Zach took a long, deep breath, looking out the window again. What difference did it really make? It was pretty damn obvious he was nowhere close to finding the love of his life, much less starting a family with them.
Jesus fucking Christ,I sound like a fucking girl.
Zach shook the thoughts from his head. Since Megan left him, he’d been a mess, to the point that he was now depressing himself over his best friend’s non-existent family life that he’d fabricated in his own mind. Cael had even let him do pretty much whatever he’d wanted since the breakup, up until this morning. Which meant Zach had spent the last two months wallowing, hating everything about himself.
“You sure you’re alright, Pook?”
“Yeah.” Zach paused. “Actually, no. I’m not. But fucking whatever. I’ll get over it.”
“I know it sucks, man. That’s the benefit of never getting attached. You have nothing to lose.”
Zach didn’t answer. Of course it fucking sucked, but it wasn’t losing Megan that he was that upset over. It was more of the feeling that what he wanted was out of reach, and he was about ready to give up and stop chasing it.
When Cael didn’t say anything more, Zach took the opportunity to move the conversation away from himself. “So, how is Gramms?”
“She’s starting to act like her old self again.”
That made Zach smile. “Good. Though that doesn’t surprise me. She never was one to let anything keep her down for long.”
Gramms was Cael’s grandmother on his mom’s side. Quirky and a bit of a rule breaker, she was a hippie at heart and always outspoken, but very protective of her family. Cael had definitely inherited her protective nature.
Some four months ago, she’d had back surgery and had been recovering well until a stroke hit her out of nowhere. Doctors suspected that a small clot resulting from the surgery had traveled to her brain. Following the stroke, Gramms had spent a few weeks in the hospital and since her release, Cael had been helping her out more often than usual, including assisting her at home with physical therapy.
Cael smiled, keeping his eyes on the road. “Doctor says she can’t lift anything heavy yet, but gave her the all clear for her to resume most of her normal activities.”
“What does she want moved out of the basement?”
“Just some old boxes. Not sure what’s in them or what she wants to do with them.” Cael slowed the truck and pulled into the parking lot of the Waffle House. With about ten cars in the parking lot, Zach crossed his fingers they wouldn’t have to wait for a table.
“Now, here’s the deal,” he said as he parked and killed the ignition.
Resting his forearm on top of the steering wheel, Cael half turned his body to face Zach and stretched his arm across, grabbing the back of Zach’s seat. He leveled Zach a serious, contemplating look.
“Starting now, all this mopey shit is over. You probably haven’t noticed, but I’ve been keeping everyone off your ass lately.”
Zach knit his brow. “You have?”
“Yeah. Mostly your parents and sister. They’ve been itching to comehelpyou. I told ‘em to just leave you be for a while and let you deal. Figured you wouldn’t want them hovering and constantly asking if you wanted to talk about it. Geez, what is it with women and always wanting to talk about shit? Your dad was cool. He gets it. But your mom and sis? They were on me every day for updates. Fair warning, though. I gave them the all clear today. I think Abbey might pounce. Knowing her, she’s already been by your house looking for you.”
“In that case, I think I owe you one, or ten.”
Zach thought back to the few brief phone calls he’d received and the one visit a couple weeks after everything had fallen apart. Cael had been there when they stopped by. He’d been the one to play host that day too, keeping the conversation light and off Megan as much as possible. Zach remembered his dad asking if he was going to try to fix things between Megan and him, but before he could answer, Abbey had stepped in and said something about how it wouldn’t have worked, that Zach had done nothing wrong, and that it wasn’t something anyone could fix.
Fuck, was Abbey in on it too?
Zach’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and the screen flashed with a text notification from his sister. “Speak of the devil.” He huffed a quiet laugh.
“Let me guess,” Cael said. “Abbey.” It’s not even remotely a question.
“Yep. She wants to know where I’m at.”
Zach typed back a quick response.
Zach: With Cael. Going to breakfast, then Gramms. Text you when I’m back.
Mere nanoseconds passed before her reply came back.
Abbey: You better.
