13. Zed Spends the Night

Zed spent the remainder of the afternoon trying to figure out how he could tell his dad he was spending the night at Addison's house without him suspecting something else was going on. It wasn't. They had always planned to wait to be intimate with each other, but his dad didn't know that. Zed wanted to be there for Addison especially after finding out about the way her memories were returning to her, but he was sure his dad was going to not want him at Addison's house for the night and especially not while her parents were gone.

He'd think of something. He still had a few more hours to work something out. Maybe he wouldn't even need to tell his dad Addison's parents were going to be out for the night.

When school got out for the day, Zed headed to the school's library to get started on his homework while he waited for cheer practice to end. He didn't have any conditioning that day, so he needed to find a way to kill time while he waited for Addison, and he figured getting started on homework was a good option.

Around the time he knew she'd be ending practice, he packed his things away to meet her at her locker. "Are you sure you want me to spend the night and not Bree?" Zed asked when Addison joined him at her locker.

"You don't want to?" she asked, her expression falling and looking hurt.

"No! It's not that, it's just," he trailed off. "You're sure you want me over for the night?"

"Of course. I trust you with my whole heart, Zed. I trust you with. . . everything," she said.

The way Addison said 'everything' made Zed wonder if there was something she was still keeping from him, but he decided not to press. She'd tell him whatever else was on her mind when she was ready. "In that case, let's head out," he offered her his hand.

"Just a sec," Addison opened her locker to retrieve a few more things before taking Zed's hand and leading the way out to her car.

During the ride to Zombietown and his house, Zed found himself tapping his fingers on his thighs.

"You okay over there?" Addison asked, glancing over at him from the corner of her eye.

"Yeah. Just, staying at your place for the night even if it's just to keep you company while your parents are out," he shrugged in reply, uncertain of how to explain his feelings better.

"We could pretend it's just a casual sleepover between a couple of friends."

Zed hummed in thought. "That makes it sound like I wouldn't get to kiss you goodnight, and I'd really like to do that," he replied, smirking when he saw a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

A few minutes later, the two pulled up in front of Zed's house. Zed strolled in with Addison close behind him.

"Addison, what a lovely surprise," Zevon spoke when he saw Addison was with Zed. "What brings you here?"

"I'm going to crash at Addison's house tonight," Zed answered.

"You are now?"

"My parents are out of town for the night," Addison began. "Actually, I'm sorry, that sounds bad. It's not like that. I've just been having these nightmares and I don't want to be alone in the house tonight."

"Nightmares?" Zevon asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I––" Addison cut herself off. Zevon was bound to find out at some point, it'd be better if he heard it from her and knew what was going on. "Where's Zoey?"

"In her room playing," Zevon answered. "Is something wrong, Addison?"

"There's something I want to tell you."

"Addy, are you sure?" Zed asked.

She nodded.

"What's going on, you two?" Zevon's expression was serious, but etched with concern.

"The nightmares I've been having are because I was kidnapped back in March and while I was kidnapped," Addison's voice caught in her throat. Addison fought against herself for the next words she needed to say. Telling her boyfriend's dad she was pregnant not by said boyfriend because what happened to result in her pregnancy wasn't her choice? Had anyone else ever been in that situation? She hoped not. "I don't think anyone can tell, and I've only told a few people, but I'm pregnant because of that night," Addison finally spoke.

"Addison," Zevon breathed, wrapping her in a hug. His embrace was comforting and she put her arms around him as well. "Do you want to stay here while your parents are out?" Zevon asked a minute later when he let Addison out of the hug.

"Thanks for the offer, but I think we'll stay at my place if that's okay with you."

"That's fine, of course. Zed, why don't you go gather what you'll need for the night," Zevon said. Zed nodded and made his way up the stairs to his room "Are you okay?" Zevon turned back to Addison with an especially serious and concerned expression.

"As okay as I can be. Everyone I've told has been awesome and supportive."

