04

ZACHARY DANVERS

« You’ve got to be kidding me. »

« Nope. » Zach replied popping the p

« I’m not doing this. »

He shrugged. « Fine by me. I told you, you’re no fun. »

« This is ridiculous. » She said looking out at the tides. He bit his lips to stop the smile that spread on his face. She clearly wanted to jump in the water that very second but it seemed as if she was making excuses for herself.

« Well suit yourself. » He shrugged as he ran out towards the water with his board.

He dropped down on his board and began paddling away as Kari watched him go.

Zach knew that when she saw the fun he was having, she’d be whining her ass off to learn surfing.

He waited for the perfect opportunity and then began paddling as the wave rose.

As soon as he felt the wave picking up, he popped up and rode the wave.

It felt good. Stretching an arm out he let his fingers touch the water as he gave out a loud whoop.

He rode two more waves and was back at the beach where she stood.

As he walked towards her he saw a faint pink blush color her cheeks as she gave him a once-over and then another. Zach couldn’t help but feel smug about that. He’d worked hard for this and if showing off his six pack got him more attention from Kari, then that was exactly what he’d do from there on.

Running his finger through his hair, he dropped down on the sand, his board beside him.

She still had his baggy shirt and board shorts on. Why would she still wear that was beyond him.

« Get over here. » Zach patted the ground beside him.

She dropped down, her arms going around her knees.

« You seriously don’t wanna surf ? »

She shook her head but he could see the longing in her eyes.

« Why don’t you want to ? »

She just shrugged.

« How about we’ll just go into the water ? You know have fun and shit. »

« I can’t alright !! « she snapped.

Zach frowned. « Okay. » He was confused at her reaction. Zach knew he was being quite persistent and almost everybody, especially Dave would say that it was quite annoying but he could see that she wanted to. He could see her shaking her head as if telling herself no.

She sighed « I’m sorry. You’ve helped me a lot. And you’re doing more than anybody has ever done for me but there are reasons why I behave like this. »

« You said you trust me. »

« I do. » She insisted. « But –«

« Don’t you trust me enough to tell me why you can’t ? »

« I do. But… » She trailed off.

« What is it ? »

« Let it go, Zach. I wanna go home. »

Zach couldn’t comprehend as to why she was getting grumpy. All he knew was he wanted her to have fun. He wanted her to smile. Why that mattered a lot lo him, he didn’t know. All he knew was he wanted her to be happy.

« No. » He said looking out at the water.

« No. » She parroted back. Her nose scrunched in a cute way as she looked at him in disbelief. « What the fuck do you mean by no ? »

« I mean no. As in negative, nope, nada. »

She crossed her arms across her chest as she glared at him.

« C’mon » he said as he stood, grabbed his board and started walking towards his jeep.

He heard a loud gasp and turned to see her looking at him with wide eyes.

« What’s that ? »

« What’s what ? »

« Those lines… » And Zach knew what she was referring to.

The lines that crisscrossed his back. The lines that never faded. The white, silvery lines that were going to be there till his death.

« You gonna tell me why you won’t go in the water. »

She shook her head.

« Then I won’t tell you about these either. »

She stuck her tongue out and he chuckled.

Silently they walked to his jeep. He prayed that she’d at least like the next destination.

********

« What is this ? »

« This is what you call zip lining » he muttered as he helped her into the gear.

« Zip lining ? »

« Yeah. »

« Will I die ? »

He scoffed « of course not. »

Just a second later a boy in black uniform walked towards them waving papers in their face.

« Dude, you gotta sign this. »

Zach wanted to facepalm himself. He had just assured her and now this.

« What’s this ? » She asked, her voice laced with suspicion.

« This is in case if you happen to have an accident. It says that by no means can you sue us if you happen to have an accident. » The way he kept repeating ‘happen to have any accident’ made Zach want to punch the guy in the face. « By no means can you hold us accountable for any damage or personal injury. And lastly, you assure us that you are sane and under no influence and pressure to do this. »

« HE is pressuring me to do this. » she blurted and pointed a finger at him as her eyes went wide when the guy was reciting his lines.

« Sir ? » the guy turned to him and this time he did not suppress the urge to facepalm. He glared at the boy and snatched the papers. « Gimme that. » he quickly signed and handed it to Kari.

« I’ll be right behind you, I promise. Let go Kari. Have some fun. »

She swallowed but nodded. Closing her eyes she took a deep breath in and signed the papers.

« Have fun, Sir, Ma’am. »

« I’m scared. »

« It’s fine. Know that I’ll be right behind you. »he said as he got in a harness himself.

They stood side by side, their harnesses clipped too the pulley of the zip line wire.

« And Kari. » he yelled over the sound of the wind whipping

« Hmm ? »

« Don’t close your eyes. »