“Liar,” I countered.
I knew what was wrong. Without her saying a word, I knew. Yesterday the fear had been washed away, but like the tide it had come in overnight. It wouldn’t help if I pointed out what was wrong. Zoe had to figure it out for herself.
“It’s no-nothing,” she stammered miserably.
I wished I could take away her pain and make it my own, but I couldn’t.
Seeing the shame and pain in her eyes, I leapt from the bar stool and dragged her into my arms. When she stumbled against me, my heart split wide open. “Zoe, you’ll be okay. You can do this. You’re stronger than you believe. But do you wanna know the good news?”
“There’s good news?” Zoe asked between painful sobs.
“Yep. A pretty silver lining. Want to know what it is?” I forced buoyancy in my voice.
“Tell me,” she whimpered into my shoulder as I tangled my fingers in her hair.
“You mightn’t believe that you can do this, but you can. I know you can.”
After a long pause, Zoe nodded. “Okay.”
‘Okay?”
“Okay.”
Pushing her back, I looked in her face, desperate to find a trace of hope. Of belief. Of acceptance. It wasn’t there. Nothing was. Her eyes were lifeless and empty. Her face was expressionless. Suddenly I knew I wasn’t going anywhere. At least not today.
“Shouldn’t you be leaving for work?” I encouraged as I intertwined our fingers and led her towards the front door. She moved like she was being sent off to her own execution. Every step was slow and heavy.
“I’m going,” she grumbled, swiping at her tear-filled eyes.
Damn, this girl is going to be the death of me.
“You got everything?” she asked, pointing to my bag.
Nodding, I said, “Yeah, but I was wondering if…if it would be okay if I stayed another day?”
Zoe raised an eyebrow, obviously caught off guard. “You-you want to stay?” she asked, stumbling over her words.
“Is that okay?”
Zoe didn’t have time to answer before she leapt into my arms and squeezed me so tight she almost cut off my oxygen supply. Loosening her grip on my neck, I laughed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Thank you,” Zoe whispered.
It was Thursday before I got home.
