Bound to You

“I’m going to take a shower.” Eliza told Zack several hours later when she pretended to wake up, knowing full well that he realized she hadn’t gotten any sleep during the course of the night. He nodded, pushing a hand over his head as he watched her walk towards the bathroom, unable to stop wondering whether he’d said the wrong thing. Eliza hadn’t exactly responded the way he’d wanted her to, but he knew he couldn’t expect much else from Eliza. He hadn’t been exactly fair in their relationship of sorts, and even if she had admitted her feelings for him, he knew now that she had never thought she’d hear those words said back to her by him, that she’d been comfortable with that.

Now, Zack realized with slight frustration, he realized he’d taken away that comfort. Now, she knew exactly how he felt. He’d laid all his cards out on the table, leaving his heart open for her to see into. He wasn’t sure if that had been a smart move on his part; he’d never made himself vulnerable before, and Eliza’s reaction was exactly why he’d always avoided it.

She closed the bathroom door quietly and he heard the lock click, warning him that she wanted to be alone rather than share his company. He cursed softly under his breath as he got up and walked downstairs, pulling on a pair of jeans as he walked down the hallway. He heard raised voices coming from Johnny’s bedroom and knew that the girl Johnny had brought back had woken up. He decided to leave them to themselves to sort it out, just as the guys had done with him and Eliza in the beginning when he’d brought her back. He wandered down the stairway into the kitchen, where he found Matt and Val talking in hushed voices, obviously flirting with one another.

“Hey, Zack.” Val said when she saw him walk into the kitchen, taking a step back from him. Zack nodded her way before making his way to the fridge, pulling out a beer and cracking the tab.

“Woah, you never drink in the morning.” Matt noticed, looking from Zack’s face to the beer. “Having a fight with Eliza?”

“No.” Zack said, gripping the aluminum can tighter in his hand, not meeting his friend’s gaze as he let the liquid pour down his throat in one smooth gulp. “I’m not.”

“Matt, go.” Val said, nudging Matt when she saw that he was about to respond to Zack’s answer with something sarcastic. He sighed and held his hands up in a truce, kissing her lips lightly before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Zack and Val alone.

“I’m fine, Val.” Zack told her before she could say anything, knowing that she was worried about him now. She sighed, crossing the marbled floor so that she was standing in front of him, her eyes sternly looking at him.

“Bullshit, Zack. I know a liar when I see one, and you’re lying to me. What happened?” She asked him, lowering her voice at the latter part of the sentence. She put her hand on his shoulder in an almost motherly way, and he couldn’t help but want to tell her everything. Val had always had that effect on the guys; she was like the den mother, he realized, and she always made sure all of them were doing as well as they could in any given circumstance.

“I told her something I’m not sure I should have said.” Zack admitted, looking over at the cabinet, not wanting to meet Val’s gaze. He was sure she’d tell him an idiot, and he didn’t want to hear it, even though he thought he deserved it.

Val sighed again, anger flashing in her eyes. “What did you call her, Zack? Didn’t you learn anything from the last time you fought with her?”

“I didn’t call her anything.” Zack defended himself, turning his gaze back to her. “I just…I told her how I feel.”

There were several seconds of silence between them before Val spoke again, this time her voice soothing. “What exactly did you tell her, then?”

“That I love her.” Zack explained to Val. “Last night, when I went up to the bedroom. I told her I loved her, and she hasn’t said a word to me yet except that she was going to shower. She didn’t sleep at all last night, and she locked me out of the bathroom.”

Val’s response to Zack’s clarification wasn’t exactly what he was expecting, and he glared at her when she started laughing. “What?” He asked her. “What’s so funny about that?”

“Oh, Zack.” She smiled, touching his shoulder again. “You really don’t get it, do you? She’s not mad at me; trust me.”

“What? How do you know that? She won’t even talk to me, Val!”

“Has she told you anything about how she feels?” Val asked him, knowing what his answer would be. She and Eliza had shared a similar conversation just after Eliza had admitted to him how she felt about Zack, so she knew exactly what Eliza was thinking about Zack.

“She told me she was falling for me awhile ago, when we were at Jacoby’s house.” Zack told her, pushing a hand through his hair. “I don’t understand, Val. She told me that, but now when I tell her I fucking love her, she won’t speak to me!”

