I climb off Zack and kiss his shoulder as I wrap the sheet around me. Zack's sweaty chest heaves with his deep breaths, his forearm rests across his eyes. Zack's hand searches for something, and when it finds my thigh, he gives me a gentle squeeze.

“I’m going to get in the shower,” I tell him. “We have to be at Matt’s in about an hour.”

Zack groans. “Call and cancel. I’d rather spend the rest of the night in bed.”

I grin and kiss his lips. “How about you just join me in the shower?”

Zack moves his arm from across his face and sits up on his elbows. “Oh yeah?” He asks, smirking.

“I’m sure Matt and Val will be okay with us being a little late,” I wink, dropping the sheet from around my chest and crawling off the bed.

After the shower, Zack remains in the bathroom to shave and I head into his bedroom to get dressed. I steal one of his Vengeance University shirts out of his closet and pair it with distressed denim jeans and a pair of Chuck Taylors.

Zack walks out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist just as I'm lacing up my shoes. “God damn, just when I thought you couldn’t get any sexier.”

I laugh and kiss him. “Get dressed, we’re already late.”

Zack pulls on a pair of boxers and jeans before searching through his closet for a shirt. “Hmm, I think I want to wear that shirt,” he smirks, turning to face me. “Guess you’re just going to have to take it off.”

I laugh again and slap Zacks hands away as his fingers find the hem of the shirt. “You have more than one of these in there!”

“Yeah, but I want that one specifically,” Zack pouts.

I shake my head, grinning as I push him away. “Too bad, so sad. I’ll be downstairs.”

Zack groans. “Fine.”

I head downstairs but I'm only down there for a brief few seconds before Zack follows behind me, pulling a Friday the 13th shirt over his head. “Let’s go, jerk,” he grins, grabbing his keys and wallet.

I laugh, following him towards the door. “I’m a jerk?”

Zack opens the front door for me. “Yes,” he answers, slapping my butt as I walk through.

“Are you going to be able to keep your hands to yourself tonight?” I smile as we make our way to his car.

Zack shrugs as he walks over to the driver’s side of the car. “Why should I have to?” He asks with a smirk. “I mean, this is our first official outing as a couple with our friends, I should be able to touch you as much as I want to.”

I laugh and agree with him as we get into the car. Zack pulls out of the driveway and the flirting doesn’t stop as we make the five-minute drive to Matt’s house. Zack is parked and I'm unbuckling my seatbelt before I notice how many cars surround Matt’s house.

I scrunch my brows together. “Does Matt have a dining room the size of a football field or…”
Zack laugh. “No, it’s a party.”

I frown. “A party? You said it was dinner.”

“Did I? Zack asks as he gets out of the car.

I step out of the car too. “Yeah,” I follow him to the trunk. “You did.”

Zack shrugs and opens the trunk. “Well, I’m sure there will be food in there somewhere,” he grins before pulling out a bottle of whiskey and tequila. “You still like tequila, right?”

“Yeah,” I answer slowly. “Do you always carry bottles of liquor in your trunk?”

Zack laughs, handing me the bottle of tequila. “Only always.” He grabs a green tin case that has a lock on it and shuts the trunk. “You ready?”

I shake my head but reply with, “yeah, I guess.”

Zack frowns. “What’s wrong?”

Again, I shake my head. “Nothing, I just don’t understand why you told me it was a dinner with our friends when it’s really a house party.”

Zack sits the bottle of Jack and tin down on the car. “I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t think it was a big deal.” He grabs my hands and brings them to his lips and kisses them.

“It’s not,” I tell him, and it wasn’t. I just didn’t understand why he lied to me.

Zack slightly cocks his head to the side. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” I assure him.

“Okay,” he smiles. Zack grabs the handle of the tin and the neck of the bottle with one hand and grabs my hand with his free one.

