I drove over to the quirky Puchetti Household, parking my car on the street. I quickly looked over my appearance, happy that mom decided to do my laundry yesterday so I could wear my khakis and white polo.

As I walked up to the door, I could hear the faint sound of yelling, so I hesitated to ring the doorbell for a few moments. Then, right as I mustered up the courage to push the doorbell, the front door swung open revealing a boy around the age of ten. I knew instantly it must be Zeke, Zoey's half-brother, for he had the same lanky arms and legs as Zoey, along with similar facial features. The only difference between the two were their hair and eye color. Zoey's hair was raven black, while Zeke's was a darker brown, much like my brother's hair. Zeke's eyes were also a more prominent green while Zoey's were hazel.

Zeke gave me a strange look before yelling for Zoey. I smiled waiting for Zeke to smile back, but he just kept giving me that strange look. A look as if I were some sort of extra-terrestrial creature.

After a few seconds, Zoey appeared, ushering me to come inside. She gave her brother a stern look, and he walked away, huffing with irritation. "Sorry about him. He's just mad he can't bring a friend with too."

When she said friend, I don't know why, but it kind of made me slightly upset. Like, I'm glad Zoey and I are friends, but I don't know, it just sounded odd hearing her say we were just friends.

"Yeah. He kind of gave me a strange look. For a second, I thought I dressed up weird or something," I replied with a nervous laugh, making her scoff.

"Are you serious? You look h...handsome," she stuttered as she said handsome, making me feel as though she was going to say something else. "I think we're about to leave, so let's just head out to the car."

I nodded, and we headed to her garage. Lining the garage were four bikes, one a bright yellow, and I instantly knew it had to be Zoey's. It had little bars in the back, so someone could stand on the back and ride along. Her family's car was simply a white minivan; most likely around five years old at the least. All around in the garage were numerous gardening tools and supplies. I noticed all the pots and bags of fertilizer and seeds, one bag spilling over onto the ground.

"My mother and I both share a passion for gardening, and as a family we all enjoy biking on trails during the summer," Zoey stated, as she opened up the door to the backseat. I averted my gaze from the gardening supplies to her. I didn't notice before that she was wearing a flowy blue dress that reached slightly above her knees. It elongated her already long legs, and her hair was half pinned back by a small flower clip that matched her dress. I soaked in her whole appearance, and while doing this, I absentmindedly nodded to what she said.

"So please remember to do that. He will most likely pester you , as I'll be by you the whole time," she said, and I felt my stomach drop. I totally had missed what she had said as I was checking her out.

Crap.

Before I could ask her to repeat what she had told me, her parents and Zeke came out to the car. I noticed how much Zoey looked like her mother. Her mother had the same hazel eyes that were big and easy to get lost in and a narrow chin, but her mother's hair was an exuberant red, obviously dyed that color as I don't think anyone is born with that bright of red hair. Her step-father had a muscular build, but wore a quirky sweater and round-brim spectacles. He had noticeable tattoos on his hands and some peeking from under his sweater, going slightly up his neck. The two together were a very dynamic and unique duo, and somehow, Zoey seemingly fitted right in. Even her brother, Zeke, who bore such similar resemblance to his father, clicked right in with the family, with his spiky brown hair and a shirt that related to science in some way. Not really sure what it meant but it had different chemical formulas and a character from Star Trek was shown.

Strange...but I liked it. I actually really liked her whole family. The car ride to her step-grandfather's house was quite enjoyable. From hearing Zoey and Zeke bicker about the oddest things like why parrots should be left alone and not kept as pets to how Panic! At The Disco is not as good as Fall Out Boy ( which I agreed with Zoey that Panic! is, in fact, better than FOB, but her brother took the other side). The conversations were funny and definitely something I wasn't used to. Car rides with my family usually consisted of my mom asking the same boring questions, my brother ignoring us all, and my sister complaining about something irrelevant and pathetic.

