Chapter 2

Zach sat in the kitchen, watching his parents argue. It had been a month since they announced their divorce, but the tension was still thick in the air. His mother, Anne, was in tears, pleading with his father, William, to reconsider.

“How can you be so heartless, William? We have been together for 25 years, and you just want to throw it all away?” Anne cried, her voice shaking.

“Anne, please calm down. We’ve been through this already. The decision has been made,” William replied, his voice firm and unyielding.

“But what about James? He needs his family. He needs both of us,” Anne pleaded, referring to their younger son, who was away at college.“I’m sure he’ll understand. He’s a smart kid. He’ll get over it,” William replied, his tone dismissive.

Zach sighed and shook his head, feeling frustrated with his father’s lack of empathy. He knew his mother was the one who had been there for him and his brother all these years, while his father was always too busy with work to pay attention to them. It wasn’t surprising that William didn’t care about his troubles.

As his parents’ argument continued, Zach’s mind drifted to his own problems. He had been talking to a girl named Emma lately, and they had hit it off. But he couldn’t help feeling guilty about it, especially when he saw how much his girlfriend, Emily, cared about him. He knew he had to tell her about Emma soon, but he didn’t know how to bring it up without hurting her.

Just then, Emily walked into the kitchen, her eyes red and puffy. She had obviously been crying. Zach felt a pang of guilt in his chest, knowing he was the reason for her distress.

“Hey, Emily. What’s wrong?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.

Emily looked at him with tear-filled eyes, her voice shaking. “I saw your text messages with Emma. You’ve been talking to her a lot, haven’t you?”

Zach’s heart sank. He knew this was coming, but he had hoped he could have avoided it. “Emily, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just…”

“Just what, Zach? You didn’t mean to hurt me? Is that supposed to make it okay? We’ve been dating for six months, and you’re already talking to another girl?!” Emily exclaimed, her voice rising with each word.

Zach tried to calm her down, but it was too late. Emily was beyond reason. She slapped him across the face, leaving a red mark on his cheek.

Zach stood there, stunned, as Emily stormed out of the kitchen. He touched his cheek, feeling the sting of the slap. He knew he deserved it, but he couldn’t help feeling angry and hurt at the same time.

As he watched his parents continue to argue, Zach couldn’t help but feel like his world was falling apart. His family was breaking apart, and his relationship with Emily was on the rocks. He felt like he was losing control of everything he held dear.

But he knew he couldn’t give up. He had to find a way to fix things, to make everything right again. He took a deep breath and stood up, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

As he walked out of the kitchen, Zach couldn’t help but wonder what the future held for him. Would he be able to save his relationship with Emily? Would his parents be able to work things out? Only time would tell.

Zach couldn’t focus on anything as he sat in his room, staring blankly at the wall. His mind was consumed with thoughts of his family and his recent encounters with Emma. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right, that there was a storm brewing beneath the surface.

The tension between his parents had been palpable lately, and Zach had overheard enough arguments to know that things were not going well. He knew that their wealth and status had always put a strain on their marriage, but it seemed to be reaching a breaking point.

Anne and William, Zach’s parents, had been arguing more and more frequently, with each fight more heated than the last. Zach had even caught them arguing about his cousin James, who had been caught embezzling money from the family business. His father had shrugged it off, saying that James would get what he deserved, but his mother was adamant that they should help him.

Zach didn’t know what to make of it all. His parents had always been distant and uninvolved in his life, more concerned with their own affairs than with his well-being. But as their arguments grew louder and more frequent, he couldn’t help but feel caught in the middle.

On top of all of that, there was Emma. She had come into his life like a whirlwind, leaving him confused and disoriented. They had grown close quickly, but Zach couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. He knew that his girlfriend, Emily, was jealous of their friendship, and he had caught Emma looking at him with a strange intensity that made him uneasy.

***

As the days passed, Zach found himself growing more and more distant from Emma. He was rude to her, ignoring her texts and avoiding her at school. He even started dating Emily more seriously, hoping that it would help him forget about Emma.

But the more he tried to push her away, the more Emma seemed to cling to him. She would show up at his house unannounced, begging to talk to him. Zach tried to be firm with her, but she was persistent.

One day, Zach and Emma were sitting on his porch when Emily pulled up in her car. Zach could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong. She stormed up to him, her face red with anger.

“What the hell is going on here, Zach?” she asked.

Zach tried to explain, but Emily cut him off.

“You’ve been avoiding me, spending all your time with this girl,” she said, gesturing angrily at Emma. “What’s going on?”

Zach tried to calm her down, but Emily was beyond reason. She lashed out at Emma, accusing her of trying to steal Zach away from her. Emma, hurt and confused, stood up and slapped Zach across the face.

Zach was stunned. He had never seen Emma like this before, and he didn’t know what to do. As she stormed off, tears streaming down her face, Zach couldn’t help but wonder where everything had gone so wrong.

He knew that he had hurt Emma badly, and he didn’t know if he could ever make it right. But as he sat there, feeling the sting of her slap still ringing in his ears, he knew that he had to try. He couldn’t let this be the end of their friendship.

As Zach watched Emma disappear down the street, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread. He knew that things were only going to get worse from here. But he also knew that he had to keep moving forward, no matter how hard it might be.