Until The Sun Dies

thirty three

"Hi, Zoe. How are you feeling today?" Doctor Ron asks, putting on this immensely false sympathetic face as Zoe nods, but then shakes her head. "I'm getting there, I guess. It's been a week so I'm always a little bit better than yesterday." Zoe says quietly and Doctor Ron nods, "Well that is always a good sign, yeah?" Zoe feels her heart clench and she nods meakly, "I guess so."

"Well, Brayson has gone to fetch some stuff for me since his weekly check-up has been completed. I'll be back at noon, alright?" Doctor Ron speaks slowly and carefully, like Zoe was a three year old learning the alphabet for the first time.

"Okay," Was all she manages to force past her lips. The doctor smiles sadly one last time before mumbling an "m'kay"and walking out of the room, leaving Zoe to her sad and depressed mind to keep her company.

She runs through the last memory she has of her parents and picks at her skin.

"Listen- " Her mother starts but Zoe cuts her off, now having the boys' attention as well. "No, you listen. You haven't been here is, what? Five months? And now you spill that you're going to Mexico? So what? You think it's just acceptable to dump your daughter at a fricken looney bin and decide, 'oh hey, I'm gonna just pretend it never happened'? Newsflash, your daughter is still here as much as you may want to get rid of her." Zoe exclaims angrily as she tells her parents to leave, having no idea that this was the last time she would ever see her parents again.

When Zoe looks up, she sees a silhouette of an object- no, a person.

"Stop," She mumbles, reaching up to her hair. "Stop, this is your stupid defect, Zoe. It's not real."

When she figures she has herself under control, Zoe looks back up, only to see the face of the silhouette,

"Mom?" She whispers, her bottom lip quivering. The silhouette stays in the corner, only peeking her head out a little bit, just enough for Zoe to confirm that it is indeed Anne looking back at her, anger evident in her eyes.

"Sleep my baby, don't say a word, Momma's going to die, her pleas go unheard." The silhouette sings, her voice almost in a whisper. The phrase makes Zoe shiver, a sob escaping her quivering, blue lips.

"Mom, I'm so sor-"

"Sleep my baby, don't you cry, my screams only rippled through the sky." Anne whispers and Zoe cries into her hands, shaking her head violently. "Stop, stop! You're not real, you are not real!" She screams as she feels her mom's cold, slim fingers caress Zoe's face. They're barely touching her skin, but the action is seen as violent and the Schizophrenic girl is flinging her arms around viciously, trying to rid the air of her mother's presence.

Brayson enters the cell, almost dropping the food and little cup of pills Zoe is supposed to take in about a half-hour. "Zoe! Baby girl, calm down, everything is okay!" He says soothingly and Zoe opens her eyes, her vision blurry as a result of her continuous crying.

"Bray, I- she's here. She's here," She sobs, resting her forehead on his shoulder as Brayson wraps his arms around her waist, pulling Zoe to him in an attempt to calm her down a bit.

"Babe, who's here? Do you want to tell me who's bothering you?" He whispers and Zoe's sobs get impossibly louder. "My M-Mom, she's here. She's s-singing me songs that relate to h-her death. It's s-so scary, Bray." She hiccups and Brayson rubs soothing circles into her exposed skin just under her shirt.

"I'm here now, everything is going to be okay." He whispers into her ear, leaving a kiss under her earlobe, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She closes her eyes and leans into his touch, the feeling of safety and love suddenly surrounding her. Brayson feels her mood change, and he lays another kiss on her jawline in response. A small sound of pleasure erupts from the back of her throat, urging Brayson on. He lays multiple kisses on every single inch of skin on her face before travelling down and leaving his lips on each collarbone, proceeding to her neck, leaving a small, barely noticeable mark as he sucks and gently nibbles on her skin.

She places her hands around his neck as he removes his lips from her neck and connects them to her own set of lips. He kisses her with passion, care and love- just like all of his previous kisses.

When they break apart, he pulls her in for a sincere hug, and his actions tell Zoe that everything is going to be just fine.