Hi all, long time, no see. That's my bad.

In any case, here is the long awaited update. Thank you for your patience. To be completely honest, I started this chapter about three or four times and then started it over completely because I wanted to get it just right. Hopefully, you approve.

Disclaimer: characters belong to the lovely Ally Carter.

Chapter TWENTY-ONE

I saw Zach exactly three times for the rest of the summer. The first two times, he was mowing his lawn, and I watched from my bedroom window. The summer sun beat down on him and several times I almost started to head down to him, to talk to him, but I never made it out of my room until he had finished his work.

The third time was two days before the start of school. I was out in the front yard, weeding the landscaping for my mom when he barreled out of his house and headed straight for his car. He didn't acknowledge me, didn't even spare me a glance, and it hurt but I supposed it was the bed I'd made for myself.

When September rolled around I at least expected to see him at school but the first day went by with no sightings of him, a feat I found surprising considering the quaint size of our school. And then, when the rest of the week passed in similar fashion, I began to suspect something was off.

After school on Friday, I pushed down my fears and trepidation and walked toward the Goodes' front door rather than my own. I knocked and waited but there was no answer. I considered knocking until I answered but imagined how silly that would be when they were both probably just out.

But where?

~.~.~.~

I got my answer sooner than I expected.

That night, as I was getting ready for bed I happened to look out my window and see Zach crossing through his backyard towards the woods. Normally, I wouldn't have acted like some stereotypical mindless girl from a cliché horror movie that goes into the woods late at night, but I had been building myself up to talk to Zach for weeks now.

And God damn it, I wasn't gonna chicken out this time!

So I hurried outside and followed him. The weather hadn't cooled yet, and I was immediately pounded by the stifling humidity in the air, but Zach had already disappeared from view so I set a quick pace.

There was a fork a short distance into the woods. To the left was the way to town and to the right was the path that led deeper into the woods and worked its way towards a small creek that Zach and I had jogged together along earlier in the summer. Instinct told me now that that was the way he would have gone.

But as I went deeper into the woods with no sign of him, I began to worry I'd made the wrong choice. He hadn't been that much farther ahead of me. Where could he have gone?

I was just about to admit defeat and head back home before my mom noticed I was gone, when the outline of a figure appeared ahead of me. His shoulders were slumped and he stood gazing at the water with his feet shoulder width apart. I slowed my pace as I neared him, wiping the sweat from my brow.

I tried not to startle him as I came up to his side. "Zach." I said softly.

He didn't respond. He just kept staring at the water.

"Zach." I said again. "Are you okay?"

He turned his head slowly to look at me now, like he had only just realized I was there. "What are you doing here?"

"I..I saw you heading this way." I mumbled, embarrassed. "I wanted to talk to you. I've been meaning to talk to you for awhile now but…it never seemed like the right time."

"And now's the right time?"

I shrugged. "I'm tired of waiting for the right time. I'm throwing caution to the wind."

He looked at me dispassionately and for a moment, it was like looking into the face of a stranger. Something felt very wrong.

I placed my hand on his arm, and he visibly flinched at my touch. "Seriously, are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"You know, you can still talk to me." I said softly. And then, because I couldn't hold it in, "I miss talking to you."

He scoffed. "Right."

"It's true." I needed him to know this. "What happened—the fight—nothing turned out the way I expected it to. Things got out of hand, and I want you to know that I'm sorry for the way I acted and—"

He cut me off and took a step away from me. "Look, can we not talk about this? I'm not really in the mood."

"Oh, yeah. I'm sorry."

He went back to staring at the water, and I turned my gaze in the same direction, wondering what he was seeing. We were silent for a few minutes, and I was starting to doubt whether he was going to acknowledge my presence again when he spoke again.

"I've missed you too." His voice was thick with emotion, but when I looked up at him, he was still looking away from me. I wished I could read his mind or even just his face so that I could have some kind of idea of what he was thinking.

His eyes closed shut and he fisted his hands at his sides. "I've tried not to. It's seems obvious now that we met at the wrong time. But I can't seem to stop thinking about you." He let out a deep breath. "There've been some things happening these past couple weeks that…well, they made me miss you."

