Chapter 25: The Turning Point

‎"I should have known." Really, I should of. It was his favourite place in the whole wide world.

‎He beamed and jumped up from the sofa. "Oh." He stopped just before the stairs and turned around to look at me. "Call your Mum. No offence but she has a lot more fashion sense than you." The smile he gave me was an apologetic one and he continued his path to the stairs, most likely heading to his bedroom to get dressed.

‎I laughed silently while I pulled out my phone. No offence was taken; I knew how bad my fashion sense was. I'm talking sandles with socks bad. 

‎It took forty minutes to drive to Riverside but it passed quickly. We sang at the top of our lungs to whatever came on the radio and all the windows were rolled down, letting in a refreshing breeze. I texted Julian on the way, letting him know that I was thinking of him. He, in return, informs me that the feeling is mutual.

‎Shopping took hours. It always did. Maybe that's why I didn't like it much. Since I was an introvert, I found social situations and crowds very overwhelming, very quickly. After two hours and only three shops down, I wanted to beg them to leave already but I couldn't bring myself to do it because the smiles on their faces made it worth it.

‎By the time we left, hours had passed and banks had been emptied. I spent nowhere near the same amount of money as those two did. The only thing I picked up was a cute pink thong and matching bra. Oh, and a eight pack of black ankle socks because I always seemed to lose my pairs.

‎I watched in amusement as Zach and my Mum attempted to fit all their bags in the boot of Mum's tiny red hatchback. My single bag however sat perfectly in the space by my feet as I climbed into the back. Before we left, me and Zach played a game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who got shotgun. In case it wasn't obvious, I lost.

‎I left the door open and didn't bother with my seatbelt while Zach and Mum's conversation became background noise. Pulling my phone from my jean pocket, I checked for any text messages.

‎There was one. I smiled.

‎Baby...what am I going to do with you? You've got me so hard right now. Naughty girl x, It reads.

‎Giggling to myself, I remembered the picture I'd sent to him from the dressing rooms as I tried on my new underwear. Looked like he approved.

‎"Who's got you smiling like that?" Mum questioned, climbing into the drivers seat.

‎I jumped, not realising that they'd finished putting the shopping away. "No one," I answered, cringing because I know I said that way too quickly.

‎"Uh-huh." She's not convinced as she closed her door. "What's his name?"

‎

‎I found Zach's eyes in the side mirror as he settled himself into the car. He looked tense and skittish but I'm sure I looked worse.

‎"Julian." I decided to be honest with her. If me and him met up, she was only going to find out anyway, right?

‎When, Zach's voice said to me in my head, reminding me to be more optimistic. When you meet up.

‎"Aw, that's a nice name." She approved, fixing her seat belt into place. I do the same and finally pull my door closed, seeing as we're about to leave. "Where'd you meet him?"

‎Silence.

‎I scraped my teeth over my bottom lip. I didn't want to lie to her but just how honest could I be here? I knew she'd be annoyed at me for trying to date one of my clients and I really didn't want one of her lectures. Especially since we'd had a nice day out together. I didn't want to ruin it.

‎"Sara?" She questioned, eyes on me through the rear view mirror. I met her gaze just as she peers at the road, which is when I realised that we're moving; I hadn't noticed her start the car or pull out of the car park.

‎"Um..." I tried to stall but it was like the walls were closing in and I had no where else to go. "We, uh, met..." My heart started beating faster and I tried to breathe evenly in an attempt not to panic. 

‎I'm going to have to tell her the truth.

‎She was going to kill me.

‎But what choice do I have?

‎I watched as she glanced over at Zach and she narrowed her eyes, noticing his behaviour. He was humming, tapping his fingers against his thigh as he looked at anything but her.

‎"Zach, where did she meet him?" She questioned him.

‎Oh poor Zach, he was almost shaking with the effort it took not to just blurt it out. He hated confrontation and he despised lying. Especially to people he was close to, like my Mum. It would be so easy for him to just tell her the truth and take the heat off of him but he was holding back for my sake.

‎"Sorry, Jane," he apologized, sounding so guilty my heart went out to him. "I can't."

‎"He's one of my clients," I blurted out because I loved Zach, I really did, and I knew my Mum wouldn't stop until he gave it up. She was smart like that; out of me and Zach, Zach was the easier one to break. I couldn't bear to see him so stressed out.

‎Silence again. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling a headache coming and she hadn't even started yet.

‎"What?!" She shouted, furious and upset. "Tell me you're joking." She was close to hyperventilating. "Zach, dear, is it April 1st? Please tell me it's April 1st."

‎"No ma'am." Zach was flinching. I didn't have to see him to know that.

‎"Sara, what was the first thing I told you when you wanted me to hire you?" It was more of a demand than a question. Like she wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten.

‎My answer was quiet. "Don't get involved with the clients."