Let Me Hold You For Now

Keep Working On It

"Hey. Long time no see."

"Zack!" Rachel was frozen to the spot, staring at him like he was a ghost or something. "But you were in prison!"

He scoffed. So that's what that look was. She was terrified.

"Aren't those things made to be broken out of?" Honestly it was a huge pain in the ass, but her reaction was completely worth it. He could hear the sirens in the distance, see the light from the approaching police cars reflecting off the shards of glass that littered the sterile floor. It thrilled him. Another dangerous game that he was going to win. "You know me. When I want something real bad, I never stop going after it."

"Y-you want-" She turned bright red and snapped her mouth shut, redirecting and composing herself as well as she could. "Are you here to fulfill our promise?"

The sirens grew louder and the loudspeaker crackled on with a high pitched squeal.

"Are you coming, Ray? We don't have much time."

"Zack!" She ran toward him, taking the hand he extended to her and jumping into his arms. Her eagerness was startling, to say the least. She bounded toward him like an excited puppy. Even puppies were terrified of him!

She might have been scared of him, but she was still clinging onto him for dear life. Well, of course she fucking was! They were jumping from the third floor. Ray was a tough kid, but she wasn't half as durable as he was. Then he saw it. She had the happiest look he'd ever seen. Right there on her dull face was a smile so bright he forgot where they were and what they were doing for a second. His eyes went wide as he realized his mistake. He forgot to stick the landing. The ground hit him like a freight train.

He kept his arms wrapped around her, protecting her even as little fragments of glass from the shattered window pierced his skin.

"Oh. Ow... Fuck. Ray, get off, please-" he wheezed, most of the wind knocked out of him.

"Zack!" She shouted in concern. "Here." She reached out a hand to help him up, and even though breathing was close to impossible, he somehow managed to choke out an amused chuckle. He slapped her hand away and grunted as he sat up on his own.

"Cute." Did she really think she could pick him up? She had about as much strength as a baby bird. Never stopped her from trying though. "I got it. I got it." He lunged up to his feet with a pained grunt. "Come on. We gotta run."

"But Zack, you're hurt!"

He reached back and pulled a piece of glass out of his back. His hand was covered in blood. He laughed again. Shit! That actually hurt! Oh well. Felt worse.

"What? When has something like this ever been enough to stop me? Come on!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him as they took off into the woods.

They must have been running for hours with no idea where they were running to except for away. He could still hear the dogs behind them though.

Jesus. Did these bastards never get tired? Ray wasn't holding up too well. She was way too slow. He was about to pick her up and throw her over his shoulder.

"Zack, just leave me." She yanked her hand back. "Go! I'll find you."

"What? You think I'm gonna let you scamper off after I went through all this effort?" He glared at her. "You change your mind? You think those walls will protect you? I will kill you, Ray. I promised, didn't I?"

"It's fine if you still want to, but-"

"No but! Now move your ass!"

"Zack! Look!" She picked up a bloody leaf and showed it to him.

What? Was he bleeding that badly?

"I'm sorry. I cut my feet on the glass. They aren't going to stop chasing us as long as the dogs can pick up the trail.

"You fucking moron! You've been bleeding all this time? Why didn't you say something?" He grabbed her feet and examined them. They were all black and red, absolutely covered in blood and filth. What probably started out as little cuts were now large, angry gashes.

He ripped the bandages off his arms and started wrapping up her wounds with the kind of dexterity that one would expect from a man who wore bandages for most of his life. He tied them up neatly and stood up again.

"Are you ready now?"

"Zack, they're too close. You're not going to outrun them with me." She wasn't wrong. The likelihood of them getting out alive at this rate was pretty low. "I can lead them away. Or I can go back and tell them I escaped. I'll tell them that you ran the other way."

"Fuck that." He growled stubbornly. "I'm not here to take a midnight stroll through the woods. I'm not leaving without what I came for."

"I'm not worth going back to prison for! They're trying to kill you, you idiot!"

"Well I'm not gonna let either of those things happen."

"Neither am I!" She pulled her hand back from him and turned around. "Hey! Over here! Help!" She cried out.

His heart stuttered. What?

"What the fuck are you doing, Ray?"

"We can meet here in a few days... Five days, the same time." He yanked her back toward him and saw the tears in her eyes.

"Why are you crying? You wanted to die that badly?"

"I missed you."

He shifted his weight uncertainly. What was he even supposed to do that information?

Was it really okay to trust her? She was giving him another watery smile and it made his insides feel all tied up in knots.

"Oh. Well... That's good..." That's good? What a bullshit response. Seeing her alive again made everything he'd been through since he last saw her worth it, and now he was just supposed to let her walk away again? Fuck! It was temporary though, right? She wasn't going to betray him, right? "Five days?" He sighed in defeat. He'd trust her again because they didn't seem to have another option and she was the only person worth trusting. "Fine. You got it. But if you're not here on the fifth night, I'm gonna track you down and really make you hurt for wasting my time."

She turned around to run back toward the police but something stopped her. He had no chance to prepare before she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight around the middle. She was so soft and tiny. He felt hot and his chest was tight. Maybe he would have even blushed but-

"Fuck! Ow! Watch the back, Ray!"

"Sorry!" She immediately let go of him and grabbed his hand instead. "Zack... Thank you for coming back."

"Five days! You got that?" He barked and squeezed her hand before throwing it back at her.

"I'll be here."