Zoe dropped her bag onto the table with a soft thud. The room was dim, quiet—too quiet after the chaos of the conference and the team dinner that followed. She crossed to the fridge, opened it slowly, and pulled out a bottle of water.
The cool metal of the fridge door brushed her fingertips, grounding her for a second.
She took one long sip, but the moment her lips left the bottle, her mind betrayed her—
Stacy.
That look. Or worse, the lack of one.
Like Zoe had never existed.
Her grip on the bottle tightened.
Then, her phone rang—its sudden vibration slicing through the stillness like a crack of thunder.
She glanced at the screen.
Bea.
Zoe sighed and answered, trying for casual.
"Hello?"
"Zoe Rivera," Bea's voice came through, bright and affectionate. "How's my gorgeous, overworked best friend?"
Zoe let out a soft breath.
"I'm fine. Just tired. Long day at the conference."
A pause.
"Mmh. You sound more than tired," Bea said, her tone shifting, more alert now. "You okay?"
Zoe hesitated, fingers brushing her hair back from her face.
"...I saw Stacy today."
There was a beat of silence on the line.
"As in... Stacy Holloway?"
"Yeah." Her voice was quieter now. Barely a whisper.
"Shut up."
"Bea—"
"Zoe, no. You have to tell me everything in person. I'm literally a few blocks away. I'm coming over right now."
"No, I'm about to—" Zoe started, but the call dropped before she could finish.
Zoe stared at the phone for a second, then shook her head.
A few minutes later Zoe reached for a bottle of red wine. She was mid-pour when a rapid knock hit the door.
"Of course." She muttered, setting the bottle down.
She opened the door to find Bea standing there, a storm of curls and urgency, holding a bag of pastries in one hand like it was a peace offering.
"Tell. Me. Everything." Bea said, brushing past her and kicking her shoes off like she owned the place.
Zoe smirked faintly. "You're really invested in my emotional downfall, aren't you?"
"What are best friends for if not to watch you spiral in high-definition?"
Zoe grabbed two glasses and poured the wine, handing one to Bea as she collapsed into the couch.
"Okay," Bea said, narrowing her eyes. "Tell me you didn't immediately melt into her arms the second you saw her."
Zoe blinked. "What? No! Obviously not."
Bea sighed dramatically. "Good. Because that would've been the dumbest thing you've ever done."
Zoe sat on the other side of the couch, settling in just beside her, swirling the wine in her glass, her expression tightening.
"She ignored me, Bea."
Her voice was soft. Bitter.
"Wait, what?"
"Like I wasn't even there. Not a smile. Not a flicker. Nothing."
Bea sat up straighter now. "Hold on. She just... blanked you? Completely?"
Zoe nodded once, jaw clenched.
"And guess who she was with."
Bea narrowed her eyes.
"Don't tell me."
Zoe didn't even have to say it.
"Yep. Alexandra."
Bea groaned, tossing her head back against the couch.
"Oh, come on. Seriously?"
Zoe let out a dry laugh, no humor in it.
"The two people I trusted most... and they're standing there like a power couple fresh out of a press release."
Bea shook her head, eyes wide.
"Good thing I wasn't there with you—Alexandra would've been booking hair transplants by now."
Zoe smiled faintly, shaking her head.
"I never thought Alexandra would betray me too. She knew how much I loved Stacy—but look at them now. They're engaged, just like that... right after Stacy walked out on me like I was nothing."
She paused, swallowing the tightness in her throat. "I really thought she cared. Or was she just waiting for her moment?"
Bea swirled the wine in her glass, her brows lifting.
"If I know this was her plan all along... well, color me impressed. That's not patience—that's some next-level, cold-blooded scheming right there."
Zoe nodded slowly, voice low.
"She was good at playing the supportive friend. Always close enough to feel safe. Never close enough to suspect."
A beat.
"Guess I wanted to believe the best in her."
"Textbook snake," Bea said. "You were just too kind to see the teeth."
Zoe didn't respond right away. She stared down at her glass, the last sip staring back like it might explain everything.
"I don't even know who I'm angrier at anymore. Stacy—for leaving. Or myself—for not seeing it coming."
Bea shifted closer on the couch, reaching out to gently touch Zoe's arm.
"You don't need to carry that, Zo. You trusted people you loved. That's not a flaw. That's just... being human."
Zoe blinked slowly, as if holding something back. Then she nodded.
"I know. I just... I want to be over it already. I want to not care."
"You're allowed to care," Bea said softly. "You're just not required to stay stuck in it."
Zoe exhaled, a bitter laugh escaping her.
"Easier said than done."
"Yes, I know," Bea agreed. "But I'll remind you every day until it doesn't hurt so much anymore."
Zoe leaned back into the couch, swirling the last bit of wine in her glass.
"It's wild, isn't it? How people can leave you, then show up like nothing happened—like they didn't wreck anything."
Bea didn't say anything at first. Just sat there with her, the kind of silence that felt like understanding instead of absence.
"Yeah," she finally said. "But it says more about them than it ever did about you."
Zoe let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"I just want to be done feeling like this."
Bea gave her a half-smile, easy and warm.
"You will. Not all at once. But you will."
Zoe nodded, quiet again.
Bea raised her glass with a grin.
"Cheers—to forgetting, moving on, and whatever comes next."
Zoe smiled, clinking her glass against Bea's.
"Cheers."
And just like that, they drank the night away—two friends leaning on each other as the past slowly faded into the background.