okay so everyone wanted either a part two or a book so here it is! this is the same chapter from my one shot book (which you should also check out) thank you for 11k reads on that btw! enjoy and look out for chapter two very soon <3
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Giggles filled the space of their newly purchased apartment. The echos of their laughter bounced off the walls of their still empty place.
"Sean, stop tickling me! I'm holding the box of dishes, if I drop and break these we'll be eating off the floor until we can afford new ones!"
Sean was too happy about finally being able to move in and take the next step with his girlfriend of three years to care.
"Kaycee we just moved in! How are you not bouncing off the walls right now? Our own place, babe!"
The girl somehow snuck out from his tight embrace, placing the box down before wrapping her arms around his waist. She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. "You're already bouncing off the walls, one of us has to be the adult here, love," she said while patting his chest and walking out to grab more boxes.
He jolted out of his thoughts as a cold bottle met his skin.
"Sorry Sean, here's the cold beer you asked for. Don't worry about this one officer, it's on me. You're lucky we just closed or else I'd make you pay me in front of all the other customers," said Julian, the owner and one of the man's closest friends.
He shook his head trying to rid the memory that was just replaying in his mind before chugging down half of the bottle.
"Hey, what's up Lew," asked Josh, another one of his friends and an the co-owner of the bar. "You still hung up on a certain lady?"
He nodded hesitantly, knowing very well of how his friends were going to react. He picked at the beer bottle label as he heard the duo behind the counter groan at his confirmation.
"Aw, come on dude," Julian started, "I know you guys were together for some time, but it's been two years since she left. I think we all know it's time for you to move on, or at the very least try to move on."
"Jules is right my guy," replied the youngest of the trio, "you know how much I loved you and Kayc together, but you deserve to find someone else Sean. Easier said than done I know, but you haven't put in much effort."
Sean winced when his friend mentioned her name. He loved that girl, still did actually. He wished it was easy to move on from her, to forget the five, almost six, years they spent being happy and in love, but it wasn't.
The pair had always been what everyone called the "power couple". There was no Sean without Kaycee and no Kaycee without Sean. They completed each other like no other, everyone just knew they were meant to be. Those closest to them would've bet money that they were going to be endgame; their relationship was just so perfect.
Or so everyone thought.
Sean and Kaycee were in love, there was no denying that. But within months following their big move, they found their relationship growing weaker and weaker. The love was still very much existent, but trust, respect, boundaries, honesty, and all the other key qualities of strong, everlasting relationship were faltering. Their relationship was a ticking time bomb ready to combust over even the smallest of issues.
All of the closest people in their lives were shocked to find out about their relationship ending, even more shocked to found out how it was decided.
Kaycee had left him. She took her car, packed her clothes and left. Leaving him with nothing but her key to the apartment and a letter.
Sean kicked off his shoes as he unlocked the front door. It been a long day, he doesn't even know why he had become a police officer in the first place. But he couldn't be mad at the salary he made and the feeling of pride that filled his chest every time he was able to help someone.
Unbuttoning his shirt, he began making his way into the bedroom he shared with his girlfriend of now five years. Their place had been suspiciously quiet, and he noticed the lights had been switched off when he arrived home.
Turning the knob of the door, Sean was met with even more darkness. He turned on the light, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No misplaced items or signs of untidiness, the only thing missing was his girlfriend. He was confused, but his gut was telling him to head over to the closet.
It was there when he was met with a half empty closet. Kaycee had taken her things, while he was away at work. He didn't think twice before running toward the kitchen to fetch his phone from the counter.
When he made it into the room, he had only just noticed a small envelope with his name on it, one of their apartment keys laying to the side of it.
Ripping the envelope open, Sean found a letter. The handwriting unmistakably belonging to the girl that was nowhere to be found.
"Dear Sean,
I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being a coward, I'm sorry for not giving you one last goodbye. I couldn't. I couldn't because I knew that if I looked at you one more time, I wouldn't have left. But I had to. We knew this wasn't working out like we hoped it would. The constant arguing and yelling, the lack of trust, the lack of honesty — we couldn't have saved us. I wish we could've. I love you Sean Lew, I always will. I'm sorry we couldn't fix things. Maybe one day when we learn to trust and love again we can make this work, but for now this is goodbye.
Love,
Kaycee."