Zack leads me up the lighted pathway to Matt’s front door. The music gets louder and once we reach Matt’s door, Zack enters without knocking. There are people everywhere with either a plastic cup or a bottle in their hand.

“Zack!” several people call out when Zack steps into the house.

“Hey, guys,” Zack grins. I tighten my grip around his hand as we make our way through the crowd. The music is loud, but I can tell people are whispering and I know exactly what it’s about.

“Hey, Z! Where’s Gena?” A red-headed girl asks, stepping into our way.

I hear Zack sigh. “Hey, Tabitha.”

Tabitha looks at me and then down at my fingers laced with Zacks. She snarls. “Oh. So, you’re Sheridan.”

“Don’t start, Tabitha,” Zack warns. “Believe it or not, what happened between me and Gena does not concern you.”

Tabitha scoffs. “Gena is my best friend.”

“I don’t care,” Zack says rudely. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, my girlfriend and I are going to go find our friends.”

Tabitha stares at Zack for a long moment before she turns her attention to me. “Skank,” she spits before roughly pushing past me and disappearing into the crowd.

This is why I didn’t want our first outing as a couple to be at a party. Too many people know Zack and Gena as…well, Zack and Gena. It’s only been a couple of weeks since their split, so I can see where it would seem that we’re rushing into something. People probably think Zack actively cheated on Gena with me. People probably think I’m the homewrecker. In a way, I know I am.

“Don’t worry about her,” Zack whispers in my ear.

I give him a weak smile. “Or them?”

Zack looks over his shoulder as I motion to a small group of people staring at us and attempting to cover their moving lips. “Or them,” he tells me, kissing my cheek.
Zack leads me throughout the rest of the house until we find Matt, Jimmy, and Brian in the back of the house surrounded by a cloud of cigar smoke.

“Zack, finally!” Brian says. “Did you bring it?”

Zack grins, raising up the green tin. I narrow my eyes and I’m about to ask what’s in the tin, but I’m interrupted by Jimmy. “Yes!” He yells, “Let’s go!”

For the first time since we entered the house, Zack let’s go of my hand. “I’ll be back, okay?”
I open my mouth to protest, to beg him not to leave me alone in a house full of people that undoubtedly hated me, but he’s already gone. “Okay, I guess,” I mumble to myself.

“Ignore them,” Matt tells me. He stares at me for a moment before pulling me into a hug. “Sheridan, how the fuck are you?”

“Hey, Matt,” I grin, hugging him back. “Finally, a friendly face.”

“Oh, come on, I’m sure that’s not true,” he tells me.

I laugh dryly. “Yeah, not many people are a fan of me. Either because I left town unannounced or because I came back and broke Gena and Zack up.”

Matt shakes his head. “Nah, Zack and Gena were on the road to breaking up anyway.”

I give Matt a weak smile, hoping he is right but realizing that doesn’t make me any better of a person. “Maybe.”

Matt smiles and wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go make you a drink. Once you get drunk you won’t care what any of these assholes think.”

I laugh, agree and we make our way through the crowded house and to the kitchen. Tabitha stands near the red party cups, sipping on her own. We make eye contact and she smirks.

“Oh, look, the little whore has already moved on to another band member. Talk about a gold digger.”

“What the fuck?” Matt asks. “What’s your problem?”

“Matt, don’t,” I mumble. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Look,” Matt says to Tabitha, “you will not come into my house and treat my friends like that, do you understand?”

Tabitha scoffs. “Matty…I thought we were friends? I thought Gena was your friend!”

“She is.”

“Well, then how can you hang around this skank that Zack has occupied himself with?” She asks, crossing her arms.

“I don’t know how you can call Sheridan a skank because of something that’s happened after Zack and Gena broke up when you have literally tried to sleep with him while he was dating Gena.”

Tabitha looks at a loss for words. I don’t know if I should smile because Matt told her off or worry that she has a thing for Zack. “Matt, I have never –”

“Don’t fucking lie to me. Zack is my best friend. He always tells me about the women that desperately throw themselves at him, especially when they’re his girlfriend’s slutty friends.”

