*Zacky*

Kate pulled out of the driveway and Brian and I walked around the house.

“You really wanna do this?” He asked me.

His arms were folded and he was looking at me with a confused expression. I sighed and nodded.

“It’s time for a change.” I said with a nod.

Brian raised his eyebrow and tilted his head. He looked like he was thinking something but he didn’t want to say it.

“What?” I asked. He looked away for a moment and then he looked me in the eyes.

“Does this have anything to do with Amber?” He asked softly.

Hearing her name made my body tingle with a mixture of anger and sadness.

“What are you talking about?” I brushed it off.

Brian gave me one of his famous looks and I sighed loudly.

“Okay, fine. I just think that I need to get out of that apartment now and really move on.” I said.

I turned around so I didn’t have to see Brian’s face. I know he knows I’m completely bullshitting him but what was I supposed to say? That the only girl that I have ever really loved was sitting in prison and I was shacking up with a stripper to forget about her? I shook my head and went out to the pool and looked in it.

“I need to move on.” I said to my reflection.

A few moments later, Kate pulled up with Kyle and Troy. I took a deep breath and went to meet them.

“Wow! Kyle this place is huge!” Troy said. I smiled and Kyle nodded.

“Yeah, it is.” She said. I could tell she was amazed.

“So, what do you guys think?” I asked them.

The look on Troy’s face said it all. He loved it.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” Kyle said. Her voice was low and her faced was worried.

Kate and Brian nodded to each other and snuck out the door. Troy ran upstairs and I took Kyle outside.

“What’s up?” I asked her.

She sighed and looked into the pool.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Zacky? I mean buying a house is a pretty big investment.” She said nervously.

I smiled and shrugged.

“Yes I’m very sure. I’ve been looking for places for a while now and I think now is the best time to move, with you and Troy staying with me and all.” I said.

I could see the worry in her eyes. I walked over and wrapped my arms around her.

“Kyle, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I promise.” I whispered in her ear.

I felt her relax and she put her arms around my waist.

“Okay.” She said.

I chuckled and slowly pulled away from her.

“Good, because I already signed the papers. We can move in as soon as possible.” I said.

Kyle rolled her eyes and shook her head playfully. I reached out and took her hand and led her back into the house.

“Come on, I’ll show you around.” I said.

For the next couple hours, we walked around and planned out how the house was going to be set up. Troy plopped himself down on the floor and was groaning very dramatically. Kyle ignored it for a while until she finally snapped.

“What do you want child!” She shouted at him.

He giggled and sat up.

“I’m hungry!” He shouted back.

On cue, my stomach growled as well. Kyle laughed and shook her head.

“Okay, well what do we do for food?” She asked me.

“Take out?” I said with a shrug.

They nodded and I called my favorite Chinese place. After dinner, I drove us back to the apartment and Kyle got Troy ready for bed. I called Matt and asked him if I could borrow his truck to help with moving my stuff.

“He’s out.” Kyle said as she walked out of the bedroom.

I smiled and she sat down on the couch.

“So, do you want to start putting some stuff away?” She asked as she pointed to the stack of boxes we picked up on our way home.

I nodded and we started packing the living room. A few hours past and I saw Kyle staring at a photo that was in her hands. I looked over and saw it was of me and Amber.

“Is this her?” She asked.

I sighed and took the picture from her. I opened the back and took out the photo and handed her back the frame.

“Yeah, that’s her.” I said.

I noticed my voice cracked when I spoke. I shook my head and folded the picture up and stuffed it as far as it could go in my pocket.

“She’s pretty.” Kyle said in a small voice.

I let out a laugh and stood up to grab the tape gun.

“She was sober in that picture, so I guess she does look pretty there. You should see her drunk, she’s pretty ugly then. Inside and out.” I said as I taped the box shut.

Kyle didn’t say anything, but she just looked at me. I could feel a bit of anger swirling inside of me. I dropped the box down with a thud and went to the balcony and lit up a cigarette.

It pissed me off that after all of this time, after everything she’s done to me, I think I’m still in love with her.