23. Won't let that happen

Chapter 23: Won't let that happen

Kelsey's POV

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"So how long have you been dating?" Zack asked, a smirk plastered on his face.

I couldn't help but feel weary of his smile. It seemed to me as if he wasn't believing our lie one bit, and was asking us all of those questions to try and catch the lie.

"About a month," Ethan replied, completely sure of himself.

I was amazed at how quickly he came up with the stories, despite them not being completely true. I knew that it was not a complete lie. I really did move in to his house about a month ago. The problem with the story was that I hated lying. I mean, sure I lied sometimes, everyone does, but I would always feel guilty after, so I was not really fond with what Ethan was doing, even if it was for a good cause, one that I didn't yet fully understand.

"Well I'm glad you finally settled down," Zack said, patting Ethan's back. I gritted my teeth at what he said, trying to calm myself down. I hated the way he treated Ethan, who certainly did not deserve to be treated that way. He was being treated like a dog and I could not stand that.

I was already annoyed at how Zack treated the people he talked to, and I was starting to wish that Ethan had never let him in the house.

"Yeah," Ethan mumbled, his eyes turning into slits as his lips formed a thin line.

I could tell how annoyed Ethan was getting. He really didn't like Zack at all, and in all honestly, neither did I.

"Is there a problem Ethy?" Zack asked.

"Don't call me that," Ethan said clenching his jaw, clearly getting irritated at how Zack was treating him.

"Why not, Ethy? Little Ellie calls you that," Zack said again, pushing his limits. I hated the way he used Ellie's name like that, and I hated it even more that he seemed as if there was some kind of game he was playing Ethan.

I opened my mouth to say something, but quickly closed it as soon as I realised that it wouldn't have been such a bright idea for me to do so. I feared getting on Zack's bad side, but something about him made me feel as if everybody was on his bad side.

"Zack, if you don't stop I'm kicking you out of my house right this instant!" Ethan said, his fist slamming on the table, making me flinch slightly.

I had never seen Ethan act so aggressively with anybody before. He was the kind of person to simply choose to ignore someone when he had a problem with them. He was certainly not the type of guy to beat up somebody, but by the way he was glaring at Zack, I expected him to pounce on him like a lion.

"Okay, okay" Zack replied, putting his hands up in retreat, yet seeming glad that he managed to get Ethan as riled up as he did

The both of them remained silent for a while, looking at each other without blinking. I suddenly felt awkward just sitting there, looking at the two of them argue, trying to get at each other's throats.

"I'll go check on the kids," I told Ethan, wanting to get away from the scene.

I thought that it would have been better to let them have some time alone. I felt like I was invading their privacy. All I hoped was that they didn't murder each other.

Ethan just nodded and I climbed upstairs to the girls' room, wanting to see if they were okay. Neither of them was happy after finding out about Zack, and I hated the thought that they might have felt uncomfortable in their own home.

"Is he still here?" Lara asked as I entered their room.

My heart ached for her as she looked at me with a hopeful look, probably wishing that I gave her good news and told her that he left.

"Yeah," I replied reluctantly, knowing that she was not going to be happy with my answer.

"I hate him Kelsey, I want him out," Lara said, closing the door behind me, ensuring that no one could hear us.

I couldn't understand how such a young person could hate somebody as much as Lara did Zack. It was clear in her eyes that she was desperate for him to get out of the house, and it pained me that I couldn't do anything for her.

"Why is Zack so bad?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me. I had asked that question multiple times, but Ethan always seemed to dodge it. I hoped that maybe Lara could be able to tell me.

"We can't tell you. We promised Ethan we wouldn't, but all I can say is that he's not a good guy Kels," she said in all seriousness.

I couldn't help but wonder why Ethan made them promise to not tell me anything, and even if I didn't let Lara see, I was terrified of what the reason could be. My mind got transported to worse possible scenarios of what could have happened, yet none of which were able to give me a reason as to why I couldn't know. Not telling me because it was a personal matter was one thing, but not telling me because of a promise made to Ethan was a whole other.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied, suddenly getting kind of scared.

I noticed that he acted like a complete jerk, but what else could he have possibly done?

"I'll go check on Noah," I said as I got out of the girls' room.

