Addison wakes up slowly, taking a few minutes to distinguish her thoughts from her dreams and reality. Then, the voice — soft, quiet, barely heard but still clear as day: "No, it's fine. Yeah. Thanks. I'll be there soon."

Zed. How could she forget her knight in shining armor, who rushed over after what was possibly the worst night of her year to take care of her? Who told her the kindest, most thoughtful things until she could think clearly enough to go on, get out of her own head, not fuss over her stupid family over and over until her brain exploded.

No one has ever been so nice to her. It's terrifying.

To be cared for so deeply, so sincerely. And the worst, most frightening thing, is how little it bothers her. Thinking about it now feels like the most casual thing. But she and Zed, they're a one month relationship. Only in the beginning stages. And yet, he dropped everything to look after her. He didn't run.

Zed pulls an arm away from his head, revealing his phone in hand. He sighs, frustrated and annoyed. Addison sits up, catching his attention. He smiles, bright and charming, but she doesn't miss the moment before, the stress, the worry, the fear. He tried to hide it, beaming at her like she hung the fucking moon, but she sees him.

"Hey, sorry, did I wake you?"

Addison shakes her head. Zed leans closer, brushing his lips against hers. She giggles and pulls back, exclaiming, "No, I have morning breath!"

He looks at her with a wicked glint in his eyes. "Sexy."

Addison giggles again. "Don't be gross," she scolds with a playful smile. "Who were you talking to? It sounded serious."

His smile flickers for a second, the unbridled joy leaving his face. "Work emergency," he states. Her brows furrow, confused.

"I have to go deal with it," he adds. "But, I'll be back by ten to whisk you away on the most romantic getaway you've ever seen!"

"It's okay if you have to push it back —"

"Don't be crazy, Addy. I promised you a romantic getaway and a romantic getaway you shall get!"

He kisses her again, his lips barely brushing over hers from the wide, genuine grin stretching his face. Addison can't help her smile, which makes him start to laugh, which makes her start to laugh. Everything with Zed is easy. She hasn't felt so light and free in ages, not since she was a little kid.

Zed peppers kisses to her lips, then her cheek, slowly quieting her laughter to soft and quiet giggles. "I'll be back at ten, promise." His pinky pokes her in the chest; she glances down, smiling as she links her pinky around his own. Its sweet and simple and so Zed. Everything he does for her, really.

"I'll see you at ten," she says.

"If I'm even a minute late, feel free to cut off my balls or something."

"I would never, I love your balls."

Zed snorts, commenting, "Don't be gross, Addy." She laughs again.

She follows Zed out of bed and out of the room, watching as he gathers up his keys from where he'd thrown them before finding her in the living room a complete and utter wreck. They get to the door, Addison opening it for him, watching him step out into the hall.

"Um, Zed?"

He tilts his head her way. "What's up?"

"I-I just wanted to say, uh, thank you." She glances up at him nervously, finding nothing but bewilderment on his face. "For coming over last night. And…talking me down. I-I really appreciated it, Zed."

His face softens impossibly. "Addy…"

She doesn't let him finish his thought, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you, really," she whispers again. I love you.

Zed wraps his arms around her, squeezing her tightly. "Of course, Addy. I'm always here for you." He presses a kiss to her temple. She smiles into his shoulder, breathing easy for what feels like the first time in weeks. "Try and get some more sleep, okay?"

Zed leaves, heading off to his work emergency, but Addison can't stop thinking about last night. As terrified as she was, Zed was still there. When she opens up, he meets her halfway, even when she can't bring herself to tell him everything. He never asked her for more.

Maybe she should open up more.

She wanders back to her bedroom, finding her phone along the way. She knows what she needs to do, what she has to do. Hell, she nearly did so last night, before calling Zed.

She sits on her bed, clicking on the contact already open on her phone. It rings, and rings, and rings, until it goes to voicemail. Addison takes a steady breath, waiting for the standard message to end. Then, "Hey, Bree."

The Seabrook Sentinel. The most accredited newspaper in all of Seabrook, with the most groundbreaking stories and a staff full of journalistic integrity. That is, save two people. One, Wynter Barkowitz, Zed's inside man at the paper. And the second, Cash Evans, the editor in chief and someone Zed considers a close, personal friend. Did Cash feel the same? Definitely not. But that didn't stop Zed from strolling into his office, a pep in his step.

Zed shuts the door, then faces Cash Evans with a wide grin. "Hey, Cash!"

Cash, for his part, looks downright terrified. And why wouldn't he? The only time Zed pays him a visit is when he needs someone to do his dirty work.

