Fish Tale 2: This is Letting Go
Chapter Three: Don't Take What You Don't Need From Me
A drop in the ocean, A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert
But I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven
-Ron Pope
(A Drop In the Ocean)
October 2012
:*:*:*:
Will loosened his tie as he shut the door to his and Viney's small apartment. He felt annoyed and frustrated. His latest interview hadn't gone very well and he was beginning to lose hope in ever finding a job. He knew he couldn't really afford to think like that— he had a family to look after. But it was just so damn hard. He hadn't had to try this much in high school, and suddenly found himself trying to balance school on top of finding a job.
And he needed a real job, not just bus-boying at the nearest restaurant. But all he could manage to find were internships, and those didn't pay at all. He needed to be able to support his family, without money coming in from his parents.
His mother had practically cried when he'd insisted he and Viney get their own place. She wanted so badly for him to still be a little boy and couldn't face him being an adult. And she refused to stop giving them money and spoiled Jason as much as she could. She'd also made it clear that if Viney or Will were ever too busy, she would be more than happy to look after their son.
Sure, she'd become a little overbearing, but he knew she had good intentions. It just got on his nerves a bit. He wanted to be independent, and it was almost like she wasn't letting him. Plus, she was forcing him to still attend college, as though he didn't have enough to deal with. But he supposed she was right, he needed and education to get a decent job.
"Will?' He heard Viney call from the kitchen. "Is that you?"
Will sighed and rubbed his forehead. He didn't want to face her. He didn't want to tell her, again, that he hadn't gotten the job. He was sick of seeing the disappointment in her eyes. All he wanted to do was make her happy. And he couldn't even make enough money for them to do so.
"Yeah," he called back, dropping his bag on the floor and removing his coat. He walked as slowly as possible towards his wife, who stood over the stove, stirring something in a pot. It had surprised him when he'd learn she was a good cook. But it was nice to always have a hot, homemade meal to come home to. She was too good for him, he knew that.
He wrapped his arms around her waist from the back, resting his head on her shoulder. "Hey baby," he said, kissing just below her ear. "That smells good."
"Mmmh," She said, smiling.
"Is Jason asleep?" Will asked.
Viney nodded. "For once he wasn't being difficult. I think we're finally past the nights of not sleeping."
Will smiled to himself. Jason had been sleeping through the night for a while now, but getting him to sleep had always been a nightmare. Now, it seemed, they didn't have to worry about either.
"How was your interview?" She asked and he could hear the hope in her voice. He knew he was about to let her down, and he almost wanted to lie to her about it. But he didn't dare. Will knew the number one cause of relationship failure was lying, and he wasn't about to say goodbye to the only girl he'd ever loved.
"Not good," he said quietly.
She breathed out a bit heavily but didn't say anything. She never did, she'd always force a smile and tell him everything would be okay. But she was just saying that to make him feel better, she never meant it. He knew she was worried about money and jobs. She wanted the best for Jason, and she couldn't give it to them if they didn't have enough money to pay the rent.
Right now, Viney was the one working. She worked shifts at a fancy restaurant down the road that paid amazingly in tips, but both of them knew it wouldn't cover the cost of raising a child. Will felt awful, he didn't want her to have the full plate, between raising Jason and working. But he was trying his best, and he hoped she knew that.
"That's okay," Viney said, turning towards him with a pretty smile. "There's always another one."
Will nodded and interlaced his fingers with hers, leaning in close until their foreheads were touching. "I love you," he said to her, making sure he kept eye contact. He wished there words to say how much he loved her but he had to assume that she just knew. She had to know how much she meant to him.
She smiled again, and this time it wasn't forced. "I love you too."
She pressed their lips together gently, one of her hands placed firmly on his chest. "We'll be okay," she said, withdrawing from the kiss.
Will smiled and nodded again. "Of course we will be."
:*:*:*:
"That was so much fun!" Cammie yelled as she giggled uncontrollably. She held on to Jessica and Annabel so that she wouldn't trip or fall over, her drunken feet failing to carry her across the hallway of the dormitory. "I don't know why we don't do that more!"
