Elyza's POV
It had been three full days that Elyza had not seen any infected and they were the first three days that the world seemed normal since the outbreak spread. They were living as if they were the hotel's guests, except that they did not pay for the rooms and there were no services from the staff.
Most of Oscar's people were already enjoying this new environment. They fished, played football and drank while Elyza was still having a hard time adjusting to it. It was too good to be true that she could finally breathe and did not need to worry that people she cared for would get hurt or bitten. More importantly, she had a girlfriend now.
She and Alicia volunteered to clean up the bar today. The floor was full of shattered pieces of glass that Madison and Strand broke.
"You know what's funny?" Alicia started while she was cleaning the counter and Elyza was sweeping the floor.
"What?" the blonde asked.
"My mom told me that she and Victor threw a bunch of glasses into the wall when they were drinking here."
"You know what's not funny?" Elyza replied grumpily. "We have to clean up their messes."
She thought she got all of the pieces of glass, but she kept finding one after another.
"I'm taking a break," the Australian girl said and looked in a cabinet.
She found a bottle of Jack Daniel's and was going to take a sip when Alicia interrupted her.
"Hey now. Aren't you still underage?" the brunette asked jokingly.
"Said the seventeen-year-old America's Sweetheart," Elyza countered back. "Besides, you can drink legally since you turn eighteen both in Australia and Mexico."
"Right," Alicia sighed. "Sometimes I forget we're not in the US anymore."
"In that case, it wouldn't matter anyway because I'll be twenty-one in… who knows? Who's keeping track of time these day?"
"In three months," Alicia replied. "It's August now."
They learned each other's birthday a long time ago along with many other things, but Elyza did not expect her girlfriend to mind the days in an apocalypse. If this was August, it could only mean one thing.
"You already turned eighteen, didn't you?" Elyza mumbled. "When?"
She felt guilty that she did not do anything for Alicia, especially now, when she was intending to be a good girlfriend to her.
"A few weeks ago," the younger girl replied. "It's no big deal. Like you said, who cares about birthdays now?"
"I do," the blonde replied instantly and added. "Sit tight. I'll make you a drink to celebrate."
"You don't have to do that," Alicia giggled, but she stopped cleaning and hopped on a stool in front of the counter.
"How about Pink Lemonade Vodka?"
"Sounds good, but I don't wanna get drunk this early."
"No worries."
With the bartending skills Elyza learned back in the days, it took less than minute for her to mix the drink and set it in front of the other girl.
"No alcohol as requested," Elyza announced.
"Thanks," Alicia said and sipped on it. "It's great."
"It would be better if we had ice."
"Elena is working on it," the brunette told her. "We should have electricity soon."
"That's awesome."
Alicia suddenly fumbled on her own pocket and brought a key out.
"I forgot to give you this," the younger girl explained. "Elena gave everyone the key to their room. This is yours."
Elyza did not take it. Instead, she rested her chin on a hand and stared deeply into Alicia's pretty green eyes.
"Keep it," she said. "You should have the key to my room just like you have the key to my heart."
The brunette burst out laughing despite blushing profusely at the same time.
"That was… really, really bad, Elyza," Alicia talked between her chuckling.
"I don't care," Elyza said while remaining in the same posture. "I just wanna make you laugh, silly."
Alicia's laughter stopped abruptly when she returned Elyza's gaze.
She smiled and said. "I wish I could kiss you right now."
"Your mom isn't here," the Aussie pointed out.
"People in the lobby can see us. They'll talk."
"I'm sure they won't mind," Elyza said. "Elena and Hector didn't mind."
"Stop trying to get me to kiss you, El," Alicia whined.
"I'm not doing anything," the blonde claimed. "I'm just standing and not moving."
"Yeah, with your face three inches away from mine and looking so adorable."
Elyza had never been called 'adorable' in her life, so the word sent a shiver down her spine.
She swallowed and replied. "Nobody's stopping you from moving away, babe."
Alicia chuckled again. She quickly looked around to make sure no one was looking and gave Elyza a peck.
The Aussie already missed those lips before her girlfriend even pulled away.
Alicia already jumped off the stool to continue with her work when Elyza was licking her own lips to feel the faint lingering taste of lemonade.
As much as she wished their kiss would last longer, she completely understood Alicia. The girl would do anything for her mother's best interest and Elyza respected that. She might tease her sometimes, but at the end of the day, she let Alicia take full control of their relationship.
The blonde realized that she must have got lost in her thoughts because the other girl was already on the same side of the counter.
She thought Alicia was going to clean the shelves. But to her surprise, the younger girl pulled her down to the floor and attacked her lips with her own.
After a heavy make out session with Alicia behind the counter yesterday, Elyza felt like today was also going to be a good day and their happy infected-free zone might not be an illusion.
She brushed her teeth and changed her clothes. The weather was quite hot outside, so she only put on a t-shirt and jeans.
