to their apartment, Maggie instantly curls up on the couch. She doesn't bother trying to take her shoes off or untangling from her bag. She just falls apart as she lays on the couch and stares at the wall. This isn't my best friend, Maggie. This is a different version of her.

A version I've never met because Maggie's a glass half-full kind of person. She finds the good in everything, even when everything is falling apart, but this isn't that Maggie. This is the glass completely empty Maggie. The Maggie that can't find the good in this, and I can't blame her. I wouldn't even know where to start looking, but I've always been the down one in our friendship. I don't know how to find the bright side.

Or I didn't.

Now it seems like we've swapped roles, and I would give anything to go back to before she found out. She doesn't deserve to have her heartbroken this way.

"Here, Mags," I say as I set my bag down next to the couch and hold my hands out. "Give me your foot," I tell her, but she doesn't hold her foot up the way I expect her to. Instead, I reach down and grasp her ankle as I pull on the zipper until I'm able to pull her boot off. I set it on the floor next to mine before reaching for the other foot. "I'm going to call Zane."

"No," she says, sitting up. "Don't."

"He should know."

"I'll tell him," she says as she pulls her knees to her chest. "It's just not something I can tell him over the phone. I... it's something that needs to be told in person."

"I won't tell him then. I'll just tell him that something happened and he needs to come home." I offer instead, hoping she'll let me call him. He is the only other person that will understand the pain she's in, and even his won't be the same but it's his loss too and that's the closest someone can get.

"No," she says. "That will just worry him, and if he can't get home it'll make it worse. Just... let him have one more day before I have to change everything for him."

"Maggie." I frown.

"Please," she begs.

With a sigh, I nod my head. "Okay," I tell her as I hold my hand out. "Let's get comfy then, shall we?"

She doesn't smile at me the way I hope she would, instead she just takes my hand and lets me pull her up to her feet. There's a sway in her step as we walk towards their bedroom. The mute colors of their room Zane's doing while the splashes of colors have Maggie written all over them. Or at least, until yesterday they did. Today it feels like we're standing in the room of a stranger.

"Thank you for bring me home," Maggie says as she settles on the edge of the mattress.

"You don't have to thank me," I tell her and move towards the dresser. I open the top drawer, pulling out a pair of pajama shorts and the matching top. "Here," I say, extending them out to her. "How about you change into these and we're curl up and have a movie marathon?"

"You don't have to stay with me, Emery."

"I'm not going anywhere," I tell her as I get myself a pair of shorts and grab one of Zane's old band shirts to change into. I step towards her, cupping her cheeks between my hands and lean my forehead against hers. "Okay?"

"Okay," she says softly.

My lips curl up into a small smile as we change out of our office clothes, snuggling in under the covers after turning the television sitting on the top of their dresser in front of the bed on. Maggie picks some random drama as she curls up next to me. We're barely twenty minutes in when I hear the soft lull of her snore. It eases some of the stress in my chest knowing that for a little while, she doesn't' have to think about her bad news or telling Zane.

She can just relax, and for a while, it lets me relax, too.

When the movie ends, I reach for the remote and turn it off before grabbing the book sitting on the bedside table. I flip it open to the first page and slide back until my back rests against the headboard, resting the book over my thighs. I'm over a hundred pages in when my phone vibrates against the comforter, breaking my train of thought.

I grab for it as Maggie stirs next to me, slowly blinking her eyes open as I turn it over to see Luke's name on the screen. Excitement tugging at my heart screen as I open the message and I'm reminded that after last night, we made plans to hang out today.

"Who's that?" Maggie asks.

"It's just Luke," I tell her as I text Luke back, explaining why I have to cancel before apologizing as I rest the phone against my torso.

Her lips curl down. "I'm sorry for what I said yesterday."

"It's okay," I tell her. "You were right, and I needed to hear it. I was avoiding the truth, but I took you words to heart, Mags. I went to the bar and talked to him last night."

"And?"

"We know we stand now."

Maggie's lips curl up a bit. "And where might that be?"

"That there is something between us," I say. "But... I'm not ready to be there yet. I need to get my head on straight before I go into something with him."

