Lilliahna & Zac

~Hey. This is my first submission so please let me know what you think of it. The story is told from both Lilliahna and Zac's points of views and I hope you guys enjoy it. :D ~

~*~ Lilliahna ~*~

'Dear Zac,

I know this is may sound stupid but I really like you. I also don't know why but I can't stop thinking about you. I was wondering if you might like to go out sometime?

'If not I completely understand, I just thought that if I never tell you how I feel then I would spend forever thinking 'what if?'

Love Lilliahna.'

This probably wasn't the wisest decision in my life. I re-read the letter, sighed and put into an envelope. Now all I had to do was slip the envelope into his bag.

The next morning I had my chance. Everyone else was in our home class and I was out in the corridor where the bags and lockers were. I went over to Zac's bag, took a deep breath and slipped the letter in. I turned around as our teacher, Mr West, came out into the corridor and told me off for not being inside as home class had started. As I followed him inside I thought to myself; 'now all I have to do is wait'.

~*~ Zac ~*~

Mondays are always bad. I don't know why, they just are. However, at the same time, they are great because I'm getting away from my Dad. No one knows him as I do. No one knows he's an alcoholic. When he gets really drunk, I get out of his way. He has put me in hospital a couple of times. But oh well.

It had been a bad day. Again, I had tried to tell Lilliahna that I liked her. And again, I couldn't. She was popular and beautiful. I was me. Why would she ever like me?

I got home and hunted through my bag for the note for Dad as I had gotten into trouble at school again. Instead, I came across something I hadn't seen before. A letter, addressed to me, from Lilliahna. I read it immediately and decided to ask her out tomorrow, maybe.

~*~ Lilliahna ~*~

I was beginning to wonder if Zac had gotten the letter when he came over to me during lunch a couple of days later.

"Lilliahna, can I talk to you?"

"Yeah ok," I replied, as he grabbed my arm and pulled me far enough away from my friends that they couldn't hear what he had to say.

"I must say I was quite surprised when I got that letter."

"I thought you would have been," I replied.

"But I have liked you for a while. I think we should go out, maybe tomorrow night. What would your Mum and Dad say? Would they let you?" he asked me.

"I don't know," I told him honestly. "I mean they trust me enough but I'm not sure what they would think with me going out with a guy. I'd have to ask them."

"Alright, tell me what they say ok?" he said as he walked away.

"K, I hope they say yes," I said softly to myself.

~*~ Zac ~*~

When I got home, Dad straight away asked me what had taken so long. It's not like I was late, as I had practically came straight home. I mean I stopped and chatted to Lilliahna for ten minutes but had headed home after that. He was drunk though so I didn't want to annoy him too much.

"I had to stay behind and talk to my maths teacher. He's suggested a tutor, as I'm not very good at maths and has organised with me to stay at school for an extra hour one night a week with one of my classmates, Lilliahna Thomas. I came straight home after that."

I know that this wasn't entirely true but I didn't want to make him angry.

"I don't care," He said, or rather yelled. "I said straight home and I meant it!"

He lunged at me and I fell backwards over the coffee table. He got on top of me and punched me in the head so I kicked out at him. Bad move. He pulled me to my feet by my arm.

"Don't ever do that again," he growled pushing me.

I fell backwards and hit the back of my head on the corner of the coffee table. I felt blood trickle down the back of my neck but I wasn't very worried about that. I was more worried about getting out of there. Fighting back tears, I ran out the front door.

~*~ Lilliahna ~*~

Mum met me at the door when I got home from school and handed Isabella, my little baby sister, to me.

"Honey, I need you to look after her for me. I have this meeting..." she said.

"Only if I can go out for tea with a friend tomorrow night," I told her.

"Who with?" She asked.

"Zac, a guy in my class."

"Yeah that's ok as long as you are home by nine. Bye," She said as she grabbed her briefcase and left.

I played with Isabella for a while before putting her to bed at seven. I tried to do some homework but couldn't concentrate so I decided to call Zac.

His Dad answered the phone and told me he wasn't home. He was slurring his words a bit so I guessed he was drunk. I tried Zac's mobile and he answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"Hi Zac, it's me, Lilliahna. Are you ok?" It sounded as though he was crying, or had been.

"Yes, no. It doesn't matter."

"I want to meet up with you. Where are you?" I asked him. I had heard Dad pull up so he could look after Issy now.

"No I don't really want to see anybody at the moment Lilliahna. I'm sorry." He replied.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"I just don't feel like it ok?"

"Where are you?" I asked again.

"In the park..."

"Stay there." I said hanging up the phone.

"Hey Dad, Issy is in bed, Mum's at a meeting, I'm going for a walk. Bye," I said, not giving him a chance to say no.

~*~ Zac ~*~

"Great," I muttered to myself as she hung up on me. I really didn't want to see anyone. But then again, Lilli did sound really worried about me. Maybe she could help me after all.

I waited five minutes and was about to go when I heard her calling me. Before I even had time to think about calling out to her she was standing in front of me.

