Chapter 28 - Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely
Bruce pulls the Porsche into his usual parking spot outside of his apartment building. He puts the car in park and turns it off. He turns to Zoey, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Fall had quickly arrived and with it the beginning of the new academic year. "Are you sure that you'll be okay," he asks, turning towards her.
Zoey shoots him an annoyed look. "Bruce, I'll be fine," she tells him. "Besides, I still have to unpack."
Bruce grabs her hand. "I have a break between classes. I'll run back over to see how you're doing."
"I'll be fine. I promise," Zoey reassures him. She opens the door of the Porsche and climbs out. She leans against the car for a moment, then leans in and grabs the cane she had been using since starting physical therapy. She shoots him a smile, then walks to the front of the building. She turns and finds that Bruce was still sitting, with a worried look on his face. She waves at him before walking into the building.
After waking up from her coma, Zoey stayed in the hospital for another two weeks. Doctors wanted to run more tests before releasing her. She had stayed in Smallville during her recovery. She had completed two months of physical therapy. She felt lucky that Princeton had allowed her to defer admission for a year due to everything that had occurred.
Zoey opens the door of Bruce's apartment and walks in. While she was physically fine, she was still dealing with everything that had occurred mentally. Nightmares had plagued her nights. The bizarre dream she had where she saw her mother also kept her up. Despite everything, she still insisted on moving in with Bruce.
Zoey sits on the couch and lets out a deep breath. She enjoyed living with Bruce. She enjoyed living on her own. She lightly rubs her chest.
Zoey stares at the doctor. Bruce was sitting on the edge of her bed while Martha, Jonathan, and Max were standing around the room. "I had heart surgery," she disbelievingly repeats after the doctor finishes running through everything that had happened. Heart surgery to repair a torn valve, a collapsed lung, six broken ribs, nearly bleed out, swelling along part of her spinal cord, and to top it all off a two-month coma.
Bruce grabs her hand and presses a soft kiss to the back of it. "You're alive," he softly reminds her. "That's all that matters."
Zoey couldn't shake the feeling that something else had happened. Something before the meteor hit the house. She runs a hand over her chest. Bruce places a hand on her back. She shoots him a smile; she wanted to reassure everyone that she was fine.
"This is for you," Oliver says, sitting on the edge of Zoey's bed. She was growing restless and was more than ready to finally be released. Zoey brightly smiles and takes the gift bag from him. She laughs pulling out a stuffed panda. "I'm sorry for missing your graduation. Through it seems like I missed all the excitement."
"It's fine, Ollie," Zoey softly says.
Oliver leans in close. "Hey." She looks up at him. "I was in Shanghai tracking down a lead."
"Did it have to do with the manuscript page?"
"That's where it started. Then I ran into an old friend, Tommy Meryln. He was searching for his dad."
Zoey frowns. "Didn't Malcolm Meryln go missing like ten years ago or something?"
"He didn't go missing. He left. He's been working with this group in south China. He and his group taught me quite a lot of stuff while I was gone."
Zoey stares at him. She looks around the room, to make sure no one is near. "Oliver, you…you know where Malcolm Meryln is, don't you?"
"I knew where he was. The place where I trained with him was abandoned. Probably had been for a couple of years." Oliver reaches up and brushes away a tear that she didn't realize had fallen. "Zo, I'm fine. I promise." Zoey bites her lip. She doesn't know whether to tell him about seeing her mom or not. Oliver taps the side of her head. "Zo?"
Zoey shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired."
The moment Bruce starts to push up the oversized t-shirt was wearing, Zoey stops him. He pulls back and lays down on the bed next to her. "What," Zoey begins, turning towards him. "Why are we stopping?"
"I'm not making love to you while you wear a t-shirt," Bruce tells her.
Zoey raises an eyebrow. "Making love?"
"What else would you call it?"
"Anything but making love. That sounds so…lame."
Bruce presses his lips against hers. She leans back, pulling him on top of her. His hand slides her t-shirt once more. It runs along her side; brushing against her breast. Her shirt rises up. He slides his hand between her legs. He gently rubs her clit. She lets out a low moan. She wanted this; she wanted him. But she couldn't stand the horrible scar that ran along her chest down to her belly button. She hated the idea of him seeing it. Zoey's so focused on the pleasure building up within her that she doesn't realize he's pushed her t-shirt so far up his tongue lightly touches her nipple.
Zoey pushes him off and jumps out of the bed. She smooths down her t-shirt. Bruce lets out an annoyed breath. "What…what if we did it doggy style," she asks.
Bruce wrinkles his nose. "We're not doing that."
"Okay. Um, what if I was on top?"
"Fine. As long as you take off the t-shirt," Bruce counters, leaning back in the bed. Zoey crosses her arm over her chest. He shakes his head and climbs out of bed.
"Where are you going," Zoey softly questions.
"To take a cold shower," Bruce answers, then walks into the bathroom and slams the door closed behind him. She winces. Zoey crawls onto what had become her side of the bed. She doesn't know how much time has passed before Bruce lays down next to her. She could tell he was upset. He made a point of not touching her. She reaches up and brushes away a tear.
