[Zack Baker] Crashing Down [One-Shot]

I sat at work, feeling completely bored out of my mind as my head rested in one hand, the other placed on my desk, fingers drumming fervently against it. I sighed to myself, resorting to spinning in the chair as I waited. And waited. And waited. I was really sick of the waiting.

"Damnit Zacky, what the hell is taking you so long?" I mumbled under my breath. Here I was, stuck alone at work, waiting for my beloved boyfriend Zack to call me back. He'd called earlier, telling me that I needed to stay at work. I asked him why, but he avoided the question, just insisting that I was not allowed to come home, and I was stuck to waiting for him to call me to let me know he was coming to get me.

I could only begin to just wonder what the hell he was doing at home without me, telling me I wasn't allowed. Some might jump to the conclusion that he was with another woman, in our bed, cheating. But I knew Zack. I knew that he could never do that to me. He wouldn't. And I had complete faith in him to keep his word, because he had his faith in me that I would never do the same.

The only thing I could think of him doing that was taking so long was that it was our three year anniversary to the day we first started dating, and he was trying to show off with his cooking skills, making dinner for the two of us.

Suddenly, my phone on the desk began ringing, and I jumped, startled at the noise as I had been deep in thought.




Wearily, I pulled my car into the drive. My heartbeat felt hollow in my chest, and it was obvious to see there was no car in the driveway except for my own. I was alone. Zack wasn't there, but I really didn't know what else to be expecting. The house looked cold, empty.

Taking a deep breath, I opened the driver's side door, stepping out onto the blacktop of the driveway, my work shoes clacking. The only sound other than my beating heart was my heels against the pavement as I abandoned the car, heading across the lawn to the house. I stepped up to the house that appeared to be empty, my hand reaching out to grasp the brass handle of the front door as I slung the strap of my purse over my shoulder.




After my heart rate had calmed itself and the phone next to me had rung for a good three or four times I reached over, picking it up and holding it to my ear, clearing my throat.

"Hello?" I called to the other line.

"Sarah, babe," came Zacky's sweet voice from the other end.

"Zack! Way to take ages calling me back. You promised you'd be quick about it," I said softly to him, not really having the heart to become cross with him.

"It's only been five minutes since I last called you," he chuckled back to me, and I glanced at the clock, noticing that he was right. The boredom must have caused me to lose track of the time, making it seem much longer than it really was.

"Oh," I replied gently, playing with the cord on the phone. "So... are you coming to get me now?" I then asked, a smile coming to my lips.

"Actually..." Zack began, and my smile slowly faded.

"What? What is it?" I asked once he did not continue.

"Well that's why I'm calling. It's gonna be a couple more minutes before I can come get you."

I huffed in frustration. "Zacky," I whined.

"I'm sorry Sarah, but I'll call you back in a few minutes before I come to get you, alright?" Zack asked, almost as if he were pleading with me.

"...Okay..." I sighed, biting my lip.

"I love you, baby."

The smile that had vanished came back. "I love you too, Zack."

"I'll call back soon, I promise."

"Okay..." I replied, and we both shared our goodbyes before hanging up. I placed the phone back on the receiver, slumping back in my chair.

"Dinner better be fabulous Zacky, for making me wait this long," I grumbled again.




I turned the doorknob in my hand, hearing the latch come undone before I pushed, stepping into the thresh hold of mine and Zacky's home. Almost opposite of what had appeared on the exterior, the inside of the house was warm, welcoming me in like it always had since we'd moved in.

Closing the door behind me, I dropped my purse and keys on the kitchen counter next to the door, sliding my shoes off. Taking a deep breath, I was met with a scent I had breathed in so many times. It was the scent of Zack, his cologne, cigarettes, and just his existing scent all mixed together. It was a scent I had grown quickly to love, even when we'd only been dating the first few months. I could pick it out of every other scent in the house easily.




As I sat there waiting once more, I began to let my mind wander. I could just picture it all in my head already. The table would be set for two, a candelabra resting in the middle, three candles glowing, casting shadows on the room as the flames flickered. The kitchen would be filled with the aromas of the good food Zack made for the two of us and we would sit across from each other, our hands linked on the table in the middle as we both ate. I could see already the look of adoration in Zack's eyes as a smile played on his lips, and knew I'd be returning a look of equal value back to him.

Afterwards, Zack would take my hand and lead me away from the kitchen, through the living room and would carry me up the stairs to the bedroom. He'd carefully take his time to rid the both of us of our clothes, his fingers skimming along my skin softly before he would lay me down on the bed and begin to make passionate love to me.

I caught myself moaning at the thought and instantly opened my eyes, feeling a red, heated blush creep its way to my cheeks even though I was the only one around. Just thinking of what he would do to me was making me tingle.

The phone rang again and I quickly answered it, a smile on my face. "Zacky?"

"Hey baby," he replied, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm just about to get in the car and come get you, so get ready for me to be there so we can come home, alright?"

"Yes," I answered, my smile growing larger by the second. "God, I love you Zacky," I breathed into the phone, and I heard Zack chuckle lightly to himself.

