Edgeli Addison
I unlocked the door to the apartment and walked in, tossing my weekend bag onto the couch. There was noise coming from the bedroom, which was weird because no one was supposed to be here. Skye had probably gotten back from the boat he was on and was sorting out his stuff.
Then it happened.
I walked in on my long term live in boyfriend cheating on me in our bed. "What the fuck?!" I yelled without letting any part of my brain filter the words coming out of my mouth, causing him to throw the girl on top of him onto the floor. I didn't know how else to react to what I'd seen other than to ask that.
"Shit, uh EJ...I can explain this..." he tried and he knew he couldn't talk his way out of this. He'd been caught with his dick out or rather his dick in someone else.
"Get dressed and get out of my apartment," I demanded of them both but in a scarily calm voice; it was more threatening than an angry voice would be. They both left and I just sat in the lounge evaluating my life choices. I'd been so focused on moving forwards that I hadn't noticed what was happening in the present. Now I stopped and thought about it, there were signs that Skye had been cheating on me before now but I'd been so focused on my future life with him that I hadn't noticed all the red flags until I actually had real distance from him and wasn't working my ass of on a charter.
There was a knock on the door and I answered it, against my better judgment but I knew it wasn't Skye because he wouldn't be so stupid to show back up at the apartment right after I caught him cheating. It was the girl who'd been on top of my boyfriend. "I didn't know he had a girlfriend," was what she said to me.
"How long have you been seeing my boyfriend?" I asked her, deciding to let her in. I wanted answers, closure of some kind to the end of a relationship I wanted out of just not like this.
"On and off for three years," she told me and I shut the door.
"So as long as we'd been together," I said and leaned against the closed door.
"If I'd known he had a girlfriend..." she started.
"If he was a decent human, he wouldn't have been looking for hook ups when he had a girlfriend," I told her, "this is on him, not you," I said and I was going to pack up what little I had in the apartment, what he had and leave it on the curb and cancel the lease because I was the only name on it.
"Still, I'm a contributing factor," she said, "and I'm sorry," she added and it really wasn't her fault.
"I was planning on moving home anyway, I don't think he would have moved with me to California or maintained a long distance relationship, especially since he's been cheating every time we were on land," I said and leaned on the arm of the couch. I was essentially a free agent again, single for first time since I was eighteen and it was bizarre but I wasn't going to stay single long after I went home hopefully.
"So I guess you got a perfect out," she said, "Riley," she introduced and I had a choice in how I introduced myself in that moment.
"Edge."
"I know I have no real right to ask but what are you going to do next?" She asked me, standing there awkwardly and not knowing what to do with herself.
"I'm cancelling my lease, leaving that piece of cheating scum homeless, and going back home to my family where I belong," I said, "not that I have much here to pack up anyway or anyone I'm really leaving behind," I said, looking around the place. There were very few signs I existed in this space, and stuff that would be easy to hide away if he planned on cheating in our bed like he clearly had been. I'd made it easy for him to cheat on me by not really putting down roots here more than I had to.
"What about his stuff?" She asked me.
"Let's have a fire sale," I suggested and she seemed to want to help me prepare for it. Skye had cheated on me and used her to do it, and had been using her to do it for as long I'd been with him. If I had been in her position, I would have wanted a way to get even with the cheating user too.
"Need a hand?" She asked me.
"Would make it easier," I agreed and pushed off the arm of the couch, getting into my speed packing mindset acquired from years of speed packing drunk charters when checkout was nearing.
We packed up everything of his, and most of my stuff in the process. "You know if we hadn't met because of this, I feel like we could have been good friends," Riley told me as we carried a specific box of his crap outside.
"Maybe," I said and we put the box with his video gaming system onto the curb, "since I'm a better person than him, I'm going to give him a fifteen minute head start on this stuff before I post on Facebook," I said, getting my phone out to text Skye what was happening with his video games. I'd kept his secret stash of tip money safe and I'd let him have all his stuff other than this because I bought it for him so it was technically mine. I wanted petty revenge but I was a better person than him so just the video game was up for grabs not his actually hard earned tip money.
We went back into the apartment and I started packing up the rest of my belongings and Riley did the remainder of Skye's. I heard the truck pull up outside so I looked out the window, peaking through the blinds. It was Skye and I didn't know if he was going to try to get into the apartment but I'd dead-bolted it from the inside to be safe about it.
