Zaryk

by C A Jonelle

  Zayne stands and pats me on the back. “Come downstairs. There’s a bunch of people over. It’ll help take your mind off of her.”

  “Sure, yeah. Just let me get changed and I’ll be down.”

  They leave and I eye the bottle of vodka sitting on my desk. There’s less than half left so I grab it and quickly chug the rest. My face scrunches together and I shake my head. “Wow.” Time to find some more of this good stuff downstairs.

  ******

  Loud music assaults my ears as I weave my way through the crowd of people into the kitchen. I grab a full bottle of vodka and a bottle of the potent mixture we make called the “memory eraser.” I twist the cap off and take a long drink. The stuff tastes just like the fruity juice we grew up drinking as kids. I turn and head back into the crowd. It’s time to forget a few memories.

  ~ Twenty-Three ~

  Lyndsay

  I couldn’t sleep last night. All I could think about was Zaryk. How could my heart be so selfish? I lie back on my bed and stare at the ceiling. It’s only been one night and I miss him so much already.

  My cell phone dings.

  Amberlynn: Hey loser, let’s go shopping and have some girl talk.

  Me: Sure. I’ll get dressed and be there in a few.

  Maybe she can talk some sense into me over Zaryk. I want to be with him so bad, but he deserves to be with someone who won’t hurt him like I have. I crawl off my bed and throw on some decent clothes.

  ******

  As I walk in I hear Deklan groan from his spot on the floor. “Holy fucking hell, my head hurts.”

  Zayne is curled up on multiple beanbag chairs. He looks like a little boy zonked out from playing too hard. I can hear Zayden and Kreed talking in the kitchen. Looking around for Amberlynn I notice she’s not down here. She must be upstairs in Deklan’s room.

  Moving past everyone, I make my way upstairs. When I reach the hall I see someone lying on the floor. Slowly, I approach, and stop when I realize its Zaryk. I rush to him and place a trembling hand close to his nose to see if he’s breathing. His breaths are quick and short. I shake him, careful not to hurt him. He doesn’t wake up. Panic rises in me like bile.

  I scream at the top of my lungs, “Help! Somebody please!” Still no movement with me yelling beside him. I panic even more. “Please!”

  Amberlynn comes bolting out of the bedroom nearby. “Oh my God!” She kneels next to him on the other side and leans her face close to his; she’s listening for his breaths.

  Hard footsteps sound closer and we are surrounded by the guys. I look up at Deklan, pleading him with my eyes. He’s down on the floor beside me in an instant, pulling his phone out, and calling for help. I look back and Zayne looks lost, his face whiter than white, and his body looks stiff. Kreed is pacing and spouting off curse words that I don’t even think I’ve ever heard.

  Zayden picks up the bottles and holds them up toward the light. “Jesus Christ, he drank the whole bottle of that damn juice plus a bottle of vodka.”

  “Help’s on the way. They said not to move him.” Deklan says as he stuffs his phone back in his pocket. He mutters, “Zaryk, you fucking idiot. God, not again.”

  This is not happening. This is not happening. What the hell was he thinking? Was this my fault? Did I drive him to this? I’ll never forgive myself if he dies. Never!

  Lights and sirens sound outside. Deklan opens the door for the paramedics and steps aside as they rush to Zaryk. I stand there and watch as they move him onto the gurney and pull straps across him so he doesn’t fall off. My heart is pounding furiously against my chest. Amberlynn places her arm around my waist and pulls me close to her. I can’t stop a tear from falling down my cheek as I bite my thumb nail, nervous that the outcome of this may not be a good one.

  After they have him secure, they carefully move him downstairs. I follow closely, assuring that nothing else happens to him. As they walk out the front door I stop, watching them load him into the back of the ambulance. The doors slam shut and they take off. I want to run after them, but I just stand there, in the doorway, watching as they take the man I love to the hospital. My head hangs down. This is my fault. If I hadn’t left, this wouldn’t have happened.

  “Let’s go!” Zayden’s voice booms behind me.