"Because you're such a goody-two-shoes," Annabel replied, laughing herself, just as drunk as her friend. "You never want to come out with us!"
Cammie rolled her eyes as the three of them staggered towards their room. "Did you see that guy I was dancing with?" Cammie asked. "He was so cute!"
Jessica was probably the most sober of the three but she was still having a hard time containing her laughter. "Yeah," Jessica replied. "Real cute."
"He was!"
"I know, but he didn't seem like you're type."
Cammie glanced over at her friend as they reached their dorm. "How do you know my type?"
"Tall, dark, bright green eyes?" Jessica asked.
Cammie frowned. "Zach."
Jessica got the key into the lock and opened the door, allowing Annabel, Cammie, and herself to stumble inside.
"That's who I'm talking about."
Cammie fell back on her bed. "I miss him."
"Don't be mopey Cammie," Annabel insisted. "I feel great!"
"You didn't just get dumped," Cammie muttered, feeling her joyful buzz wear off.
Annabel shrugged and fell onto Jessica's bed. She lived in the next room over but her roommate was kind of a weirdo she often stayed in Jessica and Cammie's room.
"That's true."
"The guy you were dancing with was not only blonde but kind of short and stocky. I mean he was cute, but imagine my surprise when I saw you grinding your ass all over him," Jessica inputted, returning the conversation to its original subject.
Cammie sat up quickly. "Was I? I didn't mean to act like a slut."
"We never do sweetie," Annabel said. "But alcohol does things to our bodies we just can't resist."
Cammie and Jessica giggled, knowing Annabel had hooked up with some guy in the back alcoves of the club. There was no telling what she'd done back there.
"It's true," Cammie said once she'd stopped laughing, glad the conversation had been steered away from Zach. She couldn't stand to think about him at the moment and talking about him made her want to cry her eyes out. "Ahh!" She screamed. "That was so much fun!" And all of them fell into another fit of giggles.
Suddenly, Cammie's phone began to ring and she looked at it, a bit confused as to why someone was calling her so late. But she was up, so she might as well answer.
"Hello?" she said as she watched Jessica and Annabel scoot together, trying to listen to Cammie's conversation.
"Cammie?" Jace's frantic voice said. "I didn't mean to wake you up or anything but there's something I have to tell you and it just couldn't wait. I just need you to know—"
He was rambling, which meant he was keeping secrets. He'd never been a good liar.
"Jace," Cammie cut him off. "It's fine, I was up."
"Oh yeah," he said, sounding more normal. "Insomnia, duh. Well sorry anyway."
Cammie laughed. "It's okay. So what's up with you?"
Annabel and Jessica had grown bored with Cammie's phone call and had wandered over to the speaker system in the corner. The next thing she knew the two girls were dancing to the beat of loud rap music. She giggled at them, only because she was too drunk to realize it wasn't funny.
"Cammie?" she heard Jace say from the phone. "Where are you?"
"I'm in my room," she said but her words were beginning to slur and she felt very tired for the first time in a long time. "What's up?" she asked again.
"Are you drunk?" he asked, sounding vaguely concerned.
Cammie shrugged.
"Cammie?"
Oh yeah, he couldn't see her. "Maybe a little bit."
"Wow. I didn't even think you did that anymore."
"I don't," Cammie said. "But tonight was so much fun! I wish you could have been here Jace-y."
"I would love to," he said. "I saw a picture of your roommate on Facebook; she's really hot. Plus you get kinda handsy when you're drunk."
"I do not!" she snapped but was laughing, knowing it was true. "And you think Jess is hot?" she asked, giving a big yawn. Jessica had heard that and turned down the music, looking at Cammie with big eyes. Cammie looked around for Annabel and saw her passed out on Jessica's bed. That was fast.
"Yep," Jace replied.
Cammie covered the phone. "Jess! Jace thinks you're hot!"
Jessica laughed and made a thrusting motion with her hips.
Cammie laughed and put the phone back to her ear. "I think she likes you too."
"Really?"
Cammie nodded. "Yeppers."
"What I wouldn't give to see you right now. I miss you fish face."
