A meat feast or a me feast?Biggest secret?
Ten is a well-rounded number for sleuthing. They aren’t really important, critical questions, except the last one. I’d like to know all the answers, nonetheless. When he gets back, I’ll discreetly check each one off, and then I’ll know if we are the perfect couple or a disaster waiting to wilt.
“Oh, Danny, it’s so good to see my big boy in the flesh.” Mom launches herself into my chest. Her head barely reaches my shoulder. “I’m sorry, son. She was just so—”
There’s a hundred words to describe Zoe. Delicate. Bitter. Scared. Warped. Selfish.
“Is she still here?” I drop my backpack at the coat rack.
“She was soaking wet, son. I let her take a shower and gave her something dry to wear. She’s got nowhere to go and an empty bottle of vodka in her bag.”
Childhood flashbacks ooze out of the wallpaper, from rolling around with my old dog, Jess, to losing my virginity on the kitchen floor when my folks were tucked in bed. I’ve never lived anywhere else until I moved to Sunnyville. Now that I’m home again, I’d happily leave to be with Viv.
“Danny?” Zoe Palmer hesitates at the end of the corridor with damp sunny hair and smudged mascara under her eyes. She’s wearing my college logoed crew neck, rolled up at the wrists and finishing at her wafer-thin thighs. “You came home.” She trots towards me and slams her entire body weight into mine. “It’s so good to see you again, big guy.”
“Why did you come here?” I pat her back and strain away at the same time.
“I miss you, Danny.” Her cheek nuzzles, and she slides her hands under my jacket.
Vodka fumes make my stomach roll. That familiar toxic haze feeds the memories. “Are you really drinking again, Zoe? This is my parents’ house. You can’t show up here anymore.”
My mom slips into the background, leaving me to deal with this alone. I’m not blameless in this situation.
Pushing her backwards, hands fall to her hips with no purpose. “I didn’t know you left Richmond. Why didn't you tell me?” Her eyebrows drift up.
The leftover smell of my parents’ dinner still clings to the air. It should feel good to be home, but my clothes become tighter, as if I’m suffocating. “You were in a relationship with that loser you met in rehab. You were happy. I finished my training and wanted to get out of this town.”
“Danny.” She blinks up at me with cornflower blue eyes. “We’re connected. A bond that no one else on this earth has. We belong together. Leaving me was unfair, don’t you think, all things considered?”
“Zoe,” I growl out her name. “Don't start this all over again.”
“Start what? I love you, Danny.”
“No, Zoe, you love drugs and alcohol. You and I were never the right fit. We shouldn’t have hooked up in the first place. We’ve been through this a million times. I’m trying to move on with my life. I need to leave all this shit behind me.”
Venom flashes in her eyes. “Seriously, how the hell can youmoveon?”
“That's not what I mean. I’m trying to start over. We’re not together, Zoe. You should take responsibility for yourself now. Stay the fuck out of rehab and get a proper job.”
Her eyes mist, and she sucks in a wobbly lip. “I’m so sorry, Danny. I’ve been dry for months. Then Kyle and I broke up. I came here to see you, and your mom told me you’d left. It hurt my feelings to find out you’d vanished without telling me,” she says with a silky abrasive sigh. “I’m safe here. This is where the world stops turning and Jeff…”
I shake my head and hold up my hand. “No, Zoe. Enough.”
“You could have told me yourself. I’m lost without you.” Searching fingers cross the empty inches separating us. “You left without telling me where to find you.”
Jeez, she’s not getting it. It's taking all my training to stay calm. I’ve been roped into her emotional games for too long.
“I did tell you. This…” I motion between us. “This has been over for years, Zoe.”
“How do you think it made me feel knowing I’d lost you as well––huh? You’re being a selfish bastard, Danny.”
Here we go again. Like I haven't been punished enough. I can’t rake over the old wounds again. “You got toasted on my porch in the middle of the day and demanded to see me. This behavior has become predictable.” My pulse slams with anger. “The only thing I feel for you is pity. Pull yourself together.”
Zoe nods on repeat, then covers her face with both hands. “I wanted to talk to you, like old times,” she sobs out crocodile tears. “But you were miles away in that shitty little town with…” She gulps and looks to her fingers. “You’ve got a new job.”
“Yeah, I do. Look, I’m not in the mood to dredge up the past,” I snarl. “I’ve been smothered in guilt for years, Zoe. You and I were a mistake. I was lost back then, and you were lost well before Jeff died.”
“We were the only good thing that came out of his death.” She shrugs, sliding her fingers down her cheeks.