  Amberlynn pushes me towards Kreed’s Hummer. My legs are like jelly and my body is numb. My eyes aren’t focusing and my mind is completely blank. She helps me up into a seat and I slide in next to the window. No one is being left behind, except for Jessica. I hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t there before.

  A hand rests on top of mine and when I look up, Amberlynn smiles weakly. No one says a word on the way to the hospital.

  ******

  They allow Zayne and Zayden back in the emergency room, leaving the rest of us waiting for any updates. I stand there wishing for this nightmare to be over.

  “Lyndsay, sweetie, please sit down,” Amberlynn gently places her hands on my shoulders, leading me to a chair. As I sit there I can’t help but let my mind race. I feel sick. I’m stuck out here waiting, when I want to see him. Is he going to be okay?

  I collapse into Amberlynn as she wraps her arms around me.

  ******

  Zaryk

  “Zaryk, buddy?” I hear Zayden say.

  I slowly open my eyes and see him and Zayne standing beside me. I start to get up and a hand tenderly pushes on my shoulder.

  “Stay put, Z. You have needles and shit hooked to you.” Zayne’s voice is gentle, which is unlike him. Where the fuck am I?

  I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. Before I close my eyes again, I realize I’m in the hospital. I know why I’m here. My eyes drift closed and I fall asleep.

  ******

  “Watch out Zoey! No!” I jolt awake, my breathing heavy. I see Lyndsay; she looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

  “Are you okay?” she asks, stroking the side of my face.

  I close my eyes and swallow hard. “Yeah. It’s been a while since I’ve had that nightmare.” My voice is raspy. I lay my head back against the pillow and try to calm my speeding heart.

  I look across the room and see my parents and brothers huddled together, sleeping. It’s a miracle I didn’t wake them. I hate those nightmares. They always seem so real. It’s like I’m living that day all over again and I can’t fucking stand it.

  The doctor must’ve had me moved from the emergency room. It’s dark in here, except for the dim light coming from a lamp by my bed.

  “You gave everyone quite a scare,” Lyndsay says.

  I swallow hard again and look over at the heap I call my family and chuckle. Lyndsay looks at them and then back to me, a grin on her face. Zayne’s on one side of Mom, slouched way down with his head on her shoulder and Zayden’s on the other side in the same position. Dad has his head tipped way back, mouth open, and is snoring.

  “They look like a couple of mama’s boys.” My voice is rough and my throat is dry.

  Lyndsay stifles a laugh, but fails. She giggles and I grin stupidly at her.

  “What?” She stops abruptly.

  “I’m so glad I’m still around to hear that sweet sound.” I lift my hand and cover hers.

  She comes closer and wraps her arms around my neck, careful not to pull out the IV needle that’s stuck in my arm. “I’m so glad you’re still here too,” she whispers against my neck.

  I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head. “The guitar’s gorgeous.”

  She looks at me. “Joe did an amazing job on it, didn’t he?”

  “Dude’s a genius,” I grin. “Thank you.” I kiss her forehead.

  She smiles and rests her head on my chest. It feels so good to have my arms wrapped around her. The warmth of her body relaxes me. It was stupid of me to drink so damn much, but I wanted to forget about her.

  “Well, look who’s come back from the dead,” Zayne says as he rubs his eyes. Mom smacks him on the arm. “Ow. Mom’s really become abusive these days.”
He rubs his arm.

  Lyndsay sits up and I suddenly feel cold. My mom makes her way to the other side of the bed, strokes my hair and kisses my forehead.

  “How’re you feeling honey?”

  “Better. How long are they keeping me?” I want out of here. Hospitals freak me out. I’m sure everyone would tell me I’m being ridiculous, but I associate them with death.

  “I’m not sure, at least overnight. The doctor will be here in the morning. Are you sure you’re okay?” The concern in her eyes is breaking my heart.

  “Yeah, I’m okay.”

  “Good.” She slaps me upside the head.

  My hand shoots up to block any more blows. “Ah, Mom! What the hell?”

  She points her index finger at me. “No more alcohol! Do you hear me, young man? This is the second time I’ve been in the hospital because of your drinking. If it happens again I’ll slap the nonsense right out of you. Got it?” Her nose is almost touching mine now and I stare at her in amazement. It’s not every day a grown man gets his ass handed to him by his mother.

