The days have been running together lately.

Every day felt like the last. 

Yet even after everything that’s happened, the sight of Izzy sitting next to me and watching television surprises me every day. It’s been a couple of days or so since Yolanda brought her back, and it almost felt like things were back to normal.

 Almost. 

The monkey—well, the creature we’ve yet to name—curled up beside me, twitching in its sleep. 

They’ve both been acting strange lately, withdrawing from everything, afraid of the outside world. 

Watching the same shows. Talking about the same handful of subjects. 

Izzy had always been bold. She loved to travel and try new things. But now, she won’t even step out of the apartment.

And the monkey? He'd  just completely lose his shit if he came into contact with the outside world.

Watching those two pull away from society worried me. Won't even step foot off the couch.

But I can’t live like this. And they can’t either. We can’t keep hiding. 

After what I’ve learned from dealing with Yolanda, secrets only made things worse. But I need to be delicate.

“Hey, Izzy E. We’re going out,” I announced with anticipation. 

She glanced at me, unimpressed, turning back to a handheld game she was playing on. “Okay, you boys have fun.”

I raised my brow. “Um, you’re coming too.”

“Huh? What’s this ‘we’ stuff? I’m not going anywhere.”

“Come on, it’ll be fun. It’ll be just like old times.”

Izzy’s skeptical eyes slit. “Yeah, ‘cause nothing says a good old time like dragging a corpse and a lab rat out in public for all to see. Not to mention your whole Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde bit. We’d just be a walking freak show in a circus.”

The monkey perked up as it sat on the couch, watching our exchange with wide eyes. He grabbed the couch pillow and held it up like a shield, clearly ready to horse around.

I shook my head at him. "Not while I'm talking, mister." 

Turning back to Izzy, I tried again. “Don’t worry about all that. I got your back.”

“Yeah? Like when you didn’t attend my funeral. Yolanda told me!” Her words cut deeper than I expected. 

“Jesus, Izzy, I was there for you before you died! Even then, I visited your grave monthly and brought you flowers each time!

“Look, Foil, I don’t know what more to tell you. My arms are falling off for fuck’s sake. It’d be better to just rot here instead.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Now give me a second. I gotta make a quick call."

Izzy's glare sharpened. “Why can't you do it in here? Are you ashamed of me or something, being all secretive?”

I shrugged it off, trying not to sound defensive. “No, don’t be ridiculous. This is an important call, and I can’t have a bunch of noise in the background.”

“Noise in the background?” she mocked, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, sure.”

As I stepped outside my door,  I pushed my mind back to Edita. How she must have felt trying to call me after I’d reached out to her at on my seemingly last legs. She must have thought I’d intentionally left her in the dark, but that wasn’t the case at all. 

I had to get a new phone after that freak chewed it up. The thing was cheap, and it showed—can't even hold a charge for long. But it was all I could afford.

Sigh.

Growing up, outside of school, my own demons and the neighborhood that surrounded me, I never had that hard of a struggle. I always had food when I needed it, clothes, new gadgets, a roof over my head—everything. Even with bills being an issue every once in a while, they are always paid on time thanks to my folks. 

They weren't rich, but they were middle-class enough to manage things without me worrying about much.

That is, until after high school, the safety net I was given slipped away. I’d gone from having enough to barely scraping by with every odd job and sacrifice I made.

I’d spent years feeling like a con artist because of it. I'm learning to hustle now, but I wasn’t hardened by poverty the way so many others were. 

And when I looked at the dollar store cell phone in my hand, I realized just how much I’d taken things for granted.

I finally found Edita's name in my contact list and pressed the call button.

Her voice came through, sharp with anger.

“Florence?!” she barked. “Oh my god. Are you frickin serious right now?! Where the hell have you been?”

“Edita,” I said, trying to calm myself. “I’m sorry I didn't call sooner.”

“Sorry?! Sorry? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? I thought something might have happened to you! I was damn near close to calling the pigs!”

I sighed, bringing the phone closer to my ear. “I know. I messed up. My phone broke, and… things have been kind of strange lately.”

“Strange?” she repeated with disbelief. “Let me tell you what's strange. You not borrowing someone’s phone. How about you NOT going to a payphone?"

I swallowed hard. “You’re right. I should have found a way to reach out sooner. I just… I didn’t want to scare you.”

“Well, guess what, Marone —you did anyway!” she snapped. “And by the way, when I went to your apartment to check on you the other day, some fucking, green goblin thing was at your door. It told me you didn’t live there anymore, and then it practically growled at me, talkin' about ‘What’s it to you?’, the fucking thing.”

Goblin? 

Oh boy.

Despite the time we spent together, I always hesitated to mention and introduce either lady to one another even when Izzy was alive. 

Mainly, it was the way Izzy seemed to loom like a shadow over me, dead or alive, like a jealous ex.

“Florence?” Edita pressed when I didn’t respond. “Who—or what—is that thing?”

“I—uh…” I stammered, trying to piece together an valid excuse. “It's a friend of mine. They’re weird like that sometimes. Probably just screwing with you. I apologize about that though. You shouldn't have had to deal with that.”

“A friend? Look, are you in some kind of trouble? Are you hiding something?” 

“No,” I said without hesitation. “Nothing like that. Don't worry your little head about it. I’m cool now.”

