Until The Sun Dies

thirty eight

After Brayson's nervous mumbling, Zoe did agree to live in Brayson's flat.

"Doctor Burnston," Zoe walks up to the doctor's desk, putting her palms on the top of the high counter. "Is there any way I can phone my brother before I leave?"

The woman smiles. "Of course you can! There is a phone right there you can use at no cost."

Zoe finds it weird that she says 'at no cost' as that indicates that some phones do cost money to use- it's a mental facility for crying out loud, patients aren't going to have money! But nevertheless, she trudges over to the old, rickety telephone barely hanging on to the broken cord the set is connected to.

Surprisingly, even after nine months, Zoe can still remember Zach's number like the back of her hand. She dials it hesitantly- she's scared that her brother will be mad at her for not wanting to live with him after her parent's deaths. However, she is also kind of dissapointed that he didn't visit her when they found out about the accident, he would have helped her cope.

After a few rings, a low, tired and raspy voice answers the phone. "Who is this?" His voice is barely audible, and Zoe almost does a double-take.

"Zach?" She says quietly. "Zach, it's me, your sister Zoe."

"Zoe? Heyyy sister." He exclaims tiredly and a suspicious feeling rises in the pit of her stomach.

"Are you drunk?"

"No, sober as a-" He lets out a long burp, "Pelican."

"Zach," She scolds, narrowing her eyes, hoping the sibling telepathy they all talk about would finally kick in. "Is this because of mom and dad's death?"

"Oh yeah," His voice goes higher, "I've been enjoying myself for the past couple weeks with this fantastic bottle of whatever the hell it is. Feeling greattt." He slurs and Zoe rolls her eyes.

"So that's why you never came to visit me when you found out." She murmurs sadly, more to herself than her brother on the other side of the line. "Alright, well, seeing as you probably won't sober up in the next few minutes and I really have to go, I figure it will be best for both of us to just get this over with. You remember Brayson, right?" Zoe asks, looking around the reception center.

"Yeah, I love him." Zach slurs once again. "He's a cool dude."

"Alright, well... I really love him, Zach." She starts, twirling a strand of hair unconsciously between her fingers. "He's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. He's kind and gentle and I trust him more than anyone. I know that's probably no big deal to you, but it scares the living hell out of me. But that's okay, because he also knows how to calm me down. He's the reason I-I'm getting out of here, Zach. He's really helped me."

"You're getting out of there?" Zach asks frantically, his question containing no slurs whatsoever.

"Yeah, I am. I phoned you to tell you that the psych ward has rented Brayson a two-bedroom flat, and he's asked me to come and live with him." Zoe explains, taking a deep breath. "I said yes."

"You wha-" Her brother starts but Zoe cuts him off.

"Zach, I'm twenty- almost twenty one. I believe I can make my own decisions now. I, uh, I haven't had a single attack in two weeks and the doctor believes staying with Brayson will help keep it that way. I really hope you respect my decisions."

She hears Zach take a deep breath. "I'm proud of you, sister." He says, surprising Zoe. "You deserve the best. Just promise you'll come visit me and give me a key to the flat."

Zoe chuckles, "Only if you sober up."

"It's just been rough, Zo. Difficult to deal, is all. I'll get better soon now that my sister is getting out of prison." He laughs, slurring the word 'prison' just a bit.

"Zach, I'm not in prison. I'm in a mental facility." Zoe giggles and Zach joins in.

"I'm just kidding, sister. Just phone me if you guys need help settling into the flat, okay?"

Zoe nods, "Okay."

"Alright, bye sister. I love you."

"Bye, bro. Love you times two."

Zoe puts the broken phone back on the receiver and lets out a sigh. She's relieved that's all taken care of.

She thanks Doctor Burnston for letting her use the phone and walks back to the cell her and Brayson share to find him packing up his toothbrush and other toiletries. When he hears the door shut, he turns around and runs to Zoe, lifting her up in his strong, muscular arms.

She giggles, throwing her arms loosely around his neck. He places a living kiss to her jawline before looking at her dull green eyes, now full of colour. "So, what did he say?"

Zoe closes her eyes as he presses a kiss to each of her eyelids. "He said he's proud of me."

Brayson pulls back to look at her in disbelief. "Really?"

Zoe bites her lower lip and nods, "Uh huh. He's also drunk off his arse but he seemed to sober up quite quickly when I told him."

"Baby girl, that's great!" He exclaims happily, squeezing her tight. She laughs and presses her lips to his, silencing his laughs. He's still holding her up as their lips mold together, like the finishing piece of a puzzle.

Brayson walks over to the tiny bed, placing Zoe on it gently. The kiss never breaks and she smiles at how gentle and loving Brayson is being.

When they finally break apart, he kisses her nose. "We're almost there, Zoe. We're almost free."