"I love you too Sarah. I'll be there in ten minutes, fifteen if there's traffic."

We once again shared our goodbyes, hanging up. I could feel the jitters in my stomach. I just wanted to get home and let him pleasure me already.

But then Zack never came. I waited the ten minutes, hell I even gave him the fifteen in case of traffic. But he never showed up.

Maybe he was just having car troubles, I reasoned with myself. His car had been acting up lately, perhaps it just hadn't started or he was stalled somewhere.

But... He would have called, right?




Completely bypassing the kitchen, I stepped into the living room. The first thing that caught my eye was a photo frame lying on the side table next to me. I gingerly picked it up, turning the picture toward me. Instantly, I smiled. It was a photo from a few years back, from within the first year of my relationship with Zack. We were sitting together on Matt's fishing boat, myself sitting in my bikini on Zack's lap, his chin resting on my shoulder as the wind swept his dark hair over his forehead. There was a fishing pole in my hands that I was deftly looking at.

I remembered that day as well. Moments after this shot was taken, a fish had caught my hook, tugging hard as I was jerked from Zack's lap to the edge of the boat, desperately trying to reel it in.

I had called for Zack's help and he was quickly at my side, taking the fishing rod in his hands as I handed it over to him. He had a little more success that I had, and the fish was struggling just below the surface, when the beast, as it was such a large fish, gave a great tug and Zack was pulled off the boat, landing in the water with a splash.

We had all laughed at him, and I remembered how his hair stuck to his forehead as he popped back out of the water.

I sighed, setting the frame down and moving across the room to the coffee table, where another photo frame stood. In it was a photo of Zack and I again, and someone had snapped the picture of us in the back yard during a barbeque. Zack had a beer in his hand while I had a Tequila Sunrise, and Zack's free arm was around my waist as he both sat on the patio bench, large cheesy grins flashed to the camera holder. That barbeque had been crazy. Zack and I got so trashed that we couldn't even get out of bed in the morning.

Standing up, I came face to face with a photograph in a frame nailed to the wall. It was from Matt and Vals wedding from a few months previous. I could see Zacky's collar from his tuxedo in the picture along with my bare shoulders, due to the strapless dress I was wearing. My arms were around his neck as we smiled at each other, our foreheads together.

Zacky had looked so fine that night. He would barely dance with me at all, not even if I bribed him, but I was finally able to drag him to the dance floor just once for a slow song where the photographer had caught us and taken a picture, making the moment eternal.

I sighed to myself and moved on, finally coming to my most favorite picture of all. It was Zack and I kissing. But it wasn't just any old kiss. It was from our first Christmas together and we were celebrating with all our friends. Brian had the camera and was taking shots of anything that moved, I swear, and he had caught me on the couch from next to us as I straddled Zack and pressed my lips to his. It wasn't just any old kiss... because this kiss was the result of Zacky telling me he loved me for the first time.

We had hunted down Brian for the picture, being embarrassed of it at first, but when he finally said he would give us the picture, we decided we wanted to really keep it. So we took it and made it black and white on the computer, putting it in a frame. It was a night that I would always remember for as long as I lived, and I quickly wiped a tear away before moving on.




The phone rang once more from its place on the desk and I hastily answered. "Zack, what's-"

"Sarah," the person replied, and I realized it wasn't Zack, but rather Brian.

"Brian? ... Sorry, I thought you were Zack," I apologized.

"Sarah... You need to get to the hospital," Brian replied, and his voice was quivering. I knew int hat one moment that something had gone horribly, horribly wrong.

"Al -- alright. I'll get there as soon as I can," I stuttered, feeling my heart sink into my stomach.

"I'll meet you in the waiting room," he finished and then quickly hung up.

Without another thought, I slammed the phone down, grabbed my things, and made my way out to my car, getting to the hospital as fast as I could.




I made my way to the stairs, slowly climbing them and finding myself right outside of Zack's own personal studio room he set up himself. His multiple guitars all had a place on the walls, and I stared at the wall opposite me, slowly making my way into the room as my eyes began to burn from the presence of more tears. This was the room where all of his guitars were kept when he wasn't on tour.

The gold City of Evil album was hung on the wall, and the Moonman that he won in 2006 with the rest of Avenged Sevenfold had its own glass case, like a shrine.

In the middle of the back wall of the room were Zack's two identical Schecter guitars, among the many that were custom made for him. Side by side they rested on the wall, one black with gold deathbats, the other black with silver deathbats.

I bit hard on my lip as I took a step closer, reaching my hand out to touch the smooth polished body of the black and gold one. My breath got caught in my throat and I felt myself getting choked up. I couldn't do it. I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. I just broke down, the floodgates opening as fresh tears gathered in my eyes, glossing my vision, before breaking loose and trailing down my cheeks, collecting on my shirt once they dripped. Quickly I left the room, not being able to calm myself down as I stared at the beautiful instruments Zack adored.

I stood in the hallway, slumped against the wall, and just cried, so hard, my hands coming up to cover my face.