"Zac? What happened?" She asked, sitting down next to me and taking my hand. She put her hand to my hair and wiped at the blood that was there.

"Dad. He didn't mean to hurt me. I know he didn't. You shouldn't have come. I'll be ok," he said quickly.

"Don't be silly. I'm going to take you to the hospital and then you are coming to stay with me."

"No Lilli. I have to go home. Dad will be waiting for me. It will all work out."

"At least let me come to your house with you. Let me walk you home and make sure everything is ok," she said standing up.

"Ok," I sighed.

As we started walking, she shivered.

"Do you have a jumper?" I asked her. She shook her head so I took off my own jumper and gave it to her.

"Sorry about the blood," I said.

"Thanks Zac, you didn't have to," She said putting it on.

"Mmm...it smells like you," she commented taking a deep breath and then smiling at me. I reached for her hand; she had no hesitation in letting me take it.

~*~ Lilliahna ~*~

Zac sure was in a bad way when I found him. I was worried when he wouldn't let me take him to the hospital for a check up but that was ok. It would work out.

We were almost at his house when my phone rang. It was Mum.

"Lilliahna, where are you?" she asked sounding half worried, half annoyed.

"With a friend, I'll be home soon," I said before hanging up.

Zac had kept walking although I stopped when I answered my phone. I ran to catch up.

"Just a friend hey," he asked, a cheeky glint in his eye.

"No," I replied, grabbing his hand a gently pulling him towards me.

"Not if you want to be more," I added, as I reached up and stroked his cheek.

Our lips were almost touching when we heard a loud crash coming from inside Zac's house, which I hadn't even realised we were in front of.

"Dad?" Zac called out, running inside. I followed him, only not quite so fast, and found him bent over his Dad who had fallen to the floor.

"Lil, he's not breathing. What do I do?" he asked, panicking. I handed him my phone.

"Call an ambulance," I said as I dropped to my knees next to his Dad. I had done a CPR course about six months before so I checked his airways and breathed into his mouth before beginning the chest palpitations.

"The ambulance is on its way Lil, I'm scared," Zac said as a single tear rolled down his face.

"I know. It will be ok," I told him, hoping that it would be.

I continued doing CPR on Zac's Dad until the ambulance arrived. He still hadn't started breathing when they had.

~*~ Zac ~*~

When the ambulance arrived, one of the officers knew Lilliahna and called her Mum while the other continued the CPR on Dad. I just stood there shocked. After ten minutes the kind woman officer, the one who knew Lilli, came over to me as I watched horrified as the man ceased the CPR.

"I'm sorry hun, we've lost him. His heart just won't start again. Even if we managed to at this late stage, he hasn't had much oxygen for almost half an hour and his brain would be damaged. There isn't anything else we can do. Is there someone I can call for you...?" she asked reaching out to take my arm.

I turned around. I didn't want to talk to her. My eyes scanned the room for Lilli. I saw her in the corner talking to a woman I didn't recognise but was obviously her Mum. I overheard her yelling out no but then everything went blurry.

"Whoa mate its ok. You're in shock. Lean against me..." she gently pulled on my shoulders so we were sitting on the floor and she was supporting my back. Lilli ran over to me and knelt down beside me. She was crying.

"I'm sorry Zac, I tried my hardest, I really did..." she stopped, she couldn't say the words, she was crying too much.

I reached out for her as silent tears began to run down my face. She threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me hard.

"I know you did Lilliahna. I know," I whispered in her ear. I don't know how long we stayed like that but it didn't feel like very long before Lil's Mum was pulling her away and the ambulance officer was helping me to my feet.

"We are taking you to the hospital tonight because of the shock and the head injuries that you have. Tomorrow we will sort out something else."

But I wasn't really listening. Lilli was being dragged to her car by her Mum, but she was not going without a fight. I just nodded slowly before allowing myself to be led away by the nice woman.

~*~ Lilliahna ~*~

I didn't want to go and leave Zac by himself. There was no way that I was going. I hated that I was forced to go. This was totally unfair.

I looked out the back window as Mum drove me away. She was saying something to me but I couldn't hear what she said. Zac's face said it all. His heart had just been torn out and stepped on and now he was alone in this big world. It wasn't fair. I started crying again and turned to face Mum.

"What did you say?" I asked, through my tears.

"I just told you that I don't want you hanging around with him in the future. He will probably turn out like his Dad and I don't want you being messed up with people like that."

"Mum? Are you serious? He has no one left in this world to care about him. His Mum died from cancer not very long ago and because he was heartbroken, his Dad turned to alcohol. They had a fight tonight and that's why his Dad had drunken so much.

"How can I not see him or hang around with him? That is so unfair. How is he going to cope with all this if he doesn't even have a friend?" I yelled at her.

We pulled up home then and I went inside, slamming the front door behind me, in Mums face, and waking up Issy. Dad tried to talk to me but I just stormed past him and slammed my bedroom door, causing Issy to cry.

I threw myself on my bed and cried myself to sleep. I had no intention of listening to what my mother told me. Sometimes life could be so cruel.