Love

Ch 29: Mi corazón late tu nombre (My Heart Beats Your Name)

When Quin woke up the next morning, he saw Zoe wasn't there.

He did panic a little, considering her actions from the night before so he immediately stood from the bed and walked around the house before he found her in the living room, watching TV.

She was watching her favorite show, Modern Family, and giggling at the episode where Phil no longer has his lifetime supply of razors and makes everyone believe he's dying.

"Silly Phil." Zoe said to Quin when she saw him behind the couch.

"Good morning, Marshmallow . When did we get home last night? All I remember is running outside."

"I drove after you and found you in the cemetery, Zoe." Quin said as he went to sit with her on the couch.

He lifted her up a bit as he sat behind her and she laid on his lap, letting him cuddle her in his arms.

He loved how she fit perfectly, like she belonged there, but everyone knew that she did.

"Why did you leave, Kitten? What happened?" Zoe looked down, letting her dirty blonde hair fall around her shoulders.

Suddenly she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

He felt the tears from her eyes on his skin and it gave him the chills. Her tears felt like ice. "Zoe?"

"Something is wrong with me!" Zoe screamed, still hiding in his neck.

"What do you mean?" Quin asked with fear.

"I don't feel like me!" Zoe blurted out, leaving his arms, but she didn't get far as Quin gripped her forearms. "Let go!"

" Zoe , stop fighting me!" Quin stood up with her and tried to get her to calm down. "Zoe!"

"I'm not Zoe!" Zoe screamed, thrashing around to get loose.

Quin had enough and threw her back onto the couch and got on top of her, putting her wrists on either side of her head to restrain her.

"You are Zoe! You are Amber Cipher-Lockhart! MY WIFE!"

"Am I?" Zoe finally calmed down from exhaustion and looked Quin in the eyes with tears streaming from her eyes. "Am I your wife?"

"Yes…I feel it." He took her hand and put it on his chest.

"I feel it right there. In my heart. This heart beats for you. It sings your name every day. You're the reason my heart beats every moment of every day. And guess what?" She didn't respond, but he kept going.

"When you died…when I grabbed you from the dumpster and carried you out, did CPR, and then looked into your eyes, realizing those eyes would never shine again…my heart stopped beating, it stopped singing, and it just stopped all together.

I had no feeling anymore. I had no love in my life. I had nothing to live for. My heart beats for you. Zoe, I live for you. And…I didn't realize that until I lost you…and I'm sorry for all the times I took you for granted.

All the times I told you, I would be home at 4 , and you would have dinner ready by 5, and then I wouldn't show up until 10…you always supported me, but I saw the hurt and loneliness in your eyes." Quin sighed.

"I'm sorry I didn't make you my number one, but Zoe, I know you've always been number one in my life now."

"Quin…" Zoe pouted. "I know I'm Zoe Lockhart…because all the memories and the love for you are in my heart and mind…but…why does something feel different?"

"So you don't feel different mentally or emotionally?" Quin tried to think this through. "What about physically?"

"I don't feel very good physically, Quin." Zoe admitted.

"I feel so hallow…except my heart…my heart feels like the knife that Danny stabbed me with is still there…sticking out of my chest." She put her hand on her chest, where her scar from the stab wound is.

"It hurts to breathe sometimes. Sometimes I feel a sharp pain in my heart. Sometimes when I fall asleep, I feel like I'll never wake up again…it's kind of scary actually."

"It sounds frightening." Quin trembled a bit at the detail she said. "Zoe, do you-"

Ding, dong…

Zoe looked to the front door, but Quin shook his head.

"I'll get it. Just relax." Truthfully, he just didn't want her answering the front door anymore, just in case there was every any danger.

He walked to the front door and saw through the window that it was Maxwell. He opened the door and saw a tow truck.

"Hey, Zoe's car! Zoe! Maxwell found your car!"

Zoe gasped as she ran to the front door and went to walk outside, but Maxwell suddenly grabbed her arm and gripped it. "Ow! Quin!"

Quin went from calm mode to overprotective husband mode as he tried to get Maxwell to release her. "Let go of my wife!"

Maxwell paid no heed to Quin as he glared to Zoe. "Who are you? What are you?"

The pain in her arm was too much as she screamed in pain, so Quin did what he had to do as he punched Maxwell in the face, making him fall to the ground.

"Zoe, get inside, now!" Quin told her harshly and she did as she was told quickly, holding her newly bruised arm.

Quin grabbed Maxwell' collar and made him stand back up, but threw him against the wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are? Don't you ever touch my wife like that!"

"She's not human!" Maxwell snarled.

"If I knew any better, I should get national security in on this case and they'll grab her and take her to a lab to experiment on her, to discover how the hell she's alive!"

Quin's eyes widened with fear as he released Maxwell. "No, please no…why are you doing this?"

"People don't just back to life, Quin!" Maxwell yelled. "She is not your wife! She's a robot or an alien, or something NOT HUMAN!"

"She is not a robot or an alien, nor is she a ghost, or a vampire, or a zombie! Those things do not have feelings or pain! As you can see, Zoe has feelings and she feels pain! When you grabbed her arm, she screamed in pain! She's currently bruising! THAT IS HUMAN!" Quin was almost out of breath and feeling a bit lightheaded.

"Look, I understand your fear. I'm scared too. This isn't natural. People do not come back alive from the grave. I know that. But…if she was emotionless and demented, that I would understand.

Something was wrong. But she's feeling things and experiencing life again. She's open to us about how she's feeling and what's going on with her body. Right now inside, she just explain to me that she feels dark and hallow, expect for her heart…she feels love for me, but she also feels pain.

She feels the knife that Danny killed her with still inside her heart. It's so strange and terrifying to think about, but she's scared too. She's even thinking she's not Zoe, but she is. We all know it. You know it."

"Look, everybody wants answers of how she's alive!" Maxwell said, almost drained of energy.

"I can't give anybody anything! Yes, we discovered where Danny's been hiding out-"

Quin's eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yes, and that's where we found Zoe's car too." Maxwell told him.

"But nobody wants to know about Danny anymore…they just want to know how Zoe is alive."

Quin sighed. "I know they do…so do I…and so does she. We all would love to know. But it's patience."

"You're right." Maxwell sighed.

"What now? We've looked in the car, found all the evidence we needed…but we already know Danny's the killer…once we find him, we'll book him. He's going to prison for life. But who brought Zoe back to life?"

"I don't know…" Quin sighed. "I wish I knew though."