She sighed with deep frustration. “Fine. But you aren't going to brush me off forever. You need to talk to me. I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on with you.”I know you don't mean it, but you can't just waltz back into my life and act all weird.”

"Of course. I apologize for scaring the shit out of you and leaving you in the dark."

“Yeah, well,” she muttered, “don’t make it a habit, or I'm done."

She hung up as the tension rose.

 I’d smoothed things over—for now—but I knew this wasn’t the end of it. 

Not by a long shot.

I walked over and knocked on Lily’s door. After a moment, it swung open.

“Bonjour, Foil!” she greeted me with a lovely smile on her bag face.

“Bonjour to you too, Lil.”

She glanced behind me, her gaze darting around the hall. “Do you need me to watch the monkey...or the zombie girl again?”

“Nah,” I replied, shaking my head. “I’m about to take them out for some air. You want to come with?”

Lily started to shift awkwardly. “Non, I’ve got to grill some meats." 

"Oh yeah? What for?" I asked.

"Well, I usually have a fire station I rent out for different gatherings and cookouts. It's a...hobby of mine."

"Sounds interesting" I nodded, formulating an idea in my head. “You know what, I’ll get back to you on that later."

"I hope you three have a lovely day.”

“We'll try!”

I returned back to my room, shutting the door behind with a quiet click. The monkey sat on the couch, nibbling on a string, while Izzy was sprawled out in her usual spot, staring at the flickering TV screen with a dazed look in her eyes.

“Ezekial."

She didn’t respond, still staring at the TV.

I sighed as I stepped closer. “We need to talk.”

“Oh? Did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t play dumb,” I said while crossing my arms. “Why did Edita say there was some green goblin at the door when she came looking for me?”

The monkey laughed, probably at the idea of a having a goblin as a roommate.

Izzy turned her head in a fast paced neck-breaking speed. “Who?”

“Edita. The lady who came looking for me, knocking at my door.” 

“Who the hell is this Edita chick, and why does she think she has the right to knock on your door and ask about you? Does she even really know who you are? Why does she know your name? Or where your apartment is? 

“She’s... a friend of mine.” I clarified. "She didn’t know what was going on nor where I was at so I had to tell her.”

“Oh. She's worried about you, huh? Poor wittle Edita is worried. Bet she thinks she’s all special and shit, like she’s the only one who cares about you!" Her voice dripping with venom. 

I began to lower my voice and my hands. “Please stop. You’re reading too deep into this.”

“Oh am I now? I’ve been dead for how long now? Months. And now all of a sudden, I'm here, and there’s some puta sniffing around our turf? What am I supposed to think? You’re acting like she’s the one who’s been there for you this whole time! Then what? You’ve got this hoe as a side piece while you babysit me until I die again? Is that all I am to you? Some sloppy seconds before I turn into dust?”

The thought tied my brain in a knot. I always had a habit of leaving certain people hanging. Not because I didn’t care but because I didn’t know how to juggle everything without dropping someone else. My feelings for Edita were something I couldn’t deny. Did I even have the right to feel that way about Edita? Had I ever truly let go of Izzy?

I didn’t.

Not of the past.

Not of the regret and shame.

And most importantly, not of Izzy. 

I can see the pain in her eyes as I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. “You know you’re important to me."

“It doesn’t feel like it,” her voice breaking slightly. “Y-you moved on, didn’t you? While I was—” She swallowed hard and took a long look at herself.

“No, I didn’t move on,” I said softly. “Losing you was hard enough and I’ve been trying to figure out how to keep going without you. You’re my best friend. You’ve always been more than that.

She looked away, her chest heaving with uneven breaths. “Then why don't you just tell her to screw off then?”

"Because she's my friend too. She’s worried about me, just like you would have been if I just disappeared out of nowhere. Plus, I didn’t know you’d come back. How could I?”

“It just feels like... like I don’t belong here anymore. Like I’m intruding in something.”

"Not at all. Don't think like that. You’re the one who’s here with me right now. That's all that matters to me. But we can’t keep going on like this—That’s why I want to get out of here for a bit. Me, you, ...and the monkey.”

The monkey rejoiced at being mentioned and waved at us.

Izzy snorted. “I already said I’m not leaving, Foil. You really think that’ll fix things?”

"Look, it’s a start. We don't have everything figured out, but for now, we’ll take things slow. If you don’t like it, we can just stay home. I’m ready when you are.”

Izzy started to relax once everything I said seemed to start sinking in. 

She crossed her arms and huffed. “Fine. But if anyone freaks out, it’s on you. You’re lucky I don’t have anything better to do.”

“Great,” I said, grabbing my jacket. “We could use some fresh air. Hey, little buddy, put your clothes on.”

The little monkey critter snatched up the couch pillow and a broom and started to swung it around like a sword.

“Does that look like clothes to you, bud?” I asked, scratching my chin. “Now come on, we can play games later.”

His ears lowered dramatically in agony as he went to grab his clothes, dragging the broom along.

Izzy let me pull her to her feet. “This better not suck ass, Foil.”

“Trust me,” I said, flashing a small, confident smile as I grabbed my keys. “I’ve got this.”

As I turned to the door, she held me back and whispered, "I'm warning your "friend" , if she shows up here again, she's going to show up on the local news."

I just laughed it off. "I gotta put a leash on you. And maybe the monkey too."