Chapter 36

I felt like I was about to faint. Zach's arms circled around me, and pulled me up the stairs. I let Zach lead me into my room. I felt numb. There was nothing I felt. I just wanted to sleep. To sleep and find out the next morning that this was all a dream. That someone didn't just walk into my house in the middle of the night, that someone didn't try to break into my room the day before, that we didn't find a bullet in my room, that Zach didn't get a mysterious bump on his head. Zach laid me down on the bed, and without me even needing to ask, he slipped into the covers, and took me into his arms.

"Gallagher Girl everything will be alright. We'll call the police tomorrow morning. They'll take care of everything. Just sleep, okay? Everything will be fine." Zach whispered, pulling me closer to him. He rubbed my arms, warming me up. Kissing my cheek, and telling me goodnight, he pulled me into his chest, and closed his eyes. I felt my eyelids droop, and I let them flutter close.

I felt Zach's arms tighten around me, causing me to open my eyes. He was smiling, his eyes looking down at me.

"Good Morning!" He said, softly. I smiled up at him, and we stared at each other, soaking up every little detail. Of course, every bad thing had to end, and my mom walked in.

"Oh, you're awake Cammie!" She exclaimed.

"Well that's good, because I just called the police, they'll be here in a few minutes." Events from the previous day hit me like a ton of bricks. My head hit Zach's chest, and I closed my eyes. Please be a dream. Please be a dream. PLEASE be a dream. I chanted in my head.

"Cammie, don't worry, you won't have to talk to them. I'll handle everything for you." Zach said into my ears. I opened my eyes, turned around, and hugged him, tightly. Tight as in, he had a hard time breathing tight. He wrapped his arms around me, and returned the hug. Then the doorbell rang, and my mom left the door, knowing our plan.

"Pretend like your sleeping." Zach instructed me. I laid down, and he kissed my cheek, and then left the room, closing the door behind him. I closed my eye, trying to act as if I was sleeping so no one would question me. But it didn't help. I felt the little tingling feeling on my cheek form Luke's lips. I got up, and heard talking, and I didn't want to miss the action. I got up, and opened the door a little.

"...it was the same car..." I heard Zach say.

"And, you're sure you saw someone in the house?"

"Yes, we defiantly saw someone."

"And..." their voices got farther away, and I had to see what was going on. I walked down the hall, quietly. I sat on the first stair step, and could see the officers talking to my mom and Zach. They were different from the ones who had come yesterday. They seemed nicer.

"Well, we will take this sample of blood and..." My heart stopped.

BLOOD?

The writing on the wall was blood? No way, it can't be. That's... that's... that's... impossible.

"Okay. Thank you." My mom said politely, and led then towards the door, talking about something else. Zach was heading towards the stairs, but his eyes caught mine, and he shook his head. He walked up the stairs, and stopped one step in front of me.

"How much did you hear?" He asked.

"Blood." I squeaked out. He sighed and sat down by me.

"The officers said it was, with no doubt about it, blood. Whose they're not sure and they're going to test it, and find out. As for how they got in, they're not sure either. The inside of the door knob isn't messed up, so, they can't tell whether or not it was picked at. Whoever these people are, they're good. The listens plate isn't a registered one either. It's forged." I was shaking by the time he finished.

"Gallagher Girl, don't worry, it'll all be fine. Your mom said she won't leave that state till this mess is cleaned up. And I'll stay with you when you're scared. Don't worry." Zach's words didn't really register in my mind. I could hear it, but I didn't comprehend it. Instead, I acted like a big baby and held onto him, most likely stretching to a size XXL.

"Cammie dear- oh!" My mom said, shocked to see me clinging to Zach on the stairs.

"Uhh, I'm going to take Cammie back to her room." Zach said, somehow knowing I didn't want to talk about the matter right now. He led me up to my room, and then set me down on his bed.

"So, uhh, what do you want to do?" Zach asked, looking around the room for something to do. I shrugged my shoulder. We just stayed there, looking for something to do.

"So, how about that Jimmy kid, he seems nice, huh?" Zach said, trying to sound nonchalant, only failing, miserably. I looked at him, trying to see where he was going with this conversation. He wasn't jealous, was he? And by Jimmy, he did mean Josh, right?

"Uhh, well, Josh seems nice." I said lamely, not really knowing how to respond. I barely knew the kid.

"Oh, yeah I guess, if you turn your head at an angle." He replied, looking anywhere but me. I let out a small chuckle.

"Zach, no one is or will steal me from you. You're the only one. But, I don't think Josh can be anything but sweet, right? When I first came here, the girls told me to stay away from you, and befriend Josh. They said he was a nice guy." Zach looked thoughtful for a second, and then opened him mouth, but shut it quickly, as if he had a change in mind.

"Good, because I'll never give you up. Never." He said, tightening his grip onto me, as if to make his point. I smiled into his chest. It was times like when, even if I was potentially in danger, I still had people who cared for me, and would protect me.

"Cammie, I'm going to the store to pick up some milk. I'll be back in 10 minutes." My mom called.

"Okay." I yelled. I settled back into Zach's chest, before he abruptly stood up.

"You need to eat breakfast Cammie, come on." He pulled me up, and took my hands downstairs. Once we got to the kitchen, I sat on the bar stool, and watched him take all the things needed for our meal. While watching him, something on the counter top caught my eye, and I reached out for it. It was my mom's cell phone. I was playing around with it, till it started to ring. The number was unknown, so I decided to answer it, since it could've been important.

"Hello?" I asked. Zach turned around and looked at me.

"Hello. Is this Rachel Morgan?" The lady on the other end asked.

"No but this is her daughter. Do you want to leave a message for her?" I asked politely.

"Uh, sure. Would you please tell her that we have the sample to the blood test?" I froze. I saw Zach slowly make his way towards me.

"Whose is it?" I asked my voice shaking.

"I'm sorry, but I'm instructed to tell Miss. Morgan, and only Miss. Morgan."

"I'm her daughter, you can tell me."

"Well..."

"Who's. Is. It." I said, not caring to keep up the nicest." The lady at the other end sighed.

"Well, I guess I can tell you." I braced myself to hear what she said next.

Well, I hope you liked the chapter! I tried writing it fast, so please tell me if I made any mistake. I know my writing has gotten a bit choppy, and I apologize for it. I haven't really flexed my skill much after school starts (I've been in essay mode) so, if you have any advice for me, feel fer to tell. And, I'm sorry for writing 'Luke' instead of Zach in my previous chapter. As most of you could tell, he is my boyfriend, and I was thinking about him when I wrote the chapter.

Onto other matters, THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed! It made my day, seeing all the reviews! I hope you all can take a few seconds to leave your comments on this chapter (and if you find any mistakes, PLEASE let me know). Constructive Criticism is welcomed!

Love,

A Runner At Heart

P.S. Dedicated to those who reviewed:

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You All Are AWESOME For Reviewing! Thank You SO MUCH!

P.P.S.

If I get plenty of reviews, I MAY (most likely) update again (if my family doesn't have plans)-if not on- around Christmas. Only if people review, so...

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