**Author's note: Sorry guys, really thought I'd have this up sooner! I had an awesome but busy 4th of July weekend. But here is the next chapter, as promised. The next one will probably be up tomorrow. I wanted to do it tonight, but I'm too tired after a long day of work. This chapter is a pretty short one, more for transition purposes than anything else. No real drama or cliffhangers, but I hope you still like it!

Chapter 17- Fighting

After our shower, Zac and I started re-packing my suitcases. In that moment, I don’t think I could have been any happier. Zac and I had fallen back into our perfect rhythm; we laughed almost constantly, and shared little affectionate moments in between folding clothes or cleaning up the room. It didn’t take us long to clean up the mess that we had been a little while earlier.

It was when we were finished with the packing and sitting on the bed that the sadness and the reality of the situation hit me I was leaving, and Zac was staying here. For god knows how long. I felt a lump in my throat and tears gather threateningly in my eyes at the thought of the separation that was only a few hours away from us.

Determined not to let myself break down yet, or to let Zac see me breaking down yet, I hopped off the bed and turned to face Zac, holding out my hand for his. “Dinner? I’m starving,” I asked with a smile, trying to hide that the sadness was starting to get to me. I didn’t want Zac to see me upset, because the last thing I wanted was for him to feel guilty or uncertain about staying with his family like he needed. I had to convince him that it was the right thing to do, even if I was not so sure myself.

“Sure, I’m really hungry too,” he said, returning my smile as he took my hand. I pulled him to his feet. He immediately pulled me towards him and into a tight hug. He rested his chin on the top of my head for a moment and I breathed in his scent, not wanting to let go. He kissed the top of my head and pulled away. “Let’s go eat,” he said with a smile, before leaning down to give me a quick kiss and then heading out the door and down the stairs.

I grabbed his hoodie that I had left lying on the bed and pulled it on over the t-shirt and boxers, both his, that I was wearing. By the time I got downstairs, Zac was already in the kitchen flinging cupboards open and rummaging for food.

“Pasta sound okay? We don’t have much food in the house. My whole family being here this weekend kind of cleaned us out,” he said with a laugh.

“Pasta works for me,” I said as I hopped up to sit on the counter across from him.

“Then pasta it is,” he said as he pulled out a pot and filled it with water. He put the water on the stove and turned it on, then pulled the box of pasta out of the cupboard and put it on the counter. Then he turned and made his way around the island toward where I sat on the opposite counter. “Now we wait,” he said with a smile as he walked up to me, standing between my legs. He put his hands on my knees and leaned in, kissing me softly. I put my arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. He moved his hands from my knees up my legs, and wrapped them around my waist, pulling me closer to him so that I was sitting on the edge of the counter. After a while of increasingly more passionate kissing, I pulled back.

“Baby, um, we’re in your mother’s kitchen…” I said with a soft laugh. He laughed with me and gave me another quick kiss before removing his hands from my waist.

“Sorry, babe. I honestly think I kind of forgot the effect that you have on me,” he said with a wink.

“Oh my god. That was so cheesy,” I said, playfully smacking his chest and laughing at him. But I grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward me; so that his face was close to mine again. “I could never forget what you do to me,” I said softly and with a smile before kissing him. After a moment, I pushed him away. “I hear the water boiling,” I said with a smile. He shot me a fake glare and trudged over to the other side of the kitchen. He dumped the pasta into the water, and stood in front of the stove, his back towards me.

I hopped off of the counter and walked over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, laying my head on his back. He twisted around and wrapped his arms around me. I lifted my head so that I was resting my chin on his chest, looking up at him. “I love you so much,” I said softly.

“Oh baby, you have no idea. I love you too. Are you sure that you have to go back right away? Stay a couple more days,” he said quietly, with a pleading look that broke my heart.

“You know I would if I could, Zac. But I haven’t seen my parents in over two months. And I promised Stella that I would start being there for her more, especially with the wedding plans and everything. I wish I didn’t have to leave, but I really do,” I said, telling myself over and over inside my head not to cry. So far, I was holding up.

Zac nodded quietly and leaned down to kiss me. I stretched up on my toes to meet him halfway. The kiss was soft, and I swore that I could feel my own sadness reflected in Zac. I knew that we were both putting up strong fronts for the other, it had always been that way; we both hid our pain to save the other from hurting any more than necessary. But inevitably, I knew there was a moment when both of our walls would come crashing down, but I didn’t even want to think about that moment and what it would do to me.

