Guyssss I have a crush on a guy three years younger than meeeee I think I'm officially considered a pedophileeeeee. But he likes me too haha I'm waiting for him to ask me out hehehehehe
QUESTION TIME! Thanks for the question LillyZ! Go follow herrrr ;) Question: If you could write anywhere in the world, where would it be?
Answer: I actually really enjoy writing in the privacy of my bedroom! It's my favorite place because I don't have to worry about other people and I hate people. People bad. Grr. People.
Two miles from the outskirts of Oriental – and the curve he'd never forget – Zach spotted the old grave turn-off that led to the family land and automatically found himself thinking about his father. When Zach was in the county jail awaiting trial, a guard had appeared suddenly and informed him that he had a visitor. A minute later, his father was standing before him, chewing on a toothpick.
"Runnin' off, seeing that rich girl, making plans. And where do you end up? In jail." He saw the malicious glee in his father's expression. "You thought you was better than me, but you ain't. You're just like me."
Zach said nothing, feeling something close to hatred as he glared at his father from the corner of his cell. He vowed then and there that whatever happened, he would never speak to his father again.
There was no trial. Against the advice of the public defender, Zach pleaded guilty, and against the advice of the prosecutor, he was given the maximum sentence. At Caledonia Correctional in Halifax, North Carolina, he worked on the prison farm, helping to grow corn, wheat, cotton, and soybeans, sweating beneath a blistering dog-day sun as he harvested or freezing in icy northern winds as he tilled. Though he corresponded with Joe through the mail, in four years he never had a single visitor.
After his release, Zach was placed on parole and returned to Oriental. He worked for Joe and heard the townsfolk's whispers on his occasional supply runs to the automotive store. He knew he was a pariah, a no-good Goode who'd killed not only the Moscowitzs' son-in-law but the town's only doctor, and the guilt he felt was overwhelming. In those moments, he would pay a visit to a florist in New Bern, then later to the cemetery in Oriental where Dr. Townsend had been buried. He would place the flowers on the grave, either early in the morning or late at night, when few people were around. Sometimes he stayed for an hour or more, thinking about the wife and children Dr. Townsend had left behind. Other than that, he spent that year largely in the shadows, trying his best to stay out of sight.
His family wasn't through with him, though. When his father came to the garage to start collecting Zach's money again, he brought Jonas with him. His father had a shotgun, Jonas had a baseball bat, but it was a mistake to have come without Grant. When Zach told them to get off the property, Jonas moved quickly but not quick enough: Four years of working in the sun-packed fields had hardened Zach, and he was ready for them. He broke Jonas' nose and jaw with a crowbar and disarmed his father before cracking the old man's ribs. While they were lying on the ground, Zach aimed the shotgun at them, warning them not to come back. Jonas wailed that he was going to kill him; Zach's father simply scowled. After that, Zach slept with the shotgun by his side and seldom left the property. He knew that they could have come for him at any time, but fate is unpredictable. Crazy Jonas ended up stabbing a man in a bar less than a week later and was hauled off to prison. And for whatever reason, his daddy never came back. Zach didn't question it. Instead, he counted the days until he would finally be able to leave Oriental, and when his parole ended he wrapped the shotgun in an oilcloth, boxed it up, and buried it at the foot of an oak tree near the corner of Joe's house. Afterward he packed his car, said good-bye to Joe, and hit the highway, finally ending up in Charlotte. He found a job as a mechanic, and in the evenings he took classes in welding at the community college. From there, he made his way to Louisiana and took a job at a refinery. That eventually led to the job on the rigs.
Since his release he'd kept a low profile, and for the most part he was alone. He never visited friends because he didn't have any. He hadn't dated anyone since Cammie because, even now, she was all he could think about. To get close to someone, anyone, meant allowing that person to learn about his past, and the thought made him recoil. He was an ex-con from a family of criminals, and he'd killed a good man. Though he'd served his sentence and had tried to make amends ever since, he knew he'd never forgive himself for what he'd done.
Awe Zach! It's in the past now… It's okay, come cuddle with me
Review and leave me a question!
-Katie