"So do you know what you're doing? About the baby?"

"Not exactly. Other than I know I'm going to have the baby. It sounds crazy, but," she shrugged, unsure how else to finish her thought in the same way Zed had been earlier.

Zevon nodded. "If you ever need anything or don't want to be at your place alone, let us know. Drop in. We won't mind."

"Addison!" Zoey exclaimed, coming rushing down the stairs.

"Hey, Zo," Addison greeted, returning the hug Zoey gave her.

"Did I hear that Zed's going to stay with you tonight? I thought that wasn't allowed?" Zoey asked, looking up to Zevon.

"This is a special circumstance," Zevon explained softly. "Addison's been having some bad dreams and doesn't want to be alone while her parents are out of town for the night."

"Oh, okay," Zoey agreed, looking up to Addison. "Will you stop by tomorrow?"

"I'll plan on driving Zed back over here so he doesn't have to walk from my house, if that's what you're asking."

"Can you help me with my new cheers?"

"I don't know about that, Zo," Zed spoke, coming down the stairs with a small duffle bag. "Addy hasn't been feeling the greatest lately because of her nightmares."

"We can see about it," Addison whispered to Zoey who wore a big smile in return. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Zo. Behave for Dad," he teased, giving them each a hug before following Addison back out to her car. Zed dropped the bag of his things into the backseat next to their backpacks. "So what should we do tonight?" Zed asked as they headed towards Addison's house.

"Movies and junk food. I know they say that I technically shouldn't start eating for two yet, but a pizza sounds really good."

"Who am I to deny you the deliciousness that is a pizza," Zed laughed.

"But also maybe taking a look at our homework too," Addison added.

"Little time working on homework," Zed began. "Then we order a pizza, work on our homework while we wait for the pizza to be delivered, then movies and chilling," he suggested. "And, if you happen to fall asleep during a movie, I'll carry you up to your room so you can get the good night's sleep you deserve."

"Sounds perfect."

A few minutes later, the two arrived at the Wells' residence. When they entered, Zed deposited his overnight bag by the stairs as he and Addison headed to the living room to begin working on some of their homework.

The night carried on in an uneventful fashion. After about an hour of working on their homework, Addison and Zed ordered a pizza for dinner. The rest of the night after that, they spent watching movies. Addison often found herself dozing off as she curled up to Zed's side, but not fully falling asleep.

Around eleven that evening, Zed stretched and let out a yawn. "You about ready to go to bed?" he turned to Addison.

"Probably should," she agreed. She pushed the blanket they had over them off and stood to head upstairs.

"So, where should I crash?" Zed asked when they were upstairs and after checking to make sure they locked the doors on the main level of the house. "The guest room?"

"I was hoping you'd sleep in my room," Addison admitted. "I really don't want to be alone," she continued.

"All right," Zed agreed. He looked to the chair in her room beside the bed and the ottoman at the end of the bed. "It okay if I move this?" he asked. Addison nodded in reply. "Perfect," he declared. "Well, these guys need to sleep somewhere else, but other than that, perfect," Zed finished, motioning to the couple stuffed animals on the chair and earning a laugh from Addison.

"I'll head to the bathroom to change and wash the make-up off my face if you want to change in here," Addison offered.

"Sounds good." Once the door to Addison's bathroom closed, Zed changed into a pair of comfy shorts and a T-shirt for his pjs. He left the room momentarily to retrieve a couple blankets from the guest room to use while sleeping on the chair in Addison's room.

A few minutes later, she exited the bathroom wearing a pair of pj shorts and a tank-top. It might have been Zed's imagination, but he thought he could see the slight way her stomach had a bump to it. However, he wouldn't have noticed it if she hadn't been wearing a skin tight shirt.

"You might disagree, but I think you still look gorgeous," he spoke, making his way over to her. "You'll always look gorgeous to me."

"Thanks," Addison replied, looking down. "We should try to get to sleep."