"Bruce Wayne."
Bruce stops and looks around for whoever had said his name. People generally left him alone. No one cared about the billionaire orphan attending classes. Bruce frowns, seeing Lionel Luthor. There was no reason Lionel would visit him. He had nothing to do with the running of Wayne Enterprises.
Lionel walks up to him. He holds out a flash drive. "There's a video on here that will interest you."
"If it has to do with Wayne Enterprises, you would be better off giving that to William Earle," Bruce coldly says. He wanted nothing to do with Lionel Luthor. The last thing he heard regarding Lionel was the man's miraculous recovery from a catatonic state.
Lionel softly chucked. "Ah, no, Mr. Wayne. It has to do with Miss Carmichael."
Bruce stares at the older man, then reluctantly takes the flash drive. He walks away, not wanting to spend any more time with Lionel.
That night, Bruce is unable to sleep. Zoey is curled up next to him, fast asleep. The only noise in the room came from her soft snoring. He hadn't thought much about the flash drive Lionel had given him. He had focused on his afternoon classes. Bruce climbs out of bed and softly closes the door behind him.
His laptop was sitting on his desk along with his backpack. The flash drive was at the bottom of his backpack. Bruce fishes it out. He stares at it for a moment, then plugs it into his laptop. The drive contained a single video file. He opens it.
The footage was in black and white. No audio. Lex Luthor was standing next to a door; as if he was waiting for someone. The door to the room opens. Bruce frowns as Zoey walks in. He watches as Lex pulls her against his chest. Bruce feels dread feel him when he sees Lex slide a hand under Zoey's skirt. Zoey pushes Lex away before he spins her around and kisses her.
As Bruce watches the video, he wants to see Zoey push Lex away. He wants to see Zoey fight; try to stop him. But she doesn't. She doesn't stop him when her skirt is pushed up. She doesn't stop him when he pushes her onto the glass desk. She doesn't stop him when he puts his head between her legs. She doesn't stop Lex from putting his cock into her. Bruce slams the laptop closed. He didn't need to see anything else. He yanks the flash drive out of his laptop and drops it into a desk drawer.
Bruce stands up and runs a hand over his face. He wasn't sure what was the worst part of the video: the fact that Zoey had fucked Lex in the first place or the fact that it had happened the week before Zoey's senior prom. He looks at the closed bedroom door. He can't sleep next to her. Not anymore. Bruce walks over to the couch and lays down on it. He grabs the heavy blanket and pulls it over him. For the first time since his parents had died, Bruce allows the tears to escape.
Bruce sits down on the couch next to Zoey and she smiles at him. She was wearing one of his Princeton sweatshirts and a pair of black yoga pants. Her hair was piled into a messy bun on top of her head. She leans in and softly kisses him. "There's this new coffee shop opening down the street," she tells him. "I thought it would be fun to check it out this afternoon."
"Did you fuck Lex Luthor," Bruce questions.
Zoey frowns. She was confused. "Did I…Bruce, where is this coming from?"
"Just answer the question," Bruce quietly demands.
"I-I-I-I…I did. But we were broken up."
"Did you fuck Lex before I showed up to take you to prom?"
Zoey frowns. There's no way he could know. "Why in the world would you even think that in the first place?"
Bruce stares at her for a moment, then stands up. He couldn't believe that she was avoiding answering the question. "I think we should break up."
"What? No. Bruce, what is going on," Zoey angrily questions.
"We're done. I'm going to the library," Bruce coldly tells her. "You should be gone by the time I get back."
"What? No. You're not going anywhere until we discuss this. You don't get to walk away in the middle of a fight, Bruce."
"Get the fuck out of my house and my life," Bruce snaps.
Zoey stands, frozen. He had never yelled at her before. A tear slips down her cheek. He avoids looking at her while he grabs his backpack and walks out of the apartment. As far as Bruce was concerned, her not answering his question was all the answer he needed. She winces when the apartment door slams behind him.
It's while she's packing her bags that she finds the small black velvet box hidden in the sock drawer. Zoey opens the box and finds the elegant diamond engagement ring sitting inside of it. She sits down on the bed, staring at the ring. She wants to go after him. She wants to know why he was suddenly questioning her about what had happened with the evil Lex.
But at the same time, Zoey wants nothing more than to pack her stuff and leave. She wants to hide out. Bruce clearly wanted to break up with her. He had found an excuse and used it to end their relationship. She knew he wasn't happy because she was insecure about the scar on her chest. Zoey drops the box on the bed and continues packing up her stuff. If Bruce didn't want her in his life anymore, she was going to give him what he wanted.
That afternoon, Bruce walks back into the apartment. He wasn't sure what he was expecting. He didn't know if wanted to see Zoey was still there or not. As he looks around, he realizes that Zoey had indeed left. He walks into the bedroom and finds the velvet box sitting in the center of the bed. Bruce sits down on the bed and feels an emptiness inside of him.
Show me the meaning of being lonely
Is this the feeling I need to walk with
Tell me why I can't be there where you are
There is something missing in my heart