Need Someone | [Complete]

Chapter 16: Out With A Bang

The past week had been a struggle, both personally and professionally, seeing as how the line between the two had become very blurry.

I told Ziggy about the warning I received, not that he hadn't already guessed. He made sure to keep his distance in order to protect me, but we got to the point of calling or texting one another rather than having our NSFW conversations in person. We were close and there was no coming back from that. I was determined for our friendship to override any other confusing feelings we had in the past. Sadly, I wasn't sure he wanted the same.

The confusion was less of a priority. Few days were the hardest Ziggy had faced. He spent most of his day in a mix of mental and physical pain, but Dr. Smith gave him the green light for surgery. It was what we had been working toward, but now that it was here, it felt scarier than before.

Having too much empathy for him, I was scared right along with him. Deep down, I knew he would make it through, but that knowing there was always a chance he wouldn't . . . I wasn't prepared for that.

I stood in the eerie quiet of my kitchen, trying to piece something together for dinner. Times like this made me miss Rebecca. Even though we hadn't talked since the night of her party, I knew she would come around eventually. With or without the fight hanging over me, I still hadn't gotten used to the silence.

I unlocked my phone and opened Spotify. I followed Ziggy so I could steal his playlists, and now they were all I listened to. I turned on his Evening Chill playlist and instantly relax to the downbeats and soothing vocals. I sat my phone on the counter next to me and sway to the music as I chop, mix, and stir.

"Baby, baby stay, here. I need some time to clear my mind," I sing along with Quinn XII and Illenium. "We both know it's a problem when you call me all the time."

Just as I was getting into my best dance moves, the music faded and my phone started to ring. I dried my hands and looked over to see Ziggy's name on my screen.

"Hey, Ziggy!"

"Hey, Sabs." He sounded down.

"What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"For the most part, I guess." There was a pause, but I gave him time to respond. "I . . . I wanted to talk to you before you left today, but I guess I missed you."

"Yeah, just barely. Dr. Smith was on my back all afternoon." The truth was that I knew Ziggy was meeting with a lawyer this morning to sign a will and various consent forms for the procedure. I had been trying to keep it together so I volunteered for busy work to preoccupy myself. "Did you get everything figured out with the lawyers?"

"Yeah," he grumbled. "I literally signed my life away."

"It's just paperwork. They make people fill that shit out even if they have a boob job."

I got a small laugh from him. "I doubt that."

He hated how sad he sounded. I leaned back against my counter and imagined the look on his face. Then, I remember that I don't have to imagine it.

I push the video call button and it rings. Ziggy's face appears, and though he hides it with a smile, he is as upset as I expected.

"Wanted to see my pretty face?" he said with a smile. He was wearing his beanie again.

"Yes. But I wanted to make sure you were smiling, too," I cooed. He nodded and his mouth twisted into a frown. "Be happy, Ziggy. The day we've been working towards is finally here. Just surgery, and then you will be done with all of this."

"Maybe."

"Definitely. You know you have every chance to make it through. You will beat this."

"I have an eighty-five percent chance I will die on the table, if not directly after the surgery."