Catch Me
The Truth Comes Out
Zack
When I heard about what happened to Riley, I was all sorts of angry. How anyone could ever say those kinds of things or do what was done to her baffles my mind. What’s incredibly upsetting is that she is used to men catcalling her which makes me sick to my stomach. I immediately wanted to fly back home and be with her after that conversation. She had never been treated that badly and I couldn’t even imagine how upset she was; I wanted to be there to physically comfort her and doing it over the phone wasn’t good enough. I knew I had to be with her as soon as I got home.
“Hey Zack.” I heard Rian greet me at our tour bus.
“Hey.”
“How was your flight?”
“Way too long, but I was able to text a certain someone.”
They knew something happened between me and Anna, but I never went into detail.
“You need to tell me... usabout what the hell happened with Anna.”
“I know. It’s not an easy thing to talk about. You guys aren’t exactly gonna be happy with me.”
“You cheated on her. Didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? I don’t get it.”
“I-“ I said, biting the inside of my cheek.
“You?”
When I started to scratch my head, Alex and Jack came out of the bus.
“Hey man. Why do you look so nervous?” Jack asked.
“He was just about to tell us why he cheated on Anna.” Rian said.
I glared at him.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I knew they’d be angry. I just knew it.
“It was shortly after I got back and I was at a bar. I saw this woman on the dance floor and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She walked over and flirted with me. I couldn’t resist.”
“And you took her home with you?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. That’s usually how it works.”
“How are you so blasé about this?”
“I’m not. I’m not proud of myself, but I’m in a relationship with this girl now.”
Everyone had looks of disbelief on their faces.
“I didn’t intend for this to happen and neither did she, but it is what it is. I really do care about her.”
“You do?”
“Very much so.”
“Do you have a photo of her?”
I was more than happy to show them a photo. I showed a photo of us on that day of the race.
“She is really pretty. Complete opposite of Anna.”
“She’s beautiful.” I said not being able to keep the smile off my face.
“If she has you like this, then I approve.” Alex said.
“So do I.” Jack said.
“Me too.” Rian added.
“Thank you. She was a bit worried about what you guys would think of her, so this is a relief.”
“Well, it’s not like she knew you were already in a relationship, so why would we?”
“That’s pretty much what I told her.”
I soon got my belongings into the bus and off we were to the venue.
Riley
That night, I seemed to have slept well which was a relief because I was exhausted going into the day and then that guy happened... if you can call him that; he was more like a pig if you ask me. The following day, I knew I had to go out and buy groceries, so I unhappily left my apartment to do that. In the middle of my shopping, I received a message from Zack... one with a photo attached; it was a pic of him smiling, sweaty and shirtless after the concert; it had me licking my lips.
Figured I'd return the favor. Miss you!
What a time to send me that.
Thank you! I love it! Miss you, too!
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. That’s how happy I was. I’m sure there were people who were wondering why the fuck I’m so happy because who the hell is so excited while grocery shopping, but I didn’t care. I got home less than an hour later and it was one in the afternoon when I heard my phone ring. I knew it couldn’t possibly be Zack, so I assumed it was one of my friends, but I was wrong. It was my mom.
“Hey.”
“Hey baby girl. How are you?”
“Okay. You?”
“Great. Riley, why are you only okay?”
“I’d be great, but something terrible happened yesterday.”
“What is it?”
“I got catcalled which isn’t unusual, but I confronted him and after a relatively short conversation, he stuck a hand down my shirt.”
“Oh my God. That’s disgusting. I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah. I can’t either. I hate that guys like that exist and I know there’s no excuse for that, but I shouldn’t have let it get to me. Krissy and Myra were trying to pull me back, but I went ahead. I was exhausted and was in somewhat of a mood.”
“Why were you so tired, baby girl?”
“I had taken my boyfriend to the airport at three in the morning, came home at five, slept for five more hours and got up again.”
“Ooh... boyfriend? It’s been so long since you’ve had one of those.”
“Yeah and he’s amazing.”
“How long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“Officially eight days, dating two weeks.”
“So, this is new, really new. Why’d he have to go to the airport?”
“He’s in a band, Mom.”
I was ecstatic and biting my lip.
“A musician! What’s he play?”
“Bass and he does backup vocals.”
“Do I know this band?”
“He plays in a band Myra and Krissy listen to, actually. Can you believe that? They’re called All Time Low.”
“That is fantastic! Is he cute?”
“Incredibly cute and hot as hell. He’s way off the charts. More attractive than Mike ever was.”
