Chapter 26 Zach
TWENTY-SIX
ZACH
"So...how have you been?" Teddy asked me the next day.
He'd shown up first thing on Monday morning, right after Dare had left for work, ready to learn.
I didn't know if he kept visiting me to genuinely learn how to bake, or if Dare had asked him to drop by to keep me company while he was busy.
I hoped it wasn't the latter, because if there was one thing I hated, that was being a burden.
Even if Teddy was only here to watch over me, he seemed interested in learning, and I was more than happy to teach.
Today I decided instead of blindly making something, to walk him through the science of baking, which was why I'd laid out a bunch of the usual ingredients in little ramekins on the counter and a few bowls to mix things in and conduct our experiments.
"I've been...good." I couldn't help but flashback to last night and the way Dare had felt so pliable, so vulnerable under me. Or the way his entire face softened when he pleaded for mercy and release.
"Just good?" he asked.
I shrugged and he snorted.
"Uh-huh," I said.
"Okay. Well, I'm glad you mended things."
"Mended things? With who?"
Teddy gave me a lethal side-eye and I deflated, letting out all the nerves and excitement I'd been holding onto like a keepsake.
"Fine. Yeah. We've mended things. More than mended. We've been screwing like bunnies. Okay?"
"Finally!" Teddy spread his arms wide open and exclaimed.
"What?"
"You admitted it. I was starting to get worried you'd lost your sparkle."
"You knew?" I frowned.
"No shit, I knew. Dare is practically walking around like an overprotective bear, singing your praises."
"He is?"
Another lethal side-eye.
"I'm surprised I have to find out from him and not you. You can't shut up about these things usually."
"Yes, I can," I said.
"Oh yeah," he groaned. "If I remember correctly you were the one that flirted with me like a wild animal, and you were the one to interrogate me about Wesley and what was going on between us."
I gasped.
"I didn't flirt."
"Yeah, you did."
"Well, I take offense to that accusation. I don't flirt like a wild animal."
Teddy pursed his lips and pondered over my statement.
"Yeah, no. That's inaccurate. You're more like a wild peacock."
My jaw dropped to the fucking floor.
"Are you saying I'm ridiculous and over the top?"
"No," he chuckled and grabbed me by the shoulders, giving me a gentle shake. "I'm saying you're cute, and spritely. And a little over the top."
I narrowed my eyes as if he'd insulted me beyond repair, but I couldn't keep up the pretense for too long. He had just called me cute and spirited after all.
"Fine. I'll take that," I said and he winked at me before he let me go.
"So you guys are hooking up," he said.
I reached for the first bowl and whisk and bit my lip.
"Yeah, I think we're more than that. I think we're a couple?"
"Are you asking me or telling?"
"Uhm..." I hummed. "Telling you?" Teddy frowned. "No. Telling you. We are a couple. We had the talk and everything."
"The talk? There's a talk? Why didn't anybody tell me there was a talk? Do I need to have the talk with Wesley?"
I rolled my eyes with a groan and snorted.
"You two are fine. There's no 'talk.' I just mean...we talked through our feelings and past experiences, and we both know what we are looking for in a relationship."
"And you're compatible?" Teddy asked.
"Oh yeah!" I said.
"That's fantastic, dude." Teddy swiped me across the back like I was one of the boys. "Well done. I'm happy for you."
"First of all, ouch!" I yelped. "And second of all, thanks. I'm happy for me too."
My gaze drifted from Teddy to the empty bowl in front of me and I sighed.
"Wh-what's up? Why the long face? You just said you're happy," Teddy pulled up the stool and sat down and took a sip of his coffee whilst studying my face.
"No long face, just..." I glanced back and forth from him to the bowl then decided Teddy was probably a better listener and turned to him. "It's Victor."
"What did he do?" Teddy asked and leaned in closer.
"Nothing. Nothing new anyway, but...he's still out there and.
..it feels like he's casting this big shadow over me, and I can't let myself feel too happy or too hopeful because it feels like I'd be playing with fire.
Like the moment he sniffs out I'm actually genuinely happy, he'll swoop in and destroy everything once again. "
Teddy sucked in a deep breath and reached for my hand. He gave it a squeeze.
"I know it's scary, but you can't stop living because of him. Did Dare tell you about Parker and Hwan?"
A knot formed in my throat as soon as he finished his sentence and I stilled my body.
"Wh-what happened to them?"
Teddy pressed his lips together and stood closer to me, taking both my hands in his.
"It's okay, Zach. They're okay. They...they've been approved for fostering so they might be getting a kid soon."
"They are?" I said and when I breathed again it felt like it was the first time in ages.
"Yeah. And Joey and Santiago have just become overnight parents too. Wesley and I are going to be moving in together soon. People are moving on. They keep on living. Our enemies are still out there, this whole shit is not over but we keep going. And so can you."
I pulled away from him and shook my head.
"I know, but...how can I? I can't relax with him out there."
"Dare and Parker are taking care of that too."
I paused.
"They are? H-how?"
"He didn't tell you?" Teddy asked and I shook my head. "He came by the shop yesterday and they figured Victor must be close, so they came up with a plan to find out where he's hiding."
I stepped back closer to him and crossed my arms.
"I'm listening."
"Parker got this idea to use the mayoral elections as cover to send out Autumn to all the apartments and houses around Main Street and the boardwalk. They think he's shacked up somewhere above one of the stores, which was how he saw you interacting with Mr. Rogers and the insurance guys."
I blinked.
"That's it?"
He nodded.
"That's...stupid. Sending Autumn… why? To put her in more danger than she's in already by being mildly associated with me."
"That's what we all said, but Parker said she can take care of herself."
I grimaced.
"No one can defend themselves against a monster like Victor."
Teddy shrugged.
"Look, I know my sister isn't a saint, but I would never put her in any danger.
I'm pretty sure Parker is the same. So if he trusts her with this, then he must be confident in her abilities.
Besides, they might not find anything anyway.
The theory has holes so he might not be anywhere near.
And she'll only be pretending to be pushing Jake Wilson's campaign anyway.
If she finds him, she'll report back to us, and we'll step in to take him down. "
I shook my head and chewed on my cheek.
"No. No. That's stupid. Plain stupid. It won't work. I know it won't work."
But what if it did?
What if it was that simple and by this time next week Victor would be a thing of the past?
Something pulsed in my gut, but I dismissed it. I didn't need hope right now. Hope would only make things worse when Victor continued to wreak havoc in my life and the lives of everyone I loved.
No. I couldn't hope and I couldn't be happy.
What I could do...was bake. That’s what I did when things got tough. Even if it felt like I was sitting on a ticking time bomb that when detonated, would destroy everything and everyone in its path.
And then what? How would I feel then?
"Right. Let's make some crap cakes," I announced, practically shouting and got to work showing Teddy how when you added the wrong ingredients in the mix, it screwed up the balance of things and how when the balance wasn't right, everything went wrong.