Cammie smiled to herself, glad that one of her boys from back home still cared about her. Will ignored her calls and Zach dumped her but Jace was always there. Sometimes she wished she liked him more than just platonically. He was perfect in every way possible. Damn Zach and his sexy smirk.
"I miss you too, Sunshine," she said, using her much loved nickname for him. "You should come visit me with Macey, Bex and Liz."
"They're going to see you?"
"Ya," Cammie said. "I can't wait!"
"Alright," Jace said and Cammie could hear the smile in his voice. "Maybe I will."
"Yay!" She shouted, and Annabel stirred in her sleep. Jessica gave her a weird look but began to change into her pajamas. "I love you Jace-y."
"I love you too, Cammie," he said.
"Okay," she said, her voice sounded way higher pitched than it usually did. "I'll talk to you later then."
"Wait, Cammie I needed to tell you something."
"Yeah?" she answered but her voice was so sleepy.
He could tell she probably wouldn't even remember this conversation in the morning. There was no use telling her about Zach now. And for the first time in a while, she actually sounded happy. He didn't want to be the one to ruin it. He'd tell her later, when she was ready.
"Never mind," he said. "I'll talk to you later."
:*:*:*:
The next morning Cammie sat on the floor inside the girl's locker room. The locker room was empty by now, as practice had ended over forty five minutes ago. But Cammie still sat with her back against the cold lockers, wrapped up in her towel.
She had Zach's mother's letter in her hands and she just couldn't let go of it. She didn't even read it again. There was no need to. She'd practically memorized every word on the paper. She knew what the letter said; she just didn't understand how it had destroyed her and Zach's relationship so badly.
Well, she did understand, but she didn't want to. She wanted to rip up the letter and burn it; she should have done that months ago. But she hadn't. She'd read it and it had gotten to her. She'd done something that she had thought would help Zach and his mother's relationship, but she'd only ended up severing their own.
She wished for the millionth time that she could take it back. That the letter could be resealed inside the envelope and Cammie had never gone to see Catherine Goode.
She knew how Zach felt about it, she knew how betrayed he must have felt. But she'd done what she had done with good intentions.
And on top of her already awful mood, she had a hangover. She supposed she was only punishing herself by thinking about it, but she couldn't help it. She still felt Zach's anger as though he were standing right in front of her. She wanted to let it go, because she knew Zach would have a hard time forgiving her for this. He would have an impossible time forgiving her for this.
She thought back to one of the many conversations she'd had with Catherine over the past year. In particular, the one when she should have realized something was very, very wrong.
"Hello Cammie," Catherine greeted warmly, smiling at her son's girlfriend. Catherine genuinely liked Cammie; she was sweet and she knew she was good for Zach. She'd brought out a side in him Catherine hadn't even known existed.
"Hi Catherine," Cammie replied, taking a seat across from her boyfriend's mother. "How are you?"
Catherine shrugged. "I guess this as good as it gets in here," She said, motioning to the thick grey walls that surrounded them. "How are you?" She asked. "How's Zach?"
"Good," Cammie smiled, as though she were thinking about something happy. "Both of us, we're good."
Catherine found herself smiling too, "I'm happy to hear that."
Cammie nodded and continued to grin.
"Anyway," Catherine said. "I need to ask a favor of you."
"Sure," Cammie said. "Anything."
"I'm not sure if you'll say that after I tell you," Catherine said. The way her voice retracted made Cammie's skin crawl, but she pretended nothing was wrong.
"What do you mean?"
"I want you to find Zach's uncle."
Cammie raised an eyebrow. "Leo?"
Catherine shook her head. "His name is Joe Solomon. And he's not really Zach's uncle, per say, more like. . . his godfather."
The name rang a bell for Cammie, but she couldn't place it. She must have heard Zach talk about him or something.
"Alright. ..? Why?"
"There's something he knows, something Zach needs to know as well."
"What is it?"
Catherine shook her head. "I can't tell you. Zach has to find it out from Joe."
"So what am I supposed to do? Deliver him in a package to Zach's doorstep?"
