Chapter 8

• "Fucking asshole! You.. piece.. of shit!"
• "Damn.. you, Zachary!"
• Zachary was fighting with three other men on the grass. Punches and kicks were thrown everywhere, but despite the number, Zachary wasn't the one to be left behind. Zachary was outnumbered, but the three were clearly outmatched. Zachary was winning the fight.
• It didn't make Kathryn happy.
• "Zachary! Stop!" Kathryn shouted.
• Zachary turned at Kathryn, surprised to see her standing there. A fist flew to his face but Zachary was quick to dodge and kick the attacker's stomach. "Fucking shit."
• The shaking three men staggered getting up, their faces looked like they couldn't fight anymore and Zachary, being the cruel evil man he was, was ready to attack again.
• "Zachary! I said stop!" Kathryn shouted and began walking towards Zachary.
• Zachary released the collar of one of the three men roughly, earning an animalistic groan from the latter.
• "You.. sick.. bastard," the highly beaten up man on the grass muttered.
• "Zachary! Zachary, let's go," Kathryn pulled Zachary's arm when Zachary was about to attack the man on the ground again.
• Kathryn glanced down at the men and winced at the horrible sight, they looked like they wouldn't be able to get up any time soon. They'd probably be in the hospital after Kathryn and Zachary left. Well, they should be! They badly needed to get treated!
• Soon, Kathryn left and walked towards the parking lot, with Zachary trailing from behind. Zachary kept staring at Kathryn's back, an uncomfortable feeling deep inside him forming as he watched Kathryn in a few feet distance.
• Zachary abruptly stopped and just stared at Kathryn who was fumbling for her car keys. Zachary realized what the uncomfortable feeling was.
• Kathryn...
• Kathryn might disappear again.
• Zachary felt his head throbbing, probably from the fight he just had a while ago. He kept his stead, eyes still looking at Kathryn's back, afraid he would leave him again.
• To his surprise, Kathryn's hand pulled him and made him sit next to her inside the car. Kathryn's eyes kept on the road ahead, not giving a single glance at Zachary. Zachary, on the other hand, kept his eyes on Kathryn.
• The car stopped and Zachary couldn't help but feel his blood throbbed in anger as he realized Kathryn didn't bring them "home" but rather, to a hospital.
• "You should get that treated and don't forget to-"
• "I don't want to." Zachary turned to the other side, not facing Kathryn. Kathryn sighed and opened her mouth.
• "Zack-"
• "You know how I hate those people in white coats touching me," Zachary was facing the window, a pout threatening to form on his face.
• Zachary noticed Kathryn became silent.
• "I hate hospitals, Kathryn. Don't tell me you've already forgotten that," Zachary felt his heart make a sudden twinge. He didn't expect it to be this hard. To be talking to Kathryn about his likes and dislikes wasn't this difficult before. Just thinking how Kathryn was slowly forgetting all about Zachary as if he was some bad memory, Zachary felt being beaten up a hundred times harder than what the three men a while ago did.
• Kathryn's hands gripped harder on the steering wheel. Zachary was too occupied with himself; he didn't notice how Kathryn's fingers trembled at his harsh tone.
• An awkward minute of silence fell between them before Kathryn finally started the engine again. Zachary looked like a child looking outside through the window, with his head rested on the headrest of the passenger seat.
• The different lights from windows of tall buildings caught Zachary's attention, the sight brought a direct nostalgia inside his heart. He wondered how many happy couples were being warmed up with blankets and coffees on their hands while they were cuddling and kissing with the TV screen open, too consumed to their own little planet to think of the outside world. Just like how he and Kathryn used to do.
• Zachary shut his eyes close. He didn't like being this sentimental. He wasn't up for any of this emotional dramatic shit.
• Soon, they arrived at Zachary's apartment. Zachary had to secretly smirk as he knew there was no way Kathryn would leave without having Zachary get treated. She has always been this sweet worrying type who couldn't really leave Zachary when he was physically wounded.
• Zachary let Kathryn wander inside his apartment, the younger going straight to the bathroom, and started rummaging through the white cabinets there. Zachary watched as Kathryn headed to the kitchen too, Kathryn being too familiar to know and get everything from everywhere Zachary, the owner himself, wasn't too familiar with. It made Zachary's heart swell.
• "This will hurt a bit so try not to move too much," Kathryn warned beforehand, grabbing a cotton bud with an applied ointment.