~Zach's POV~

"Baby, what do you wanna watch?" I asked Althia as I brought the popcorn into her living room "Because I'm willing to watch Teen Wolf with you or we could watch a Zac movie for the millionth time" I told her
I placed the bowl on the table and looked at her since I didn't get a reply
Althia was on the couch, her eyes glued to her phone. I took a quick glance and saw that she was on Instagram
I sighed as I knew what account she was on
"Thi, hi" I waved my hand in front of her face
"Heh, what?" She quickly closed her phone
"What do you want to watch?" I asked her again
"Would you hate me if I asked you to watch Neighbors again?" She looked at me with puppy dog eyes "It can be the second one since we haven't watched it in awhile" She added
"I could never hate you" I told her "And we can watch the first one since I know it's your favorite" I answered her
"Yes thank you" Althia jumped on me and hugged me tightly
I chuckled and kissed her cheek
I went to her tv and turned the Xbox on so we could go on Netflix
As I took a seat next to her on the couch, Althia reached for her phone not knowing that I was watching her
I sighed silently as I searched for the movie
At the sound of the movie starting, Thi put her phone under her leg and scooted closer to me
I put my arm around her shoulder as she leaned on my upper arm
//
I looked down at Althia to see if she was asleep since she wasn't quoting the movie like usual and her favorite part was coming soon but then I saw that she was on her phone, looking at the exposing account
I debated on what I should do before grabbing her phone out of her hands
"Hey!" She called out and got up
I held her phone in my hand and looked at her

~ALTHIA'S POV~

Zach held my phone in his hand and looked at me
"I was just texting my mom back" I told him quickly as I realized he caught me sneaking on my phone yet again
"Oh yes, because your mom texts you from Instagram on the exposing account" Zach raised an eyebrow at me as he looked at my screen
I leaned forward and snatched my phone out of his hand
"Who cares if I was checking the account? It's not a big deal" I said
"Yes it's a big deal" Zach argued "It's a huge deal when you're always on the damn thing" He threw his arms up in frustration
"I'm not always on it" I contradicted
"You and I both know that's bullshit" He scoffed
I crossed my arms and glared at him
"Thi! Ever since they made their first post, you've been on it constantly and I'm not the only one who's noticed" Zach went on "So either it really does bother you and there's something you're not telling me or you're obsessing with this for no reason at all, which would make no sense. Which one is it?" He asked me
I opened my mouth to say something but then closed it back, searching for words
"I'm not stupid you know" Zach spoke again as my silence grew strong between us "I've noticed the secret chats you and Jessica have. I've noticed how silent you two get when someone else joins. I've noticed all the changes in you. I've noticed everything. The funny thing is that this all started the night of the dance, what's even funnier is that everything was ok at the dance until you danced with Justin" He continued "And don't tell me that it's not about him, Althia" He pointed a finger at me when he saw my mouth open to defend Justin "It has something to do with him and we're only hurting ourselves by pretending that nothing is wrong" He said
My heart sank at his last few words
"What does that mean" I quietly asked, afraid of what his response might be
"It means that your heart belongs to someone else and it's not fair to either of us and to that person" Zach answered
"Wha-. Ba-. Zach?" My voice grew quieter as I tried to find my words
"I love you Althia but-" Zach said
"I love you too Zach" I yelled as my voice cracked
Zach looked at me with soft eyes as tears started to roll down my cheeks
"Yes I know you do but you love someone else more and I need to let you go so you can figure this out" He softly told me
"No, Zach, please don't" I protested as I began to cry harder
"I need to, I'll always be here for you, Thi, and it's for the best" Zach started to get up
Through my teary eyes, I could see that his eyes had tears in them but he didn't let them out
"Please no, I love you so so much" I reached out to him but he took a step back "I'll delete Instagram, I'll do anything! Just don't leave please" I cried out
"That won't change anything, we both know that your heart is meant for someone else and I'm only doing this to make it easier on all of us" Zach gently spoke as he wrapped his arms around me
I grasped on the material of his shirt and cried into his chest
"Goodbye Althia, I love you" Zach whispered as he unwrapped himself from me
I held onto him and he pride himself away from me
I fell onto the floor as I watched him walk away
I sobbed out loud as I heard my front door closing and the engine of his car starting
I cried as I hoped he would come back but he didn't
I stayed on the floor crying for what felt like hours
Eventually I found strength to pull myself up and walk upstairs to my room where I layed in bed, truly heartbroken and alone

//

"Mom I told you that I don't want to talk" I called out as I heard someone walk up the stairs for the hundredth time since my parents had gotten home
I buried my face in my pillow and thought about everything that happened with Zach over and over again
"Sweetie, it's dad" My dad knocked on my door "I'm coming in, okay?" He said when I didn't answer
I didn't move as I heard the door slowly opened
"Oh, sweetheart" My dad gasped when he saw the condition I was in "What happened?" He asked, concern obvious in his voice
I slowly lifted my head up from his pillow and looked at my dad who stayed near the doorway
My chin started to wobble as I tried to get words out without bursting into tears
"Za-Za-Zach bro-broke up wi-with me" I managed to say before I began to sob
My dad immediately rushed to my side and hugged me
"Hun" Dad said as he hugged me tighter and I sobbed uncontrollably in his shoulder
I cried and cried for what felt like hours before calming down and telling my dad everything. I told him about the kiss, about Justin confessing his feelings for me, the account, the dance. I told him everything.
"I know you don't want to hear this but I believe that what Zach did was better for everyone" Dad spoke once I was done "He had a point by saying that it wasn't fair and you're only hurting more by refusing the feelings you feel towards Justin" He went on
"But I don't have feelings for him!" I interrupted him "I love Zach. He's the best thing that has happened in a long time and now he's gone forever" I added
"You may love Zach but like he said, you love someone else more" Dad looked at me
"Then why does this hurt so much? Why am I the only one hurting?" I whispered as tears came down my face once again
"Sweetheart, you're not the only one hurting" Dad told me "Zach let you go for the great of everyone else, I'm sure it wasn't easy for him to do that. As for Justin, how do you think he's been feeling about everything? His house situation isn't great at all, you come into his life and care for him, he falls for you, you fall in love with his friend and he still told you how he feels. That's a very vulnerable situation" He answered me
"Vulnerable or not, I hate Justin for what he's done" I said
"You may think that now but in the end, you'll regret saying that" Dad slowly got up from my bed "Get some rest, I'll be downstairs if you need me" He added with a small kiss on my forehead
I turned my back to him and pulled the covers over me
"And Althia, don't ever say that you hate someone" Dad said "It's a very strong word and it means a lot, even more than love" He added
I didn't respond and he walked out, closing my door behind him
I fell asleep to my dad's words sinking into my brain as well as Zach's

———————-
Oof this breakup scene was the hardest thing to write and I still feel like I didn't do good 😂😂
Hope you enjoyed this week's first chapter xx