Breakeven Chapter 4

A/N: This story seems to be going downhill fast mostly because I didn't plan in advance and the plot seems far-fetched. Here is another chapter. Please leave a review telling me if you want me to continue. If I don't get any reviews requesting me to continue, I probably won't. I'm not really enjoying writing this all that much anymore, and if no one is interested, there is no point in continuing.

Zane POV

"Hey Miriam. I thought you guys moved to the states," I said quizzically.

"We did but then we moved here."

"Oh, well it was nice to see you," I lied smoothly.

"Well don't leave Zane, sit down," she said in her shrill, annoying voice; I obliged not wanting to make a scene.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"Uh, I relocated. I was um sick of Australia."

"Oh, cool. I'm being so rude. This is Jessica and Megan," she said pointing to each of them, "They are my best friends from college. This is Zane, an old friend from high school."

"Hey," I muttered awkwardly.

"Uh, we gotta go. We'll let you two catch up." Jessica and Megan said simultaneously while scooting out of the booth.

"So Zaney, it's just us now," she said flirtingly while putting her hand on my shoulder.

I shook her hand off my shoulder and scooted away a little. This girl is crazy.

"Aw Zaney come on. Don't be that way."

"Don't call me Zaney. We broke up remember."

"Oh come on you know we were made for each other. That break-up I only consider a temporary separation. You wanted to experiment with that poor, worthless gold-digger for I while, and I've accepted that. Now that you have had your fill with her and realized what a tramp she is, we can be together again."

That struck a nerve. All my feelings for Rikki crashed on me again like a wave. I couldn't even think of how to defend her. I couldn't tell her that I'm here because we broke up and I couldn't handle it; that would make me sound weak. What kind of person was I that I couldn't defend the most perfect girl in the world? "We broke up. I'm done with you. Goodbye Miriam," I said shortly.

"Wait, before you go, here's my number," she said writing it on a napkin and slipping toward me, "Feel free to use it."

I took the napkin only to be polite and walked out. I mentally scolded myself for a couple things.

1. I sat down at that booth in the first place.

2. I didn't defend the love of my life. No wonder she hates me.

3. I took her number. Now she probably thinks I will use it.

By the time I was finished kicking myself about the events of the evening, I was walking up the stairs to my apartment. I cleared my head so I could focus on job searching once again.

Rikki POV

As soon as I closed up the café for the night, I headed home. It had been an exhausting couple of days both mentally and physically. After I got ready for bed, I laid down still a little numb about the recent events; the next thing I knew my alarm clock was blaring in my ear signaling that it was time to drag my sorry butt out of bed and go to work. Bella couldn't make it in until lunchtime, so I was on my own that morning. Running the café by myself was stressing me out. Zane could not have left me in a worse position. I didn't know a whole lot about the café anymore, and the staff kept asking me questions to which I did not have the answers. To get some peace and quiet, I went into the office and sat down at the desk. I pulled out the pictures I had found the day before. Why do I torture myself like this? The door opened and I shoved the pictures in the drawer. It was Bella; was it really one already? This stress is really getting to me.

"What were you looking at?" she asked me.

"Nothing. I was just sitting here trying to get some quiet."

She looked at me suspiciously, "Okay, whatever you say. Did you sleep better last night?"

"Well considering I didn't sleep at all the night before, almost anything would be better, but yes, I did. I slept 9 hours, and it was wonderful."

"That's good. I don't really want to pressure you into talking about it right now, but have you thought about what will happen if he comes back?"

"What do you mean if? Isn't it obvious? He'll come back, we'll start dating again, and things will go back to the way they were before."

"I mean what if he likes his new life better? What if he is afraid of another break up and doesn't want to get back together? Do you really think that things can go back to the way they were before the Sophie incident? Are you sure you can trust him again?"

"Why do you have to stress me out more? I don't think he would go through all this if he didn't realize what he did was a huge mistake."

"I'm just trying to be a good friend. I don't want to see you get hurt by him again."

"A good friend would be supportive of my decisions and not question them."

"I'm just not sure you are thinking clearly and of all the possibilities. You are thinking with your hear Rikki, not your head. I'm just trying to help."

"Well you're not. If you are going to keep doing this, then why don't you just leave?"

"Fine," she said curtly while slamming the office door behind her."

What if she's right? What if he has already found a replacement for me wherever he is? Maybe I shouldn't have gotten so mad at her. Maybe I was only getting defensive because I knew deep down that she is right. God. I'm such an idiot I muttered while rubbing my temples.