Sean read the letter over and over again, hoping that this was some kind of joke. He tried calling her, and no answer. He called their best friends, her family, her coworkers, but no one knew of her whereabouts. No one even knew the couple's arguments had even gotten this far.
He didn't get any sleep that night, and has barely gotten a sufficient amount of sleep since that night.
He understands why she did it, why she left. But god, did it have to be this way? Couldn't they have talked and worked things out?
Most of the couple's arguments had come as a result of Sean's job on the police force. Kaycee was always supportive of him, but she didn't know how much longer she could handle the late nights she would stay up because he wasn't home and she didn't know whether he was even alive still.
She lost sleep because she couldn't bear the thought of waking up to news of Sean's death.
But whenever she tried to talk it out with Sean, he'd always turn things back onto her. Stating how she wasn't supportive of him and his career choice, and how she didn't respect the fact that he was out saving lives.
Although, one night Sean had completely drawn the line for Kaycee. It was the last straw for her.
"I don't get what part you aren't comprehending Sean? You're always out late and working the most absurd hours, why can't you understand that this worries me? I'm scared one day one of your boys will drive to our place and tell me that I lost you."
"Well what do you want from me, Kaycee? Do you want me to quit my job? You want me to go sit in some boring office all day like you do? I'm sorry I can't pick my hours and have to deal with real life problems for a living. Some of us actually have real jobs," he spat out bitterly.
"Are you kidding me? Do you hear yourself right now?" Kaycee wasn't sure if she even wanted to fight him on this anymore. "I'm here trying to explain to you that I'm worried sick everyday because my biggest fear is losing you and you turn this all around on me. You can't be serious," she whispered clearly ready for it to all be over, wishing things were how they used to be.
"You know what? I know where this all coming from. You don't trust me, you say you're upset about my schedule and late nights but really you're scared I'm out cheating on you. You're so insecure about yourself that you can't even have faith in me and support me."
Sean knew right as he finished that what he said was out of line. Did he believe what he said? Of course not. Kaycee had shown him since the very beginning that she trusted him completely.
She couldn't believe he'd ever take it this far. He chose his job over her. Defended his career but hurt her feelings in return. She knew they couldn't keep doing this, if he wasn't going to listen to her then what was the point in staying. If he wasn't going to put in the effort to try and save their relationship, then neither was she. She was going to save herself.
Sean finished off the remainder of his beer. Looking around the closed bar, doing whatever he could to take away the pain from the memory that was still fresh in my mind. The whole thing being so vivid he could've sworn it had just happened instead of two years ago.
Had he just shut up and listened maybe he'd still have her. Maybe he'd have a different career. Maybe they'd move into a house. Maybe they would've gotten engaged. Maybe they'd be married. Maybe they'd have kids. Maybe.
Sean didn't need to see them to know the boys were watching his every move. They'd know him long enough to know that anytime he sat there with a blank look meant that he was having a flashback. A flashback involving Kaycee.
They boys loved her as if they were her sister. They saw how much the couple loved and cared for each other, but they also heard of the growing tension and the lost of connection. It hurt them seeing the two apart, but they knew Kaycee made the right decision.
The trio all snapped their heads toward the buzzing on the countertop. Sean's phone receiving an incoming call.
Flipping the phone over, Sean noticed it was his work. He ignored it. He just finished his hours, what did they need him for?
His work kept incessantly calling him, but it wasn't until he got a notification that his boss aka the police chief was calling him from his personal number.
Quickly picking up the phone, Sean answered hoping his boss wasn't about to eat him alive over the phone.
"Hello?"
"Lew, finally, we've all been trying to get a hold of you. Listen, I need you to keep as calm as possible, but there's been a shooting down 5th Avenue. It's a mass homicide, the boys caught that disgusting terrorist, but you need to get here immediately."
"Sir, with all do respect, I'm not sure why you were all calling me if the shooter had been caught."
"Sean I'm— I'm not calling for back up. I'm calling because," he could hear his boss sigh, "one of the victims, you were their emergency contact, Sean. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."
"No, no this can't be. All of my family is back home and I'm with my best friends right now who would possibly have me as an emergency contact?"
Julian and Josh were listening to the call that Sean had playing on speaker, their hearts fell as they quickly knew who Sean's boss was referring to.
"Sean. It's Kaycee. Kaycee Rice."
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hey everyone, ill try to update this as much as i do my one shot book. don't forget to vote and comment <3