Chapter 12 – The Phone Call

The next morning, it was Zed that woke up first. He carefully untangled his limbs from Wynter's, trying his best not to wake her up. He quickly pulled on a pair of sweatpants and T-shirt from his side of the wardrobe, and made his way into the kitchen.

After making the coffee, Zed laughed quietly to himself, as he spotted the various pieces of his and Wynter's clothing that were scattered around the apartment. His waistcoat and shirt were both hanging off the front door handle, Wynter's dress was discarded over the back of the sofa, his belt and pants lay in the middle of the floor and Wynter's bra hung over a lamp. It's a wonder we made it into the bedroom last night, he thought, as he slowly sipped his coffee.

Zed was about halfway through making pancakes (which he had quickly learned were Wynter's favourite breakfast, so tried to make as much as possible), when his phone rang. He quickly ran to answer it, hoping that his fairly loud ringtone hadn't woken Wynter up, and didn't bother looking at the caller id, assuming it was probably Bonzo.

"Hello," he yawned.

"Zed, are you only just waking up? It's 10:00 am!", his father replied. Zevon's voice took him by surprise.

"Dad! Hi, um yeah, I've just got up, it's erm, I had a late-night last night."

"Oh, the Halloween Zombie Mashes," Zevon said, with a hint if disapproval in his voice. "The less I know about those the better for both of us I think."

"Yeah, probably," Zed replied, his mind wandering back to last night. He definitely didn't want his dad knowing about last night.

"Zed! Can you hear me?", his dad shouted, knocking Zed out of his gaze.

"Yeah, sorry I zoned out a little. What was that?"

"I said, I know you're in college, and you want to have fun, but please make sure you're being safe and responsible."

"Yep, definitely responsible."

Zevon sighed. "Anyway, I was calling to ask about Thanksgiving. It's in a couple of weeks, and I just wanted to check that we're doing the same as last year. You know, you, me, Zoe going to Addison's parents, watching the parade, eating dinner etc."

Shit. I haven't told him, Zed thought. Is he going to be mad? Disappointed? Dad and Zoe both love Addison, of course they're going to be disappointed.

"Zed? Hello? Are you still there?", Zevon asked again.

"Yeah dad, still here just thinking," he said.

"As I was saying, I don't mind hosting this year, and they can come around to our house, but I just need numbers so I can prepare for food and-"

"Yeah, dad. That's probably not going to happen," Zed interrupted.

"Oh, ok. I mean I enjoyed last year, and I know Zoe loved watching all Addison's old cheer tapes, so we'll all go there again-"

"No, no, dad. Thanksgiving with Addison is probably not going to happen this year," Zed interrupted again. There was silence on the other end, so Zed continued. "You see, Addie and I kinda broke up." Again silence. "Dad, you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," he replied, coldly. "Just shocked, I think." He was silent for another few seconds, before continuing. "When did this happen?"

"A couple of weeks ago, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but it just slipped my mind. And with everything going on between classes and Addison, I just forgot to call you guys."

"I see. So, what happened?", Zevon asked.

"Dad, I don't really want to talk about it right now, please can we just move on?"

"Ok, so it'll just be me, you and Zoe for Thanksgiving this year? Just like old times."

At that moment, Zed looked up and saw Wynter standing in the doorway to their bedroom, wearing a saddened expression. "Dad, I've got to go. I'll talk later." He didn't wait for a response before hanging up the phone and looking back at Wynter.

"You never told your dad about Addison? About us?", she asked gloomily.

"No! I mean, technically I didn't, but it's not like that," Zed rambled, trying to justify his mistake. "I genuinely forgot. Between you moving in, Addison moving out, the whole article thing, and Wyatt. I haven't even called them since I broke up with Addison!"

"So, you're not ashamed of me?", Wynter asked, tears starting to fall from her face.

"No! Never!", Zed said, pulling her into a hug. "You are the best thing that has happened to me in a very, very long time. Possibly even ever." He kissed the top of her head and continued. "And I would never be ashamed of you."

Wynter sniffled and looked up with a small smile on her face. "I love you."

"I love you too, Wynnie." Zed stayed in that position for a few more minutes, continuing to hug and comfort his girlfriend, before pulling away. "I love you so much, that I'm about 2 minutes away from a big, stack on pancakes finishing cooking," he said, cooking the last few.

She smiled again and pulled up a stool at the counter. "You do make extremely good pancakes," she smiled. "And after last night, I think I definitely need some."

"Ah yes, last night," Zed smiled back at her, as he placed a stack of pancakes in front of Wynter. "Judging by the state of our apartment, it seemed enjoyable."

Wynter laughed as she looked around the room at the various pieces of clothing. "Well, I certainly enjoyed it."

"So did I," Zed said, dreamily. "So, I was thinking, how would you like to be the guest of honour at this year's Necrodopolis Thanksgiving? I can't promise that it will be fancy, or that you won't get food poisoning from my dad's cooking, or that Zoe won't badger you with a million questions when-"

He was interrupted by a passionate kiss. "I'd love to," Wynter replied, before continuing to kiss him. Her hand slowly crept up his T-shirt and began pulling it off.

"Really? Now?", Zed asked, slightly surprised.

"They pancakes can wait, it's time for round 2 Necrodopolis," Wynter smirked.

And that time, they didn't make it to the bedroom