Zenon's Game Chapter 186

Someone had complained about me at my work and management decided to let me go. I'm not good enough. That's the overlying message. Who will hire me now? How will I pay for things now?

I've had many people exit my life. Even my own mother has one foot out the door.

But each time I've managed. All I can do is grow stronger. My grades will take me out of this. I'll go to college one day and get a job... and then I'll be free. Independent and free. That's the plan.

My phone vibrated with a text.

It was from Bryce: Dropping shrooms. Making rice in Alpine

That was not what I expected. I texted back: ?

The three dots appeared in our chat and a second later, I received Bryce's response: Sorry, wrong number

I was working on the math exercise Joe had given me when my phone finally rang. I picked up.

"Hey Candy, I'm heading out. You home?"

"Yes," I said, closing my laptop and unfolding my legs from their crossed position on my chair. I spun round and faced my empty bedroom.

I took a deep breath and thought about how I was about to do this. I was really about to do this.

"Are you on your way somewhere?" I asked him, "If you're not in a rush, maybe we can talk?"

"I'm a minute away from you," he said, "Unless you want me to climb up the drainpipe. Then I'm two."

He's coming. He's coming here. Is this really the right place to have this conversation? I kicked my clothes under the bed and plumped up my pillows when I realized what am I doing?

Maybe we should do this in the backyard. I know we haven't trimmed the grass or scraped the leaves and there are a lot of weeds...

"That was quick!" I exclaimed, seeing Zenon approach my open door.

He shrugged and smiled at me, "I added in a buffer."

He looked down at the pillow in my hand and I chucked it onto the bed. I hurried to close the door behind him, and he waited for me to make the next move.

"Everything OK?" he asked, sensing my erratic behavior.

"Yeah, I think so. I think everything's OK," I inhaled, offering him a seat at my desk.

Shall we break my heart now or later?

"Do you want to sit down? Do you have time?" I asked, no clue what I was doing.

"I'll make the time. Something's on your mind," he told me, sitting down, "So let's hear it."

Okay.

He leaned back and looked at the papers on my desk with hidden curiosity. My calculator, glass of water, candy wrappers and stationery were sprinkled over the desk in a messy array. I hope I hadn't doodled love hearts anywhere.

"Can you talk to me about Bianca?" I asked him, trying to keep casual, "Past, present and future?"

I'm asking for an answer that I'm scared to hear.

Zenon looked back at my messy desk and nodded slowly, "I didn't expect that."

"I know it's awkward but why don't we take a stab at it?" I asked, "Because you know, it turns out the entire school thinks you've been dating her and that we all overlapped in one big open relationship."

Zenon stood up from the chair and said, "Has someone said something to you?"

He didn't want to be sitting in a chair like it was an interrogation room. He came over to me and rested his hands on my arms.

"You're my girlfriend so I'll answer the questions you need answered," he told me, "but this is not a conversation I want to have unless you need to."

I looked up at him, feeling his hands rub my arms in light strokes. "I need to."

He lowered his hands, away from me, and said, "OK. Bianca and I dated sophomore year. I was going through a dark period and she stood by me."

I find it hard to imagine Bianca Rodriguez being supportive, but I'll keep my thoughts to myself. I only know Bianca as she presents herself to me. There's probably a lot more to her than that.

This was hard. I knew he was watching me with a concerned expression on his face. He didn't want to upset me.

"We haven't dated since," Zenon's jaw locked. He didn't enjoy saying this to me.

This was hard for him. He didn't like the idea of rehashing ex-flames like it was anything current. He didn't look comfortable at all.

"And we hooked up a little junior year. It ended before summer," he said without emotion in his voice.

The summer we met. The summer he dated Tamara, though he didn't mention her now.

"So it ended before summer?" I asked, "No more since then?"

"No," he said.

No overlap since we met. OK. I can breathe now.

Can I breathe now?

I probably should.

"So why do people talk about you two?" I asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know. That's a question for them, if you care what they say."

"It's hard to ask them when they don't have faces. Rumors don't have faces, Zenon."

He lowered his gaze. He knew that he was my only stop for answers and he didn't like it.

So he said, "She was the longest relationship I've been in and I... I didn't treat her with the respect she deserved. So I cover for her now. Until you, she knew me better than most girls."

"What does that mean, you cover for her?" I asked.

"If she needs something, I'm there for her as a friend," he responded.

"What if what she needs is you?"