74| Gone Girl

Two months later

Zachary was sitting in the school's main hall that was decorated with hundreds of photos of Althea. He could hear voices of his father and mother, giving their respective speeches but he didn't understand a word they said. His mind was focused on his own fumbling hands.

Never did he think one day, he would be asked to speak at his sister's memorial. Never did he imagine a gathering in Majesty High that won't involve Althea barking orders at everyone else. They both had always been together since childhood; same elementary school, same middle school, same highschool, same gym, same music academy. Never did he think he would lose one half of his whole just like that.

Moisture blurred his vision and that's when he felt a hand on top of his. Angling his neck, he found Maya massaging his palm in soothing strokes. "It's your turn." She said.

"I can't." He whispered.

"You have to. You owe her this." Maya smiled briefly.

Nodding, he stood up and walked over to the podium. He lifted his head and gave a glance to the whole hall. Hundreds of people had gathered there to mourn for her; people that Zachary never saw before, people he had never heard of.

"Respected principal, faculty members, parents and my classmates, Good morning." He said and he could feel his voice breaking. He turned his head to his left, where a full sized picture of Althea was placed. She was dressed in best clothes with not a hear out of place. But he couldn't erase the last memory of hers from his mind; Althea stained with blood, tubes in her mouth, her head bald from a side and covered with a huge bandage.

"Althea and I, we had our fair share of fights, like every other siblings. She is sometimes really annoying; was. She was really annoying." He sucked a sharp breath. "But without her, nothing feels the same. We always fought but if I could trade places with her, I would do it in a heartbeat because I don't want to live on a world where my sister doesn't exist." Zachary said and with that, a tear rolled down his cheeks.

Lowering his head, he smiled. "Knowing her, she will be dancing in heaven with joy, considering the attention she is getting today."

His eyes fell over to the audience and he searched for familiar faces. There was Zoey, sitting in a corner with Travis by her side. On her left was sitting Olive and Cindy. He looked for Ethan but there was no sign of him.

"We had done everything together since childhood. We always had same friends, we took same classes but Althea, she was always better than me in everything. I did everything for myself but Althea, she did everything for others. She always put our parents first and moulded herself into the perfect daughter. She cared for all our friends, even if she appeared a control freak. She always had everyone's best interest in mind, but it took her death to make everyone realize that." He said.

"It hurts me to think she will never get to go to a college. She will never get to see a world beyond this city. The world had so much to offer, she had so much to offer to the world. There are so many things she won't get to go because apparently, that's life. And we are supposed to suck it up. Well, guess what, it isn't as easy as it sounds."

After speaking for five more minutes, he finally left the stage and went back to where Maya was sitting. After a while, Zoey made his way to their seats and sat beside Zachary.

"You did great." She patted his arm.

"Thanks." Zachary said as he blinked to clear his vision. To change the topic, he said, "When is your flight?"

"Tomorrow morning." She replied.

At this, his heart once again drowned in darkness. Althea was the glue holding them together and now they rarely met. Ethan had separated himself from everyone and refused to attend any call. Zoey was leaving for Milan, Olive was also leaving for her college a week later. He was left behind in this city, where everything reminded him of her.

Leaning forwards, he enveloped Zoey in a hug. They both knew it wasn't just a goodbye hug; it was a mourning hug. Morning of their mutual loss.

"Take care." Zoey said in between the hug and her voice sounded hoarse. "I'll be back soon."

"I'll be here, waiting." He replied. At Althea's funeral, he had made up his mind to not join college this year. His Mom was a mess and he couldn't leave her behind. His Dad had stopped working and now, there were so many responsibilities falling on his shoulder now. College can wait.

"She will be proud of you, Zachary." Zoey said as she circled her hand on his back.

"I am not so sure." Zachary replied, clenching his eyes tightly to prevent the tears from leaking.

They parted away and Zoey leaned back in her seat. "You have to take care of Ethan too." She said.

"I can't face him. I don't know what to say to him." Zachary said. They both were best friends since childhood but Althea's death had created an impenetrable wall between them. It seemed like Althea took Ethan's will to live with her. Zachary knew Ethan loved her but he didn't know he was that serious about her.