Zoey's mom, who told me to call her Rae, talked about her job as a veterinary science researcher and how she met her husband-who told me to call him, Drew-at a local researcher convention. Apparently he is also a researcher, but researches the effects of using different stereoisomers ( whatever that means) on different resources. It all made sense as to why Zeke seemed to be extremely interested in science, and why Zoey was incredibly smart. She excelled in literally every. single. subject, except for math. She said that's because she confuses the order of numbers all the time.  I mean she still gets an A in the class so I'm not sure if she was lying about math being her worst subject or not.

"Well, looks like we're here!" Drew exclaimed as he parked the car in front of an older-looking home. It was three stories tall and had a large entryway, indicating that it must have been from the later 19th century.

"Remember kids, take your shoes off right away. Grandma Janice is extremely weird about her white carpeted floors getting dirty," Rae remarked as we exited the van and walked up to the doorstep.  Rae's heels clicked on the cement as we neared the door, making me realize that I'd become face-to-face with the man who raped Zoey soon. 

He wouldn't do anything with me by Zoey, so why was I starting to get sick to my stomach at the thought of seeing him.

Shaking me from my thoughts, Drew pushed the doorbell, and an eerie echoing ring strung out in the dry, autumn air. After a couple moments of utter silence and anticipation, the door opened and an older man with white hair and a mustache and beard to match appeared with a Santa-like smile.

"Hey! My boy! How have you all been? And my dear Zoey...I haven't seen you come to this in years! Come in, come in!" he exclaimed, ushering us into the wide entryway. As I walked in, I immediately followed suit of Zoey and her family by taking my shoes off and placing them off to the side.

"Pops! It's okay that we brought a friend? Zoey really wanted to bring her...uh..." Drew began to exclaim to his dad.

"This is Josh. Josh Parker. My..." Zoey cut in but trailed off before I piped up.

"I'm Zoey's boyfriend." Instantly, I got numerous faces of shock. Even Zoey gave me a strange look before coughing out of awkwardness.

The only person that seemed to take it lightly was Drew's dad. "Well, it's nice to have you apart of the family, Josh! Zoey may not be my actual granddaughter, but I still look at her as my own. You better take good care of her," he said with an easy smile, winking at the last part. I smiled hesitantly, nodding along.

Zeke cleared his throat before asking where the other cousins were at.

"Oh, well the twins are down in the basement playing on the Wii. Zoey, Warren is downstairs as well. He has sure missed you. He's back from college for the week, until Christmas break," Pops said, and I sensed the uneasiness written across Zoey's face. She, then, grabbed my hand and led me down the stairs to the basement. The home, although older, did have a warm feel to it. Much like my grandparent's house, except my grandparent's house is much smaller.

Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Zoey was still squeezing my hand. Pretty sure if she squeezed any tighter my hand would pop off.

"Please don't leave my side. I haven't seen him since ..." Zoey whispered to me, but was cut off by a low voice. She froze, looking at me with her big eyes full of fear. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and turned around to see the source of the deep voice.

"Zoey! It's been so long!" a young man, who looked around 22/23 years old said. He was around the same height as me, but had dark brown locks, and resembled Drew so much. It's actually quite shocking how much they resembled each other, even if they were brothers. I'm really surprised Zoey has been able to feel comfortable around Drew due to this. The only thing I noticed that was different was he didn't wear glasses, and he only seemed to have a few tattoos that could be seen. Overall, my first impression of him was that he seemed like a normal, nice guy, but knowing what he did to Zo, made me want to punch that stupid smile off his face.

"Uh...Warren. Hi. Yeah, I'm always busy around this time with volleyball, but this year I guess I had a free weekend," Zoey said, lacking her usual confidence and vibrancy. It was quite upsetting to see her like this. She acted as though she were a wounded puppy.

"Mhmm...well who's this?" his smile faded as he drew his gaze over towards me. I could tell he was eyeing up my arm that was slung over Zoey's shoulders.