I met up with Brian in the waiting room of the hospital and saw the distraught look in his eyes. Matt, Jimmy, and Johnny were all in attendance as well, and they all carried a sad disposition on their faces, causing my heart to drop farther into my stomach, making me sick.

"Brian..." I asked, latching onto the front of his shirt. "What... What's happened?"

"Sarah.... I'm sorry. Zack's been in an accident. He told me to call you here...." was all Brian could say.

"Is he alright?"

"They... They don't know. He was injured pretty badly. They said he was stable for now, but they don't know if he'll make it through the night," Brian whispered, and I felt the white hot sting of tears in my eyes.

"Can I go see him?" I asked through my frantic crying.

"Yeah... He doesn't look very good Sarah," Brian warned before he got a nurse to take me down to Zack's room. She slowly opened the door and I was met with the beeping of the heart monitor.

"Oh God," I cried out as I stepped into the room, my hands flying up to cover my mouth as I began crying harder.

There he was, my precious Zack, laid on his back on the hospital bed. Thank God he didn't have any tubes shoved down his throat or I wouldn't be able to look at him. He did, however, have wires connected to his chest under his hospital gown, keeping track of his heart rate, and an IV stuck in his arm along with a bag of blood hooked up to the other arm, pumping it slowly into him.

Around his forehead was wrapped a white bandage, and it was soaking with blood above his left eye. It was the only injury I could see, but I didn't dare lift up the blanket on his legs to see what other damage he'd gotten. And if he was hooked up to blood, that meant he had to have internal bleeding somewhere.

The thought of it caused my stomach to churn, but I quickly held it at bay, walking to Zacky's side and taking his hand gently in mine. I squeezed his hand lightly in my own, only to feel him squeeze back immediately after.

"Zack," I whispered, seeing his bright green eyes flutter open. "Oh Zacky," I cried harder.

"Sarah..." he whispered back, and he made an expression of pain as he tried to take a deep breath.

"Baby, what happened?" I asked tentatively. I waited patiently for him to answer, knowing he was in a lot of pain.

"It... It all happened... So fast," he responded, his eyes furiously blinking back tears. "I didn't even see the car coming through the red light. It... It hit my side head on and... And... Fuck this hurts," he whimpered, slowing his breathing before he started coughing hard, his neck muscles straining. Tears splashed down his cheeks as he continued to cough. My heart stopped beating for a moment when I saw a bit of red on the corner of his mouth. Once he stopped, Zack took his free hand and touched the spot, pulling back to see his fingertip smeared with blood.

"Zacky..." I whimpered, holding his hand a little tighter in mine as fear struck through me.

"I... I don't want to die, Sarah... I don't want to leave you," he cried.

I sniffed hard, looking at the scared look in his eyes. "Ssshh.... Baby you're not gonna die, you're gonna be just fine," I tried to assure him. But I didn't even know if my words were true.




I choked on my sobs as I finally stood upright, wiping my tears as best I could before walking further down the hall. I passed the bathroom on the left and then the guestroom on the right, coming closer and closer to the bedroom, but not knowing if I wanted to go in or not.

Taking another deep breath, I stepped into the room, turning the light on, and what I saw on the bed made me cry out even harder. I felt my legs give out and I fell to my knees, hiding my face in my hands as I cried in grief.




"Sarah," Zack called out quietly, and I locked my eyes with him once more. "Back... Back at the house, I want you to go up to our bedroom after you leave here, okay? Can you do that for me?" he asked, and I felt confused.

"W-what?"

"Just do it, please, for me..." he cried, tears spilling down his perfect cheeks.

"Okay... I will, I promise Zacky," I answered, feeling very scared and very vulnerable in that moment.

"Kiss me... Sarah," he then requested, and I felt a pang in my heart. Zack knew it was coming. He could feel it, I knew he could.

Slowly nodding, I leaned down and gently placed my lips against his, trembling as more tears fell down my cheeks.

"I love you... So much Sarah. Don't ever forget that," he whispered after I pulled away.

"I love you too, Zacky, more than anything else in the world," I answered him, and I could feel it in the air, it was coming. Zack's grip on my hand steadily grew slack.

His gaze locked with the ceiling as I heard the heart monitor flat line, his eyelids drooping as his hand went totally limp in mine. Within seconds, doctors had flocked to the room and they did all they could to try and save my beloved Zacky. But it was too late. The steady pitch of the heart monitor echoed through the room as I slumped down against the wall, tears spilling harder from my eyes. He was gone, my Zack was gone. And I was all alone, my world crashing down around me.
Rest in the Results <3
"Back at the house, I want you to go up to our bedroom," I heard Zacky's voice playing in my head, and I snuffled before finally picking my head up and looking back at the bed.

For placed atop the comforter were candies, little bright red M&Ms, all made into a formation, spelling out words. 'Will you marry me?' started back at me in the bright red color, and at the very end, on the dot of the question mark, was a little black velvet box, open to reveal the glittering diamond ring inside.