It's Not You, It's Me (Book Two) #Wattys2018

Lunch With Ziggy and Her Demons

POV ZIGGY

"So... How've you been?" I ask.

She smiles faintly, and proceeded to tell me what she thought I should hear, "I'm good." She paused. "How... Uh, how are you?"

I chuckled, "He's fine." I said, and sighed gently with my mouth closed. I looked back at her, who was nodding slightly. "Actually, he's rather not fine." I changed my mind. Her expression grew dark.

"He's not fine?" She repeated, to confirm if she heard correctly. "What happened? Is he— is he—" I could see tears in her eyes wanting to appear. "Is—"

"He's okay, he's okay!" I grabbed her hands over the table and caressed them in a friendly way. "Don't worry, he's alright."

She looked down and sighed sharply, then she brought one of her hands to her forehead. "Ziggy, what the fuck?" She sighed again, upset and relieved at the false alarm. "What did you mean when you said he's not fine?"

"He's the same as you." I explained.

"What do you mean? I'm fine."

I laughed. "No. You're not."

"Ziggy, I'm fine. I don't understand what you mean."

"Toby, no offense, but you're a fucking zombie. You walk around the streets, but you're not really living. You're just... There. In an eternal heartache. You don't even laugh anymore."

She scoffed, "You haven't seen me in forever. You don't know how I am."

"I spoke to Horacio yesterday. He told me. He agrees with me."

She scoffed again, feeling cornered. "Well, he's wrong. You're both wrong,mom fine."

"You're not fine, Toby. But that's okay, because Theo is a complete mess."

She looked at me with her complete attention. "What do you mean?"

"He barely leaves the house. He barely even talks." I said, and realized the sadness in that statement as soon as I heard it coming out of my mouth. "Elliot has been trying to reach him but he doesn't even answer his phone."

She looks away melancholically.

I lean over the table to gain her attention back. "It's not too late. Go to him." I tell her.

She shook her head, sad. "I can't. Not after what I did to him."

"No, Toby, listen, it's not too late. You two are not done loving each other."

She looks at me, thinking, still frowning. "I have to go." She says, and stands up.

I stand up after her. "Tobes..."

"No, Ziggy. Look, I have to go now." She said, and then left a ten dollar bill on the table and left the diner.

I watched her go, feeling defeated.

The waitress came to my table. "Hey, Ziggs. Still want your burger?"

I sigh and look at my watch. "I suppose."

She lays my order in front of me.

The little bells on top of the main door ring.

"Ziggy?"

I turn around. "Avi?" I stand up and greet him with a hug. "What, uh, what are you doing here?"