FlyAway *21*

-21-

    Crystal’s heart pounded in her chest, and fear gripped her. Here he was, as though nothing had ever happened. Here he was, mocking her with his perfect smile. He looked almost the same as he had that night, and it sickened Crystal that she still found handsomeness in his features. She couldn’t see anyone else, only the man who had hurt her so badly all those years ago. Chris tried to speak, but nothing came out but a moan of terror.
    Matt took a few steps forward and his eyes shone with kindness and love. She saw malice twining in and out of the affection, and knew why when he took her in his arms and put his mouth by her ear.
    “You’re not still angry about all that, are you? Come now, Chris. It was a long time ago, and I told you I was sorry. I just wanted us to be together. Your parents want the same thing, you know. And, so help me God, if you say a word to anyone, I will do much worse to you than what I did before.” He drew back and must have seen the horrified expression on her face, because he smirked tightly and mouthed, “Act normal, or you won’t like what happens. I promise.” Matt looked up to see Zach standing there, his head cocked to the side. “Crystal, you haven’t introduced me or your Mom and Dad to your friend! Don’t be rude, now, sweetheart.”
    “I’m not your sweetheart,” she muttered, defiantly. She looked up to Kyle’s car to see him standing there, confused and worried, beside her smiling parents. “Mom, Dad, this is my… my boyfriend, Zach.” She faced Zach and flashed him a pleading look that basically said, Go along with it, and I promise I’ll explain later. “Zach, this is my Mom and Dad. And… this is an ex from a long time ago, Matt.”
    Chris smiled sweetly and glanced into Aaron’s car, where the blue-eyed man sat holding Kye in his lap, watching the scene unfold. When no one was looking, she jerked her head to the side slightly. Aaron took the hint and buckled Kye up, waggling his fingers at her discreetly before he drove away. She let out a sigh of relief. When she turned back around, she noticed that Zach did not shake Matt’s hand when the blond man offered. He only stared at it as though it was diseased, and looked up with a broad, cheeky grin.
    “Sorry, pal, but I don’t shake.” Then he promptly turned to shake Benjamin Hudson’s hand, greeting him in an outrageously exaggerated fashion. “Sir, it is a fantastic honor and a privilege to finally meet the father of the woman I love!” He bowed low and snapped up with a wink to take Tammy Hudson’s hand and plant a soft kiss on it. “Madam,” he whispered, dramatically, “-your beauty is legendary to me. I now know how my darling became such a lovely woman; but even her stunning looks cannot compare to yours. I am humbled before you.” He backed away from her startled parents and casually threw his arm around Chris’ shoulders. “Excuse the theatrics, please. I’m a fine arts student, you see. I major in theater and I double minor in music and art. Quite different from our Chris, here.” He squeezed her gently and looked down with a very convincingly loving look.
    “Uh, yes,” Ben Hudson stuttered, “-quite.” He shook his head and furrowed his brow. “Chris, you didn’t mention in your last letter that you were seeing someone… that’s why we, ah… we brought Matthew. In the hopes that perhaps you two would… ah…”
    “Dad, Zach and I have only been together for a couple of weeks; that’s why I didn’t mention it. He and I are very happy in our relationship.”
    “Ah, Chris, darling,” Zach said, quietly, “-if we are going to go out with your parents, I would like to go back to my condo and change into something more fitting.”
    “Kiss me first?” she whispered, convincingly.
    Just before she closed her eyes, she saw a spark in Zach’s that confused her a bit. It started as shock, but switched quickly to a hunger and excitement, coupled with something else. Almost love.
    His arms twined around her waist and he pulled her against him, tightly. She felt his heart pounding against her, and smiled softly. Nervous. She pulled his head down (because he was hesitating) and pressed her lips to his ferociously. Chris was surprised at the fervor in the kiss, and at the way Zach’s lips reminded her of when she was in high school and she’d dream about her personal Prince Charming. Aaron’s kisses were perfect, but Zach’s were raw and somehow innocent.
    She pulled away from him and smiled, pushing hair off his forehead. “Don’t take too long. I’d like for all of us to go out to dinner.” She kissed him again, swiftly; it was more like just a peck; and then she let him go.
    “Alright. Love you,” he smirked, petulantly.
    “Love you, too,” she replied, easily. He trotted away, toward his car, and she turned back to face her stunned family and an intensely furious Matthew Kaplan.
---
    “Are you prepared to explain why I’m pretending to be your boyfriend?” Zach inquired, quietly.
    Chris jumped. She’d come into her bedroom to get ready to go out to dinner with her family. Zach was leaning against the window, which she had apparently left open again. She sighed heavily and pulled out her cell phone. Aaron hadn’t sent her a text or called her yet; she was expecting him to, soon. Chris sat, heavily, on her mattress.
