Zack's POV

"What?" I almost dropped the phone. The horror. Max liked Cody. That couldn't be true. That wasn't true. There was no EARTHLY way. They were complete opposites in everyway. Cody was a nerd, and Max…wasn't. She must be out of her mind.

"Zack…I don't really know how I feel seriously. I mean, I see Cody, and I feel happy, like I like him. But I know we would never work out, we're so different and all. But that doesn't mean I can't still care for him. It's so weird, because I've always thought of him to be Cody, Zack's nerdy brother. But recently he's been really sweet, and I dunno, I like it." Max paused, then said with a louder voice, "If you tell ANYONE about this Zack Martin, I swear I will-"

"Max, relax. I wont. Hey, I gotta go," I lied. I couldn't handle it. This was all just too weird. Shaking my head I hung up the phone and headed to bed. It was late; I had been talking to Max past when Mom would have liked. I grinned at Muriel asleep on the couch. Some babysitter she had turned out to be.

I walked into my room to see Cody sitting on his bed, his eyes narrowed and angry. I squinted at him…he didn't seem like himself at all.

"Cody?"

"Leave me alone right now Zack" said a curt unfamiliar voice. I backed away and hopped into my bed. I didn't feel like dealing with Cody right now. At least, what I thought might be Cody. The figure sitting on the bed didn't act like my brother at all.

Cody's POV

Night had fallen. I could hear Zack's soft snoring in the bed beside me. I looked at my watch: 2:44 AM. Dang it! I must have dozed off while waiting for Mom to go to bed. I crept out of my bed quietly so not to wake Zack, then grabbed my backpack. The door creaked as I opened it, and I cringed at the noise. Leaving this hotel was not going to be easy. I passed the couch Mom lay on and took one look at her. I know she loves me, and I wish that I could stay with her. But leaving was what I needed to do. Again that voice inside me nagged on.

Turn back while you can. You are going to walk into instant trouble.

I turned my back on it and crept out the door. The elevator was too dangerous. I would have to take the stairs. Slowly I trudged down each metal step, and imagined them to be pieces of my old life that I was throwing out.

One…Two…Three…Four

So why did I feel like they were pieces of my old life clinging closer to me? Again, I closed my eyes. I was going to have to ignore that voice.

Getting out of the lobby was easier then I had imagined. I just left. I didn't look back or anything, I just walked out of the rotating doors. The person at the desk who must have been the 3rd shift worker looked unfamiliar. I had never seen her before, probably because she only worked at night. She not so much as glanced at me as I stepped out of the dimly lighted lobby and into the loud world of Boston.

Later

I had been walking for near an hour and could feel my legs shaking for a rest. I spotted an old crate sitting upside down near an alley opening and sat on it. There didn't seem to be any people around this part of the town. The alley was dark and appeared to be abandoned. Slowly I breathed in, so as to take in the new air. And truth be told, I didn't like it. The idea of sitting in the middle of Boston at night was suddenly very scary. I reached for the corner of blankie I had stuffed in my pocket earlier and looked around. There didn't seem to be any sign of crime anywhere.

I thought too soon.

A shot slammed in the still air of the alleyway where I sat. I could hear footsteps pounding nearer to me. Then there were more gunshots. Each shot hammered at my chest and made my eardrums throb. I could feel sweat starting to form on my neck as the footsteps neared me.

Closer

My heart thumped harder

I threw myself to the ground as a light neared me. Screw being tough, even the hardest people would throw their hands up at a gunshot. My hands covered my head and my butt was sticking in the air. I'm sure I was a sight at that moment.

Then the shooting stopped. I looked up to see a skinhead blowing the smoke from his gun. On the ground in front of him lay the body of a man. I couldn't quite tell the face because of all the blood.

"Andrew!" said a woman's voice. "God Andrew, there you are." She was tall with short blonde hair. She was wearing a short strapless red party dress and tall high heels. She stepped forward breathing hard. "Damnit Andrew! You didn't have to go that far!" she screamed. I said to scare him, not kill him.

"I missed." the man said, crushing his lips to the blonde woman's. She returned his kiss smiling. How could she smile? And kiss him? This man had just killed a man! I tried hard to breath, but couldn't. With each breath I choked, my eyes unmoving from the couple and the dead man.

"Now what are we going to do with the body?" The woman pulled away from the skinhead.

"Don't worry Lola, I'll get rid of it. Just go to the house." The man lifted the bloody body onto his shoulders and started walking down the alley again. The woman followed, but tripped over something. I stared in horror. It was my backpack.

Author's note:

So what did you guys think of it? Sorry my chapters are so short, I'm suffereing from a major writer's block and have been having a hard day. Please review and tell me what you think though, I am eager to hear your opinion!