Bubble Wrap

chapter thirty-three

MY BRAIN SHUTS off and I let myself fall to pieces in the hall between the bar and the bathroom. I don't care that I'm getting odd looks from the people walking by. I don't care that I'm sitting on the sticky floor of a bar. I don't care about any of it, because all I care about is the fact that Luke is across the country and I'm not, but I should be.

My head feels fuzzy as the buzz soaks into my skin. There's a numbness in the edge of my fingers as I lean my head back, lifting my gaze to the roof. I'm instantly met with a dizziness as my name floats through the air.

"Maggie, she's over here!"

I lower my eyes until they land on Zane as he heads in my direction, kneeling down in front of me with a soft look on his face. The corner of his lips curl up into something gentle as he rests his hands on my knees, squeezing them.

"How you doing, Emmy?" he asks.

"Hi," I say in a soft tone as I rest my head back.

He flashes a grin. "Hi."

"How did you know I was here?"

"Charlie," Maggie answers my question as she settles on the floor next to me. My brows twist together in confusion causing her to laugh. "I thought the same thing when he called," she says as she leans into me. "What's going on?"

"Clark made me go home," I tell her.

"Because you're going to work yourself to death," Maggie says.

I close my eyes as I rest my head on her shoulder. "I called Charlie."

"We know," Zane says.

"I told him it's his fault that I'm so broken right now," I say as I squeeze my eyes shut, fighting the tears, "but it's not. It's no one's fault but my own."

"You're not broken," Zane argues. "I've seen broken people, Emery. You aren't one of them. You're just... bent," he says. "Bent things can be fixed."

"Why can't I just let myself be there?" I whisper.

"I don't think you ever fully committed yourself to Charlie," Maggie says as she twists on the floor to face me. "He never fully had you the way Luke does."

I blink back tears as I take her outstretched hand. "I'm such a mess."

She grins at me in that bright Maggie way that usually makes everything better. It should make my life a tiny bit more colorful, but it doesn't. My body still feels like ice as I watch her with a careful gaze. "Maybe so, but you're our mess," she says, squeezing my hand. "Can we take you home?"

I nod my head even though it's the last place I want to be, and it's all they need for Zane to grab my hands and help me up onto my unsteady feet. His arm moves around my waist to support my weight as I stumble into him, reminding myself that four shots isn't a good idea when there's no food in my stomach.

"When's the last time you had something to eat?" he asks.

I shrug my shoulders because the truth is I don't remember. When Luke left, the rest of the world shut off and I sunk into a world that wasn't here. It's what I do, and I've gotten dangerously good at it.

"Liz," I say, pointing toward the bar. "I have to pay."

"I've got it," Maggie says. "Bubba, you'll get her to the car."

"Yeah," Zane says, nodding his head as he moves my arm around his shoulder to hold me steady. "Come on, Em. Let's get you out to the car."

"Okay," I mumble quietly as I let him guide me towards the door and out onto the street. His grip tightening on my waist when I stumble on the sidewalk, his hold keeping me from falling to the ground. "Zane?" I ask.