    “They can’t know that Aaron is here,” she replied, keeping her voice low. “They hate him. They think he did some really… bad things. Some bad things that… that someone else actually did.”
    “Matt,” Zach guessed, coming to sit by her on her bed.
    “Yes. Matt.” She stared down at her hands. “I love Aaron very much, Zach, and I would do anything to keep him from being taken away from me again.”
    “I know what that’s like,” he admitted. “You love him so much, you’re willing to pretend that you don’t love him, so that in the end he can be happy. Even if it means you have to hide your love from just about everyone. I knew a girl I loved like that, once. A long time ago. She, ah… She left me for someone else.”
    “Zach, I’m so sorry.” Chris threw her arms around him and hugged him reassuringly. “I know you’ll find the right girl for you one day.”
    “She was the right girl for me,” he sighed, “-but I wasn’t the right one for her.”
    “I’ve always believed that if you love someone enough, they’ll come back to you. I had to, to keep myself from having a breakdown after Aaron was taken from me. I think that if you still love her that much, you’ll be with her one day.” She patted his leg and smiled.
    “You really think so?”
    “Of course I do. Now go back out that window and knock on the front door like a proper gentleman. We’re going to dinner soon.”
    “Alright.” He stood to go and then turned with a wolfish grin on his face. “If we keep this up, that Matt is going to explode.”
    “I might have to kiss you again, just to piss him off. Would that be too much to ask?”
    “No; I’m an actor, Chris. We do crazy things in the name of entertainment. Why not do this for a real reason?” He chuckled and climbed out the window.
---
    “And the worst part was, when I went to climb up to get the kid’s cat, it jumped out of the tree and knocked the damned ladder down… I had gone by myself, so I had no one to put it back up. They had to call another volunteer fireman to get me down!”
    Chris and Kyle laughed politely at Matt’s story, but Natalie, Ben, and Tammy all found it totally hilarious. Matt grinned triumphantly, until Zach took his knee-slapping laughter overboard and the blonde realized that Crystal’s supposed boyfriend was mocking him. Chris glanced at her phone again, anxiously. They’d been in the restaurant for about a half hour now, and she was getting restless. She didn’t want to be here anymore. Where was that phone call?
    “Oh, that’s rich,” Zach crowed, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. “You have no idea… that is so funny. God, to think that a cat outsmarted you! How embarrassing!”
    Chris laughed loudly at this, and Zach smirked at her. “Zach, you’re quite the character.”
    “I know, love,” he replied, slinging his arm around her. “I try. I really do.”
    Suddenly, Crystal’s phone began to vibrate and she had to make a conscious effort not to scramble to answer it. “Hello? Hey! No, I’m… I’m at dinner with my-” she stopped, put her hand over the receiver, and said, “I’m sorry, I have to take this. It’s my psych professor.” She had just given Aaron an identity. “Yes, forgive me. I can be there if you just… Well, no. Look, I’ll just come back. We can deal with it when I get there. I’m sorry, Professor. Yes. Thank you so much for calling me. I’ll… Yes. Thank you, again, ma’am. Yeah. Alright, I understand. I’ll try to hurry. Thank you so much. Yes. Alright. Bye.” She hung the phone up after her unnecessary extras, hoping that Aaron (who had sounded completely befuddled) understood.
    “What’s going on, Chris?” Kyle asked, setting his fork and knife down.
    “My psych professor says she can’t find the book I turned in from class, and if I don’t get there before she leaves today, I’ll have to pay a three hundred dollar fine.” She slid out of the booth, shaking her head sadly. “I don’t have that kind of money right now, and I really must go back to help her find it. I know I turned it in… Zach, sweetheart, could you give me a ride, please? Professor Donner said she’d only be there for another thirty minutes or so. I really have to go back to clear things up.”
    “Yeah, sure, babe. I’ll go start the car. It was so nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson. I hope we can do this again some time!” He smiled brightly at her parents, and then looked at Matt. “Oh, yeah. You, sir, are an interesting young man.” He shook hands with Kyle, bowed to Natalie, and jogged toward the doors.
    “Mom, Dad, I’m really, really sorry about this. I’ll call you when everything is sorted out.” She kissed them both on the cheek, hugged Natalie, and went in to do the same to Kyle. When she was right by his ear, she whispered, “Call me in ten.” He murmured assent and she pulled away. She left without saying a word to Matt.
---
    She was gone for a few seconds when Matt excused himself to go to the restroom. He walked outside, hailed a cab, and requested that they follow Zach’s beat up little Sprint car. He followed all the way to the hotel the two of them got out at, and then asked to be taken back to the restaurant. He tipped the driver ten dollars. A grin spread across his face. Blackmail.