Authors Note: Here we go with another update! :)

In the next few chapters, I write about an ex-girlfriend of Zak's, and also how he was when he was a few years younger.

So Disclaimer: I, sadly, have no connection with Zak. And I certainly don't any connection with any ex girlfriends. I will admit, I have based some of the ideas from doing research online of Zak's past love life. But I've changed the women's name. I don't mean any offence or harm against anyone, especially not Zak.

Chapter 26: Some Truth Revealed

"Ali…who's Emily?" Zak asked again, watching me intently.

Oh god.

I rubbed my forehead as I got up from Zak's lap and took a few steps away.

"You have a big mouth Cheryl…" I couldn't help but mumble.

"What? You didn't tell him what happened at the gas station?" Cheryl questioned.

Before I could speak, Zak spoke up.

"She told me she saw a figure of a man, who told her that she shouldn't be there," Zak said, glancing at Cheryl then looking back at me. "I assumed it was Wingfield, after what happened at the hotel…" Zak added.

Cheryl blinked.

"Oops…" Cheryl said quietly.

I felt my panic briefly turn to anger.

"'Oops'? You're damn right oops! I told you that I hadn't been able to tell him everything at the interview!" I snapped.

Cheryl looked shocked.

"That was almost a month ago now! And considering how you feel about him, I figured you had told him by now!" Cheryl retorted, then immediately made a "oops" expression again.

Zak looked temporarily shocked.

Oh hell.

"Oh my god, do you think before you speak?!" I snapped.

Cheryl looked hurt.

"Hey! Whatever is going on isn't her fault," Aaron cut in.

Before I could tell him to butt out, I saw Zak stand up.

Damn it, he's tall…

"What exactly is going on?!" Zak said, his tone starting to express his frustration.

I stood there in silence, not looking at him.

"I'll only ask this one more time, then I'm out of here," Zak started.

I looked at him with fear running through me.

"No…please don't-" I started.

"Who's Emily?!" Zak asked, raising his voice.

I saw Aaron stand up and walk toward Zak.

"Bro, calm down…" Aaron said.

Zak looked at him.

"I'll calm down when she-" Zak started, but I cut him off.

"Emily is my sister! Okay?!" I blurted out.

Zak looked at me in shock.

"You have a sister…?" Zak asked.

I rubbed my hand over my eyes, feeling my eyes beginning to water.

"I…had…a sister…" I said quietly.

There was silence for a minute or two.

I opened my eyes, starting to find the silence unbearable.

Zak looked like he had a thousand thoughts running through his head.

"She's the one you've been seeing all along…isn't she?" Zak asked.

I couldn't tell if he was still angry with me.

His expression was unreadable.

I simply nodded, trying my best to hold back the flood of emotions.

"You saw her the day of the interview…out in the hall, didn't you?" Aaron suddenly asked.

Zak looked at Aaron in shock, then back at me.

Crap.

It was all going to come out now.

"Yes," I replied quietly.

"And she said something to you…I barely heard you ask 'why'," Aaron stated.

I closed my eyes briefly.

I wanted to tell him to shut up, but he was simply doing what friends do.

He was sticking by Zak.

"She said 'you can't do this'…" I replied honestly.

Zak looked like he was starting to put all the pieces together in his mind.

"You saw her that first day you came to my house, didn't you?" Zak asked.

I nodded.

"…did she say anything to you then?" Zak asked.

Damn it… I thought.

He knew what was going on now.

He just wanted me to admit it.

"She said 'you can't go'…" I replied quietly, feeling my eyes watering now.

He was going to hate me.

I had been lying to him all this time, keeping secrets.

And now I was basically informing him that my sister had visited me a few times to warn me about not going through with becoming an investigator.

"Zak…she-" Cheryl started softly, standing up.

Zak closed his eyes and held his hand out to tell her not to say anything.

Cheryl looked at me.

She looked as upset as I was, but I nodded slightly to her.

This is my fault…I'll deal with it…

"And at the gas station…you didn't really see a figure of a man, did you?" Zak asked.

I could practically see the growing anger and pain radiating off him.

"No…" I started. "I first saw her outside…while we were waiting for you in the SUV. She walked to the door of the gas station and motioned me to follow her…so I did," I continued.

