The Zenith System

Chapter 017

Zack freezes as Celeste wraps her arms around his neck. He doesn’t know how to respond. She is crying and trembling and the arms around him are getting tighter.

“Zack, please let me help you,” she offers again. “You’ve been adrift for far too long.”

His throat tightens. The walls he has built around himself are beginning to crumble under the weight of her words. Rather, her words feel like a lifeline tossed to him. Should he really grab it? Will his pride allow it? But he has been receiving her help for quite a while, right? It’s just a matter of finally admitting it.

When he doesn’t respond, Celeste says with her voice trembling, “Why do you hate me so much?” Her initial anger, hot and bright, begins to wane, replaced by anguish and pain instead.

“I don’t hate you,” Zack finally replies. “I think I just... I envy you.”

She continues to cry, his shoulder getting wet with her tears. In truth, Zack wants her to hit him instead, rather than her, hugging him like this, trembling, as if begging him for something.

“Envy? What could you possibly envy about me?” she cries, and Zack still doesn’t know where to place his hands. “There’s nothing…”

The door opens and the male nurse comes in. He looks surprised at the way Celeste is hugging him, and Zack feels awkward by their position. The nurse nods at him and then leaves the room again.

“Ahm, Celeste, you might want to…” Zack starts.

Instead, Celeste presses her body to him and tightens her arms around him, making him feel more uncomfortable. He is not used to her acting like this. He is familiar with her shouts, punches and insults, but never this.

“If you don’t know how to live anymore, think about us, too. Think of the people you will leave behind. And even if you dislike me, you need to know that I will help if it becomes too hard.”

Zack’s body starts to relax.

“I know you hate how I treat you, but sometimes love has to be tough,” she says. “But seems like I almost lost you instead for doing that…”

So, she is also aware that he dislikes the way she treats him?

“I know I might have been too hard on you, but you are still my family. And being your older cousin, I still love and care for you.”

Hearing the words from her, his eyes glisten with tears, and something is lifted off from his chest. Why did it take so long for him to realize that Celeste is this type of person? He should have noticed it before.

“So please…” she whispers, almost suffocating him. “Don’t leave us. Allow me to help you until you can stand on your own.”

He never expected her to say this. His cousin, who has always been so tough and harsh towards him, is now showing her vulnerable side. And it’s all because of his own selfish actions.

Then he raises his arms, and slowly, he responds to her hug, regretting all his past actions.

“I—I’m sorry,” Zack chokes out, his voice barely audible.

Zack just holds onto her tighter, not knowing what else to say or do. But right now, all he can think of is how he can give back to her, realizing everything that she has done for him.

And as they stay locked in an embrace for what feels like forever, Zack finally understands how much pain he has caused her through his actions. He knows that it’s time for him to make things right.

“I’m sorry,” he repeats, burying his face in her shoulders. Their position switched.

“Okay, forgiven,” she finally says, pulling back and ruffling his hair playfully.

He gazes into her face. It isn’t malice that fuels her actions; it is her version of love, strong enough to make him move. And this particular trait of hers makes her human, relatable and vulnerable. As he continues to gaze at her, somehow, he can glimpse his own reflection, fractured yet seeking strength in other forms.

“Celeste… I…” He reaches for her hand, the very one that had always hit him. He cradles it and says again, “Thank you.”

They smile at each other, the first one they shared for a very long time. The hospital noises receded into the background and in that moment, a bond was formed. Now, with her, he is ready to face whatever would come across them.

*********************

Zack lies on the couch in Celeste’s apartment. A thin blanket is tangled around his limbs. She has asked him to stay in the living room for the meantime, as if afraid that he will attempt to take his own life again.

Not anymore, though. He has felt lighter since returning from the hospital. Even when his sisters confessed about what had happened to their parents, he didn’t feel that much pain. Maybe he is already expecting it. His father has always been a dreadful husband, screaming all the time at their mother, sometimes hitting her when he doesn’t like something. His only hope is that his mother should have stayed for her children, at least.

“Can we just do delivery?” Celeste asks, sitting on the couch beside him. “I don’t want to cook and you’re still injured.”

He laughs at her laziness. Before, he could have been annoyed, but now he actually finds it endearing.

“I want some premium meat,” he says.

She frowns at him. “I believe I told you that I won’t be too hard on you, but now you are acting like a spoiled brat,” she complains.

Still, she orders for a meal with meat on it. She even orders some vegetables.

“Don’t add that,” he says, peeking at her phone and seeing that she just added his most hated vegetable.

“Kevin says this will be good for you.”

“Who’s Kevin?”

“One of the nurses from the hospital.”

“Ah, the one who’s giving you the look?”

“What look?” she asks.

“Nevermind,” he says, returning to his side on the couch. Is she, in fact, oblivious to the male gaze? “Don’t you have work?”

“Nope, I will be on work-from-home setup in the coming weeks or months.”

Zack grins, his heart soaring with a new kind of hope. He can’t believe he’s about to say it, but he can’t help himself. “You’re staying to make sure I won’t kill myself, aren’t you?”

Celeste looks embarrassed as she looks away, but she doesn’t deny it. Instead, she busies herself with her phone, continuing to order food for them.

He can’t help but feel a sense of warmth and gratitude towards her. Her caring nature has been there from the start, always worrying about him and his sisters. But why has he been so oblivious until now? Is this the reason Mason has fallen for her?

“By the way,” she says suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence between them. “I haven’t seen Mason around. Did the two of you fight?”

As much as he wants to brush it off as nothing important, Zack knows Celeste will realize it.

So, his grin falters and he shrugs nonchalantly. “You missed him? Regretting that you rejected him?”

Her scowl is immediate and exasperated, she warns, “Don’t start now.”

Zack can tell there’s more behind her rejection of Mason than just NOT wanting a relationship. But he also knows that Celeste won’t open up easily unless she’s ready, even if they have become closer lately.

And so, he changes the topic, feeling the need to tease her. “So... it’s Kevin that you like, huh?”

Celeste gives him a look that clearly says ‘I just said don’t go there’. She clears her throat and focuses on her phone again, pretending to be busy.

Before Zack can say something else, a loud pounding is heard from the door. They both freeze, realizing it’s not just a normal knock but more like a violent banging.

The two of them stand up and Zack glances around the room for any weapons but finds nothing. He is about to move into the kitchen when suddenly; the door gave way and four burly men barged into the apartment.

Zack immediately recognizes Adi, Ben, Chris and Dino — goons from the loan agency he has borrowed money from. They have cruel smiles and their eyes alight with malice as they take in the apartment.

“You got a nice place here, Zacky boy,” Adi sneers.

“What are you doing here?” he asks.

“You’re way past due, and we’re here to take what’s ours.”