The Ex

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Two whole years."

"Exactly. This is what you want. This is what you've always wanted. There is no question, you're taking the job."

His eyebrows raise as he processes my words. "So it's settled. I'm taking the job," he leans back into the couch and stares straight ahead. I can't help the ache in my chest when I recognize how easy it was to convince him. The ache intensifies with his next words. "We're moving to London."

"We?" I ask with wide eyes.

"We," he confirms with a beaming smile.

"No Ethan, I cant-" I shake my head in dissent.

He cradles my face in an attempt to stop the movement. "I'm not leaving without you. Please think about it, Char. It will be an amazing opportunity for us both, you can get a job over there. People still eat on the other side of the world. It'll be a different scene, a new experience." His grin falters at my expression.

"New York is my home. Gi- is talking about stepping down and selling the restaurant to me, Ethan. I can't just abandon my dream," I say, instantly extinguishing the glimmer of hope in his eyes.

He lets me go and lowers his gaze, "So you would stay here?"

"And you would move to London." He shakes his head in disagreement at my words so I continue, "it will be an amazing opportunity. A different scene, a new experience." He looks at me intensely when I repeat his own words back to him. "Ethan, I won't let you pass up this opportunity. I would never forgive myself if you did."

"Are you sure?" he asks with a furrowed brow and a heavy heart.

"Yes," I say with conviction although the emotion of this situation threatens to overcome me at any second. 

He turns away from me and slumps into the couch. It feels like an eternity passes until he finally says, "Ok."

"Ok?" I question, needing to hear him say the words out loud. 

"I'm taking the job," he says with a trembling voice.

The happiness that this decision should bring him is non-existent, as is my happiness for him.

Taking a deep breath in the hopes of controlling my tears, I ask the question that I don't want the answer to, "where does that leave us?"

"What do you mean?" he turns back to me after a moment of consideration.

"You're leaving and I'm staying," I spell it out for him and immediately regret it when I see the pain in his eyes. "We can't exactly be in two places at once," I add when he remains silent and rubs a hand through his hair. The action has him looking disheveled and completely unlike himself.

"So what your saying is that we're done," he motions between us. "That's it?" he says in disbelief.

"Ethan, do we have a choice?"

He stands and begins to pace in the very limited space of the lounge room.  He abruptly stops and looks at me when the thought strikes him, "people manage long-distance relationships every day."

"From across the country not across the world. Are we gonna have a virtual relationship for the foreseeable future?"

"Yes, we can try."

"For how long?"

"I'll get some time off and come back. And you can always come and visit."

"For a weekend? With the extra responsibility I have at the restaurant, you know I can't take more than a few days off." He begins his pacing again so I continue, "how are we meant to keep it going? We don't know how long it will be until we see each other again. If at all."

"We will see each other again. Charlotte, this isn't the end for us, no matter how much it sounds like you want it to be."

"Did you seriously just say that? You're the one moving to London and it's me who's ending this relationship?" my frustration has me raising my voice.

"Was it not you who spent the last ten minutes convincing me to go?"

"Exactly, it took ten entire minutes for you to decide to leave. It doesn't sound like I'm the one who wants to end things."

He audibly growls in exasperation, "fine, I won't go."

"Because you can honestly say that you don't want the promotion or because you want to win this argument?"

He narrows his eyes at my accusatory glare, "there's no winning when it comes to you."

"Then why stay to lose?" I stand and meet him in the center of the living room. I clench my fists and refuse to back down. He responds with a challenging stare and a tight jaw.

"I'm asking myself that exact question," the bitterness in his tone has me seeing red.

"Let me answer it for you. You're going."

"That's exactly what I thought. This is your out," he matches my volume and laughs without humor.

"You're an idiot if you actually believe that," I point at him accusingly.

"Then tell me to stay," his hard stare slips. The rage I felt seconds ago turns to sadness when I see his vulnerability. "Please Charlotte," he bows his head to hide his tears.

I realize that mine have already started falling. "Ethan, I can't. If you don't go, you'll resent me for it for the rest of your life." I ignore the defiance in his expression and take in a ragged breath. "You would always ask yourself what if and it would kill you. It would kill us." I wipe away my tears, "it already has."

"If that's the case, then why wait? I'll just leave now."

I bristle at the harshness of his words and immediately regret the word as soon as it leaves my lips, "fine."

"Fine," he shouts back to me and turns for the door. 

My mouth opens in shock as I stare at Ethans retreating form. He storms down the hall, opens the door, and slams it shut behind him. The walls vibrate from the force of the action while I stand in the center of the living room wide-eyed,  and unable to process what just happened.

I look around the apartment. The resounding silence compared to the usual liveliness has a new wave of tears forming. The emptiness in our home reflects the emptiness within me. My legs instinctively begin to move down the hall, the need to feel whole again forces this movement. The door opens before I reach it. My surroundings melt away and all I see is Ethan.

I cross the short distance between us and push up on my tiptoes. My fingers find the back of his neck and I bring his mouth to mine. I feel his breath catch against my lips. His tongue pushes into my mouth and I hear his deep moan. His fingers dig into my hips as I deepen the kiss and pull him against me. He kisses me, wet and deep while my fingers clutch his soft hair. His hands grip my ass, pressing me against his hardness. At the feel of him, a flash of lust flows through my veins.

I meet his crushing kiss with one of my own, letting him know that whatever he gives me; the soft, the hard, the pain, the beauty, I want it all.

As this will be the last time I will ever have it.

Thank you for reading The Ex: Chapter sixteen!
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