Bring Back My Baby - Chapter 2

Bring Back My Baby (Synacky) - Chapter 2:
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Miami, Florida
A couple months later...


It was Valentine's Day and Brian wanted to throw himself out in front of a fast-moving freight train. It had been two months since he'd seen or spoken to Zacky. He'd read the texts that his ex-boyfriend still occasionally sent him, but he never responded. It hurt too badly to. Zacky had been the boy he'd had all of his firsts with - first crush, first date, first dance, first kiss, first sexual experience, both top and bottom, and first heartbreak. Brian had made it a point to just move on with his life and leave everything in Huntington Beach behind him. Sure, he missed his hometown, but the beaches of Florida weren't too bad of a substitute. Truth be told, things seemed to be much harder for his little sister to deal with. He really couldn't blame her, she and Matt had been together pretty much since the 4th grade.

Ziah would be 16 the next day and had gone back to Huntington Beach a couple of days beforehand so that she could spend both Valentine's Day and her Sweet 16 with Matt. Brian had the option to go back as well but he'd chosen to stay in Miami with their aunt, uncle and cousins instead. He just couldn't deal with the potentiality of running into Zacky, which he had no doubt he would once word got out that he was back in town.

Sighing, Brian snuggled up on the couch with Pinkly, his adorable little Maltese. He was only an hour and a half into an NCIS marathon when his cell phone started to ring, startling the shit out of him. He was terribly confused and highly concerned to see that it was his sister calling.

"Ziah?"

"Br-Brian."

"Ziah, what's wrong?" Brian asked, alarmed at how upset she sounded.

"Br-Brian, c-can you c-come g-get me fr-from the airp-port?"

"You're back in Miami?"

"Y-Yes."

"Why?!?!"

"C-can you j-just c-come g-get m-me...pl-please?"

"Okay, Sissy, I'm on my way right now."

"O-Ok-Okay. I'm out fr-front."

Brian grabbed his keys and Pinkly's leash, hurried out to his car, climbed in with Pinkly and then sped off, wanting to get to his sister as quick as he possibly could. About 20 minutes later, he pulled up in front of the bustling airport and Ziah climbed in immediately with her bags. She cuddled Pinkly tightly to her chest, her tears dropping onto the dog's white fur as she did so.

"Sissy? Sissy, what happened?" Brian asked, his concern and panic rising with each passing moment.

"I...I j-just wanna g-go h-h-home."

Brian drove home, the ride almost completely silent except for the breathing of his sister, himself and his dog. Once he pulled into the driveway, Ziah rushed inside, up to her room and locked the door behind her. It took Brian several hours of patiently waiting for Ziah to finally emerge from her room. She plopped down on the couch beside her brother and cuddled up to him. He wrapped his arms around her, kissed the top of her head and then rested his chin on top of it.

"Do ya wanna talk about it?" he asked softly.

"Do you...do you think I'm a good girlfriend?" Ziah asked in a small, scared, broken voice.

"What? Why would you ask that?" Brian asked, completely baffled by his sister's sudden insecurity.

"Matt...Matt d-doesn't think so."

"What?!?! You and Matt have been together for more than five years."

"Brian...Matt...M-Matt..."

"Matt what, Sissy?"

"I w-went to Matt's house and I saw something that I never thought I'd see."

Brian furrowed his eyebrows in total confusion. "What did you see?"

"M-Matt found s-someone n-new."

"Ziah, Matt LOVES you."

"N-No. No, he doesn't," Ziah shook her head, sniffling. "Matt was making out with somebody else."

"WHAT?!?! With WHO?!?!"

"Valary DiBenedetto," Ziah sobbed. "He threw our relationship away for one of the sluttiest girls in the whole school."

"I'll KILL him!" Brian growled.


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Back in Huntington Beach...

Zacky and Frank sat side-by-side on the beach, taking in the warm rays of sunshine. It was Valentine's Day and both had ditched school after two periods of watching the sickeningly sweet interactions between the couples in the halls and classrooms.

"Is it wrong to wish the worst diaper rash in the existence of the world on Cupid?" Zacky asked, straight-faced.

"No," Frank laughed. "I'm right there with ya."