Cash stands, smoothing out his coat and clearing his throat to try and appear casual, but Zed knows him too well. "M-Mr. Necrodopolis," Cash greets. "What a surprise."

"Please, we're friends, Cash, don't you agree?" Zed crosses the room. "Besides, Mr. Necrodopolis was my father. You don't deal with him, anymore, do you, Cash?"

"N-No sir."

Zed smiles. "Have a seat. This won't be long."

Cash nods, sitting back in his chair. Zed sits in the chair across from him. "How's Abigail? And little Annie? How are they doing?"

Cash swallows thickly. Abigail, his wife, had been retrieving experimental treatment for a condition she developed a few years back. It's so rare, Zed isn't even sure it has a name yet. What he is sure of, though, is that the treatments come out of his pocket, done by only the best doctors and researchers Zed could find.

"They…They're well," Cash says. Zed raises an eyebrow and Cash quickly adds, "Thanks to your generosity."

Zed nods solemnly. He purses his lips in a thin line, then says, "You know how I hate seeing a family torn apart."

"Of course."

The two men sit in silence for a long minute. Then, Cash asks, "Um, is there anything I can do for you today?"

"Funny you should ask," Zed says. "It's been brought to my attention that a certain high-profile figure in Seabrook is in a very committed relationship now."

Cash stares at him, confusion clear on his face, before it dawns on him.

"I would hate for there to be any type of coverage on that. Even if it's just that stupid gossip blog the Aceys run."

"Of course," Cash says. "I do have to ask…what's in it for me?"

"Besides the continued 'anonymous' donations you've been receiving?" Cash clams up, but Zed continues. He fishes a flash drive out of his pocket, tossing it onto Cash's desk. "A story. A real juicy one too. Might even get picked up by the evening news." He stands and pauses. "If you tell it right, of course."

"Of course."

"It was nice catching up, Cash," Zed says. "Keep my name out of print, and give Abigail my best."

"Whatever you say, Mr. Necrodopolis."

Zed shoots him a wink, then exits. He makes it a point to walk through the entire building, making his presence known and seen by everyone around. He knows a few prominent faces — Wynter, his close and personal friend; managing editor and second in command, Lacey Addams, who also doubled as the founder of AceysDish; and news reporter and another writer for the Acey blog, Tracey Phan. Tracey and Lacey are friends with Stacey Jameson and Bucky Buchanan, two detectives under Chief Wells. Stacey sometimes leaked classified information to her friends, which is how Lacey got her hands on the mob story a few years ago. It never ran in print, thanks to Zed, but she still got it up on her blog and gained a lot of traction for it. Zed knows them very well.

Outside of the building, Bonzo waits in Zed's favorite SUV, black with tinted windows, perfect for his days spent working. Zed climbs in the backseat, locking the door as Bonzo peels off into the street.

"Where to?" Bonzo asks.

Zed looks down at his watch — 9:42am. There isn't enough time to get back to his house, grab his stuff, and get her, without risking being late. And a late man, he is not.

"I'm supposed to pick up Addy at ten," Zed explains.

Through the rear-view mirror, Bonzo nods, understanding. He doesn't need the address, seeing as Zed has been there countless times in the past month and it's Bonzo's job to keep track of where Zed is. Plus, Zed's sure Bonzo has staked out her building a few nights. They pull off into the road.

"So, that's still going well?" Bonzo asks.

"Oh yeah," Zed says. "We're going up to the lake house this weekend and everything."

Bonzo hums in acknowledgment. "You haven't told her the truth, right? Just because Jacey couldn't find anything doesn't mean she's one hundred percent safe. Her father is the chief, Zed."

"I haven't," Zed says. Although he's tried, on multiple occasions. He hates having this gigantic secret between the two of them, hiding a major part of his life from her. If he ever wanted to be with her in a real, long-term capacity, he'd have to tell her. He has to because the longer he waits the more it'll hurt her.

"I need to," he admits.

"You don't need to," Bonzo grumbles.

"I do," Zed says. "The way I feel about her…it's like nothing I've ever felt before, Bonzo."

Bonzo doesn't answer for a long time. Then, "You love her, don't you?"

"I…" He doesn't want it to be true. It can't be true. Love ruined his parents, broke his mother's heart in every way possible, and destroyed his family. Love leads to nothing but trouble. It's uncontrollable, unpredictable, and dangerous, especially with Aspen threatening his very lively hood at every single corner.

