Ephemeral

C H A P T E R 3 7

😈haha

"Hey."

"Hi."

Random clinks and chatter that had once filled the restaurant now sounded muffled as I stared into those hazel eyes. Truly, I didn't know what to say as I was at a loss for words.

I hadn't seen her in a year, our last encounter not all that pleasant. In fact, I didn't even expect our roads to cross again until some award show.

Yet, here she was.

At a restaurant I brought her to.

With one of my hoodies on.

The power of good food, huh?

A loud thump broke our eye contact instantly, her voice softly thanking Darwin for bringing her shake. I noticed it was in a glass, meaning she was going to stay to drink it.

Glancing to the side, I noticed the color of the shake and smiled softly.

"He got you to try the mint shake too?"

Her eyes glanced up, her gaze surprisingly soft when she gave me a soft smile. "As repulsive as I thought it would be, he did somehow convince me."

We shared a laugh, returning to that silence quickly. Pops came back around with my plate, placing it in front of me. I knew he'd fix Robyn's food last so it could be fresh.

"How-" "I'm-"

My words caught in my throat, so I coughed them out, "You can go first."

"How are you?"

Chuckling, I nodded. "I'm good actually. Today's Robyn and I's anniversary."

"Oh really? Congratulations!" Her voice was surprisingly genuine. "Three years right?"

"Yeah." My eyebrows furrowed slightly, "How'd you know?"

The actress shifted on the stool slightly.

"Well," She took a long sip of her drink, "That's how long it's been since you spoke to me."

Clearing my throat, I felt my body stiffen. Nonetheless, I didn't break the eye contact.

"If I'm being honest, there was never any reason to talk to you. I figured I'd be met with resistance, so I just...didn't seek you out."

She bristled at my blunt words, then oddly smiled. "I see you've gotten more honest."

"I never meant to lie t-"

"I understand that now." Her eyes were still windows to that honest soul, showing me the sympathy she did indeed hold toward me. "I saw the meet and greet video."

"Oh."

"And I listened to your Zen album."

"Oh."

Now, it was my turn to be uncomfortable.

But...I wasn't going to run away. Not this time.

"Why did you-"

"It was about you." I admitted, her eyes widening the only clue to her shock. "Just not entirely."

She chuckled dryly. "What does that even mean?"

"It was the heartbreak album I never got to release. Even though it was my fault, you did break my heart. After we sang Best Part, I thought there was a chance and," A humorless laugh left my chest. "You shut that right down."

"I just thought-"

"And you were right for thinking so." I cleared the air. "Communication is a two way street and we both avoided it entirely. However, since I was wrong...I take that L. It was on me. But us breaking up?...That's not the reason I called it Zen."