"The little bastard needs one of those arrows shoved up his ass," Zacky grumbled. "This is the worst holiday ever!"

"Agreed. Today is just one of those days that chocolate companies, stuffed animal makers, jewelry stores, condom companies, greeting card companies and hotels get all orgasmic over."

"Amen, bro, afuckinmen," Zacky raised his hand and Frank slapped it with his own.

"Zacky?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you...have you heard from Brian?" Frank asked nervously.

Zacky sighed sadly and shook his head. "Nope. I text him every now and then, but he never responds to any of it."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me, too," Zacky sighed again. "Has Jimmy still been trying to get you to take him back?"

"Unfortunately," Frank sighed. "Has he still been trying to get you to talk to him?"

Zacky shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I blocked him from my phone and email and my family knows that I don't wanna talk to him. I don't need that in my life."

"Me, neither. I'm over it."

Zacky looked over at Frank and smirked knowingly. "There's someone else, isn't there?"

"M-Maybe," Frank blushed, avoiding eye contact with Zacky.

"Who is it? Who is it?" Zacky asked excitedly.

"Well...he's kinda..."

"He's kinda what?"

"He's one of the new exchange students."

"Ewww, Frankie likes the foreign boys," Zacky teased. "Which one is it? Mr. France? Mr. Wales? Mr. Sweden? Mr. Germany?"

"You forgot Mr. Scotland."

"Ohhh, Frankie loves boys in kilts."

"Shut up," Frank mumbled, blushing.

"I have to admit, though, Mr. Scotland is good-looking." Zacky gasped suddenly and stared, wide-eyed at Frank. "Oh my God! It is Mr. France, isn't it?"

"Maybe," Frank mumbled again.

Zacky searched Frank's face. "You're not telling me something. What is it?"

"Well...Mr. France...Armand asked me to go out on a date with him this weekend.

"Cool. Have fun, dude."

"It's supposed to be a double-date. Me and Armand and then Kyle and one of my friends."

"Which friend, and who the fuck is Kyle?" Zacky asked, totally confused.

"Kyle is Mr. Scotland."

"Oh."

"And I was wondering..." Frank nibbled on his bottom lip nervously. "I was wondering if you'd go with me."

"Me?!?! I don't wanna date anybody else, Frank. Brian is the only one for me."

"I'm not expecting you to be with Kyle forever...if at all. I just think it would be fun to get out and not mope over our fucked love lives."

"All right, all right, I'll go this one time."

"Oh, thank you, thank you," Frank rambled, throwing his arms around Zacky and hugging him.

"You're welcome. Now, calm the fuck down," Zacky replied, hugging Frank back.

Frank pulled away from Zacky and straightened his t-shirt. "You're right. I'm sorry."


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Zacky trudged into his house. He sighed and his eyes in total disgust at the sight of the roses sitting on the foyer table. More things to remind him that it was Valentine's Day and he was alone.

"Zachary?" his mom called from the living room.

"Yes, Mom?" he replied, walking into the room.

"There's some mail for you."

Zacky furrowed his brows in confusion as he took the red envelope from his mother's outstretched hand. His heart started to race and he very nearly squealed when he saw his name written across the front of it in Brian's unmistakable handwriting.

"I left some money on the kitchen counter for you so you can order a pizza or something since you'll be home by yourself tonight."

"O-Okay, Mom."

Mrs. Baker laughed. "Go. Go on. I know you wanna read that already."

Zacky nodded his head, then darted out of the room, ran up the stairs, into his room, slammed the door behind him and locked it. He dropped his backpack on his desk chair, kicked his shoes off, plopped down on his bed and stretched out across it. He took a deep breath, ripped the envelope open and pulled out the run-of-the-mill Valentine's Day card. Inside the blank side of the card was a note. A note that made his heart ache even more and made him cry once again, although he thought himself to be cried out.

Zee ~
It's been a long two months. I've tried to stop loving you, but I find that that is totally impossible. You owned my heart the moment we met and even if I wanted to, I couldn't take it back. Even though I will always love you, I just can't let you back in. I can't take the chance that you'll find someone that you want more. I barely survived this whole disaster. I definitely wouldn't make it through another one. Take care of yourself and keep my heart safe.

Love,
Brian