A few minutes later, we were sitting at the table eating our pasta. We were both starving after the days “activities”, so we ate in no time flat. When our plates were clean, Zac picked them up and took them over to the sink. He went over and opened the freezer, but hid whatever he had taken out behind his back. He walked toward me with a smirk on his face. When he got to the table, he set down a pint of Ben and Jerry’s mint chocolate chip ice cream down in front of me. I squealed and grabbed it.

“Baby! Did you buy this for me?” I asked, nearly bouncing in my seat.

“Yep. You’re favorite,” he said with a smile as he sat down. I leaned across the corner of the table to kiss him.

“Thank you, you’re the best,” I said with a huge smile on my face.

“I try. But the catch is, you have to share with me,” he said as he pulled two spoons from behind his back, putting one on the table in front of me and tapping me lightly on the nose with the other.

I rolled my eyes and sighed heavily. “Fine,” I said grumpily, before bursting into laughter and leaning forward to kiss him again.

Between the two of us, we finished off the small pint of ice cream in only a few minutes. I sat back in my seat, pulling my legs up to my chest, and sighed. “That was so good. I haven’t had ice cream in like a year,” I said with a laugh.

Zac gave me a fake look of shock. “Oh my god, that is the saddest thing I have ever heard in my life,” he said and I lunged forward to smack him. But his reflexes were too quick and he grabbed my hand. He softly kissed my palm, before pulling me out of my seat toward him. I sat on his lap and wrapped my arms around his waist. I laid my head on his shoulder. “I’m going to miss you so much,” he whispered.

I felt the lump rise in my throat again. I took a deep breath before softly saying, “I’m going to miss you too. I already do.” I straightened up and looked at him. His eyes were tear-free, but I could definitely see the sadness in them.

He kissed me softly again for a minute, before pulling away. “As much as I hate to say this, we should probably head out soon. It’s getting kind of late, and we’ve got a three-hour drive ahead of us.”

I looked up at the clock on the kitchen microwave and saw that it was almost 8:30. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said, but I didn’t make any movement to get up. I put my head back down on his shoulder, and he laughed gently.

“Come on, silly,” he said as he stood up, bringing me with him so that he was carrying me like a baby. He carried me up the stairs and into the bedroom, setting me down on the bed. I pulled me knees up to my chest and fought back the urge to cry. He kissed me on the forehead. “I’m going to go put your suitcases in my car. Do you want to just double check and make sure you’re not leaving anything behind, and I’ll be back up in just a minute,” he asked gently. I nodded again, and he grabbed my two suitcases and rolled them out of the room.

I got up and walked slowly around the room, making sure that I had packed everything I had brought. I slipped out of Zac’s boxers and pulled on the pair of his basketball shorts that I had laid on the bed. I had made Zac surrender some of my favorite items of his clothing, spraying them with his cologne first, so that I could feel like he was with me after I left. I folded the boxers and threw them into my purse. I picked up my purse and the old ragged teddy bear that I’d had for more than 10 years.

I heard Zac coming back up the stairs, and he laughed when he came in and saw me. He walked over, looking at my bear. “I can not believe you still have that,” he said laughing as he took it out of my hands to examine it.

I snatched it back from him with a fake glare. “He’s been everywhere with me. I can’t get rid of him now,” I said.

“I know, baby. I’m just teasing you,” he said with a smile and a wink. “So are you ready to leave?”

“Not really. But let’s do it anyways. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I said with a weak smile. Zac pulled me into another hug and kissed the top of my head. He pulled back and took my free hand. We walked hand in hand down the stairs and out to the car.

As Zac opened the car door for me and I climbed in, I looked back at the house and fought the urge to cry again. I wasn’t sure if I was leaving home or heading toward it.

**Author's Note: Next chapter will be their goodbye! *tear* So be ready for that... It'll be up as soon as possible! And just to give you all a heads up now, I am leaving on Saturday to go to the Bahamas for a week! So I won't be able to write or update while I'm away. But I will get you guys a few more chapters before I leave, and then I'll start updating again as soon as possible after I get back!

xoxo
Annie