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“You think our relationship was a waste of time?”

“It didn’t work out, so you tell me.”

The lack of nastiness in her tone let me know she was genuinely curious about how I felt.

Digging into my soup, I chose my words carefully. “I think it could be looked at two ways. Of course, partially, it feels like a waste. Had she spoken up about however she felt prior to all of this, then yes, maybe it would have saved time. But, I could have ended it too. We both stayed and were unsure of whether it was where we wanted to be. I can’t put all that blame on her.”

“You don’t have to shoulder her wrongdoing, either.”

“I’m not,” I said, firmly. “But we can’t control the actions of others. I don’t know if she was fucking the nigga while we were together, I don’t know if she’s fucking him now, and I don’t care. Not about that. Or even that she left.”

“Then what do you care about?” Nyx’s eyes glittered with curiosity.

“Why she left,” I answered honestly.

Slowly licking her lips, Nyx’s breathing became uneven as she stared at me. I could tell she was weighing how far to push the conversation, but that was as far as we were going.

“Anyway,” I spoke up before she could make up her mind. “Did any of this help me achieve my goal of distracting you?”

“I guess you could say that.”

“I could also say that you haven’t touched your food yet.”

Grinning, Nyx rolled her eyes. “I told you I wasn’t hungry before you bought it.”

“Have you eaten today?”

“I fail to see how that’s your business, sir.”

Growing serious, I replied. “No matter what you have going on, your health and happiness are yours, Nyx. The two things you at least have some control over. Don’t let anyone who doesn’t contribute to either one have an effect on them.”

“Alright now, don’t go getting all Dr. Phil on me.”

“Well, then, do better with taking care of yourself. You’re a half-decent friend so far. I ain’t trying to lose you, yet.”

“The use of yet implies that, for the time being, I want to be kept,” her smart ass shot back, finally reaching for the hand sanitizer so she could get into her food.

“I mean, that’s up to you. I’m a bomb-ass friend, though. I’d hate for you to miss out.”

I was expecting her to have a smart comeback, as usual, but Nyx surprised me this time.

“I can tell,” she said genuinely. “Something about you gives me wholesome vibes. But, I’ve also been completely off the mark about people’s character before. So, who really knows? You could be the devil in disguise.”

“It’s hard enough functioning in my day-to-day life. I don’t have the time or energy to throw a fake persona on top of it. I told you the last time we saw each other that when I say something, I mean it. Today, I’m adding that what you see is what you get.”

“I don’t know if I buy it,” Nyx challenged my statement.

“You think I’m a liar?”

“No. But I do think there’s more to you than meets the eye. If I’m wrong, feel free to call me out or correct me on it.”

Finishing off my sandwich, I carefully thought about how to respond to her statement. Lying wasn’t on the agenda, but I also wasn’t quite comfortable with the truth. So, I bypassed it.

“I see someone decided they were hungry after all, huh?” I commented as she took a huge bite of her food.

Narrowing her eyes, Nyx flicked me off.

“Fuck you,” she managed to mumble.