crocodile (BWWM)

17

Reneé

Taking the silent walk back to my room, I pondered on the past week and all the possibilities why James and Imani might have acted like that. However nothing seemed to click, and I continued to come up blank. I can admit that I haven't seen her as much as I want to, but with the schedule she has compared to mine and still looking for internships to apply I don't see the essence of hanging out.

As I reach the fourth floor I open the door to Zach hunched over knocking, or might I say, banging on my door.

"RENEÉ! OPEN THE DOOR!" he yells, before pulling his phone towards his ear.

Silently tiptoeing towards him I notice his body shake.
"Yo Zach," I say, tapping him on his shoulder. I take a big step back. 

He turns around and without saying a word pulls me into a hug, slamming my face into his chest. We stay like that for a while, my arms on my sides as he squeezes me mostly to comfort himself. His heart was racing, and he continued to shake until I wrapped my arms around him.

"Zach," I whisper lowly and into his chest. It had been at least five minutes now, and his breathing was back to normal, but mine was starting to get limited.

"Hmm," he responds in the same tone, not moving a single part of his body from mine.

"I can't breathe," I utter restrictedly. He quickly opens his eyes and accesses our position before breaking apart. I chuckle to myself watching his reaction as he takes multiple steps back until his back hits my door. Slowly lifting his head to look at me, I notice the pool of tears in his eyes before he quickly wipes them away.

"Why weren't you picking up? I was worried!" He groans, a disgusted look casing around his face.

"My phone turned off when I called you I'm sorry...." I barely breathe out, "Are you okay?" I stay frozen in my spot waiting for an answer as he leans by the doorframe. Grabbing his hand, I gently open my door and urge him to enter. I did not want to give my neighbors a show into my life. Again.

"What's wrong Zach," I question, taking a seat on my desk chair as he attempts to hold his composure by the door.

"I've been calling you for the past 15 minutes and I heard your phone ringing but you weren't responding. I just- I thought something happened to you," he retorts, before letting out a heavy sigh. I continued to study him, this reaction being new to me. Zachariah never cared if I didn't respond to his calls, at least not to this extent.

"I'm fine." I lie.

I was fine in regards to Zach being scared that something might have happened to me, but I needed someone to talk to. I've thought about Imani the past week and even messaged her a few times to find out what was wrong. She hadn't been to the room and hadn't answered any of my calls.

Shifting awkwardly in my seat, I turn to fully face Zach in an upright position.
"Actually I wanted to talk to you," I say quietly. I was surprised he heard me, my voice lighter than a feather. Walking away from the door and quickly taking Imani's chair out he sat shifting his body weight towards me.

"What?" He questions staring intensely at me. My gaze slowly teased his face, taking in the image I hadn't seen in a while. His facial hair had grown to a stubble, and his face was slightly slimmer than before.
My hands slowly reach up to brush against his facial hair, but he forcefully grabs my hand,  taking it away before I can react.

"Renée." He breathes, his eyebrows scrunching up pleadingly. He pulled my hand away and gently placed it on my lap, before dragging my chair closer towards him. His hand reaches towards my face as his eyes soften, slowly wiping my cheek.