"Not so fast. I remember that this is not just two friends having a sleepover and I believe I requested a goodnight kiss."

Addison laughed and soon found Zed's arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. She smiled up at him and wrapped her arms around him as well. After a couple moments, they leaned into each other to share a tender kiss. "Gar gar gaza," Zed spoke as they separated.

"I love you too," Addison replied. Their arms fell from around each other. Zed crossed the room to turn the lights off before going to get comfortable in the chair as Addison lay down in bed. "Goodnight," she said as she lay down.

"Goodnight, Gorgeous," Zed replied, leaning back in the chair and getting comfortable.

Addison was relieved that sleep came peacefully and easily for her that night. However, it didn't last.

The cold was so much. She was talking with the masked man and heard his reply about his plans for revenge on her family. "Wha––what?" she felt herself asking in the memory. "What is that thing?" she asked once again as the memory replayed itself.

The way he looked down at her disgusted her. Made her wish she could change the outcome or find a way to cover herself. He explained what the syringe was as panic she didn't remember rose in Addison. As he leaned down to stick her with the needle, she found herself screaming.

"Addy! Addy! Addison!" Zed's voice broke through Addison's scream and brought her back to the present and out of the memory.

Her breathing was ragged as she came to and Addison felt tears streaming down her face. She hardly realized that Zed had already made it over to her. He sat on top of her blankets and pulled her as close to him as he could. She easily fell into his embrace, but pulled the blankets up around her as close as she could. She felt exposed as she had the last time she woke up from the nightmare.

Although Addison had the blankets around her body and they somewhat separated her from Zed, she felt comfortable and safe in his arms.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Zed asked after a couple minutes when Addison was breathing more normally and her tears had mostly subsided. Seeing a few still falling down her cheeks, he reached up to wipe them away.

"I didn't tell everyone everything about the dreams," Addison began. "The first part of the dream that came back to me first didn't come as a complete nightmare. It's just when I'm in the car wherever they're taking me, but the part that started coming back this week," Addison trailed off.

"Hey, take all the time you need. There's no rush. I'm not going anywhere," Zed spoke, placing a kiss on top of Addison's head.

Addison nodded. She felt comfortable enough with Zed that she could loosen her grip on her blankets and motioned for Zed to get under them with her. Once he joined her, she wrapped her arms more closely around him, head resting against his chest. His arms returned around her to make sure she remained secure against his chest.

"This part of the night that's coming back," Addison started. "It's after they've taken me to wherever we were," she continued, pausing and needing to take her time sharing the pieces. "I came to and it was cold. I was so cold. It was hard to focus on anything. Whatever they used to knock me out messed with my vision as well. Everything's blurry. My mind feels fuzzy," Addison continued but needed to stop.

"Addy, if you don't want to tell me everything, you don't need to. And you don't need to tell me it all now," his voice soft and quiet.

"No, I do," she began slowly. "I can't sleep until I do. Hopefully getting it off my chest will help it stop repeating in my dreams. Are you sure you want to hear it all?"

Zed nodded. "I'll do anything for you. If it means helping you carry the burden from that night, I'll do it."

"The next part's bad, Zed. Not as bad as it can be, but bad."

"If you want to tell me it, I'll listen. If you don't or you're not ready to yet, that's fine too," Zed stressed.

"Okay." Addison took a deep breath, "I realized I was so cold because I'm not wearing any clothes then. The lead bastard, he comes towards me with this syringe while I manage to ask questions and the syringe," Addison needed to pause. "The stuff, he said it would pretty much guarantee I got pregnant," she explained as Zed let out a small gasp.

"Addy, I––"

"Just one last thing," she continued. "I black out again after he sticks me with the needle or syringe or whatever, but I could feel his eyes on me. All over me. And I can tell he's way older than me and, and I feel so exposed, even now."

Zed nodded and lifted the blankets around them up higher over Addison's shoulder. "Does that help at all?"