Catherine laughed and shook her head. "Once you find him, just tell him you are a friend of Zach's. I'm sure Joe will find a way back into Zach's life on his own."
Cammie raised an eyebrow. This was all very. . . sketchy. Cammie wasn't sure what Catherine was asking of her. She didn't know this Joe Solomon, she didn't even know if really Zach knew him.
"I thought you just wanted Zach to forgive you. . ." she trailed off, unsure of what to think."What does this have to do with anything?"
Catherine sighed. "It will prove to him why I did what I did. I don't want his forgiveness Cammie. I just want him to know the truth. Not the lies his father had been spewing since he was born. I'm trying to protect him and Joe is the only one that can."
"I don't understand."
Catherine smiled softly and reached over, grabbing Cammie's hand. "I know Sweetheart, but it will all make sense. I just want you to know how grateful I am for all that you're doing. It really means a lot to me."
Cammie wanted to tell her that she was doing this for Zach, not for her. But she didn't, she just forced a smile and nodded her head.
"Joe Solomon," Cammie repeated. "I'll do what I can."
"Thank you Cammie," Catherine said, still smiling. "Thank you."
The conversation still made Cammie uncomfortable. She got chills every time she replayed it in her head. She should have stopped after that. She shouldn't have begun to look for Joe Solomon. She should have listened to her gut— she should have listened to Zach. They were so happy at the time; she had no clue why she wanted to jeopardize that. Joe Solomon was a name she never wanted to hear again.
The only thing she was thankful about was that Zach hadn't found out about her trying to find him. Otherwise she was sure he'd never forgive her. Joe Solomon was a name that she'd keep buried in her head until the day she died.
:*:*:*:
"They went where?" Zach asked as he sat at the kitchen table in Will's apartmen, certian he must have heard wrong.
Viney sat across from him, bouncing Will Jr. on her lap.
"California," Viney confirmed. "To see a certain ex-girlfriend of yours." Zach didn't like the feeling that Viney calling Cammie his ex-girlfriend brought. In fact he didn't like that label for Cammie in reference to him at all. But he supposed it was appropriate after everything that had happened.
Zach rubbed his forehead. "Why?"
Viney shrugged. "No idea. I wasn't invited."
"Bitter Vin?" Zach asked.
Viney shook her head. "Nope, I've got my beautiful little boy to take care of," she said, looking at Jason lovingly.
"Why did Jace go with them?"
"I guess he wanted to see Cammie. I'm pretty sure he's the only one who talks to her on a regular basis."
"Will doesn't?" Zach asked, surprised. Will had told him Cammie called almost every day.
Viney shook her head. "Not so much anymore. He feels bad about it, but he's got better things to do than listening to Cammie whine about you for three hours."
"I'm glad I'm causing so many problems."
"It's not a problem Zach. . ." She trailed off. "She's just never going to move on if she keeps talking about how much she misses you."
Zach was glad. He didn't want Cammie to move on. As selfish as it sounded; he wasn't ready for her to start dating someone else. Still, Zach didn't know how to reply to Viney.
She sighed. "Someone has to fix this," she said. "And if isn't going to be you, it might as well be someone who does care about her."
"You mean Jace?" Zach asked. "Wait, do you mean—?"
He broke off, searching Viney's face for confirmation. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? Jace and Cammie? Together? No. . .
Viney shrugged and repositioned Jason on her lap. "You know Jace has always had a thing for her. And ever since he and Cassie broke up. . . they're good for each other, Zach, you at least have to admit that."
"No! They're like brother and sister. They can't. . . do that."
"It sounds to me like you might regret breaking up with her," Viney said.
"We're on a break," he huffed and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms like a stubborn child. He didn't want Cammie to move on. As angry as he was, there was something deep inside of him telling him not to let her go. But he squashed it, it was only jealously after all.
Viney shrugged again. "You and I both know that is a bunch of bullshit. So you need to decide right now if you're ready to let her go."
Zach sighed and leaned his elbows on the table. "Viney, you don't understand. . ."
"Then tell me Zach," she said. "I'm on your side. I don't want to watch you watch Cammie move on if you aren't ready to. I know it will destroy you."