Zak rubbed a hand over his face.

"When you and I ran into each other, she was standing by the restroom door…when I first went inside, I couldn't see her. As I was facing the mirror, I saw her standing behind me. I turned around and she was right there…" I started, wiping a few stray tears away.

"She…looked horrible…unlike any other time I had seen her…she told me to go home, before it was too late," I said softly.

I could vividly remember the way Emily had looked, as if I had seen her only mere moments ago.

Wet hair. Dark, sunken eyes. Grey toned skin.

"She yelled at me again to go home…then I started having visions. I've never had visions before…" I said softly.

Despite Zak's anger, he responded calmly.

"Visions?" He asked.

I nodded.

"I kept seeing dark, empty rooms…over and over again. The last room I saw had a number on the door…" I trailed off.

"109…" Zak said in shock.

I nodded again.

"After that…I felt a bad pain in my forehead," I said quietly, a few tears falling down my cheeks again. "That was before you came in…" I added.

"So, let me make sure I have this straight," Zak started.

I forced myself to look at him.

"You're telling me, that from the day of the interview, you've been seeing your sister-" Zak started.

"I've seen her for years…" I interrupted, hoping it would lessen his anger.

I was wrong. He kept right on going.

"And every time you've seen her, she basically kept telling you not to take the job. And then, the day of your first lockdown - at a place notorious for poltergeist activity - she warns you again not to go through with it. And she also shows you the fucking room you end up getting attacked in?!" Zak said, losing his cool in the end.

I felt more tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

"Zak…I'm sorry…in all the years I've seen her, she had never done anything like this, and I-" I replied quickly.

"Sorry is not going to cut it, Ali! Something or someone pulled you across a room, causing you to smack your head against a radiator! You were lucky to come out of it with only a concussion!" Zak snapped back.

"I know…" I replied quietly. "I'm sorry…I wanted to tell you the truth every time I saw her, but I-" I stopped speaking when he held up a hand.

"Save it. Don't even bother," Zak said, walking past me and toward the door.

My panic kicked into overdrive and I quickly started to follow him.

"Zak, wait! Please don't leave…" I started, stopping dead in my tracks when he suddenly stopped and turned to face me.

I had almost ran right into him.

"I'm not doing this again. I'm not going to let myself end up in a situation where someone I care about is getting hurt, partly because of me, and lying to me about it!" Zak said.

I could see the pain in his eyes.

It shook me to my core.

"This didn't happen because of you…I walked into this willingly…" I started.

"It doesn't matter! If you want to keep doing the job, fine, put yourself through hell. But I'm not going to be personally involved with someone who can't be honest to me about it! Especially after how honest I've been with you!" Zak replied.

I felt the tears falling now.

I couldn't lose him. I just couldn't. Not now.

"Zak…" I pleaded, quietly.

"Don't," Zak said, turning away and walking to the front door. "I shouldn't of went against the promise I had made to myself. I told myself I wouldn't get attached to another woman, because all the women I've been with since starting 'Ghost Adventures' just ended up lying to me, about one thing or another." He continued.

He briefly looked back at me, pain written across his face.

"You turned out to be just another one of them," Zak said sadly, but mostly with bitterness to his tone.

He turned his back on me and walked out the front door, slamming it shut behind him.

I couldn't stop a quiet sob from escaping my throat.

"I'll come back for this stuff later…" I heard Aaron quietly say to Cheryl.

"Sure," Cheryl said quietly.

I kept standing where I was as Aaron walked past me, and quietly slipped out the door.

I slowly turned around when I suddenly felt Cheryl's hand on my shoulder.

Her eyes were watering.

"I'm sorry…" Cheryl said softly.

I didn't know if she was apologizing for having let my secret out, or if she was apologizing in general.

Regardless, I wasn't mad at her anymore. I had no right to be.

I was the one who had messed up. Big time.

You always fuck everything up, I thought to myself.

I broke down in full on tears as I threw my arms around her, crying into her shoulder.

Cheryl hugged me back tightly and rubbed my back gently.

"Everything will be okay," Cheryl said softly.

I knew it wouldn't be okay.

I had finally found a man I never thought would exist.

And I had just lost him.