"It feels good to get it off my chest," she explained, leaning back to look up to his face.

Zed let out a light laugh.

"What?"

"I meant the blanket."

"Oh. It does. You being here helps a lot too," she replied.

"I'm glad I could help. Now, you need your rest. Try and get back to sleep."

Addison nodded and leaned her head against Zed's chest. She curled up against him as she had when they watched movies earlier that evening.

For a while after talking with Addison, Zed found himself sitting awake. He normally slept soundly, but obviously, Addison's scream from her nightmare quickly woke him and heightened all his senses. She was as okay as she could be, but needed him there. He truly understood why now. He thought over everything Addison shared with him while still holding her against his chest. Zed knew from her even breathing that she'd fallen asleep.

It was no wonder she'd been tired the last couple days at school. Zed also knew that she was more tired than normal simply from the pregnancy, but that memory coming back on top of it certainly didn't help. Just the thought of what Addison had to feel and endure made Zed wish he could jump back in time to make sure he was at her house the night she was kidnapped. After about an hour of sitting awake with his thoughts, Zed felt himself slipping off into sleep.

X

When Zed woke up to the morning light in Addison's room, he found they were laying down more than they had when they fell asleep, but he still had his arms around her. He found himself breathing a sigh of relief that she hadn't woken up or had another nightmare the rest of the night. Although he felt awake and ready to start the day, he didn't dare move and risk waking her up.

Zed decided to just relax and close his eyes for a little while longer. He ended up dozing off again, because the next time he woke up, Addison was no longer lying in bed. "Addy?" he called.

"Just changing," her voice spoke from the bathroom.

Zed sighed in relief and got up as well. While he waited for Addison, he went to find the set of clean clothes he brought. A minute later, Addison exited the bathroom wearing a simple pair of sweats and a T-shirt. "Did you sleep well after you told me about the memories?"

"Yeah, actually," Addison replied. "I felt a lot better. I don't know how I can repay you for being here tonight."

"You don't have to. I wanted to be here for you, Addy. I love you." Zed tossed his clothes onto the bed and wrapped Addison in a hug.

"Thank you," she breathed. "I'll go start making fruit salads for breakfast if that's okay with you."

"Sounds great," Zed agreed. When the hug ended, Zed picked his clothes up to get dressed himself. He joined Addison in the kitchen a little while and began helping her cut up fruits and get them ready for breakfast. The two chatted more about their week. They'd had their conversation about the memory nightmares when the one woke Addison up, and briefly that morning. Now, Zed planned to not talk about it unless Addison wanted to.

Addison's parents were going to be back sometime around that evening, so the two hung out and worked on homework that morning, ate leftover pizza for lunch, then headed back towards Zed's house.

"Addison," Zoey greeted. "Do you think you could help me with my cheer routines? Show me how to do them?"

"I'd love to help you, but I'm not feeling up to demonstrating."

"You don't need to demonstrate," Zoey said.

There wasn't much open space in Zombietown; however, most houses had a small backyard. There was a little grass in the backyard where Addison spent a little while that afternoon helping Zoey with her cheer routines.

"I hope you don't mind me spending the afternoon with Zoey," Addison spoke as she got ready to leave a little while later.

"Not at all. I got to spend all of yesterday with you. I'm glad you and Zoey get along great. If we get our someday, you two getting along is great."

"All right," Addison agreed. The two shared a kiss on Zed's front porch. He stood on the porch waving as Addison headed back towards her own house.

When her parents got home that evening, they surprisingly didn't ask questions about who she had over, and she decided not to share. They were getting better about Zed, but she wasn't entirely sure they'd approve of him spending the night.

Soon, a fairly uneventful week for Addison, began.

A/N: I'm not trying to insinuate that romantic relationships can 'fix' things with this chapter, just that that's the sort of relationship Zed and Addison have where he's able to help comfort her in the midst of everything going on.