“Vanessa mentioned it. I also saw Lila the other week…” His words trailed off, and I straightened up, leaning forward.
“You did? What did she say? Did she mention me?” I hated the neediness in my voice, but damn, I had to know.
Enzo studied me. “She was mad, pregnant, and craving cupcakes. She mentioned you, but not in a good way. She did ask how you were, though.”
“She did?”
“She also said she was surprised you weren’t shacked up with Cami.”
I screwed my face up as I sucked on the beer bottle.
That’s what she thought of me, huh?She thought I’d move in with Cami. Did she think I loved her? If she would ever let me explain, I’d tell her I was so fucking wrong. That I should have tried harder.
“I told her all you did was work.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“I’m worried about you, though. You look thin and haggard. Like you’ve aged a hundred years.”
I placed my bottle on the table with a thud and glared at him. “Gee, thanks.”
Enzo held his hands up and shook his head. “I’m telling you, you need to get yourself together. You’re gonna be a fucking dad, man. You need to be better than this. Like?—”
“Alright, I get it.”
“—you used to be. Victor, the man she fell in love with. Not this…” Enzo waved a hand in my direction, and I tried not to take offence, but he was right. I was in such a fucking mess I couldn’t see the woods for the trees.
“I’m so tired.” I dropped my head, my defensiveness leaving me. “I work all day and all night…”
“I know. I get why, but you’re losing yourself. If Lila never takes you back, man, you still need to live.”
His words made sense, but a life without Lila wasn’t a life I wanted. He knew it too, because he sighed heavily as he glanced around the bar.
“It’s still raw. Give it time, focus on the baby, and yourself.”
“I’m not giving up on her,” I said this simply because it was the truth. I’d rather never be with anyone else in my life if it meant not having her.
“I hear you, but shit has consequences.”
“I know.” My shoulders dropped, and I groaned. “I fucking know.”
“I know you love her. But this? Working yourself into the ground? You’ve lost so much weight…” Enzo frowned and shook his head, looking away.
I could see myself through his eyes, the clothes hanging from my frame that used to hug me, the dark circles under my eyes and my pale skin. I coughed, and he stared at me.
“Are you fucking sick too? Jesus, do you need me to spell it out?” Enzo rose to his feet and strode to the bar without asking if I wanted another. He knew I did. My eyelids felt so heavy after one beer, I didn’t know if I could handle another.
What a lightweight.
I watched Enzo at the bar, his broad shoulders that used to rival mine, his foot tapping to the music as he ordered the beers. A slim blonde sidled up to him, and he was polite but disinterested. Then he headed back to me.
“What was wrong with her?” I asked, suppressing a yawn as he placed my second beer in front of me.
“Wrong?” Enzo shrugged. “I’m just not interested.”
“You never are.”
“Well, maybe you should’ve taken a leaf out of my book.”
