Evelyn

Over the next few days I couldn't help but think about mine and Zack's last encounter. What was it he wanted from me? I didn't have any idea and if I was being honest I wasn't sure Zack knew either. I was insanely frustrated with him. It didn't matter anymore because finally, I was back home in New York. I could finally let my guard down and I was grateful.

However, I knew Zack would be in town soon for the award show he and the rest of the band were scheduled to perform at. I would just have to find out which venue the award show was being held at and then avoid that side of the city altogether. New York City was a big enough city to be able to avoid him this time around. Not to mention if he and I did happen to run into each other it would be his fault. I gave him California; the least he could do was leave New York to me.

I knew if I did happen to see him this time around I was going to avoid him at all costs. I didn't care where it was or who he was with, I wasn't going to go anywhere near him. As a matter of fact I might not even go anywhere except work and straight home just to be safe.

---

A couple of weeks passed and I didn't have much time to worry myself about Zack or the award show. The tattoo shop had been so busy, it was like it was before I left for Huntington Beach and I was thankful for it. I was glad I finished Gena’s tattoo before I met her at the family reunion because I knew how awkward it would have been between us. Actually, if I hadn't finished the tattoo on her back I would have talked to my boss about it and transferred Gena to one of my coworkers instead. There was no way I would’ve been able to work with her after finding out she was engaged to Zack. And there was definitely no way I would be able to work with her after I found out she was cheating on him.

I walked into the shop with a grin on my face. Last night was the award show and I successfully avoided Zack! Today he would probably be hungover from the awesome after parties he probably attended and would be on his way back to Huntington Beach or wherever else he was going, I didn't care as long as he was leaving New York.

"What are you so cheerful about, Evelyn?" Our apprentice, Jacey, asked me.

I shrugged, not wanting to get into it. Plus, would anyone even believe me if I told them I was happy the award show was over because how my rockstar ex-boyfriend could go back to where he came from? No, probably not.

I walked back to my office and opened my appointment book. I had one appointment at ten which was scribbled in by my boss, Frank, and all of my other appointments had been marked out with the words: "reschedule ASAP" next to them.

I eyed my planner suspiciously before picking it up and taking it to the front where Jacey still stood. "Hey, Jacey do you know why Frank rescheduled all of my appointments and penciled this one in?" I showed her the book.

"Oh, yeah. Apparently some guy that said he's a really good friend of yours wanted to surprise you. I'm not sure what happened but he and Frank went into Frank's office for a while and then Frank came out and grabbed your planner and went back into the office with him. They were still in there when I left last night." She told me.

Her story didn't make much sense to me and raised more questions than it resolved. The only reason Frank would ever reschedule appointments would be if I asked him to or if he talked to me first. And what friend of mine would pay a thousand dollars just to surprise me?

"Do you know who..." I started but she interrupted me.

"Here he comes. You know, he looks exactly like Zacky from Aven..."

She kept speaking but suddenly the only think I could hear was my blood pumping. The shop door dinged open and I was sure I was going to pass out. I couldn't bring myself to turn around. Was this some sort of sick joke? The person who walked in cleared their throat and my blood ran cold. I slowly turned around hoping this was a joke. He couldn't be here. He was supposed to be nursing a hangover on the way back to Huntington.

But then there he was.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

Jacey laughed. "Evelyn, he's your appointment you were just asking about."

That's not what I meant and Zack knew it. "We need to talk." He told me.

"I'm working," I replied and walked away and back into my office. I wasn't surprised when I turned around and he was standing in the doorway behind me.

"I know," he told me. "That's why I booked your entire day." He stepped into the room and closed the door. "This conversation is costing me thousands of dollars."

I scoffed. "Is that supposed to impress me, Zack?" I groaned and sat in the chair behind my desk. "What do you want?"

"To talk, I thought that was obvious," he sounded irritated but he still smiled.

I rolled my eyes. I knew he was trying to get under my skin and I was allowing him to succeed.

"I meant what tattoo do you want?"

He began to look around the room and after he spotted the book with pre-designed tattoos he picked it up and began flipping through its pages.

What the fuck was he doing here and what the fuck did he want from me. He said he paid thousands of dollars for a conversation with me - what the fuck did he mean by that exactly and the better question is why?

He tossed the book down on top of my desk. "Number 666," he told me.

I looked down and doing the number and it's corresponding tattoo next to it. "That will take like an hour, Zack. You have eight so pick something a little more complex." I rolled my eyes. This had to be some sort of joke or bad dream.

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll use one hour so you can do your job but then we're going to do something I want to do the next seven hours."

"Are you on drugs?" I blurted out. It was an honest question since his behaviour was off and he did have those after parties last night.

He sighed and his entire body language changed suddenly. "No," he told me as he sat down in the chair across from me. "I want to have a conversation with you and I knew you wouldn't see me unless you were forced to."

"That's not true," I told him.

"Liar," he rolled his eyes, but I wasn't lying.

I wouldn't admit it, I even had trouble admitting it to myself after our last two encounters, but if he would have just called me and asked to see me I would have made it happen even if I had to travel across the country. I meant it when I said a part of me would always love him.