“Which one? I’ll look up a picture.”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll send you a pic.”
I was able to send a photo to my mom through my tablet. Seconds later, I got a response. It was a pic from us on that day we went sightseeing.
“Oh, honey. He is absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thanks Mom. I really care about him and he cares about me. He told me last week that I was the most important person in his life, even.”
“Aww... I’m so happy for you. Where’d he run off to?”
“England. They’re gonna be there for a month. I miss him already. It’s weird being a couple for a week, dating for twice as long and now he’s in Europe.”
“But, you’re happy.”
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been, Mom. I never thought I’d be treated this well by a man after what happened to me.” I said getting teary eyed.
“You deserve all the happiness in the world, baby girl.”
“Thank you. That means so much to me.”
“Speaking of happiness, your father were planning on renewing our vows.”
My parents have been married for thirty-five years.
“That’s fantastic! When?”
“Next month. We were thinking coming to where you are to renew them.”
“I love that idea! I miss you guys!”
I haven’t seen my parents in two years and I miss them terribly. They’ve been incredibly supportive of me and I couldn’t be more blessed to have the family that I have.
“We miss you too. So much! You’ll be able to bring Zack if he can come.”
“Let me know as soon as you can, so I can talk to him.”
“I definitely will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We spoke for about five more minutes until I had to let her go. I want to talk to Zack as soon as possible. I took a nap after eating and woke to my phone ringing.
“Hey.”
Zack.
“Hey baby. How are you?”
Glad you asked.
“Absolutely wonderful.”
“This is a complete 180. What’s up?”
“My mom called. My parents are getting their vows renewed.”
“That’s great. How long have they been married?”
“35 years. They plan on coming here next month to get them renewed.”
“Do I get to be your date?”
He’s adorable.
“Of course. And my mom loves you already.”
“That’s great. Now, I just have to get the approval of your dad and sisters.”
He sounded a bit nervous.
“I’m sure they will. They’re great judges of character.”
“That’s a relief. Do you have a date yet?”
“No, but I’ll let you know asap, so you can figure out if you can come or not.”
“I really hope so. This will be quick though. You know, the meeting of the parents thing if I’m able to go.”
“And it’ll be fine.”
When I heard about what happened to Riley, I was all sorts of angry. How anyone could ever say those kinds of things or do what was done to her baffles my mind. What’s incredibly upsetting is that she is used to men catcalling her which makes me sick to my stomach. I immediately wanted to fly back home and be with her after that conversation. She had never been treated that badly and I couldn’t even imagine how upset she was; I wanted to be there to physically comfort her and doing it over the phone wasn’t good enough. I knew I had to be with her as soon as I got home.
“Hey Zack.” I heard Rian greet me at our tour bus.
“Hey.”
“How was your flight?”
“Way too long, but I was able to text a certain someone.”
They knew something happened between me and Anna, but I never went into detail.
“You need to tell me... usabout what the hell happened with Anna.”
“I know. It’s not an easy thing to talk about. You guys aren’t exactly gonna be happy with me.”
“You cheated on her. Didn’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“Why? I don’t get it.”
“I-“ I said, biting the inside of my cheek.
“You?”
When I started to scratch my head, Alex and Jack came out of the bus.
“Hey man. Why do you look so nervous?” Jack asked.
“He was just about to tell us why he cheated on Anna.” Rian said.
I glared at him.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
I knew they’d be angry. I just knew it.
“It was shortly after I got back and I was at a bar. I saw this woman on the dance floor and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She walked over and flirted with me. I couldn’t resist.”
“And you took her home with you?” Alex asked.
“Yeah. That’s usually how it works.”
“How are you so blasé about this?”
“I’m not. I’m not proud of myself, but I’m in a relationship with this girl now.”
Everyone had looks of disbelief on their faces.
“I didn’t intend for this to happen and neither did she, but it is what it is. I really do care about her.”
“You do?”
“Very much so.”
“Do you have a photo of her?”
I was more than happy to show them a photo. I showed a photo of us on that day of the race.
“She is really pretty. Complete opposite of Anna.”
“She’s beautiful.” I said not being able to keep the smile off my face.
“If she has you like this, then I approve.” Alex said.
“So do I.” Jack said.
“Me too.” Rian added.
“Thank you. She was a bit worried about what you guys would think of her, so this is a relief.”
“Well, it’s not like she knew you were already in a relationship, so why would we?”
“That’s pretty much what I told her.”
I soon got my belongings into the bus and off we were to the venue.