"I think I do," Zed says. "I just…I can't keep this from her, Bonzo. It's not fair. I mean, if she feels the same about me, and she finds out a year from now what I really do? It'll crush her!"

"It definitely will, Addison is as sensitive as it gets."

Zed twists his face, disgusted. "Don't be an asshole, dude."

"It's a good thing, according to Bree," he explains. "She cares a lot. And she's a good person."

"You think she'll dump me?"

"Probably."

Zed deflates.

"But maybe not. Bree didn't even think she'd want to date you. And look how that turned out!" Bonzo explains. "You've got a girlfriend, and mine won't even talk to me."

Wait. "What?"

Bonzo just shrugs his shoulders.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about, Bonz?"

"You don't have to rub it in, you were right, as always."

"Bonzo, genuinely, I'd love to gloat but I'm so confused."

"You seriously don't know?" Zed shakes his head. "Bree and Addison had a huge fight over you a few weeks ago and now they aren't talking, at all. She didn't want her friend getting involved in all of our crap and Addison blew up about it." Bonzo shrugs.

Zed frowns, slumping back against his seat. He knew Bonzo thought him and Addison dating was a bad idea, but he had no idea Bree felt the same. Or that she felt so strongly about it that it blew up their whole friendship.

"That…that sucks," Zed grumbles. He has to find a way to fix this. Addison and Bree had been best friends since before either of them knew him. If everything were flipped — if he and Bonzo fought about a woman that Bonzo knew worked in the underbelly of Seabrook and Zed didn't, and all Bonzo wanted was to protect him from a heartache… Fuck.

He has to tell her. It pains him to keep it all from her, but it hurts even more knowing he ruined a good friendship. She deserves to know everything, know and make the best decision for her and her future. She deserves a better man than him.

Bonzo stops in the familiar gravel parking lot next to Addison's building. "We're here," he announces.

Zed nods. He slips his phone out and texts Addison, letting her know he was waiting outside.

Bonzo sighs, turning around to face Zed. "Zed, I didn't mean to piss all over your parade," he says. "Bree's been upset for weeks and I…I lashed out at you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to unload all that on you."

"But you think she's right." It's less of a question, but Bonzo looks down at the ground. "That I'm not good for Addy?"

"Does it matter if I do?" Bonzo asks. "I've never seen you so happy before, so clearly something's working."

"Great," Zed grumbles. So Bonzo thinks they're bad for each other, but also thinks they're good together. This is what he gets for going to his bodyguard for relationship advice.

Bonzo sits back in his seat. "Here she comes," he sings quietly.

Zed looks out the front windshield, unable to stop the smile and swell in his chest at the sight of his girlfriend. She walks quickly, an extra pep in her step, a pink duffle bag that matches her purse slung over her shoulder, her white hair pulled back in a half-up ponytail. He inhales sharply at the sight of his grey sweater covering her upper body, twice her size but oh so gorgeous on her.

Zed climbs out of the car without a second thought, his conversation with Bonzo almost entirely forgotten. He meets her at the front, smiling brightly. When she sees him, she beams, running the rest of the distance between them. Zed braces himself, then she throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his middle.

"Hey!" she beams.

Zed laughs, holding her tightly. "Hey!" She looks up at him, her smile brighter than a summer sun. He loves that smile. "How're you?"

Addison steps back out of his arms. "Good. Better, I think.."

"Good, that's good to hear," he says. "Lemme grab your bag."

She nods, pulling it off her shoulder. Zed grabs it by the handles with one hand, wrapping the other around her shoulders. "Come on. Bonzo will drive us back to my place, then we can head out."

Addison nods. Zed opens the door for her and she climbs in, calling out, "Hi Bonzo!" as she goes. Zed climbs in behind her, leaning over and placing her bag in the trunk behind him.

"Hey Addison," Bonzo greets.

Zed shuts the door and quickly buckles up. Bonzo's already pulling back onto the road.

"Are you a driver now? I thought you did security," Addison says.

Bonzo snorts. "You should tell Zed that. He seems to think I'm his personal chauffeur."

Addison looks at him, jokingly poking his side. Zed rolls his eyes. "It's for safety!" he explains.

"Mhm," Addison says, not fully convinced. She leans forward and stage whispers, "Blink twice if you need help."

Bonzo chuckles. Zed pouts; she's teasing, and he knows it. He wraps his arms around her, pulling her back to the seat to tease her back with tickles. Addison squeals, squirming in his grasp.

"Zed! Zed!" she shrieks.

Zed laughs, stopping after only a few seconds. "You think I'm a bad boss, Addy?" he teases.

