Breath Of The Heart by Victoria June

of the morning and the lack of sleep, or that the events of the night were finally sinking in. I'd hit bottom. I had no one . . . except a guy I barely knew who'd mysteriously offered a place to stay. My head was a jumble. What if Zach was as bad as the rest of them?
    "Do you want me to help or should I wait?" Zach asked.
    I faced him. I searched for something that would betray him, but other than sagging eyes begging for sleep, I wasn't sure there was anything malevolent.
    "I'm going to pack the essentials. It won't take long."
    In less than an hour I'd packed all I needed into my luggage and a duffel bag. Zach took them from me and tossed them in his truck. It was nearing five now and I could barely keep awake for the ten minute drive. Zach's building was much nicer than mine, but then again, he was a senator's son. I followed him down the manicured cobblestone path to the glass double doors. He lived on the top floor and like my building, it was still. It was Saturday morning. Who needed to be up?
    "You can take Genie's room. I don't think she's used it since September," Zach said.
    Genie? A girl? "Who's Genie?"
    "My sister."
    "Where is she staying?"
    "Her boyfriend's place mostly. Other times she stays at my parents'."
    "Why aren't you there?"
    "I wanted to be on my own. If they are going to ship me off to their Ivy League school of choice, I told them I wanted a few years on my own without being under their thumb."
    His place put ours to shame. The apartment was modern and spacious, easily twice the size of Jake's place. I would have taken more notes, but I could barely keep my eyes open.
    "Genie's room is on the left. I'm sure you want to crash."
    "I do."
    "We'll talk in the morning."
    ~~~~~~~
    I slept until noon and when I awoke to my unfamiliar surroundings, it took a minute for reality to set in. I wasn't in my room, but in some foreign bedroom with a double-sized bed, warm and comfy down duvet, flat screen TV on the wall and a cherry wood dresser complete with a huge mirror and matching nightstand. Zach's sister may have never used the room, but she had it decked out.
    I showered and washed away the night before. I padded into the kitchen to find it empty. I peeked down the hall to see that Zach's bedroom door was still closed. I silently went through the cupboards making mental notes of where he kept everything. The kitchen was bare bones and missing all sorts of small appliances. I'd be retrieving those from Jake's the first chance I had. What Zach did have was all top of the line and expensive, brand names I could only wish to own one day and now had full access to. His stove had more features than a Cadillac and when I pulled the oven door open it looked pristine. Either Zach didn't cook or he was the tidiest man I'd ever met.
    I found the coffeemaker and some coffee. While it was brewing I searched through his fridge. There wasn't much to work with. I sprung into action and used what little I had. By the time Zach joined me in the kitchen, I had a hybrid lunch ready to eat. I also had the table set in the dining room.
    "Wow! I could really get used to this," he said, stretching and letting out a huge yawn. "What are we eating?"
    He hadn't changed from his plaid pajama pants or wrinkled white t-shirt that hugged his chest just enough to show off the ripped muscles beneath. Whatever he wore fit him perfectly whether it was a pair of jeans or an old tattered shirt. I had to stop gawking.
    "It's really nothing fancy. I made some open face sandwiches with sunny side up eggs, cheddar, tomatoes and I lightly sautéed the sliced ham you had. And there's coffee," I added as an afterthought.
    "Thanks, Em. You didn't have to."
    That was the second time he called me that.
    "You grocery shop like my dad, so I'm used to working with limited resources."
    Oh, no, Dad. I'd have to call him at some point but I didn't know what I'd tell him. The truth? I couldn't. I put those thoughts aside. I'd deal with it later.
    "It's all