She walked to their headquarter which was Elena's room just like she had been doing for three days straight. Madison, Elena, Strand and Oscar were in the room as they should be. The only difference today was that Alicia was not here.
"Where's Alicia?" Elyza asked right away.
"Well, good morning to you too, Miss Lex" Victor Strand replied sarcastically from the couch he was lying on.
"She's learning how to surf at the beach with Hector," Madison gave her the answer and asked. "Why? Do you need her for anything?"
Elyza felt herself getting jealous for some reason, but she knew Alicia never thought of Hector as more than an acquaintance, and the man already knew she was with Elyza.
"Nope," the younger blonde said quickly. "It's just that she's usually here."
"Have some coffee when the water is still hot, Elyza," Elena said and motioned to the coffee maker at the corner of the room.
"So we have electricity now? Nice," the Aussie said and added. "So what do you need me to do today?"
"Nothing," Madison said.
"For real?" Elyza turned around to ask while making a cup of coffee.
"For real," Madison confirmed. "Everything is going how it should be now. We deserve a day off."
Oscar added. "And we agreed to turn on the generator only on every Thursday morning."
Strand said and got up. "And since it's a Thursday morning now, I'm gonna take an advantage and have some whiskey on the rocks at the bar."
"Well, I'm outta here, too," Elyza announced and followed the man.
She barely had time to register what happened when she saw Ilene standing over Strand at the door. She stared hatefully at him in silence while the man was stiff in his place.
It was not until Strand fell down that Elyza realized what was going on. A knife dipped with red was in Ilene's hand when she was going to attack him again.
The Australian girl rushed over by instinct. She tried to push the taller woman away, but not before her knife swiped on her right forearm. It hurt like hell, but she ignored the pain and splashed the coffee in Ilene's face to give herself a window to push her away and close the door.
"Help," Elyza called out to the rest of people in the room.
Oscar came over and tried to help her up as soon as he saw the blood on her arm.
"No. Him first," the blonde told him to help Strand. "He was st-… stabbed."
The Latino and Elena helped Strand to lie down on the bed, while Madison took care of Elyza's wound.
"Shit," the older blonde said when she saw the two-inch gash.
"What? It's not that bad, right?" Elyza asked.
"I'm not sure," Madison said and wrapped a spare shirt on her arm. "Keep the pressure on it."
"Got it," the Aussie assured her and pressed her left hand on the wound. "Is Strand gonna be okay?"
"I… I don't know," Madison replied honestly.
They both looked at the man on the bed. He was still talking and smiling, which made Elyza relieved.
"I have to find Alicia," Madison spoke again.
"Wait," Elyza called out. "Ilene is still out there. It's not safe."
The woman seemed to be stunned by her words. They might not have talked much, but after spending so much time together in the same places, Madison, Strand, and even Ofelia, became like a family.
"I'll make sure Ilene won't hurt anyone again," Oscar said and walked out right away.
"I'll go get Alicia," Madison told Elyza again.
"Maybe… I should go with you," the blonde offered.
"No. You should sit down and make sure the bleeding is stopped."
Elyza hated to admit that Madison was right, but the cloth on her arm was getting soaked, so she sat down at the table obediently.
After Madison was gone, Elyza could only sit and observe Strand's condition. Elena kept talking to him to keep him awake while Elyza made some jokes to make him smile. She also learned that last night, Strand killed Jessica, Ilene's daughter, who was already an infected. It was why the woman wanted to hurt him.
The door was opened again when Oscar and his brother, Andrés, walked in. The man told everyone that his brother went to a medical school and he would take care of Strand and Elyza. He also said that Ilene would stay locked up all the time.
Andrés requested for numerous medical kit and medicines for Strand, but there was only suture kit from Elena's first aid cabinet that was useful. The Latina offered to drive somewhere to get the medicines Strand needed and left.
The young man told Strand to keep the pressure on his wound and walked over to Elyza. The blood already stopped when he gently opened the cloth that was covering her forearm.
"Do I need any stitches?" the blonde asked.
"No, I don't think so," Andrés said. "But it may scar."
"Whatever," Elyza sighed and added. "I mean, thank you, Andrés."
The man nodded and said. "I'll clean your wound and put a bandage on it."
When he was done and left to Strand's side, a sound of car engines came from downstairs.
Elyza got up and walked to the balcony. She saw Madison getting in a truck with Elena. There was nobody on the beach and Elyza started to get worried about Alicia.
"Are you looking for me?" Alicia's voice came from behind.
The brunette was in a t-shirt and skirt combo today. It was the first time Elyza saw her in a skirt. Her eyes travelled down to the smooth skin on her legs and back up to Alicia's face.
"Are you okay?" the younger girl asked and took a look at the bandaged wound.
"I am now," Elyza replied and asked a little too irately. "How was your surfing lesson?"
"It was good. What's with that tone?"
"I can surf too, you know?"
