A/N: Ah whoops, another update. I know you're probably sick of me by now and you might just hate this chapter but who cares! Chapter 4 out of 7 complete and I will start 5 right now! Enjoy!
In August, Addison moved cheer practice into the gym. Cross country had taken control of the track and she honestly couldn't focus. She'd watch Zed practice and every time he got hit she couldn't get the image of his dad doing something similar or worse just for the hell of it.
It was better anyway. The football players tended to scrimmage shirts versus skins and the shirtless players distracted everyone on the cheer team (though Zed always ended up in the shirts team).
No one really brought up the Zoey thing. Addison was sure if she was still at the cheer camp she'd have heard more about it, but her team knew better than to bring it up. When Zed would spend the night at Addison's, they would mostly just talk about whatever was happening in the moment. The only time they ever mentioned the past was on Addison's birthday, when Addison's parents had pulled up a photo album from all of previous birthdays.
Sometimes she'd hear Zed talking to himself. When she listened closer he was clearly talking to Zoey. He'd pray in Zombie Tongue and just casually talk in English, telling her about what was happening. Whenever he would do this, Addison would give him as much privacy as she could and only go in when he was quite for a long period of time.
And Addison hadn't heard much from or about Eliza. Occasionally Bree would tell her what Bonzo had shared with her. Eliza was still Eliza and, while not making Bree or Bonzo choose, made it clear she didn't want anything to do with Addison (or Zed sometimes).
A few weeks before school, Addison was in the gym practicing with her cheerleaders when Zed burst through the gym doors. Everyone jumped and turned to see him. He stormed over to Addison, clearly angry.
"Zed—"
"What the fuck Addison!" he shouted furiously. He got up in her face and spat, "You promised you wouldn't say anything! You swore to me!"
"What're you talking about?" Addison asked, completely confused. She shifted her gaze from his face to his arm, seeing his Z-Band flashing orange in warning.
"My Dad was arrested this morning and you're the only person who knew!" Zed near growled. "You swore to me you wouldn't tell anyone!"
"I didn't!"
"Don't lie to me!" Zed shouted.
Addison flinched and took a step back. "I'm not lying I didn't tell anyone," she said calmly.
"What do you have against me, huh? You don't want me to be happy or something? Is that it?" At her confused expression, he added, "Every time you promise me something you always break it! How can I trust you, Addison?"
It took a second for her to understand what he was talking about. Instead of getting upset or anything, she got angry. "I didn't tell anyone about your dad and I couldn't do anything about Zoey! I'm not fucking God!"
"You promised me you'd keep my sister safe and she's dead! You promised me you'd keep a secret and now my dad is going to jail!"
"I didn't tell anyone!" Addison snapped. She was growing more angry with every cruel word he said to her.
Zed rolled his eyes and laughed bitterly. "That's it! I'm done! I'm so fucking done with this bullshit."
He turned on his heels and stormed out of the gym. Addison wanted to scream and cry and chase after him. Instead, she let out a frustrated noise and ran off to the locker room.
Blocked.
Bucky has told her that Zevon was locked away. Bree had told her that Zed was gone. "His house was empty and sold to the bank and no one's heard from him since you guys fought."
When school started, Addison was iced out. Word got around that Zed disappeared after fighting with Addison. The football players hated her. The cheerleaders voted her out of her captain spot. Then off the team. Bonzo couldn't even look her in the eye, and Bree was more concerned about her boyfriend than her best friend.
The rumors started not long after. People said she'd been cheating on Zed, sleeping with a guy who had graduated the year before. They talked about how she was easy and a total slut and when Zed found out he went Zombie and they put him Containment.
It was like all the insults and hate they had been hiding for three years in fear of Zed were just gushing out now, all piling on top of her.
"My god she's such a freak."
"What a dirty whore, cheating on Zed."
"I bet she'd blow you for ten bucks."
Addison was like the school's punching bag. Everyone hated her, and she couldn't even blame them anymore.
The only people who'd talk to her were her parents and Bucky, and it was definitely because they were related and you can't get rid of family. Bree hadn't willingly cut social ties with her, but Addison didn't want to take anyone down with her.
Graduation couldn't come soon enough. What was supposed to be the best year of high school was the worst. All because she just wanted to stay positive and keep moving forward. She wanted to avoid her problems and grief and ended up the most miserable she'd ever been.
The only difference between the summer and the school year was that she was all alone now.