Riley
That night, I seemed to have slept well which was a relief because I was exhausted going into the day and then that guy happened... if you can call him that; he was more like a pig if you ask me. The following day, I knew I had to go out and buy groceries, so I unhappily left my apartment to do that. In the middle of my shopping, I received a message from Zack... one with a photo attached; it was a pic of him smiling, sweaty and shirtless after the concert; it had me licking my lips.
Figured I'd return the favor. Miss you!
What a time to send me that.
Thank you! I love it! Miss you, too!
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. That’s how happy I was. I’m sure there were people who were wondering why the fuck I’m so happy because who the hell is so excited while grocery shopping, but I didn’t care. I got home less than an hour later and it was one in the afternoon when I heard my phone ring. I knew it couldn’t possibly be Zack, so I assumed it was one of my friends, but I was wrong. It was my mom.
“Hey.”
“Hey baby girl. How are you?”
“Okay. You?”
“Great. Riley, why are you only okay?”
“I’d be great, but something terrible happened yesterday.”
“What is it?”
“I got catcalled which isn’t unusual, but I confronted him and after a relatively short conversation, he stuck a hand down my shirt.”
“Oh my God. That’s disgusting. I can’t believe it.”
“Yeah. I can’t either. I hate that guys like that exist and I know there’s no excuse for that, but I shouldn’t have let it get to me. Krissy and Myra were trying to pull me back, but I went ahead. I was exhausted and was in somewhat of a mood.”
“Why were you so tired, baby girl?”
“I had taken my boyfriend to the airport at three in the morning, came home at five, slept for five more hours and got up again.”
“Ooh... boyfriend? It’s been so long since you’ve had one of those.”
“Yeah and he’s amazing.”
“How long have you guys been seeing each other?”
“Officially eight days, dating two weeks.”
“So, this is new, really new. Why’d he have to go to the airport?”
“He’s in a band, Mom.”
I was ecstatic and biting my lip.
“A musician! What’s he play?”
“Bass and he does backup vocals.”
“Do I know this band?”
“He plays in a band Myra and Krissy listen to, actually. Can you believe that? They’re called All Time Low.”
“That is fantastic! Is he cute?”
“Incredibly cute and hot as hell. He’s way off the charts. More attractive than Mike ever was.”
“Which one? I’ll look up a picture.”
“I’ll do you one better. I’ll send you a pic.”
I was able to send a photo to my mom through my tablet. Seconds later, I got a response. It was a pic from us on that day we went sightseeing.
“Oh, honey. He is absolutely gorgeous.”
“Thanks Mom. I really care about him and he cares about me. He told me last week that I was the most important person in his life, even.”
“Aww... I’m so happy for you. Where’d he run off to?”
“England. They’re gonna be there for a month. I miss him already. It’s weird being a couple for a week, dating for twice as long and now he’s in Europe.”
“But, you’re happy.”
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been, Mom. I never thought I’d be treated this well by a man after what happened to me.” I said getting teary eyed.
“You deserve all the happiness in the world, baby girl.”
“Thank you. That means so much to me.”
“Speaking of happiness, your father were planning on renewing our vows.”
My parents have been married for thirty-five years.
“That’s fantastic! When?”
“Next month. We were thinking coming to where you are to renew them.”
“I love that idea! I miss you guys!”
I haven’t seen my parents in two years and I miss them terribly. They’ve been incredibly supportive of me and I couldn’t be more blessed to have the family that I have.
“We miss you too. So much! You’ll be able to bring Zack if he can come.”
“Let me know as soon as you can, so I can talk to him.”
“I definitely will. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
We spoke for about five more minutes until I had to let her go. I want to talk to Zack as soon as possible. I took a nap after eating and woke to my phone ringing.
“Hey.”
Zack.
“Hey baby. How are you?”
Glad you asked.
“Absolutely wonderful.”
“This is a complete 180. What’s up?”
“My mom called. My parents are getting their vows renewed.”
“That’s great. How long have they been married?”
“35 years. They plan on coming here next month to get them renewed.”
“Do I get to be your date?”
He’s adorable.
“Of course. And my mom loves you already.”
“That’s great. Now, I just have to get the approval of your dad and sisters.”
He sounded a bit nervous.
“I’m sure they will. They’re great judges of character.”
“That’s a relief. Do you have a date yet?”
“No, but I’ll let you know asap, so you can figure out if you can come or not.”
“I really hope so. This will be quick though. You know, the meeting of the parents thing if I’m able to go.”
“And it’ll be fine.”
I’m so excited by this. I absolutely love Zack
11/4/18