“I need to get back.”
“Go ahead, but, Katie?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for coming over.”
“Anything for you.”
“For me?” He blinks.
"Yes. I did it to get you off my back. I didn't want you to think badly of me either."
“I don’t think badly of you,” he says.
“What do you think?”
“I think Rob’s a fucking moron for breaking up with you.”
“Oh, wow.” I laugh because I’m incredulous, not because I think what he said was funny. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“I doubt I’m the best thing that happened to him.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but look at what losing you has done to him.”
“Again, he was the one—”
“I know, but maybe he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be happy.”
“I hope he doesn’t feel that way.”
“He has a lot of guilt when it comes to his parents, well, to his mom, and I respect him for that.” Zac runs a hand down his face. “I don’t normally talk about this, but I hate my parents with every fiber of my being.”
“Why?” I ask cautiously.
“They abandoned me.”
“What? How could they do that?”
“They didn’t want a kid.”
“They left when you were a kid?”
"Yep. Took me to see my aunt. My dad's sister. They took off and never came back to me. I guess they thought that since my aunt is rich, she could take care of me. Financially, she can, that's for sure. She just gives me money, so I'll leave her alone, but I saved the money, and I live on my own."
I gape at him, eyes wide, mouth hanging open.
“Well,” he adds with a grin, “I live on my own when I’m not here with the guys.”
“O-Of course. Hell, Zac, that’s terrible.”
“So Rob, I get it. I get him. I know him better than most everyone, and I don’t want him to have to deal with any more sorrow than he has to.” Zac looks like he could be as protective of Rob as any bodyguard ever could.
“If he doesn’t want to be happy, there’s nothing I can really do.”
“But you still care for him,” he presses, leaning toward me.