He leaves

Zack spent a few minutes explaining to Chloe’s mom the situation. As he didn’t want to leave his friends with no ride, he asked her if she could drop Chloe’s car off and he could drive her home.

“Absolutely, Zack. I’ll leave in a few minutes, and should be there in about an hour and a half,” Mrs. McRose informed her daughter’s best friend.

“Thanks Mrs. R! You’re a life saver! Could you just do me one more favor and not tell Chloe or Gavin? I’m really not up for talking to anyone right now,” Zack pleaded.

“Okay Zack. But they’re sure to ask questions when they see me pull up. What should I tell them?”

“Just tell them I’m sorry and I’ll talk when I’m ready. I’ll see you in a bit.” he told her before hanging up the phone.

After ending the call, Zack figured he had to tell his sister something to keep her distracted long enough to make his escape. Before heading out to the deck, he cleaned up the mess he had made when his breakfast went airborne. There was no broken glass to clean up as everything he used was disposable. Once that was finished, he sighed and opened the door to the deck.

“Hey Zacky!” Hannah called out to him. “How you feeling?”

“Eh. Exhausted. I think I’m gonna take it easy today, but you guys should go do something. Maybe check out the lake finally. The water down on the other end is perfect for swimming. Don’t know how it is over here,” Zack told his sister and her friends.

“You sure, Bud?” Taylor asked.

“Yeah. I’m gonna go back inside and rest for a while longer. Those pills help you sleep, but they don’t help you relax.”

With that, Zack went back to his room to lie down. When he heard Hannah, Taylor, and the guys head towards the water, he put his plan into action. When he was sure they were distracted, he walked out the front door, got into his car, and headed over to the other side of the lake to meet Chloe’s mom.