You Stole My Heart

CHAPTER TWENTY

"You're going on a date with him?" Carley and I are going through some old summer camp photos I have while sipping Starbucks mochas at the mall.

"Don't be fooled by his past appearance, Shane Sanders has definitely hunked-up, my friend."

"Uh huh. Can you hunk up from that?" Carley raises a prim eyebrow at me, her expression doubtful.

"From Zero to Hero." I take a sip, peering at her over over my coffee. She just rolls her eyes at my Disney Hercules reference.

"Okay, so say he is now-" she pauses, searching for the words "a major hunk,"

"Ha! I knew you payed attention during that movie!" I call her out on quoting the same song from Hercules.

"Whatever, suppose he is, this guy shows up out of nowhere, asks you on a date, tells you he now lives here and bam, you say yes?"

"Well..."

"I'm just saying, it sounds a little suspicious to me." Carley shrugs, then, her curiosity finally getting the better of her, asks, "seriously though, six pack?"

"Didn't see, but I'll bet Daniella's Wardrobe that he has one." We laugh at my lame joke.

"Seriously, so where you gonna go on this ever so romantic date?"

"What date?" Blake kisses Carley on the cheek and gives me a side hug as he joins us at our table.

"Sarah's got a date with a Zero-to-Hero." Carley teases in a sing-song voice.

"Hercules?" His brow knits in confusion, and we laugh.

"No, some guy who used to be a wimp, but now he's serious eye-candy." I grin.

"Uh-oh. Sah, last time you had a date, I had to break up a fist fight." Blake nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"That wasn't my fault, and you're the one who set me up with Caleb anyway!" I grumble.

"She has a point, babe." My red-haired best friend chuckles.

"Just...let me talk to this guy first, okay, Sah?"

"Aww," Carley and I sing in unison.

"I'm just saying, the last thing you need in your life is more drama."

"That's so sweet, babe," Carley leans over and kisses him full on the lips.

"Ew, guys, do you mind? I'm trying to stomach caffeine here!"

"Sorry, little miss heartbreaker," Carley pulls away from her star-struck boyfriend and winks, "I'll be right back, ladies room."

Unlike most teenage girls, Carley and I don't feel the overpowering urge to go to the bathroom together.

"So," I start once she's gone. "You gonna tell her?"

"Why do we always have conversations like this?" Blake groans.

"Because my powers of perception are too strong to hide from." I grin wickedly. "And you, my dear Watson, are in love with my best friend."

"How do you tell the girl who means everything to you, that she, well, means everything to you?" Blake whispers weakly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Blake. Asking me for advice is probably a really bad idea, I can't help you there. Except to say that Augustus Waters totally nailed it in The Fault in our Stars."

"I'm not taking her to Amsterdam."

"No, but a fancy restaurant and a spontaneous speech about how much you love her wont hurt." I offer.

"Thanks, Sah. I'll figure something out."

"Blake, have you ever considered how weird it sounds when you call me Sah?"

"No, why? Does it bother you?"

"Nah, I just thought it was weird that no one else calls me that."

"Well. I could always call you Skittles." Blake raises his eyebrows in jest.

***

Later that day I'm at home finishing off a homework essay, the cacophony of a fighting married couple not doing anything for my distracted train of thought.

The loud crash that follows completely derails that train.

"What the hell is going on?" Daniella screeches, as she runs out of her room, her hair up in a messy bun, her face painted with a green cosmetics mask.

"Hell, if I knew!" I retort.

"One day, karma's going to bite you in your fat ass!" My dad storms upstairs, strolls past us and slams the door to the master bedroom shut.

"Well, that sounds fun." Daniella quips and retreats back into her lair. I stand in the carpeted hallway, waiting for something-what, I don't know.

Slowly I make my way downstairs, almost afraid of what I'll find.

My mom is sitting of the floor, her immaculate short blonde bob a mess, Thick, black mascara running down her cheeks, her long flowing black maxi-skirt pooling around her, her long fingers gripping shards of Nana's broken antique vase so tightly that they've pierced her pale skin.

I want to go to her-but I don't know what to say. She looks so broken, her tears and blood mixing on the white marble tiles in front of her.

I don't think she wants me to help her, I don't think I'm supposed to see her like this.

I silently tiptoe back into my room, where I cry tears of my own, for my broken parents-my broken family.

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A/N

Heeey readers!👯

This chapter's a little short but we hope that you guys get a sense of the tight bond between these three friends!

Also, we've gotten a few complaints about our typos in previous chapters, and we apologize profusely for them. We are looking at revising the previous chapters and fixing them, but until then, sorry.

We also apologize for any typos in this chapter, it was not proof-read.

Hope you guys are enjoying our book, and please don't hesitate to Vote, Comment or follow us-and read our new book, Infected! (No, it does not include zombies, as awesome as that would be.)

The next chapter might take a little longer than usual to upload, but it'll be worth it, we promise.

We can't wait for Sarah's date with Shane! Can this Zero-to-Hero finally make Sarah's heart forget about Zac?

Until next time,

Xoxo

Storm and Snow 😘😘