“Just wait it out.” Val advised quietly, the same smile still on her face. “Her feelings haven’t changed for you, she’s just assessing whether or not she trusts you enough to take you up on your word. You have to admit you haven’t always been completely honest with her, Zack. It’s hard for her to believe you about much anymore, especially something as big as confessing you love her.”

“How do I make her believe me?” Zack asked her, his voice just a hint desperate. Val sighed, and shook her head.

“I can’t tell you that, Zack, because I’m not Eliza. She’s…different, in a way. She’s not going to be bullshitted or persuaded by physical actions. You need to show her that you love her, not just say it.”

Zack nodded, not knowing what to say as Val walked out of the room, leaving him even more confused than he already had been.

-x-

“Where am I?” Leigh yelled angrily at Johnny, looking around the bedroom frantically. The room was large and had vaulted ceilings. On the furthest wall away from the bed were a large bank of ceiling-to-floor windows, covered in heavy, dark blue drapes. She was currently standing on her feet, glaring up at Johnny, who was a few inches taller than herself, though she had woken up laying underneath the duvet covering the large, four-poster bed.

“I’m not supposed to tell you.” Johnny said, keeping his voice at an even level. “You only need to know you’re safe here.”

“Safe?” She screamed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Safe? I don’t even know where I’m at! How the hell does that mean I’m safe?!”

“Leigh, you really are blowing this out of proportion.” Johnny said, holding his hands in front of him. “Have I done anything to hurt you?”

“You’re seriously asking me that?” Leigh asked him. “Isn’t it you that those people were after last night? You, yet they attacked me.”

Johnny sighed, but knew her logic was right. It was his fault, in a way, that she had been targeted by Sean’s men. Actually, he realized, she was right about everything she was saying. He knew that if she rubbed any of the other guys in the wrong way, particularly Zack, that things might not be as comfortable for Leigh as he wanted them to be. They were notorious for having short tempers, but the conflict with Sean was sure to make their tempers even shorter. He couldn’t let Leigh piss them off any more than they all already were, or bad things could happen.

“Look, Leigh.” He started, looking at her. “I’ll leave you alone, I promise. I’ll leave you here by yourself, if that’s what you want, and the only time you’ll have to see me is if you need food or something. Just…Don’t yell anymore, okay?”

“I’ll yell as much as I want!” She screamed at him. Johnny sighed before crossing the floor to where she was standing, grabbing her wrists and looking down at her, forcing himself to look stern even though he really did feel bad for her. He was doing this for her own good, whether or not she realized it.

“No, you won’t.” He told her, keeping his voice dark. “You’re not going to scream anymore, and you’re not going to piss anyone here off.”

She tried to pull her wrists free from him, but he didn’t let them go. “You’re hurting me.” She finally said, meeting his gaze. He looked into her mind and saw that she really was in pain; he hadn’t realized he was holding her wrists as tightly as he was. He loosened his grip enough to make it a little more comfortable for her, and then met her gaze again.

“Do you understand what I said?” He asked her. “You can’t do anything that will draw attention to you, Leigh; the guys are already pissed off enough that I brought you here without clearance from them first.”

“Then let me go.” She retorted, keeping her voice steady even though she was beyond angry. He sighed and shook his head, looking at her again.

“I can’t do that, Leigh. You’re here now, there’s no way to change that. I promise that soon, everything is going to make sense. But you just have to believe me for right now and trust me on this.”

She didn’t respond, but instead pulled her wrists free from his hold and walked back over to the bed, curling herself into a tight ball on top of the blankets. “Just leave me alone.” She told him. Johnny sighed again and knew that she needed some time to herself, and walked out of the bedroom.

As soon as he got into the hallway, he heard Brian yelling downstairs.

“Zack! Guys, get in here!” He called loudly from the living room. Johnny knew that it had to be urgent if Brian was calling them all, and hurried down the staircase towards the living room, where Brian was watching the news.

“What’s going on, Syn?” He asked Brian, who looked over at him, a concerned look on his face.

“Watch.” He said, tilting his head towards the news again. Johnny diverted his gaze towards the TV, watching what Brian had called them to see. His blood ran cold when he saw the headline.

Promising Evidence of Vampires’ Existence?

He cursed softly under his breath, realizing how serious the implications of the headline were. He also knew that there was only one person stupid enough to risk exposing the entire vampire race: Sean Castro.