  Zayne and Zayden are enjoying this immensely; I can tell by the smirks on their faces. Dad’s eyebrows shoot up and Lyndsay has backed away, her eyebrows arched and her mouth agape.

  “Got it, Mom.” Well, that was embarrassing.

  She straightens, turns to her purse on the little table behind her, and starts digging through it. I lift both hands and flip my brothers off.

  “Zaryk Gage, don’t be mean to your brothers.”

  I drop my hands and eye her incredulously. What the hell? My brothers are both having a hard time keeping their chuckling under control. Glad to see my embarrassment is their amusement. Assholes.

  She gives them ‘the look’ and they shut up immediately. “I swear you boys are going to put me in my grave sooner than I should be,” Mom says as she tries to fix her hair in the tiny mirror she retrieved from her giant purse. “Maybe we should get you some help. Your drinking is obviously out of control.”

  I sigh loudly and push my head back into the pillow. The thought of going to rehab is the least appealing thing right now. “Please, no. I just had a stint of bad judgment, that’s all. Trust me, I feel beyond awful. Just the thought of liquor makes me want to hurl.” Mom narrows her eyes at me. “I swear to God I’ll take it easy.”

  She takes my face in her hands and forces my eyes to hers. “Don’t you ever, ever do this again. If you continue to live like this I’ll haul your butt to rehab so fast. An occasional drink is fine, but this is too much.”

  “You have my word. I won’t do it again. What time is it?”

  “Almost nine. You’ve been out for quite some time.” Zayden collapses into a chair and shifts uncomfortably. “The least they can do is get better chairs.”

  There’s a knock on the door and a pretty blonde with violet eyes peeks in. I hear a commotion nearby and flip my gaze in Zayne’s direction. He almost tripped over the chair trying to get a look at her. Typical Zayne right there.

  “Hi, folks. I’m sorry, but visiting hours are up in five minutes.” She smiles sweetly.

  “Okay, we’ll head on home. You be good and listen to these nice nurses.” Mom kisses my forehead.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I salute her with my free arm.

  She laughs and heads out the door with everyone in tow. Lyndsay stays behind. Zayne hangs back, so he’s last. He whispers something in the nurse’s ear and she giggles. I look at him in disbelief as he kisses her on the cheek and saunters out, closing the door.

  I shake my head and watch the nurse as she gets to work checking my vitals. “Did he just hit on you?”

  She shrugs and smiles. “Kind of.” She stifles a giggle.

  I roll my eyes and chuckle. “Leave it to Zayne to hit on the nurse.”

  She wraps the blood pressure cuff around my arm and presses a button on the machine beside me. It tightens and when it does its job she peels it off. I watch her as she picks up my wrist and presses down slightly, checking my pulse. I’m mesmerized by her. Her gentleness. Zayne needs someone like this in his life.

  I lay my head back against the pillow. “You going to text my brother?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know. His reputation …”

  I wave off what she says before she can go on. She pulls the thermometer out and I open my mouth. When it dings, signaling that it’s read my temperature, she removes it. “There’s something about the way he looked at you. I’m not so sure you’d have to worry.”

  Her body relaxes and she sighs. “I have had a giant, high school girl type crush on him since I first saw you guys play.”

  “Text the idiot. He’ll have a permanent smile plastered on his face.”

  She giggles. “Is there anything I can get for you?” Her hand touches my shoulder and out of the corner of my eye I can see Lyndsay scowling.

  “Am I allowed to have water? My throat’s super dry.”

  “Of course! I’ll be right back!”

  I look at Lyndsay.

  “I have my work cut-out for me with you.” I narrow my eyes at her and smirk. I pat the side of my bed and she sits down. Her eyes stare at the needle in my arm and then follow the thin tube up to the bag dispensing fluids into my body. She looks like she’s about to cry and I wrap my arm around her to pull her close to me.

  “I thought you were dead when I saw you.”