"Zach…"

"My mom died." He said. "She's gone, and I never said goodbye. I was the asshole son that dodged her calls and refused to meet with her."

"Oh, god. How did she…?"

"Car accident. She decided to drive here to see me. She didn't even have a license; it got revoked a couple years ago. She stole her neighbor's car."

I didn't know what to say. I sort of gaped open-mouthed, feeling such sorrow for this boy in front of me and for a woman I'd never met. I barely knew anything about Zach's mother, Catherine, aside from the fact that she was mentally unstable, but I imagined there had to have been something good about her. After all, she'd given birth to Zach.

"I just keeping that I should have done something for her. I could have been there for her, tried to be more understanding." He shook his head. "There's so many what ifs running through my mind right now. I can't keep it all straight."

I moved closer to him and placed my hand on his arm again. This time he covered my hand with his own, holding me there. "When my dad first left, I thought that if I had been a better daughter, he wouldn't have taken that job in Philadelphia. If I'd been a better athlete or student, I could've made him stay. But that's not true. It wasn't my fault that my dad realized he didn't want this life. And it is not your fault what happened to your mom."

"If I had just gone and seen her, though…"

"Who knows what would have happened? Any number of things could have happened. We'll never know. But I do know this: you did not cause that accident, Zach. Horrible things happen in life sometimes. It's hard and it hurts, but we get through them. And you will get through this. I promise."

He gripped my hand tightly now. "When did you get so wise, Morgan?"

I smiled weakly at him. "I had a lot of time to think this summer, especially this last month. I haven't really been speaking to my best friend lately, so I've had more time to myself and my thoughts. It's kind of changed my perspective on life."

"I thought you and McHenry patched things up."

"I wasn't talking about Macey."

We looked at each other for a long moment, and then he slowly smirked at him. The expression looked odd when the rest of him was so obviously weighed down by his sadness.

"Look, Cammie, do you think we can go back to being friends? Everything that's happened…you're my best friend, too, and I really need you now."

"Absolutely. I'm here for you, Zach." I said. "There's just one problem."

He looked at me warily. "What?"

"I don't want to just be your friend anymore." I said. "I want to be with you, Zach, and hold your hand and do all those sappy, romantic couple-y things that couples do. And I get it if, after everything that's happened between us and with your mom, you're not ready for that anymore. But I just want you to know where I am."

He took a deep breath and then let out a small, breathy laugh. "Why, Cameron Morgan, are you hitting on me?"

I stepped closer to him, pressing myself up against his side and looked up at him. "Yeah, I guess I am. What're you gonna do about it?"

"What about Josh? Aren't you worried about what he'll think?"

"Well, yes, but you were right. I can't let my concerns about my ex dictate my choices. And I choose you, Zach. Of course, I do."

He tucked my hair behind my ear and smiled at me softly. "Well, then, you sound like you have it all figured out."

"Not all of it. Just most of it." I joked. "I think I'm gonna need a little help with the rest."

"I think I can help you out with that."

"I hope you know what you're getting yourself into."

"I could say the same to you."

We were smiling at each other now, and it made me happy to know that just as Zach could lighten my mood as he had all summer, I could do the same for him. We weren't perfect, either one of us, but together, I believed that we could be something wonderful. And along the way, we could make each other stronger. I wasn't sure where either one of us would be a year from now—if we would still be together or if we'd even be going to the same university—but I looked forward to the opportunity to find out.

"Well?" He said now, looking at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "I'm waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I asked, confused.

"For you to ask me a question, Morgan. A very important question."

"Oh, right." I tried to school my face into a serious expression but I couldn't make my smile disappear. "Zachary Goode, will you be my boyfriend?"

He smiled right back at me. "Cameron Morgan, I thought you'd never ask."

And then, with a kiss, we sealed the deal.

Thoughts? Comments? Questions?

I figure this story is almost complete. I think there'll be an epilogue to wrap it all up, but other than that, I think these two lovebirds have finally gotten to their HEA! Yay!