“Slutty?” Tabitha repeats.

Matt nods. “You heard me. Get out of here, you’re killing my buzz.”

Tabitha hesitates but then storms off and Matt turns to me. “Sorry about that. I’m not sure who invited her.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s fine,” I reply.

Matt grabs the bottle of tequila from my hands and a plastic cup. “Do you want it straight or do you want me to make you a mixed drink?”

“Uh…I’ll just drink it straight. What do you have for a chaser?” I ask. In response, Matt points to the refrigerator. I open it and it’s full of canned soda, juices, and beer. My hand instinctively reaches for a can of sprite, but then instead, I grab a can of beer.

“Great choice,” Matt smiles, handing me my plastic cup of tequila.

I take a sip of it, ignoring the burn in my throat. “Hey. Where did Zack and the others go?”

“Uh…” Matt answers, I give him an odd look. “Sheridan –”

Before Matt can continue, the kitchen door opens and someone stumbles in. “Sheridan! There you are!” Val pulls me into a hug.

I laugh and wrap my arms around her drunken body. “Hey Val, are you having fun?”

“So much fun,” she slurs. “Hey baby,” she pulls away from me and pulls Matt into a kiss. Suddenly she pulls away and turns back to me. “Oh, we have to go find Michelle! She wants to see you, come on!”

Before I can resist, Val grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the kitchen. Val plows through the groups of people and I avoid their stares and glares until we reach a clearing. Michelle is leaning against the wall, a bottle of vodka dangles in her hand, but she seems more sober than her twin.

“Sheridan!” Michelle smiles. “Double-fisting it, huh?”

I laugh, raising up my cup and can, “Well, it looks like I'm way behind, so I better catch up.”

“Well, someone started super early, so if you’re trying to catch up with her, you’re in trouble,” Michelle laughed, gesturing to Val.

I laugh too. “I didn’t realize I was coming to a party until we got here tonight. Zack told me it was just dinner.”

“Well, the guys do consider their liquor dinner on some nights,” Michelle grins. “Are you hungry? They’ve got snacks in the room behind me.”

I shake my head. “No, an empty stomach will help me get drunker faster,” I tell her, taking a gulp of beer.

“That’s my girl!” Val laughs. “Come on, let’s go play beer pong, you can be my partner!”

“Oh,” I laugh, grabbing Michelle’s hand as Val grabs mine and we head back into the sea of people. “If I’m playing beer pong, I'm going to need a partner a little less drunk.”

Beer pong is successful, and I begin to feel tipsy after the first few games. After my final game, I look around the room, hoping to see Zack standing off somewhere with his bottle of Jack in his hands, but he’s still nowhere to be found.

“Michelle, do you know where Brian is?” I ask her, knowing Zack and Brian are probably together somewhere.

Michelle shrugs. “I haven’t seen him since before you got here. He said he was going to go enjoy some cigars with Jimmy and Matt.”

I chew on the inside of my cheek. “Alright, I’m going to go find Zack.”

I walk through the house, heading to the back room Zack led me into when we arrived, but before I can reach my destination, Tabitha steps into my path once again.

“Leave me alone, Tabitha,” I tell her, pushing past her. When I do, she grabs me.

“Oops,” she smiles, as she pours the contents of her plastic cup down the front of my shirt. The liquid soaks through and the shirt clings to my stomach and chest.

I stand there, for a minute, completely shocked. “Are you fucking kidding me?” I yell.

“Leave Zack alone, skank. He deserves better than some whore that used to fuck her brother.”

“What did you just say to me?” I ask her. Surely, she didn’t just say what I thought she did.

Knowing she has struck a nerve, Tabitha smiles. “Oh, yeah, Gena told me you were so jealous when she started seeing your brother that you put her in the hospital.”