"Why even try to talk to me if you're not going to believe a word I say?" I snapped. He didn't say anything, he just stared. I groaned. "Fine, come on." I stood from my chair and walked to the door.

Zack followed me out and into a different room. "Sit." I demanded and I pulled out carbon paper from a drawer. I dug through a separate drawer and found the card with tattoo number 666 in it and began to transfer it from the card and to the paper.

"Are you not good enough to just freehand it?" Zack asked. My back was to him but I could sense the smug smile he must've been wearing.

Of course I was good enough to freehand it. This shop wouldn't have hired me if I wasn't good enough to freehand something as simple as a couple of bats. I just chose not to, most clients liked seeing it on their body before it was inked into their skin.

"No, I'm not," I replied sarcastically. "Maybe I should go get one of my coworkers and you can spend the next eight hours with them."

"Chill, I'm just giving you a hard time." He sighed.

I turned to him. "Where do you want it?" I asked. He took a look at his already covered arms and then said "here" as he pointed to a small space. I washed my hands and pulled on gloves before I began to prep the area. I then stuck the carbon paper onto his skin and slowly pulled it off.

"Is this okay?" I asked him and he nodded. "What are we supposed to do for the next seven hours after I finish this?"

He shrugged. "I thought we could go eat. Maybe go get a drink."

I looked at him like he was crazy. "What? I thought you wanted to talk."

"I do," he told me as I got my Hun and supplies situated. "But were going to have to eat at some point."

I stood from my stool, pulling my gloves off and threw thin in the trash. The thought of having a meal with Zack made me nervous and I could feel myself get sweaty just thinking about it. I pulled my hair up into a bun and then washed my hands again and pulled on a new set of gloves. I sat down next to Zack and noticed he was all of a sudden looking sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked, "Is the placement okay?" He nodded but didn't say anything. "Okay," I rolled my eyes and started the gun.

"Is this where you witnessed Gena cheating on me?" He asked softly.

I shut the gun off and looked at him but he was avoiding my eyes. I didn't even realize I brought him to the same room until he asked.

"No," I lied. No reason to make him more upset. I glanced into the hallway and then back at him. "This is where I found out you were engaged though." I turned on my gun as the words slipped out hoping he wouldn't reply. Why did I tell him that?

He chuckled and I brought the gun down to his skin. "Who warned you?"

I didn't answer him at first but then I said, "You know who." And he did, we both knew Matt was the only one who ever told me anything about Zack.

Zack fell quiet and I didn't pursue a conversation with him. I was still insanely confused as to why Zack was here and why he was being so nice to me. I hoped for reconciliation for twelve years and I prayed that's what this was. I didn't want to ask him about it just yet though. I didn't want to ruin it if that's what this was and if it wasn't, well…I didn't want to look stupid. Again.

Zack and I didn't talk much while I tattooed him and I was okay with that. I had a lot weighing on my mind and the silence - besides the gun buzzing - helped me sort through it.

Finally, the first hour was over and the tattoo was completed. "Not bad," Zack said. I rolled my eyes. It was flawless but I wasn't going to argue with him.

"So, where do you want to go eat?" Zack asked.

"I don't," I admitted while cleaning up my area. I felt Zack's eyes on me. But I avoided his gaze.

"Okay," he said slowly. "Then what do you want to do?"

I sighed and walked out of the room and back into my office-like room. I picked up my purse and dug into my wallet. I pulled the few hundred dollars that hid inside out and offered it to him.
“It's not the whole thousand that the day session cost you, but it's a start. I'll get you the rest when I can but something tells me you're not hurting for money." I told him.

He raised his brow at me. "What are you doing?"

"I can't spend the whole day with you, Zack," I replied. I wanted to but I couldn't. I looked away from him.

He refused the money and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "Nah," he said nonchalantly, "I’d rather spend the day with you."

"You can't just buy a day session from the shop and expect me to go run around with you. Those sessions are for tattoos, you can't just buy my free time."

I expected him to retaliate but he didn't. "I do have this tattoo I really want and it would probably take all day but I don't think letting you tattoo me while you're pissed off is a good idea. That's why I suggested else do something else and your boss already gave me the okay. You can call and confirm with him if you'd like," he pulled out his phone and offered it to me.

"You have my boss's phone number?" I asked him.

He laughed. "You'll have to come to dinner with me if you want any answers."

I nibbled on my lip. It was all suspicious but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to see where this was headed. I wanted to reconcile, didn't I? Maybe he did too. What if that's what this was and I didn't go through with it?

I stared at him trying to decide if I should do with him or not. I wondered if I could sneak away and call Whitney for advice and Matt just to see if he knew what was going on in Zack's head. Zack didn't look like he was leaving my side anytime soon so I decided against the phone calls. Maybe his break up with Gena made him see more clearly and now he wanted to be friends. I didn't know what to think. And I knew I would hate myself in the morning if I didn't find out.

I sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine. Let's go."

Notes

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Title credit: Mest "Lost, Broken, Confused"