I gave him a smirk before responding with, "I'm Josh. Zoey's boyfriend." I pulled Zoey closer in towards me, letting her know that I was with her. She circled her arms around me, looking up  with a small smile. Now, if I wasn't so focused on being there for Zo, I'd be getting super excited about this small but meaningful gesture. I felt as though I were her actual boyfriend.

Warren was not happy. It's like he didn't care to place a facade over his anger. He straight up glared at me before crossing his arms. "That's weird. You don't seem like Zoey's type." His voice seemed to get lower as he continued to openly glare at me.

I shrugged, trying not to think about beating the guy up into a freaking pulp. "Well, I guess you don't know Zoey then. We want to play a round of Mario Kart, so please excuse us," I said in a clipped tone, purposefully shoving past Warren, with Zoey still right by my side.  There was no way I was going to talk with that asshole any longer.

We approached the large television screen, Zeke and one of the presumed twins held Wii controllers in their hands, both leaning side to side while pressing numerous buttons as they watched the screen with rainbow road as the race track. The other twin girl sat next to her  identical sister.

Zoey nudged my arm, and we both sat down on the sofa. Her body still pressed up on my side. I could feel her slightly shaking from the nervousness being around her rapist.

After a few moments of us watching the kids play the game, Zoey spoke up.

"The twins are Delanie and Deirdre. Drew's sister, Becca, is the mom. Her husband is off across the world, stationed in Japan. They do everything together, but both are incredibly unique from each other. Delanie, the one holding the controller, is a dancer and is an actual sweetheart. Deirdre plays the drums and thinks she's the next Avril Lavigne. She's hardcore for only being thirteen."

We watched the kids play for a couple rounds until they let Zoey and I play. I let Zoey beat me in one race. Yes, I let her. Then the next few too. Okay, I'll admit. Mario Kart isn't my strong suit, but if it was Guitar Hero I'd cream her.

Okay that sounded wrong, but you know what I mean.

After playing a few rounds, which Zoey managed to get first in all of them, we were called up for dinner. So far Warren hadn't bothered us since that first encounter, but I had a feeling dinner would be slightly different.

We all sat around a large, long table. The twins and Zeke sat at the island counter as there wasn't enough room for them. I made sure to place myself next to Zoey, but, unfortunately, Warren took the other seat beside her. Zoey quickly grabbed my hand under the table, giving me a nervous look. I squeezed her hand lightly giving her a light smile.

"So, Zoey... I haven't seen you in forever. How is volleyball and school going?" a young woman asked Zoey. She had darker, almost black hair and resembled the twins, so I assumed she was Becca, their mom.

Zoey smiled. "Oh it's been great! Our team has only lost one game so far, and school has been good." I smiled as I listened to them converse more about volleyball and such things. I began to zone out, eating the roast and vegetables on my plate. I had finished everything on my plate, feeling quite stuffed.

Then, Warren spoke up, asking Zoey a question. "Zoey... could I have a word with you in the living room?" Zoey tensed up beside me, and I knew she didn't want to go. He was definitely up to something.

Instead of letting her answer, I spoke up. "Actually, I'm done so we could all hang out in the living room together." I tried to sound as normal and decent as I could, considering the others were around us.

Warren leaned back, giving me a dirty look. "I wanted to talk to Zoey... alone. Family to family. You get what I mean?" Zoey still remained silent, sitting as still as a statue. It was just so odd seeing her like this. It was unnatural and un-Zoeylike.

"Well according to Pops, I am part of the family now. Plus, I like to be around my girlfriend as much as I can," I emphasized girlfriend just to irritate the shit out of him. It worked. He literally looked like he wanted to slit my throat.

He rolled his eyes, and looked over towards Pops. "Hey dad... could Zoey and I be excused? I have something I want to show her." His lips curled into a devilish grin. Okay, to everyone else I'm sure it looked normal, but I knew it wasn't normal at all.

"Oh yeah, sure. Why don't you take Josh too," Pops responded, making myself inwardly sigh in relief. I promised Zoey I wouldn't leave her side.

