☾︎✿︎☽︎
Abby opened the apartment door, ushering Zoey inside, and took her straight to the bedroom. He gently sat her down on the edge of the bed and kneeled before her.
She still had the same numb expression she had worn since they hopped in the Uber, staring down at her lap, but she was calm.
That had to count for something.
“Zoey,” Abby gently shook her shoulder. “You okay?”
There was a beat of silence before she slowly nodded her head and let out a soft ‘Yeah.’
Abby sighed in relief, the tension leaving his shoulders. “You gave me quite the scare back there.”
“Sorry,” she sighed, slumping her shoulders. “I just… when I saw my parents… I mean, I knew I was going to have to see them eventually, but…”
“You weren’t mentally and emotionally prepared,” he finished for her.
She went quiet but managed to nod, her gaze still fixed on her lap.
“You’d think that I’d be happy to see them again, but I froze. I panicked. I hid. I ran away,” she threw her face in her hands. “I’m the worst.”
Abby sighed and sat next to her. “Zoey, you shouldn’t be hard on yourself for how you reacted seeing your parents again.”
“Yeah, but it shouldn’t be like that,” she finally looked at him, her expression a mixture of guilt and shame. “What kind of daughter fears her own parents more than she loves them?”
Abby opened his mouth to retaliate but closed it soon after. For the first time, he had nothing to say. What could he say?
“Okay, how about this?” He said, putting his hand on her knee. “You stay here, take a shower just to unwind and relax. I go out and get us some snacks, and we can watch some crappy rom-coms when I get back.”
Zoey blinked, taken aback by the suggestion. “How is that going to help?"
"What? You can never go wrong with some good food and some TV," he shrugged. “Unless you want to have another meltdown on how you're going to hide all incriminating evidence of your double life. I'd be happy to be your freak-out partner.”
Zoey laughed for the first time since they came back. Abby grinned. "There she is.”
Zoey rolled her eyes, shoving his shoulder. “Wait, are you sure you should be going alone?”
"I can manage. I'm just going to the store."
“Do you even know where any of the stores are around here?”
"I can use GPS.”
"Right. As if GPS has ever been that reliable.”
“Come on, geobug-i. Trust me a little," he bumped his shoulder against hers.
She rolled her eyes. "You're so stubborn.”
"So are you. But who's complaining?” he booped her nose before getting up and heading towards the door. "You better behave while I'm gone, Missy.”
Zoey flipped him off with both fingers, and he just laughed before he exited the room
☾︎✿︎☽︎
“Z, what the hell? How could you leave like that?" Gigi said over the phone.
Zoey had already changed out of her clothes and had a towel wrapped around her as she ran her bath.
"What are you talking about?" Zoey furrowed her eyebrows.
“Don't play dumb. Your boy toy suddenly announced that both of y'all were leaving because you got sick, conveniently when your parents showed up.”
"I don't see where the problem is. We can leave whenever we want.”
"Riiiight. You can leave whenever you want to avoid facing your parents."
Zoey was silent, the grip on her phone tightening.
“Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was lying to your parents that you weren't able to make it after I assured them that you were going to be at Tati’s brunch?"
“Wait? You told my parents?” Zoey replied.
“Yeah? And?"
"And you didn't think to tell me that you told them that I came back?”
"If I was going to tell you, you were going to chicken out and avoid them.”
"Okay, but a heads up would have been nice, Gigi. And it wasn't your place to tell my parents without allowing me to do so myself.”
"And when were you going to tell them, huh? You haven't spoken to them in the last two years, and you didn't even bother to tell them that you were coming back home. I did you a favour.”
"Going behind my back and blindsiding me is anything but doing me a favour, Gigi. I would have never done this to you!" Zoey argued.
"You know I could have told them about you dropping out of uni, right. The only reason why I didn't is because I didn't want to break your mum's heart and disown after all she's done for you.”
That shut her up. Zoey felt her chest tighten and a lump form in her throat.
"Next time, take a good look at yourself before you come at me with your ungrateful ass. You're not the victim here.”
"Gigi-"
Gigi hung up the phone before Zoey could say anything. Zoey stared at her phone with a mixture of disbelief and bewilderment.
She sighed, put her phone on the nightstand and headed straight to the bathroom.
I need to clear my head.
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