"You can't teach me now, can you?" Alicia asked teasingly and traced on her wound gently. She continued. "Wait. Are you jealous?"
"Of Hector? Pfft," the blonde replied and finally admitted. "Maybe a little."
"Elyza, please," Alicia found it amusing. "He's twice my age. And he knows we're together."
"I know. I can't help myself, all right?" the Aussie pouted.
"You're such a dork," the brunette said and moved her hand to grab Elyza's. "Come on. Let's go look after Victor."
Alicia told her that Madison said they would take two hours to get the medicines, but it had been five hours now. Andrés already stitched up Strand's wound, and all they could do now was keeping him warm and making sure he was still breathing.
Strand's condition was getting worse, and their worry doubled when day became night.
A sound of car's engines could be heard from outside, and Alicia sprinted out of the room right away.
"Hey, Strand. Hold on, okay?" Elyza told him. "Help's on the way."
"I think… you can call me Victor," the injured man said feebly.
"Victor," Elyza did as he asked. "You survived pirates, militaries and a heartbreak. This one is a piece of cake, okay?"
Strand chuckled and mumbled. "I'm a victor."
Elyza smiled at him. And before they could say anything, the whole room was lighted up.
Andrés, who just walked in, was as confused as they were. But he rushed over to Strand and checked on him.
"You risked it!"
The voice came from below and it was Alicia's voice, so Elyza walked to the balcony right away.
It seemed like Madison turned on the generator and Alicia was asking her to turn it off. She could not hear what they said except some sentences.
"How can you know that?!" Alicia asked her mother furiously. "He may or may not be Nick."
She could not hear what came afterwards, but it ended up with Alicia storming inside the hotel, and Madison finally turned the generator off.
The brown-haired girl arrived at Elena's room in no time and asked Andrés.
"Is Victor gonna be okay?
"He's stable now," the ex-medical student assured with her. "He'll be okay."
"Elyza," Alicia started and walked over to the blonde. "Can I stay in your room tonight?"
"Of course," the blonde replied softly.
They walked back to room 214 together when Madison showed up at the end of the hallway.
Alicia gave her mother a glare and got inside. Madison was still looking at Elyza and the Aussie did not know what to do or say. Finally, the woman gave her a nod.
Her girlfriend already settled on the couch when Elyza closed the door. Her face was in both of her hands.
"Hey, baby, look at me," Elyza said and sat next to her.
The brunette let her hands fall from her face. She was on the verge of tears.
"She was gonna go look for Nick. She was gonna let Victor die," Alicia told her. "She'll never stop looking for him."
"She loves him. She loves both of you," Elyza came up with the most sensible reason in hoping to fix the wound in Alicia's heart. "She just wants to keep your family together, especially now."
"I know. But she never sees me."
"That's impossible," the blonde said and tapped lightly under her girlfriend's chin. "How can anyone not see you? You're so strong and smart. You're the most selfless person I've ever met."
Alicia gave her a tiny smile. "I wish she thought I was that awesome."
"I'm sure she does," Elyza said firmly. "That's why she knows you can take care of yourself."
"Sometimes I just wanna cause troubles to get her attention too, you know?"
"You as a troublemaker? I can't imagine."
"Is that a challenge?" Alicia said. "I can trash your room right now."
But she did not do it. Elyza just put her good arm around Alicia's shoulder and pulled her closer. They fell in silence until the younger girl started yawning.
"I'm taking the couch," Alicia said.
"No way. My bed is big enough for both of us," Elyza protested and quickly added. "It's not that I'm trying to get you into my bed. I mean, we'll just sleep and…"
Alicia cut her off with a soft kiss. "I know. I would love to cuddle with you. I just don't want to roll on your arm and hurt you by accident. You know how much I move around in my sleep."
"I remember. You moved to sleep on my lap at Thomas' house," the Aussie recalled.
"That was embarrassing."
"That was cute," Elyza argued. "But I can take the couch and you take the bed."
"Nope."
"Are you sure you're not gonna fall off it?"
"I'm not moving from this couch," Alicia stated.
"All right, then," the blonde yielded. "Do you need anything? New clothes? A shower? Anything?"
"Just give me… a… pil-low," Alicia mumbled between her yawns.
When Elyza came back to the couch, Alicia already fell asleep. She set the pillow under her head and kissed her forehead.
The Aussie changed into a new shirt and shorts in the dark. She climbed into the bed that felt too empty tonight.
Her eyes were closed and her mind was in the slumber when she heard three words from across the room.
"I love you."
A/N: I don't what to say. I'm so sleepy, lol. Please kudos/favs and comments. It will mean a lot to me. :)
Okay, I remember what to say now.
Elyza's nickname is El because Stranger Things is awesome.
And this chapter is in Elyza's POV again because I don't wanna bore you with things you already saw on TV.
Sorry for not writing the details of their make out scene, but I leave it to your imagination. But OMG, can't wait for you to read the next chapter because (wiggles eyebrows).