"I don't know! You're not my boss!"

"The diner?"

"Oh, yeah!" She taps her cheek, pondering the question. "Well, you're never there. Not very hands-on, if you ask me. So, kinda!"

"Wow! True colors, Addy. True colors."

She giggles, her eyes shining as she looks at him. "Only there, though," she says. She leans into his side, lacing her fingers in his. "You're pretty great, Zed."

Zed presses a kiss to her temple. "You're pretty great, babe," he says. She smiles, snuggling further into his side. "I like your sweater, too. Looks great on you."

Addison giggles. "Stop," she mumbles. "I was sad and I missed you."

"I'll get you more," he assures her. "You can raid my closet when we get there. Anything you want, promise."

"Yay!" she cheers quietly. "I'm getting a whole new wardrobe. And then I get to capitalize on all the Zed cuddles for two, whole, days."

"Only you," he says with a kiss to her temple.

Addison smiles up at him. She shifts, lifting his arm and wrapping it around her shoulder while still holding his hand.

Zed settles against his seat, looking out the front window. They're only on the highway, another twenty minutes before they make it back to his house.

He makes eye contact with Bonzo through the mirror, who simply raises his eyebrows. Maybe in surprise? It doesn't feel like a disappointed look, that's for sure. But with Addison under his arm, he can't bring himself to care about what others think of them. They work, despite everything that says they shouldn't. And he's going to hold onto this for as long as he can.

Zed gives her a tour of the house, chuckling at her comments: "Jesus fuck, this place is huge?" and "Oh my god, baby Zed! You're so cute!" She spends ten whole minutes in the living room, looking at every framed picture on the wall, every photo on the mantle, and even taking in the details of Zoey's flowers on the side tables. She flips through piano books — "Can you play?" "A little" (he may or may not be classically trained, but that's neither here nor there).

She goes from the living room to the dining room, popping her head into the gym, passing by his and Zoey's old playroom, now filled with liquor and video games, before finally stopping to catch her breath in the sunroom.

"What. The. Fuck!" she proclaims. She turns to him, smiling wider than he's ever seen. "You better not live here alone otherwise why the fuck have we spent all our time at my shit hole apartment and not here!"

Zed laughs sheepishly. "Well, baby, you don't have a car," he points out. She sticks her tongue out at him. "If it makes you feel better, my sister comes and goes as she pleases and does not knock, so." He fakes a shudder.

Addison thinks this over for a second, then shrugs. "Well, it's good to know you're not like hiding a secret family or whatever! But I hope you realize I'm always gonna wanna come over! I mean, look at your pool!" She turns around, admiring the glistening waters Zed can barely remember to keep clean. "I wanna live in that pool."

Zed laughs. He steps closer and wraps his arms around her. She leans into him instantly, resting her head on his chest, smiling. "It's gonna be too cold for that soon," he tells her. "Come on, let's check out the upstairs, and then you can pick out some clothes to steal and we can head out."

Addison whips around, squealing. "Yes! Yes! Lead the way!"

Zed takes her hand, leading her out of the sunroom and to the winding stairs near the front of the house. It takes a few minutes, Addison distracted by the portraits hanging over the stairs: Zed at his high school graduation, a family picture right after Zoey was born, his parents' wedding portraits.

With every step, his heart pounds harder, faster, more and more and more. Addison doesn't notice, years of training on keeping his cool helps to hide his rising nerves. He's gotten yelled at more than enough times to know better than to give himself away.

They reach the top of the stairs; Zed offers her a smile and leads the way to his dad's old office. As much as he'd like to do this in the safety and comfort of his bedroom, the office is the most secure place in the residence. It's safest there, not just for him, but for Addison. Someone could have seen him bringing her to his house, but inside the office, nothing got out.

Addison, still preoccupied with her first visit to her boyfriend's home, takes in the decor and the art and all the furnishing as they walk down the hall. "This place is…amazing, Zed."

"Mostly thanks to my parents," he grumbles. He stops, opening the door to the office for her. "In here."

Addison doesn't move, eyeing him curiously. If it were anyone else, even Zoey, he'd worry about some ulterior motive, some malice, something else that was making them hesitate. Something in him unsettles when he doesn't get these same worries with Addison. "What is this place?" she asks.

Zed leads her through the room, bypassing the desk and chairs and heading straight to the sofa, one that sits before a wall covered inch to inch with books. "My dad's old study," he explains. Addison looks up at the towering shelves, turning her head to the large bay windows behind the desk. "Uh, mine now, technically."

