Republic of Omisha

Chapter 39: Eliza

 They stand in silence for a few minutes. Eliza ponders Valerie's interesting pep talk.

"How are you?" Eliza asks as she stands next to her medical bed and squeezes her hand.

Valerie cracks a smile. "That's not what you really want to know."

Eliza looked confused. "Oh? And what do I want to know?"

"How your boyfriend is."

Okay, thinks Eliza, Now I know she has really lost it. I can't believe that she doesn't remember our fight. Unless... could she know something? Maybe Clay survived the attack and is no longer mad at me.

Eliza is grasping at straws. Clearly Valerie doesn't know what she's saying, but Eliza has to hope. She hurts for him. Maybe, just maybe Eliza can have someone in her life again.

The door slides open. Eliza whips her head around. Helena stands in the doorway and signals her to leave.

Eliza purses her lips. She wants to argue, but she has learned to control her anger. Reluctantly she stands and follows.

They proceed to her cell. She enters and the door closes behind her.

As Eliza sits on her cell floor, she thinks how she has changed. She is still irritable, but she can control herself and has found her emotions empowering instead of overwhelming, making her impulsive.

She remembers that girl that was furious with the world and what it took away from her. She got into fights that she provoked and was feared by everyone.

Now she sees a composed girl, who controls her emotions instead of them controlling her. Eliza is respected and because of her friends she has become a strong respectable leader.

Eliza smiles as she recalls memories with Sebastian, their quiet talks in the woods and Sebastian making her laugh.

She also has memories of Valerie. She is kind and trying to find her voice. She is comfortable around the staff, but disrespected by the students. Valerie helped Eliza find herself and saved her from the deceivers.

Then there's Clay. Eliza feels a certain way for him. She can't describe it. She's never felt this way before. She pictures his charismatic smile, his dark skin and deep eyes.

Tears creep into her eyes. Clay. She has to see him... if he is still even alive.

She cries into the night. She doesn't remember falling asleep, but she soon finds herself waking to the clatter of a metal tray on the ground.

Breakfast. Eliza isn't hungry. She sits up pulling her legs into her chest and stairs at the steaming plate of eggs, toast and hash browns.

"Hey!" Eliza yells. She stares through the glass in a vain attempt to see someone. "I know someone is there!"

She rises and approaches the door. "You can't ignore me forever." She kicks the door with her foot. It bounces off with a metalicly echo.

A second later a voice comes over the coms. "Is there a problem Ms. Spero?" It's Liam.

Eliza thinks for a second a passes around the room. "While I have you here, I have to ask, why did you save me?"

"I thought I told you because we're family."

"Aw, making up for lost time."

"How much do you know about your Mother's past?"

"Well, I know that you and my mother had some 'disagreements' that ruined your relationship and caused her to leave here. She fled to the nearby town of Edina, which is where my Father is from."