Page 94 of Pieces Of You

Zeke nods. “Asked for you by name.”

Only slightly more curious than annoyed, I relieve my hands of their duties and dry them quickly before going out to the dining area. The girl stands out like a sore thumb amongst the truck drivers, and behind her, standing a few feet away, is a man dressed in a suit that possibly costs more than the diner itself. The girl’s turned away, so I can only see her hair—dark, falling in waves around her shoulders. “Can I help you?” I ask, and she spins to me—light brown eyes and a smile so pure it has me instantly suspicious.

Occasionally I’ll get this fleeting thought cross my mind that some random stranger does one of those ancestry DNA tests and comes knocking on my door saying they’re my half-sister or something. “Jamie?” she asks, and I nod, look around for more troubling signs. “I don’t know if you know who I am—”

“I don’t,” I cut in. Then add, “Sorry.” Because obviously, she was about to tell me.

“I’m Mia.”

Oh.

“I’m Holden’s best friend…”

I know, I don’t say. Out loud. Because I can’t seem to breathe, let alone speak. So I nod, clasp my hands in front of me.

“I know you’re busy right now,obviously, since at your work…” she trails off, and she looks as nervous as I feel. “I was hoping we could talk?” She watches me, her eyes uncertain—andgosh, she’s beautiful.

I finally find my voice. “I can probably take a break now,” I tell her, leading the way to an empty booth. She follows me, sliding in at the opposite side.

I motion to the man still standing in the same spot. “He your bodyguard?” I ask, and her eyes widen. Me and social graces? Not friends. Not even acquaintances.

“Dad!” Mia hisses. “Go away!” She shoos him away with a flick of her wrist, and the man rolls his eyes before nodding and taking up a stool at the counter. He glances at a menu without actually reading it.

“Sorry,” Mia says. “He’s a little protective right now.”

IthinkI smile, but I feel like I’m grimacing, and this weird. And awkward.

“So… this is awkward,” she says out loud, and I can’t help but laugh.

“A little.”

“I just… I don’t know where to start.”

Funny. It’s the same thing Holden said right before he ended it. Or I ended it, really. But either way, it was over. And now she’s here, and I wish I knew why.

Fingers splayed on the table; she keeps her gaze lowered when she speaks. “I don’t know how much Holden’s told you, but um… he went to North Carolina that week because I needed him there. I uh…” She clears her throat, glancing up at me quickly before looking down again. “I haven’t been in the best mental state lately, and my dad—he found me passed out on the bathroom floor surrounded by my own vomit, and um…”

“It’s really not necessary for you to explain anything, Mia.”

“No, I know,” she says, sitting taller. “But Iwantto. A little for Holden, but mainly for me, and I know that’s selfish, but there it is.”

I nod, encouraging her to continue.

“After my dad called 911, he called Holden, and Holden dropped everything to be there. He sat by my bedside, held my hand the entire time.” Her voice cracks on the last few words, and her eyes fill with tears while I fight back my own. I’ve realized, in the weeks since Holden and I split, that I really didn’t know that much about him, but I knew this: his love for the girl opposite me is unwavering, and I’m glad she sees that—that she recognizes and acknowledges it. “He didn’t say a lot. He’s not all that good at communicating how he feels.” She smiles to one side. “He’s a lot like his dad in that way. Not much talk, all action.”

Silence falls between us because I don’t know if she has more to say, and I… don’t have anything. I pull out a napkin, spread it out on the tabletop, but I don’t have a marker. I don’t have my crutch. “I appreciate what you’re saying, but…Holden and I—it’s over, so…”

“I know,” she says. “And I’m sorry. Because it’s kind of my fault.”

“Because he left to be with you?” I ask. “I don’t…” I don’t get it.

“He broke up with you because he was scared, Jamie. I don’t know if he’s told you about my dad and his mom, and the way he’s treated her… and the way he’s treatedme. And then my whole eating disorder thing and now the pregnancy—”

“You’re pregnant?”

“He didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

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