eddy chen was on his way home from a long day of giving violin lessons at a local high school when his phone rang. he took his deep brown eyes off of the road for a moment to glance at the information on his phone screen. the caller was unknown, but he answered. he was waiting on a few calls for different jobs.
"hello?" he answered, trying not to let the nervousness enter his voice. it usually didn't; people always told eddy he had this weird aura of confidence at all times. he didn't think too much of it, though.
"hi, this is maya from the sydney symphony orchestra. is this mr. chen?" said the voice on the phone. eddy felt his heart rate speed up.
"y-yeah, uh, that's me," eddy breathed, biting his lip anxiously.
maya informed him that he'd gotten the job and he didn't really listen to much that she said after that. he thanked her quickly before saying goodbye. he was in his own little world of happiness when he pulled into his driveway.
the sun was out (as always) and for once eddy just stood in it when he got out of his car, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. he was in a good mood and just wanted to stand there and feel alive for a few minutes. the sun beat down on him in his black button up, sweat beading on his forehead. the australia heat was not to be underestimated. he'd always hated it, but he felt too good to be angry about it. he wanted to feel it.
after standing there sweating his ass off for five minutes, eddy grabbed his violin case and walked inside. the air con was on full blast and he sighed contentedly when he felt it, cool air filling up the room. much better than outside. he took off his shirt and laid down on his couch, closing his eyes. he was exhausted. he'd been busy as hell lately. his days consisted of busking, auditions, rehearsals, and lessons. then, in between that, he had to find time to spend with his girlfriend, mae.
the job with the orchestra was enough for him to be able to quit doing some of those things, such as busking. but it would also be a lot more work. thinking about his future schedule gave him a headache and he rolled off of the couch, forcing himself to get onto his feet.
he knew that mae would be home in a few hours, so he decided to go ahead and take a shower in order to spend time with her when she got there. he loved her, he really did, but things had been difficult lately. they'd been arguing a lot over his long hours working and how he was always so distant. it wasn't anything against her; that's just how eddy was. he needed a lot of time alone in relationships because too much interaction with people, especially girls, made him feel weird.
throwing his clothes into the laundry basket, eddy stepped into the shower. the water ran down his muscular back and he sighed as he tried to relax. it was the least he could do for himself since he'd been pushing his body and his mind nonstop for months. eddy had always been a hard worker, but it was getting to the point of endangering himself. he really didn't care, though. he told himself that there were more important things than his health.
he finished in the shower and stepped out, looking around his bathroom. it was getting to be a little messy: clothes on the floor, towels everywhere. he brushed it off and got dressed. there were also more important things than a clean bathroom.
eddy decided to do just what any other person does with their time off: watch meaningless television and eat unhealthy food. so he settled down on the couch with the remote in his hand, snacking on potato chips. he figured he deserved it after getting a job that meant the world to him.
he was in the middle of a marathon when the door opened. mae walked in and sat down next to him, intertwining their fingers.
"hey," she said, a small smile on her lips. she leaned in and kissed eddy's cheek. he'd never liked that, but he never wanted to tell her.
"hi, love," he said and turned to face her, looking her up and down. she looked tired.
"what are you watching?" she asked. eddy shook his head and turned off the tv, sitting the remote down.
"not important. i have something to tell you," he said excitedly. mae raised an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms.
"what is it?" she asked.
eddy took a deep breath. mae was not a musician and never really understood the concept of an orchestral position being a job. she tried to listen to eddy when he explained it, but it hadn't gone so well a couple of times. but they'd decided that she would support him no matter what, so eddy was excited to tell her.
"i got the job in sydney," he said slowly. mae immediately smiled, but eddy could sense the hesitation.
"that's great!" she said and wrapped her arms around eddy's neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. he could feel that something was off and bit the inside of his cheek as he hugged her back. he didn't want to fight with her.
"we have to move, though, don't we?" she asked after they pulled apart, almost passive aggressively. eddy nodded.
"yeah, but we knew that when i auditioned. i've already got a place lined up, i just have to make a few phone calls. i told you that when we talked about whether or not i was going to try for it," eddy said patiently. the aforementioned discussion had not been a talk, it had been an argument. he shuddered as he remembered it.
"hey, can i talk to you for a second?" eddy had asked, taking off his jacket. he and mae had just came home from their first date in weeks. she'd been in a seemingly good mood and he figured it was the best time to ask.
"yeah, what's up?" she'd smiled, sitting down on the couch and patting the seat next to her. eddy sat and sighed nervously. so far, so good.
"there's this, um.. there's this job. and it's really good and it's very hard to get, uh... it pays pretty well... it's with a really amazing orchestra..." he began, his hands trembling. he bounced his leg up and down to try and calm himself, but it didn't work.
"okay, what about it?" mae asked, her tone frightening. she sounded annoyed.
"well, i've got a chance to audition for it. but, um... the thing is, uh... it's in sydney," eddy finally said, wincing as the words left his tongue. he had no problem moving to sydney for a job. he loved brisbane, but he actually had more friends in sydney and favored it. he didn't think mae would be too opposed to moving there, either.
he was wrong.
"sydney? like, nine hours away from here sydney? like, never been there in my life sydney? that's where this fancy new job is? really, eddy?" mae said, her voice cutting through eddy like a knife through cake. he cringed and nodded.
"yes, but—"
"but what? let me guess. but you think it'll be good for us. you think it'll be fine for you to just uproot us like that? how long have we been together?" she interrupted, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. eddy hated when she did that because it meant she was really mad. it happened a lot.
"5 years," eddy said flatly, answering her last question. he regretted ever bringing it up.
"5 years! and we've lived in brisbane all 5 of those years. why would you think now is a good time to uproot us and move us nine hours away, huh?" she leaned down and got in eddy's face, spit spraying from her mouth onto his cheek every few words.
eddy took a deep breath and wiped his face off, standing up as well.
"listen," he said calmly, putting his hand on mae's arm, "i really think we'll be happier there. i'll make more money; i can take you places and we can live somewhere nicer. and you've always said you wanted to go to sydney, maybe live there. what's so bad about it?"
mae jerked her arm away from eddy's touch and smacked his hand.
"the problem, edward, is that you always do these things. you promise me something big and wonderful and then it all falls to shit. how do i know that you won't just fuck this up when we get there? moving away with you is a huge commitment and i don't know that i can count on you like that," she said, every word like a punch to eddy's stomach.
he clenched his teeth and held back tears. mae couldn't stand when he cried during an argument. his sensitivity disgusted her and made things worse. he closed his eyes and thought for a moment.
"please give me a chance. let me audition and we can go from there. i promise you won't regret it. please," he begged, leaning in to kiss mae's forehead. he didn't like doing it, but it always seemed to calm her down.
"fine," she huffed, crossing her arms and leaning into eddy's touch. "but you owe me."
eddy had nodded and hugged her tightly, wiping away the tear that fell down his cheek. she'd hurt his feelings, but it wasn't the first time. he was used to it.
the last thing he wanted was for their discussion to turn into anything like that. mae smiled unconvincingly at him and nodded.
"yeah, we did. okay. that's fine, um.. good job. i'll be back," she said and pecked his lips before walking to their bedroom.
eddy sat on the couch in silence, feeling absolutely defeated.