I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me. Gena was going around telling people that lie again? “Get out of my way.”

I push past her roughly, ignoring her cackling laugh as I make my way through to the nearest exit, which leads to Matt’s empty backyard. I reach into my pocket and pull out my pack of cigarettes, and with shaking hands, light one. Leaning against the wall of the house, I close my eyes and inhale the cigarette. The cool air feels good on my hot, face. I pluck the cigarette from my lips and let it dangle from my fingers. I can feel the energy from the party inside radiate from the walls and wish some of the energy would transfer to me.

Why would Zack bring me to a party of people he knows are close to Gena? Why would he then leave me alone at that party? More importantly, how many people have heard the story of me and Eli that Gena twisted? How did Gena even know that part of that story? Did Val or Michelle tell her? Brian? Or was it Zack?

I bring the cigarette back to my lips and inhale. As I’m exhaling, my cigarette is pulled from my fingers and I feel a weight pressed against my body.

“Ew, why are you all wet?” Zack asks, pulling away from me.

“Where the hell have you been?” I ask him as he sticks my cigarette between his lips.

Zack shrugs. “Been around, making conversation. What happened? Why are you upset?”

“Why am I upset?” I scoff. “Zack, you brought me to a house full of people that loved you and Gena together. And you just left! As soon as we got here you disappeared and left me to handle it by myself!”

“Did someone say something to you?” Zack asks me, stomping out the cigarette.

I shake my head and push past him. “Just forget it. I’m going to walk back to your place.”

“Sheridan,” Zack starts, turning and grabbing my arm. “Wait.”

I turn to him and for the first time since we got here, I can see his face, and dilated eyes, clearly. “Are you on something?”

“What?” Zack asks harshly. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“What is in the green tin you brought in, Zack?”

“None of your fucking business,” Zack tells me. “Don’t fucking turn this around on me because you’re upset that someone said something to you at this party.”

“Are you…are you kidding me?” I ask him, he doesn’t reply. “Forget it, I’m going home.”

Zack rolls his eyes. “You didn’t drive from L.A.”

“Then I’ll call someone to come get me!” I tell him as I walk away.

Zack follows me. “Oh, you mean like Tobias?”

“You’ve got to let that go, Zack. We went on one date while you and I weren’t even dating. You were literally living with your girlfriend – the girlfriend whose friends are inside and blame me for splitting the two of you up!”

“Fuck what they think, Sheridan,” Zack tells me. “I didn’t think you were the type to care about what others think.”

“You mean, like you? Is that why you do drugs now?” I ask him. My eyes burn from the frustration, but I pray the tears don’t fall.

“I enjoy them recreationally, it’s not like I'm an addict,” Zack tells me.

I know he’s on something because of how he’s acting and his dilated eyes, but when he admits it, it still shocks me. “What are you on?”

“I took a few pills, did a couple of lines…”

“A couple of lines?” I ask loudly. “Of what, cocaine?”

Zack groans. “Please don’t make this a big deal, Sheridan. It’s just for recreational use.”

“You cannot use cocaine recreational, Zack!”

“Obviously, you can.”

I stare at him for a moment before shaking my head. “I can’t talk about this anymore,” I tell him before taking a few steps away from him. “I have to go.”

Zack doesn’t call me back to him, nor does he come after me. I can’t believe Zack does cocaine. Did Gena know? Was she okay with it? How long has this been going on? I make my way out of the backyard and through the front yard to the road. I pull my phone out of the back pocket of my jeans and find Rachels name in my contacts. I hesitate, wondering if I leave tonight if I’ll ever come back. I’m unsure if this means Zack and I have broken up, but I know if I leave tonight it’ll make matters worse if that’s even possible. After a minute, I put my phone back in my pocket and begin to walk in the direction of Zack's house.

Notes

Thank you to overneaththepathofmisery for commenting on the last chapter.

Title credit: Between the Trees “The Greatest of These (A Little Love)”