"Think he'll try to come in?" She asked me as my phone rang. It was my brother and I was about to lie my ass of about the reason for this break up or EJ would be on the next flight out here to kick the shit out of him.
"He can try but he isn't getting in," I said and went into the bedroom to answer the call. I'd accepted Riley's help but I didn't need her hearing my personal conversations with my brother and potential business discussions.
"So what's it like being back in America's buttcrack?" He asked me.
"It's warm," I offered.
"What's wrong?" He asked me, "you sound off," he added and I hated that my brother still knew my tells.
"Skye didn't want to move with me, and he doesn't have the ability to maintain a committed long distance relationship so we're done, I'm going to pack up today, see some yachty friends for the other two days then pack up the moving van and fly home to you guys," I told him and I was looking forward to the freedom from my relationship with Skye before going back to someone who I'd never gotten over, the man I'd always loved and a love than had evolved over time just like we had.
"And Teo?" He asked.
"I'm going to tell him in person that I broke up with Skye, after I spend the day helping out King and Javi at the truck," I said and I was looking forward to a busy day helping the boys out with their ever growing business.
"You should really learn to slow down sometimes, Edgeli Jenessa, you're going to collapse at some point," he warned me but I wasn't going to stop working. I was like a shark; I had to keep moving or I'd drown
"I like being busy, I can't help that," I defended, "I have to go, I'm supposed to meet some girls I stewed with for lunch," I told him as excuse to hang up on him.
"Yeah okay, text me when you're all packed up and when you get to the airport," he told me, "see you soon, little sister," he added.
"I will, see you soon big brother," I said and hung up. I went back out into the living room to find Riley looking out through a gap in the blinds.
"So?" I asked her.
"He's just sitting in the truck doing nothing," she told me, "it's kind of creepy," she added and my phone buzzed. It was Skye.
'Skye: What about the rest of my stuff?'
I decided to ignore him for now, "let's just leave him to suffer for a bit longer then we'll move his stuff outside the apartment," I decided, noticing he hadn't taken his apartment keys so I could give them back to the landlord when I broke the lease. He'd agreed to a quick lease break in the agreement since he'd dealt with yachties a lot and knew he could easily find new tenants for this apartment quickly.
I sent him off a text then got Riley to help me move Skye's stuff out of the apartment. We were all finished and I locked up behind us then we went out the back. "I don't suppose we'll ever see each other again," Riley said and we were very unlikely to given I was moving cross country.
"No, I guess not," I said and put my hands into my back pockets, "maybe in another life," I said and we went our separate ways, likely never see each other again.
I texted Teo as I headed down to a popular yachty bar, to meet my last chief stew and 3rd stew, Ricki and Tannis. I'd worked under Ricki a lot, on and off season charters, and we were actual friends. We were going to meet up with King and Javi when I got back but I wanted it to be just me and him so I could do some grand dramatic gesture about how I'd never stopped loving him and how I wanted him back, to be with him again and that I should have asked him to leave with me five years ago.
"You're really moving back to Cali?" Tannis questioned.
"It's time, and I was missing watching my nephew grow up and all the people who'd been so important to me before we lost Red, reconnecting with them was the best decision I've ever made," I told her and it was the first decision I'd made that I didn't second guess since leaving home in the first place.
"Are you going to keep working charters when you go back home?" Ricki asked me, "I know some yachts that would be lucky to have you as a steward," she added, only wanting to help me out.
"I'll probably still work the off season but I have a business to help run on shore now to keep me busy during the summers," I told her, "so if anyone needs a steward in the off season, I'm their girl," I said with a smile, picking up my drink.
"You'll get land sick soon enough, dear sweet EJ, and you'll be begging to be back out on a boat before you know it," Ricki assured me and caught the attention of the waiter, "another round?" She asked but we all knew she was telling us.
"Sure, ain't like I've got anyone waiting on me," I said, deciding to get completely smashed like it was a day off during the season and stumble home in the early hours drunk out of my mind and sleep away the morning since I had no other plans now things were done with Skye. "I'll take another one of these and three shots of tequila," I ordered with a smile. I was definitely getting trashed tonight to celebrate and mourn all at once.