Hide Away With Me

Chapter Four

Zane woke to the sound of his phone alarm screeching at him. It was time for work. Danm. He shifted in his bed, reaching for his phone to silence the offending noise. Some nights he just did not sleep well. Sleep had come to Zane far too late last night, and morning far too soon. He threw his arm over his eyes and silently begged the day to rewind. But it would not, and he knew this. With a sigh, he moved his arm and focused his eyes on the ceiling, then groaning he sat up. Zane checked his phone, hoping to see a text or a missed call. Nothing. He had not heard from his friend for the last two days and he was beginning to worry. It was not unusual for Ryan to be unreachable for a few days, but it often meant he was in trouble. It also did not help that the last time they saw each other their relationship changed. Zane had fallen asleep easily that night and had been happily surprised to find that Ryan had not run away in the middle of the night. He knew he had romantic feelings for his friend but never thought Ryan would allow him to act on those feelings. Had he gone too far?

Zane rubbed his face and pulled up the calling app on his phone. He pulled Ryan’s number from his recently called list and hit dial. The line was quiet for a second before the ever-too-familiar voice echoed through stating the voicemail was full. He tossed the phone at the foot of the bed and watched as it slid over the edge, clattering to the floor.

He flopped back onto his pillows, grabbing one to cover his face. There he lay for a few minutes contemplating what to do about Ryan ignoring him and silently hoping his friend was all right. Zane sighed again, he had been doing that a lot these last two days, he missed Ryan. Why wouldn’t he answer the phone? A knock at his door startled him enough to make him jump a toss the pillow to the side. He half sat up trying to see who was at the door.

“Who is it?” He sounded annoyed and he knew it. Whoever was at the door needed to just go away. The sound of keys made him groan, lying back and replacing his pillow over his face. The door opened and closed; keys landed on the table next to the door. The smell of his sister’s perfume wafted through the small apartment. Lavender, and coconut. He felt the bed dip as she sat next to him.

“You look pitiful dude.” Emilya’s voice was flat and unimpressed like always and Zane did not need to look at her to know what expression she wore. She would have black eyeliner on with a natural eyeshadow making her brown eyes stand out with their scolding irritation twinkling under her eyelashes, her lips, smooth with black lipstick, slightly turned up at the corners. No, not in a smile, more in a scowl. Perfect eyebrows raised, the left one slightly higher than the right. And he would bet his life she either had her arms crossed or sitting clasped in her lap. Zane frowned to himself and dared to look at the woman sitting next to him. He peeked from under the pillow. Yep…… that’s accurate. She looked exactly how he expected. Zane started pulling the pillow back over his face, but Emilya was faster and yanked the pillow away, tossing it to the floor on the other side of the bed.

“We are not doing this today, whatever it is. Not. Doing.” She enunciated those last three words with an open-palmed thump to Zane’s forehead.

“What the f**k is your problem, Em?” Zane’s voice came out exasperated, he was going for angry, he failed.

“Really? Bro, you have been acting weird for two days. Two whole days. You will not tell me what is going on and honestly, I am more than a little concerned.” She crossed her arms, attempting to be intimidating, and she was Zane would not lie, but at five foot three inches she was often underestimated.” Get your ass up, I wanna go shopping and you are going with me.” That was not a question or a suggestion, it was a non-negotiable statement.

Zane rolled his eyes. “Fine.” It was his turn to be deadpan. “I am not going to have fun though.” This was most likely an unintentional lie, he always had fun with his sister. Well, this one anyway. He had two sisters, Emilya, who was the same age as himself, and Helena, who was nineteen. People say that Emilya is hard to have a good relationship with because of her blatant honesty, but Zane loved that about her. The first time he had told her about what his birth mother had done to him she responded with a firm “I hope the b***h died slowly and painfully.” They were eleven. She was not pleased when he told her his birth mother was still alive. She is and always would be his safe place.

“Yes, you will.” Another matter-of-fact statement. Zane chuckled, watching Emilya hop off his bed and head for the door. Grabbing her keys, she said before exiting, “Do not worry, I am sure he is just busy or lost his phone. You two cannot go too long without each other.”

“I thought you didn’t know what was going on.” Zane shouted at the back of his sister’s head as she shut the door on his statement.

The small shopping center that made up the Hills Gate Mall left much to be desired Zane had decided. It was less of a mall and more of just a bunch of stores located on the same lot. The parking lot was packed as usual, with little high schoolers walking and laughing, moving from store to store. The local gaming shop had people lined up for a new computer game release. Jenny’s Salon had customers coming and going as they passed. Em said something about needing to get her nails filled. Zane answered with a hum but otherwise did not engage. Emilya was annoyed now. Zane did not say anything during the drive and now he was ignoring her, so she stopped mid-step letting him bump into her back and just about fell over trying not to accidentally crush the smaller woman. He regained his composure quickly.

“What the hell,” Zane asked slightly out of breath. “Why did you stop like that?”

“Why weren’t you paying attention?” That was all Emilya said before continuing on her way, point having been made. Zane pouted, rubbed his chest where he had collided with Emilya’s head and followed his sister into Gabe’s Tats.

“I thought we were shopping.” Zane looked at his sister quizzically, not understanding why they were standing in the only tattoo shop within a hundred-mile radius.

“That is exactly what I am doing. Gabe started carrying body jewelry and I need a new piercing or two anyway. Besides you look like you could use a tat to improve your mood.” Zane shook his head and rolled his eyes. He did not understand why this was always her solution to bad moods.

“Whatever.” Was all he could say in response. He did not feel like getting a tattoo or even being out shopping. Emilya browsed the body jewelry display for around twenty minutes, picking out a couple of pieces here and there before deciding on which new piercing she would be adding to her already expansive collection. She had tried but failed to convince Zane to get another tattoo, then saying she needed new shoes, Emilya headed out to the next shop.

The whole trip lasted about two hours and to be honest, Zane did end up having a good time. They had stopped for ice cream and visited a few other stores. Zane bought three new shirts and another pair of jeans since he was down a pair after ripping them on something at work. All in all, it was not a bad day. Emilya drove home jamming to the song she had blaring out of the stereo speakers while Zane watched the trees fly by lost in his own thoughts. As much fun as he had today, his mind was still focused on Ryan. The younger man still was not answering his phone, three days of no contact and Zane was sure he had messed up.

Zane walked through the house to get to his apartment since his sister parked in the garage, stopping by the kitchen to snag one of his dad’s beers and a bag of chips from the pantry. Emilya headed upstairs, talking to someone on the phone and waving to Zane as they both slipped off into isolation as they often did. Zane did a quick check of the washer to make sure it was empty so he could wash the clothes he had just bought before making his way out the French doors leading to the back patio. He made his way down the walkway up to his front door, managing to get his keys out of his pocket before noticing the door was ever so slightly ajar. Confusion spread across his face as he cautiously pushed the door open while pondering who could have access to his home other than his immediate family. Stepping in, he noticed one thing out of place; someone lying in his bed. Zane closed the door softly, not wanting to disturb the person sleeping there, as he was pretty sure he knew who this was. He walked over to the bed and pulled the covers just enough to see Ryan sound asleep with new bruises on his jaw. Zane sighed, placing his snack down on the end table, kissing Ryan on the forehead, and deciding to take a shower.