"It won't destroy me," Zach said, deciding that it wouldn't. As much as he loved Cammie, and he did love her, he knew he'd never be able to trust her again. Not after what she'd done. And relationships needed trust to work. He'd been right in his decision. He needed to let her go, and he needed to start soon. "I am letting her go," he said confidently. "We both need to move on."
Viney looked slightly surprised at his answer, but didn't comment on it. "Zach," she started softly. "Why did you guys break up?"
Zach didn't want to answer her question, mostly because it was like opening old wounds and pouring salt on them. But the problem was they weren't even old wounds. They were still as fresh as they day he'd found out. It still burned his skin with betrayal whenever he thought back to it. He didn't want to talk about it; he wasn't sure he ever would.
"It's complicated," he replied.
"Zach. . ." She started again, reaching her hand across the table and taking his. She wanted him to feel comfortable talking to her. She and Zach had become close over the past two years; he was like a brother to her. She didn't want him to shut down and keep his pain locked away. "It's only going to hurt worse the more you box it in."
Zach shook his head. "You don't understand Viney," he said, standing up. "I have to go."
"Where are you going?" she asked, but made no move to stop him.
Zach gave her a small smile. He walked towards her and bent down, kissing her on the cheek. "Goodbye Viney."
Her eyes widened as she realized his intentions. He was saying goodbye because he wasn't planning on seeing her again anytime soon. He was joining the army, probably sooner than expected.
"Zach, wait—"
"Take care of Will for me," he cut her off, giving her a ghost of a smile before he stepped back and closed the door.
:*:*:*:
AN: Hey guys, how are you all doing? Anyway I would like to thank my beta, Doppler Girl, because you'd be seeing a lot of grammatical errors if not for her :) Moving on, I have to say this is actually one of my favorite chapters I've written for this story. It has a lot going on but it all kind of goes together. And so the name Joe Solomon has been dropped. Who is he? Why is he so mysterious? I guess you'll just to have to keep reading. There was some cute Will/Viney moments, as well as a Zach/Viney platonic conversation that I personally love. And Jace and Cammie? Anyone see anything happening there? Anyway, if you have any questions or comment don't hesitate to leave a review. I love it when you guys make predictions so if you want to do that to I'm always happy to read them.
Also, on a random note, I just finished the newest book in the Heist Society books and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Ally Carter is seriously a talented writer. She makes you think one thing and then she tricks you and its like AHHH. But so, so very good. If any of you haven't read the Heist Society you seriously should. I love them just as much as these books. Which is why I'm working on a Hale/Kat fic :) love thos kids.
And finally, thank you guys for all the nominations and support for the award, I very much appreciate it.
Thanks for reading !
SHOUTOUTS:
First, to Doppler Girl: I'm totally not going to stop giving you shout outs because your my beta. Because I still love what you have to say about the chapter, grammatically or otherwise. And I'm so happy that you like it and that you're hooked. :)
The One You Never Suspected: Yay! You made a prediction! And we'll just have to see if they fight or have a good time, because I'm trying not to give any spoilers :P And that you so much on nominating me, seriously it means the world to me. To have someone read and love your writing is such a satisfying feeling. Haha, I hope people vote for me too!
Gallaghergirl189: I think you deserve a shout out because you do always leave a review, and dedicated loyal readers and reviewers are always my favorite :) Thank you for voting and spreading the word. It's not exactly crystal clear in this chapter as to why they broke up, but I think you will kind of get the gist of it at least.
MadBooksHatter01: Yes.
OneDirectionAndGallagherGirl s: Thank you so much for everything you said in that one review. It made me feel loved.
GallagherGirlXOX: Well, as you probably just read, Joe is Zach's god father. But he was never introduced or mentioned in the first one, so don't worry about trying to recall why he's so mysterious and why it is implied that he and Zach do not get along. And I think you'll like the reunion.
cndsmile: I actually understand why you probably didn't like in the first place. In hindsight, I don't really either. The beginning of the first one is sort of plotless and it drive me crazy. I think you'll enjoy this one much more. Thanks!