She looks at him, smiling wildly. "It's amazing, Zed. Really."

He forces a smile, rocking on his heels. Addison's smile falls, her head tilting curiously. It doesn't take long for him to see the worry in her eyes.

"Is something wrong? You've been acting…kind of weird since we got here. If you're not cool with me asking all these questions and like…thinking everything is extravagant, I can totally shut up and we can go to the lake —"

"No, Addy, it's not you," he quickly assures her.

"But something's wrong, isn't it?"

Zed pauses, telling her everything she needs to know in that one moment of silence.

"Can we sit?" he asks.

Addison nods and sits down on the couch. Zed takes the seat next to her, mindful to leave some distance between them, in case she flips out and wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

"Addison," he starts, "I…I." She looks at him with the most patient, caring, big blue eyes, breaking his resolve. He can't crush her, he doesn't want to lose her. But lying to her is so much worse. He can't chicken out again.

"I know you and Bree have been fighting lately, because of me," he starts.

"Zed…"

"I haven't been telling you the whole truth," he finally admits. Her eyebrows raise, he hopes in just surprise. "Um, about the work I do. And my family."

"Um, okay," she says slowly.

Zed sighs. He turns around, grabs a pad of paper off the table beside the couch and presents it to her. "Do you recognize that symbol?" he asks.

She looks at it, her brows furrowed with confusion, then realization. "Yeah…I-I got mugged a little while back and someone sent me all my stuff back with a note on this paper." She looks from the paper, to him, then asks, "That was you?"

Zed licks his lips, then nods. She wracks her brain further, then adds, "This stupid gossip blog said this symbol was for a secret Seabrook mob…the-the Big Z Family?"

Zed inwardly cringes at the mention of Lacey Adams's stupid article. "It is."

Addison tilts her head, more confused than ever. "I-I don't get it, Zed."

"I…I inherited my family's businesses," he explains. "The diner, a bunch of shops and properties, and all the, uh, not so legal things."

"Oh." She looks away from him, down at her hands.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, Addison," he swears. "I just…I didn't know how to tell you. I want to be good, I want to make Seabrook a better place than what my father left it as. And I'm trying, I swear I'm trying. But sometimes I have to do things I don't want to do. But I have to, to keep my family safe, to keep my friends safe."

"Why are you telling me this now?" she whispers.

"Addy, I didn't have much of a choice in any of this. This is my life, the world I was born into and the one I'll die in. But I want you to know that you have a choice." She lifts her head, looking up at him. She expects to see Zed Necrodopolis, a cold and calculated criminal, like the men her dad tells her about. But she doesn't. All she sees is her Zed, the guy who makes her laugh and hangs out on her ratty old couch eating pizza and drinking beer while they debate over college football. The Zed that cares more about spending time with her, seeing her face and complimenting her smile, her smile, for Pete's sake! The Zed that picks her up when she's down, and lifts her higher than anyone else ever has.

The Zed who nervously shifts next to her, and keeps talking. And she can't really find it in herself to stop him, not when he says, "I've never felt this way about anybody before. Hell, I've never told anyone this. I want to be with you, in every way, shape, and form, Addison. And you deserve the chance to choose if you want to be with me — all of me. I know it's a lot to ask —"

"No it's not," she interrupts. "Zed, you may have been born in a world where people expect you to be cruel, and mean, and vindictive. But you're not like that. You're sweet and kind and so caring. You said you want to do good. And I believe you."

Zed blinks, somehow surprised that she'd still want to be with him, despite everything he does. And even if she can't explain it, she does.

"You do?"

Addison smiles softly. She takes his hands in hers. "Of course I do. And I wanna be there, every step of the way, to support you and remind you how good you are." Zed breathes in sharply. "I want to be with you, Zed Necrodopolis."

Zed lunges forward, kissing her hard. Addison squeals, falling backward against the couch with Zed chasing her lips, heading down with her. She tangles her fingers in his hair, holding him in place as he ravishes her every last breath away.

He trails his lips across her jaw, her breathless giggles music to his ears. "I. Adore. You." Zed punctuates each word with a kiss until he gets to that special spot on her neck that makes her squirm every time. "Addison. Rosalind. Jacobs."

Like expected, she squirms and giggles, her skin quickly flushing under his ministrations. "I should — I should text Bree! Apologize, and…" Zed's teeth sink into her skin, right next to the faint remains of a hickey from days ago, effectively halting her train of thought with the most strained moan.

"Do that later." He presses his lips into her heated skin, making her shudder. She nods quickly, not needing much convincing.