  I stroke her hair and kiss the top of her head. The guilt washes over me. I feel vile for upsetting her like this. “I’m sorry,” I whisper into her soft hair. “I wanted to forget about you.”

  Lyndsay shoves herself away from me and straightens her body. I probably shouldn’t have said that. It looks like I just shattered her whole world. The silence between us is scaring the shit out of me right now. Is she going to slug me or cry? The look on her face says both.

  “I guess I kind of deserved that.”

  My body relaxes. “I thought you were going to smack me.”

  “If anybody needs smacking, it’s me.” She giggles nervously. Her face grows serious in an instant and her gorgeous eyes stare into mine as she bites her bottom lip. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Hey.” I hold my arms out to her. She shuffles closer to me and I wrap my arms around her and kiss the tip of her nose. “This isn’t your fault. You know that, right?” Instinctively, I tuck her hair behind her ear and let my fingers linger on the nape of her neck. She shrugs and tries to pull away from me. I wrap my arms tighter around her. I’m tired of her fucking pulling away all the time.

  “Look at me, Lyndsay.” My tone is low and demanding. Her sad eyes land on mine. “Don’t for one second think I’m in here because of you. I was stupid, and I drank way too fucking much. You heard my mom; it’s happened before. I haven’t coped with pain well since losing my sister.” I lean my head back against the pillow and swallow the lump in my throat. Where the hell is that nurse? “Look, Lynds, I’m a pretty fucked up soul. I won’t deny it, and neither will my brothers. But one thing I would never do is cheat on you. Never. You’re the most important person in my life. You mean so much more to me than any other woman in this world. You’re the best thing that has happened to me in all the mess that’s been my life so far. I want to be with you. I want to be able to hold you whenever I want to. I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want to. I want to stare into your beautiful eyes and tell you I love you whenever I want to. I want to be able to fuck you whenever I want to.” I chuckle.

  “So I’m a thing again?” She tries her hardest to hide her smile.

  I feign disbelief. “That’s all you got from that?”

  She giggles and I just about lose control. I don’t know what it is about that sound, but it gets me every time I hear it. My hand travels down her back and I squeeze her magnificent ass. “What do ya say to breaking in this nice, uh, comfy, bed?”

  “Gee, I don’t know Mr. Hunter,” she says, straddling my lap. “I’m not sure my parents would like to read the tabloids and see ‘Twisted Epiphany Groupie Fucks S
exy Lead Guitarist in Hospital Bed’.” She leans in and bites my lower lip, causing a low growl to rise in my throat.

  “I wouldn’t mind fucking a groupie in my hospital bed.” She slaps my shoulder and scowls at me. “You want to be my groupie, Lyndsay?”

  “No, I don’t want to be your groupie Zaryk. I want to be your fucking girlfriend.”

  “I’d be okay with that.”

  She leans in and softly kisses me.

  “You’re going to have to do better than that if you want to be my girlfriend,” I whisper, reaching up and pinching one of her nipples through her shirt and bra.

  She crashes her lips to mine, moaning into my mouth when I pinch harder. Things quickly get heated. I have one hand on one breast and the other tucked into the back of her jeans when the nurse comes into the room.

  “Looks like someone’s feeling much better,” she laughs as she sets the water on the table beside the bed.

  Lyndsay flies off of me and I swear I just about a die with laughter.

  ~ Twenty-Four ~

  Zaryk

  “Well, hello there sunshine!” Zayne yells from his truck. His back is against it, arms folded and legs crossed. There’s a huge smile on his face and a white stick hanging from his mouth.

  I approach him and snatch it out of his mouth to look it over. If that jackass took up smoking, I’ll fucking pulverize him. I sigh in relief when I realize it’s one of those candy cigarettes. Dad would bring these things home all the time when we were younger, but Zayne was the only one who liked them. He became addicted to them. “Are you back in kid mode or what?” I hand it back to him.

  He sticks it back in his mouth and sucks on it a moment. “Dad’s selling these at the restaurant now. He gave me a case last night.” He smiles so wide I can see all of his bright, white teeth.

  Zayne climbs into the driver’s side and shuts the door and I hop in on the passenger side. I bask in the sunlight coming in through the front window.