He swallowed down the end of the song and sat in silence, his arms finding their way around her waist. He didn’t try to pry her hands away or stop her nails from digging in, but he wouldn’t allow her free again. “No, Zoey. I’m not letting you go.”
How broken each word that fell from her mouth sounded made a pit in his stomach, something hollow and sickly that could only mimic what she must be feeling. He struggled to keep himself focused on her and gripping her, hoping that whatever was happening in her head would break soon.
A part of her screamed ‘Don’t’; another part of her screamed otherwise. Slowly, she began to still in his arms, no longer pulling away but rather pushing into him instead. There was no way her heart rate could slow down to meet his. It soared past the average BPM, matching the same rhythm that she had been following back inside the club.
Minutes passed with Zoey sniffling into his shirt and hanging onto his sides, unaware of marks she must have left behind from her previous clawing. “He’s gone.” She breathed, her words muffled by his shirt as she pressed her forehead into his shoulder and closed her eyes. Liam’s been gone for a long time, was the sentence that she wanted to say, but they caught in the back of her throat and failed to make their way out.