"You will be his only support left, once all of us are gone." She said.

"I know. I just need some time." He replied.

Giving him one last hug, Zoey stood up and made her way back to Travis.

•••••••••••

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Maya said, collecting all his dirty laundry in a pile.

"You don't have to do that." Zachary said.

"Someone has to." Maya rolled her eyes and made her way back to his bed.

Since that accident, Maya had been a great friend to Zachary. She made sure to be there for him all the time. She was even there for his mother, specially during the initial days when her condition was really bad. In just two months, she had become like a member of Harper family and Zachary didn't know how to thank her for that.

"Hey, what happened?" She asked, sitting cross-legged in front of her.

"I was a jerk to her in her last days. She would never forgive me." Zachary whsipered.

"Hey, you were sad. You didn't know this was going to happen." Maya said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"We had a fight that day. She caught me smoking cigarette and I told her to mind her own business and leave me the fuck alone. I am the worst brother." Zachary said, leaning forwards and resting his head on her shoulder. He needed her touch right now, to breathe in her scent, otherwise his thoughts were making him crazy.

"She knew what you were going through. Believe me, she cared about you a lot." Maya said, hugging him back. They had come a lot closer to each other in the past months, but in a platonic way.

They stayed like that for a long moment, with Zachary hiding his face in the crook of her neck and her drawing circles on his back.

"It hurts." He said.

"Where?" She whispered.

"Everywhere." He said and pulled his face away. There were only few inches between their faces and their noses were almost touching. "Make it stop, Maya."

"Zachary," Maya hesitated.

He wanted to forget about all this, just for few moments, just for a night. Because it hurts a lot to be in a house where she lived, every corner reminded him of his little sister that he ignored in her last days.

"Please." He begged.

Maya's eyes swirled with an inexplicable emotion after which, she closed the distance between them.

Their lips gently brushed together and the thoughts of Althea slowly evaporated from Zachary's mind. He took her lower lip in between her teeth and sucked a little, earning a small moan. He held the back of her neck and angled it, to deepen the kiss. Their tongues grazed against each other as they both breathed into each other's scent.

Breaking the kiss, Zachary closed his eyes while Maya trailed a series of kisses down his throat. She wanted to ease his pain because she loved him, as much as she hated to admit. In the last two months, she had realized how much he meant to her and now, being away wasn't an option.

As she lay on her back, Zachary hovered over her and kissed her again. His lips lingered on her dimple that was his favourite part of her beautiful face. His tongue slowly reached her long neck and he peppered few kisses there.

Maya closed her eyes as she relished in his touch. This was the first time she was this close to a boy, especially someone like Zachary. His mouth did wonders on her skin and she felt hundreds small butterflies in her stomach.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zachary asked, dragging the neckline of her shirt down and placing few kissed down her cleavage.

"Yeah." She whispered.

Hearing that, he took off his shirt, revealing his toned body. He had lost a lot of weight since she last see him shirtless, something that worried Maya. Extending her hand, she touched the skin of his torso that felt really warm and taut.

She lifted herself up with one arm and Zachary freed herself of the shirt. Once again, their lips collided while they discarded the rest of their clothes. Zachary took his time to carress her body and commit each detail to mind. He remained patient with her, gently coaxing her with his mouth, his hands, his tongue. Once he was sure she was ready, he settled himself down there and whispered, "It's going to sting at first." He said.

"I know." She said, pulling him down for another kiss.

With one slight jerk, he entered inside and Maya gasped. Closing her eyes, she waited for the pain to slowly transform into sweet pleasure. Zachary's groans told her that he felt the same and soon, they both lost in each other, forgetting about the rest of the world. Their bodies rocked in synchronisation and each jolt brought them closer and closer and closer until...

"I love you." He whispered against her ears as they both climaxed together.

"Zach," she said breathlessly. She was too tired to think straight or reply because of what just happened seconds ago.

"I just want you to know that I love you, even if you don't feel the same. Life is short and I don't want any more regrets." He said.

"I..." She licked her lips before speaking. So many things had changed in these last two months. She had grown a lot closer to him and now, she couldn't imagine a life without him. Zachary was right; life was too short to wait for the right person or the right time. "I think I feel the same for you."

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