"What did he say?"

"That I scare him, too," I say before biting my lip. I try to hide the smile that wants to creep onto my lips, because after he said it all I wanted to do was kiss him. I didn't, but I had wanted too and that's all that matters.

"Does he want to see you right now?" Excitement creeping into her voice.

"We had plans to hang out," I say, quickly adding, "as friends."

She hums. "You should go."

"No, absolutely not," I say. "I told you I'm not going anywhere, and that's not changing just because of some boy I like. You need me right now."

"I love you," she says as she leans into my side, resting her head against my shoulder. "I'm sorry for overreacting about my book."

I shake my head. "You didn't overreact," I tell her. "Writing a book is like giving part of your soul away for a group of strangers to judge. I understand the hesitation and I'm sorry if you felt any pressure from me to publish it."

"Thank you for saying that," she says.

"Thank you for not hating me."

She shakes her head as she snuggles closer. "Impossible."

"I love you, too," I tell her as I press my lips to the top of her head. "How are you feeling?" I ask as she reaches for the remote, turning the television back on.

"Like the world is falling apart," she admits with a sigh. "I was so scared when I first thought I was pregnant. We didn't plan for it and I didn't think I was ready, but I realized maybe the best things in life aren't supposed to be planned. I was excited or I thought I was, but for a small second when the doctor called and said I wasn't pregnant I felt relief."

"Mags."

"I was relieved," she says, tears filling her eyes. "Relieved because we had more time to decide, but it changed in two seconds when she told me I might not ever be pregnant. I was angry, and then sad, and then a small part of me was happy but before I could process it all, I was brought back to Zane and how thrilled he was when I told him."

"Zane loves you, Maggie," I tell her. "This isn't going to change anything."

"But what if it does?" she asks. "We talked about this, Emery. We talked about our future family and the little Zane's and little Maggie's we'd have, and now that's just gone."

"It's not gone. It's changed," I say. "Zane is going to love you always."

"Maybe," she says as she curls into my side and turns the movie she fell asleep during back on, fast forwarding through the parts she remembers. And for a while, we stay like this. With Maggie curled up next to me, watching her movie as I read the book rested in my lap until the buzzer goes off.

"Are you expecting a package?" I ask as I set the book aside, kicking the comforter away until my feet are rested on the cold hardwood flooring.

She shakes her head. "Unless Zane is."

"I'll go check," I tell her as I move towards the apartment door, reaching for the intercom. "Hello?" I ask, unsure of what to expect on the other side.

"Hey 4A."

My brows knot together as I press the intercom. "Luke? What are you doing here?"

"Let me up and I'll show you."

A smile creeps onto my lips as I unlock the door for him, reaching for the knob on the door. I pull it open and step into the hallway, pressing my back into the doorframe as he finds his way up to the apartment. When he steps into the hall, the first thing I spot is the paper bag in his hand as he walks towards me.

"Do I ask how you found me?" I ask as I cross my arms over my chest, watching him.

"You mentioned Maggie lived nearby," he tells me as he gets closer. "I figured if I walked around the East Village long enough I'd eventually find the apartment with Morgan on the call panel."

"I told you I couldn't hang out."

"I know," he says. "You said that Maggie needed you," he relays my text back to me. 'I figured whatever it was, it could be made a little better with ice cream."

I look at the bag as he holds it out to me. "You brought me ice cream?"

"Yeah," he says with a smile. "That okay?"

I nod as I take the bag. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he says, and I almost think he's going to expect something in return, but instead he just nods in my direction. "I'll see you later, 4A."

"Bye Luke."

I pull my bottom lip between my teeth as I step back into the apartment, shutting the door quietly behind me before turning the deadbolt. When I open the bag, I find two small pints inside. One for me and one for Maggie. Taking them out of the bag, I walk towards the kitchen and cut the plastic seal wrapped around the top off before grabbing two spoons from the cutlery drawer.

"Who was at the door?" Maggie asks when I open the door to the room.

I smile and say, "Luke. He brought us ice cream."

Maggie sits up and takes one from me as I settle in next to her. "I think you found your Zane, Em."