Bound to You

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At The Complex
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“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zack murmured to Eliza when he walked over to her an hour later and saw her laying on the cot, curled into a ball, a thin blanket covering her body. She looked up when he walked over, and scooted closer to the edge so that he could sit on the other cot.

“Nothing.” She lied, keeping her voice quiet. She felt Zack’s callused fingers swipe her hair out of her face, and closed her eyes when he laid down on the cot next to her, turning her over so that she was facing him.

“Eliza, look at me.” He told her quietly, leaving his hand on the side of her face. She waited for a moment before opening her eyes, and when she did, she saw a look of pure concern in Zack’s green eyes. “What’s wrong?”

This time, instead of choosing to lie to Zack, Eliza opted to say nothing at all. It was obvious that he would spot the lie, so it was better to not say anything. Zack sighed and sat up again, his eyes not leaving Eliza’s.

“Wait here for a minute, okay?” He told her, holding up his hand as if he thought she was going to leave. As if she had a choice. She couldn’t leave here even if she wanted to; Eliza knew she couldn’t function in the outside world anymore knowing that there were vampires and God only knew what else. Her family had more than likely forgotten about her. The only people that mattered to her anymore were here; Val, Matt, and all of the others. They had become the family her parents had never been.

Eliza watched as Zack walked away and held back a sigh. He didn’t have time for her anymore, and when he did it was only to sleep at night or say a few short words into her ear. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d shared a real kiss. Not one on the mouth, or the cheek, but a real kiss; the kind that made her weak in the knees and numbed the sadness on her mind for only a few seconds of bliss. Those were the moments she missed with him; the moments that were missing.

A few minutes later, Zack returned with several sets of sheets in hand. Eliza watched with confusion as he stood on a chair he’d dragged over as well. He pulled a stapler out of his back pocket and began stapling the sheets to the ceiling, not stopping until their two cots were surrounded by the billowy white fabric. When he was done, he pushed the chair outside of sheeted-off area, and walked back over to the cots, laying down beside Eliza before pulling him onto his chest.

“Privacy.” He answered her question without her having to ask it. She sighed, knowing he’d looked into her mind again, but a small smile appeared on her face nonetheless. She appreciated the small gesture he’d made; the small act of closing off a space they could call their own was something she hadn’t thought he’d do.

“Thank you.” She replied a few moments later, looking up and seeing his eyes staring at her. “For the sheets, I mean.”

He shrugged, and then shifted slightly so that he was sitting a little further away from her. He pulled her over to him again, but this time helped her so that she was sitting not just beside him, but more on top of him.

“So talk,” He told her, his eyes serious. “There’s something bothering you, and I don’t want to be an intrusive prick and read your mind about it. People in relationships…I haven’t done it in awhile—a relationship, I mean. But I’m pretty sure that if you’re in a relationship with someone, you talk about your problems with that other person.”

She sighed, laying her head down on his chest and shaking it slightly. She didn’t want to worry Zack with her petty thoughts, especially when he had so much other stuff to worry about. They were constantly having to restrain Jimmy from leaving the Complex by force to find Leana, Brian was constantly banging on the only entrance to bring Michelle back in, and Val was furious with all of them. There was too much on Zack’s mind for him to worry about what she was scared of—that at the end of this, they were either all going to be dead, or that Sean would win, whatever that meant.

“That’s not true.” Zack told her, swiping hair out of her face. “I know things are bad right now, but whatever you’re worried about is a legitimate worry. I can’t promise that I can fix whatever it is that’s scaring you, but I can promise to try.”

“I miss this.” She murmured, trying to distract his attention from worrying as she grabbed his hand in hers and brought it to her lips, kissing his skin lightly. She had gotten used to his skin being just slightly cooler than her own; it wasn’t even a thought on her mind anymore. She heard a chuckle emanate in Zacky’s throat, and felt his other hand playing idly with her hair.

“Me too.” He admitted. “Even though we used to fight too much on our own to really do this kind of thing.”

“I miss you.” She whispered, gasping when she realized she’d said the words out loud. She hadn’t meant for Zack to hear them; they hadn’t been meant to be said. Zack shifted again and tilted her head up so that he could see the expression on her face.

“What do you mean? I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere, Eliza.” He told her quietly. “Is that what’s got you scared?”

“No.” She replied, laying her head down again. “It’s just…never mind. It’s not as important as everything else going on.”

“If it’s you, it’s something important to me.” Zack replied, his hand moving lower down her back and tracing circles on her back through the shirt she wore. His touch sent shivers down her spine, making her skin feel alive with livewires.

Before Eliza could respond, Zack had her underneath him on the other cot, his face looking down at hers. She gasped at the suddenness of their close proximity, and leaned into his touch when he moved his hand to her face.

“Tell me what you want me to do, Eliza.” He whispered, knowing that he wasn’t going to get her to tell him what was really going on in her head. She sighed, and reached up with her hands to pull him down by his shirt so that their lips were pressed against one another’s in a heated kiss.

“Kiss me. Hold me. Tell me whatever comes to mind,” She breathed in his ear when she pulled away so that she could breathe. “But don’t leave me.”