Noah seemed way off when Zack arrived. He had always been there for me so I wanted to try to be there for him and cheer him up. He was a really mature person, and I could never imagine how he would have been if he didn't get along with somebody, especially since he was a huge fan of forgiveness. Seeing him get angry at Ethan for allowing Zack to go to the house certainly shocked me.

If someone as sweet as Noah did not want someone around, then that meant that that someone had done something to break his trust, and I couldn't bare to think that anyone would be capable of hurting Noah.

"Hey Nah," I said as soon he opened the door for me.

He walked inside his room and flopped down on the bed, his face unreadable."I don't want Zack here," he said in all seriousness.

"I know he did something really bad, but he's not going to be staying for long," I said trying to calm him down.

I didn't know what else to say or do to make the situation better. For as long as Ethan was going to allow Zack to be there, I could not do anything about it.

"Three days are long Kels. He hurt Ethan and I don't want him to do it again, especially not now. It would break him if he does the same thing again," Noah said.

"I promise I won't let that happen," I said. "I won't let Zack hurt Ethan."

The words were out of my mouth without I even got a chance to think about them. Me wanting to protect Ethan came by so naturally, like it was one of my main priorities. He constantly wanted to act like a tough guy, like there was nothing in life that annoyed him, but I could see that deep down he was just as broken as the rest of us, if not more. He didn't have an easy childhood, and he had a lot of trust issues when it came to people. I couldn't stand the thought of Zack breaking Ethan more, of Zack killing Ethan's smile that I had grown to love.

"You mean that?" He asked.

"I do," I replied, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Thank you Kelsey," he said, hugging me.

It was sweet how much they all cared for Ethan. I wished that he could realise just how many people truly cared for him. That he wasn't alone, no matter how many times he tried to push people away from him.

"Alright, I'm going to go downstairs and make you guys a snack to eat," I replied as I headed out, hoping that maybe some food could cheer them up.

"Alright, thanks," he replied "And be careful of Zack, stay out of his way," he continued, giving me a serious look. His tone of voice was stern, and even if he was younger than me, it was as if he held some form of authority over me.

Nodding at Noah, wanting to reassure him that I was going to be staying as far away from Zack as I could, I made my way downstairs, praying that I wouldn't find Zack and Ethan fighting with each other.

"Come on Ethan, you have nothing to be scared of. It's just one night. Or are you lying?" I heard Zack tell Ethan as I was about to step into the kitchen.

"No, I'm not lying, but I don't want to go anywhere with you," Ethan said, glaring at Zack.

I knew that I shouldn't have been eavesdropping, but curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to know what Zack was talking about, and where he wanted to take Ethan.

"Oh come on Eth. If you don't I'll tell everyone what a huge liar you are," he replied.

My eyes widened at that, wondering why he was calling Ethan a liar. A feeling of fear overcome me as I wondered whether Zack was talking about the fact that I was not really Ethan's girlfriend.

"I am not a liar," Ethan growled, his tone of voice making me jump back slightly. "Fine, just let me tell Kelsey." He sounded much calmer with those words, but still tense.

Figuring that that was the best moment to reveal myself, I entered the kitchen and asked what it was he wanted to ask me. It was clear to me by then that Zack was doubting our relationship, and I was going to do my utmost to prove him wrong.

"Zack wants us to go on a double date. You and me and him and his date," Ethan said, seemingly not happy with the proposal.

I thought about it for a second. A double date did not seem as the best idea in our circumstance, and no matter how much I wanted to show Zack that Ethan and I were truly together-despite it not being so-I couldn't just go on a date and leave the kids alone.

"Erm...I don't know Eth, what about the kids?" I whispered, not wanting Zack to hear me.

"Maybe we can tell Meg?" He asked. "Please," he pleaded, giving me a look that made it impossible for me to say no.

I could see that it was important for Ethan for us to do what Zack wanted, and I couldn't find it within me to refuse. I promised that I would do my best to protect Ethan, and if one date was what it took, then I was willing to do so.

"Alright," I replied with a sigh.

"It's settled then," Zack said with a triumphant smile.

Going on a double date with Ethan was not how I ever imagined going out with him would be. Not that I ever thought about it. I couldn't help but feel nervous about it all. I had to pretend to be in love with Ethan whilst under Zack's scrutiny. I felt a lot of pressure, but I couldn't go back on my word.

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