Page 64 of Total Obsession

"I'm telling you it's fine!" her friend bit back.

Zoey looked a little shocked, and I could understand why. Miranda had been grilling her the entire evening, only for her to refuse to answer the first question about herself. We all sat in uncomfortable silence for several minutes. I looked over at Zoey, and she looked like she was about to cry.

I wasn't sure if I was doing it because I wanted to separate Zoey further from her support network, or if I was doing it because I didn't like to see my girl upset. I was hoping it was the former. Whatever the motivation, I knew what the outcome would be.

"I think you owe Zoey an apology," I said frankly. "She's only trying to be a good friend to you."

Miranda gave me a look of pure hatred. "What would you know about friendship?"

"A good deal more than you, it appears," I said coolly. The fact that this girl thought she could go up against me was laughable. Cute, but laughable.

"Axe," Zoey said, pulling on my shirt sleeve. "It's fine."

I turned to look at her. "No, it's not. I'm not going to sit here and let someone disrespect my woman."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you," Miranda sneered.

I turned back to her. "What, exactly, is that supposed to mean?"

"You drag her all the way down to Florida on some lie that you were going to get the entire show shut down for a week. I don't know why you want her to lose her job, but your intentions were crystal clear to me."

I let a look of pure confusion take up residence on my face. "Don't be silly. Why on Earth would I want Zoey to lose her job? I know it means the world to her. I only want to see her succeed."

"That's not how I see it."

"How you see it doesn't matter," I replied. "It's merely your opinion. And," I interjected when she tried to open her reckless mouth again. "We're getting off the subject of you apologizing for being so rude."

"I'm not apologizing," Miranda said, standing up.

"And why's that?"

"Because, I'm not like everyone else that you can just manipulate," she all but spat. "You think you have everyone under your wing, but some of us can see you for who you really are. You're basically the living embodiment of Dorian Gray in my eyes."

I feigned a look of hurt. "You wound me, Miranda."

"I'm sorry, Zoey," the redhead said. "But, I can't sit here and take this any longer. I'm going home."

Miranda basically ran for the door, and Zoey rushed after her. "Miranda, wait!" she exclaimed.

I didn't turn to look at the scene. I could hear Zoey pleading with her friend to stay and Miranda refusing, saying she would see her on set after the holiday. The door closed and Zoey just stood there. I could hear her slight sniffles from where I was sitting.

I tried to evaluate how I was feeling about the situation. I knew pressing Miranda would lead to a fight. It was evident from her embarrassment on the subject. A girl like her would absolutely go on the offensive when threatened.

At the end of the day, the outcome was what I wanted. Zoey was that much more dependent on me now.

I got up from the table and made my way over to her. "It's alright," I said, bringing her back to her seat. "Give her some time to cool off. I'm sure things will go back to normal."

"I can't believe that just happened," Zoey cried, putting her head in her hands. "She was my one friend in this city."

I rubbed gentle circles into her back. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"Why wouldn't she apologize?" She looked up at me, her blue eyes tearful. "You were right, she was being really rude. The entire evening. I begged her not to behave like that."

"Some people are just like that," I replied. "They act like they're your friend, but they don't really care."

"Why do I keep losing people from my life?" she sobbed.

"You haven't lost me," I replied.

---