"Uh ok," Warren said, clearly irritated that his trick didn't work. I wanted to laugh in his face and be like 'screw you asshole!' But I didn't obviously.

Once dinner was done, I offered to help clean the dishes and table. Zoey had to quick use the bathroom, which was in the hallway next to the kitchen, so I didn't feel odd letting her go alone as I was literally right there.

After about five minutes of washing dishes, I noticed Zoey hadn't come back yet. I felt my stomach drop in worry. I'm sure she was still going to the bathroom. Girls usually take awhile in the bathroom due to feminine issues. I do have a sister, so I know these things.

After waiting a few more minutes with no sign of Zoey, I decided to leave the kitchen. I noticed someone was still in the bathroom, and I sighed in relief.

The door, finally, opened, revealing one of the twins. She gave me a strange look as I felt my stomach churn. Where the hell did Zoey go?

"Uh ... Josh? Right?" the girl asked. I nodded in response, looking around. "I'm Deirdre. You're pretty cute. I can see why Zoey likes you." I momentarily stopped and stared at the girl for a second.

"Uh thanks. Um have you happened to see Zoey? She went to the bathroom last I remember," I asked, trying to hide my anxiousness.

"Yeah, I think she's upstairs with Warren. He had something to show her," she responded. I felt my eyes pop out of their sockets, and made a dash up the stairs, not caring that Deirdre was probably looking at me in a strange way.

I listened for voices, and eventually found one door closed and a low voice talking. I tried to listen if it was actually Warren and Zoey before I opened the door.

"Why have you been avoiding me? I thought we had a connection ... hmmm," Warren's voice echoed lowly. I curled my fist in anger. I'm literally going to beat the shit out of him.

"Um.. I ... uh ... I need to get down to Josh. He's probably wondering where I'm at," Zoey stuttered, and I could hear shuffling on the other side.

"Zoey. Com'n you haven't seen me in three years. I think we should catch up. You're Joshy can wait," Warren said lowly, and I could hear Zoey whimper. This was my cue to barge in. I tried turning the door knob, but it would't budge. Shit.

So, I knocked. Hoping and praying he'd answer the knock.

"Yeah?" Warren shouted, clearly annoyed.

"Uh, Zeke needs to talk to Zoey. Apparently he wants to play a round of Mario Kart against his sister," I said, trying to sound as casual as I could. For Zoey's sake, I didn't want Warren to find out that I knew.

There was a few seconds of silence before someone unlocked the door and opened it. There stood Zoey and Warren. Warren had his hand on her shoulder, and Zoey seemed insanely tense.

"Could it wait? Zoey and I were having an important talk. Plus, I haven't seen my fav girl in awhile," Warren said, with obvious irritation that I had interrupted.

I shook my head as I grabbed Zoey's hand, pulling her towards me. "Zeke seemed pretty adamant about this game. Sorry," I said, leading Zoey down the stairwell with me, leaving a very pissed off Warren.

As we neared the bottom of the basement stairs, Zoey stopped and gave me a huge hug.

"Thank you so much, Joshy. I was so scared..." she whispered in my ear, so the kids wouldn't hear. I embraced her in an equally big hug, rubbing her back.

"Of course. I made a promise I would protect you and be here for you," I replied back. She pulled out from the hug, staring at me, tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know what I would do without you. Honestly, if there is anything at all that I can do, and I mean anything, let me know." She gave me a sweet smile making me smile back.

"Well, once this is over, I'd like to get us some ice cream if that's alright? I'm craving some cookie dough ," I remarked with a wink. She laughed, nodding in agreement.

"Sounds like a date," she said, as we walked over towards the kids playing the Wii. I smiled to myself.

A date. With Zoey.

Plus, ice cream.

Sounds like heaven to me.

****A/N****
Hey everyone !

So so sorry about the deleted chunk at the end! It is now fixed! :) hopefully it sounds good as I was going off memory from what I had written prior lol 😅

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~Madelyn Joy