Well-"

"Rhetorical question." I snapped. "Now go after him!" Nodding, she did so.

"Now if this were a movie or a book, there would be dramatic music being played at this moment. Followed by rain and a desperate love confession. Then, there'd be an accident and one of them would die." Caleb commented. We stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing." I sighed, massaging my temples. A wave of nausea swept over me. I forced a smile. "Now who wants to play Twister?"

X

"Move ya behind Caleb! It's in my face!"

"My arms hurt!"

"Somebody spin the bloody thing!"

"I don't think I can hold up for much longer!"

"Noooo! Marigold don't move!"

"Who's idea was it to play this stupid game?!"

My muscles strained as I reached for the yellow spot with my right hand. I couldn't hold on. With a violent curse, I flopped on the ground, taking everyone with me. Panting heavily with smiles on our faces, we laughed and decided that one round was enough. Nick packed the game away, while Zack browsed through Netflix for a good movie. Caleb was in charge of getting the snacks- a job he took way too seriously, carefully scrutinising each packet trying to deem which ones were considered 'worthy' in his eyes.

I was engaged in a conversation with my siblings, deeply regretting not contacting them more often. However, despite the lively atmosphere, a heavy pit of dread burrowed deep in my stomach, a constant reminder of the report I'd received earlier today.

"-Arya? Are you okay?" Marigold touched my shoulder in concern, studying my composure. I forced a tight-lipped smile and nodded, trying to distract her with a question about the upcoming wedding. Fortunately, she took the bait and I pretended to listen and care about the menu for the event.

Zack's ringtone cut through the din. He glanced at the Caller ID and his eyebrows shot up. "It's Blake." I too was surprised. Around three years ago, Blake moved back to Brazil to be with his family. Although we'd stayed in touch, the great distance caused us all to be slightly estranged with him.

"Hey Idiot." Zack said cheerfully, a small grin on his face. "In trouble already?" His happy expression dropped quite quickly and he excused himself from the room, muttering darkly into his phone.

A few minutes later, Zack came back. His expression was troubled- like a storm brewing over the horizon. Sensing the unease, Jacob and Goldie made their excuses and left, making plans to try and meet up later in the week. I was particularly looking forward to meeting my future sister in law.

"What's wrong?" Kit asked Zack cautiously. See, I loved Zack to death- he's my best friend and I would go to the ends of the Earth for him. However, he had the tendency to get a bit... well, cranky and dangerous sometimes. One time, Caleb 'accidentally' left some of Sparklemuffin's droppings on Zack's bed. So Zack tied him up to a tree and had four Rottweilers to guard it for the entire night.

"Nothing is wrong." He answered slowly, standing up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

X

I traced the printed words of the novel that provided me a much needed escape from reality. A small sigh of contentment pushed passed my lips as I relaxed deeper into the covers and turned the page. My eyes absorbed the story, the billions of nerve cells in my body transmitting signals to my brain. It's remarkable, isn't it? How we all read the same book by the same author, and yet each one of us has a different idea of what the character looks like in our minds. I found it almost incomprehensible how all these thoughts in my brain, my feelings, the mental images I have are just the result of billions of nerve cells and electrical signals.

A creak dragged me back to the real world. My head snapped up and I gripped the dagger I kept under my pillow in case of intruders. A sliver of light pierced the darkness of the room. I saw a hunched over figure and relaxed slightly.

"Zack?" I called softly, pulling the covers away to make space on the bed. "What's wrong?"

He said nothing. But I could see his slightly bloodshot eyes and shaking body- he was barely holding it together. He shuffled to the bed and dropped down on the space next to me. Without warning, Zack reached over and pulled me into a strong embrace, burying his face in the crook of my neck and letting out choked, strangled sobs.

"It hurts." He whispered hugging me tighter. "It hurts, Ree."

"Shhh." I replied, patting his back and rubbing my hand through his slightly untidy hair. Mental note- take boys to haircut soon. "You don't have to talk right now- just let it all out."

Once he had calmed down, he pulled away and furiously wiped away his tears. "I-it's my Mum. She and Dad w-were going home from some stupid party. Dad's enemies ambushed them- he managed to get free b-but she's in a coma."

I inhaled sharply. "Oh God..." I'd never met Alonzo Valencio or his wife Marie, but I'd heard a lot of things about them- well, more about Alonzo if I'm being honest. Unsure what to do, I shuffled next to Zack awkwardly. "W-will she be okay?"

"I don't know." He sniffed, shaking his head. He pulled at his hair and exhaled forcefully. "I don't know.... And it scares me, Ree. What if she doesn't make it? I- I don't think I'll be able to handle it. I haven't seen her in almost a year a-and my last words to her were 'I hate you'. I still remember the look on her face...I'm such a bad son."

"Oh Zack..." I mumbled and then cleared my throat. "You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

He shot me a half-grin. "You been reading C.S Lewis?"

"Pretty good author." I replied. We lapsed into comfortable silence.

"Hey Ree." He said suddenly.

"Mmh?"

"If you had one wish- just one- what would you wish for?"

To be cured. I thought instantly, but I couldn't say that. "An unlimited supply of Skittles."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You already have that... We're on the brink of debt thanks to you."

I nudged him. "Hey that's not completely true! I think Ethan's obsession with fancy cars is what brought us in debt."

"True." Zack conceded and we laughed.

"What would you wish for?" I asked quietly.

"For us all to be happy." He answered without missing a beat. "I want the future to be like this- where we have each other. Always." He suddenly looked at me, a fragile vulnerability swirling in his blue eyes. "Arya... promise that you'll never leave me."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I promise."

What a lie.

End of chapter 9.

Qotc:

1. Thoughts on Zack?

2. What do you think will happen to Arya?

3. How are you finding the book so far?

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)