One evening, Kristen and Harrison joined her parents having dinner at the Shelter Manor. By the time all the food was served, Kristen realised that a certain someone was still missing from the table.
Harrison saw that everybody around them already began to eat. "Are we not waiting for Ethan?"
"Where is he?" Kristen added.
Javier looked away from them, while Camilla had a hint of sadness in her voice. "I don't think Ethan's going to join us."
Kristen didn't think this was like Ethan as she pointed out, "But he loves meatloaf! I'll call him and see where he's at, he's probably just late or something."
"I don't think we're on the greatest terms with Ethan," Javier said honestly. "I think he just wants some space alone."
"What happened?" Harrison wondered.
Javier shared a look with Camilla to see if they should tell them. Although it wasn't their place to disclose Ethan's relationship with another person, they were increasingly worried as it had been 4 days since they last spoke to him.
"What do you both know about Thomas Miller?" Camilla hinted.
Kristen looked at her husband confused at the seemingly irrelevant question. "He's one of Ethan's closest friends that I can actually tolerate." Kristen laughed.
Harrison laughed along as he added, "We actually haven't spent a lot of time with him, but he seems like a decent person."
Kristen then brought the conversation back to the original focus. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"Ethan and Thomas were in a hidden relationship for 2 months," Camilla told them both. "They just broke up a little while ago."
Kristen's first reaction was to snort with laughter because she thought that they were messing with them. But the serious expression on their faces made Kristen backtrack almost immediately.
"Like a serious one?" Kristen asked confused.
Javier nodded his head as he shared, "We think Ethan's taking this a lot harder than we expected, especially since they haven't even been together for that long."
"Think?" Kristen was shaking her head confused as she wasn't sure how they couldn't be certain about how Ethan was doing.
"Everytime we go to his house, he hides himself in the third bedroom and won't talk until we leave." Camilla told them.
Javier turned to Camilla and asked, "Do you think we were still right to meddle?"
Camilla shrugged her shoulders as she defended their actions. "It's better than the reaction Ethan probably would have had if they lasted longer than 2 months."
"But our son-"
Kristen was shaking her head as she didn't want that little bit of information to slide through the cracks. "What did you guys do?"
Javier was feeling extremely guilty when he reminded himself of what they did. "We pushed for them to breakup, because we didn't think that they were going to get past the long distance between then."
Kristen was horrified as she let her face show it. "You guys had no right to get in the middle of their relationship! You should have just left them alone."
Camilla disagreed as a parent, because she knew that her main interests were to protect her son. "When your baby pops out, you will understand how you will want to look out for the little one at all costs. As awful as you think we look right now, I am not ashamed of how I want to be able to take care of Ethan."
"By hurting him?" Kristen immediately replied.
"I rather have Ethan hate us, than him hate himself when the relationship ends up in tragedy." Camilla said assuredly.
Javier was sitting at the other end of the table with doubt clouding his mind. Whilst he agreed on the sentiment that it was better to end it sooner than later, Javier didn't expect to have zero contact with his son during this difficult time for him.
Given all of his previous relationships, Javier had assumed Ethan's breakup with Thomas would have been no different. But days went by as Javier felt like he had overstepped his boundaries, by promoting Ethan to drift away from his boyfriend.
"I just wanted the best for Ethan, and Ethan deserves better than a relationship five thousands miles away." Javier admitted with sadness clearly in his voice.
~~~~~~~~~~
In a different country and on another day, Thomas walked into Giles' office after being summoned by him.
Thomas sat on the seat opposite as he asked, "Why am I here?"
Chairman Giles Miller had recently received a disturbing phone call that involved his Managing Director. Giles had called this off the record meeting to discuss the issues about one of his employees.
"Mr Miller, we have received a warning that you have been sleeping with one of our clients. With good authority, I have recently been told that you have established a relationship with Ethan Shelton."
Thomas couldn't deny that any of that wasn't true. But the way it was phrased made it seem a lot more shifty and creepy. "It wasn't like that... And we're not even together anymore."
"So are you stating that there is no relationship between you and Ethan Shelton?"
Thomas uncomfortably swallowed the lump in his throat as he also shook his head. "It ended last week."
Giles looked directly into Thomas' eyes as he let the seriousness of the main issue be known. "Mrs Shelton wanted to file a complaint about you, for abusing your position of power and seducing her son."
"That's bullshit!" Thomas shot up from his chair as he shouted out in protest. "I never did anything to persuade Ethan into a relationship with me, and there's no fucking way I would even think about doing that to Ethan!"
Giles no longer spoke to Thomas as the chairman of NG&P. The serious expression was now gone as the sentimental side of Giles came out. "How are you feeling about it all?"
Thomas thought that he was doing the right thing by breaking up with Ethan, because he couldn't put either of them through more heartache. But that didn't stop Thomas from hating himself, after making Ethan feel a similar set of horrible emotions.
"I feel like shit," Thomas admitted. "I knew breaking up with him was going to be difficult, but I didn't know it was still going to be this hard after a weeks time."
"Have you spoken to him since?" Giles asked.
Thomas' eyes drifted to the phone in his pocket. He felt grief and misery wash through him as he recalled how their last conversation was when they said goodbye.
"I've cut all contacts with Ethan." Thomas told Giles truthfully. "If we need the breakup to be serious, then I can't risk it by talking to him again."
When Thomas arrived back home after leaving Ethan, there were a couple of phone calls that Thomas left ringing. While the text messages were more persistent to begin with, time went on as Ethan reached out to him less and less. It eventually got to the point where Ethan stopped trying, because Thomas had ignored him at every potential encounter.
Giles could clearly see how his son was taking the breakup hard. Noticing Thomas' change in demeanour over the last couple of days, Giles knew that Thomas was hurting deeply.
Thomas had calmed down enough so that he could sit back down. "So what happens next?" Thomas asked as he referred to the complaint.
Giles nodded his head as he remembered how Thomas was quite fortunate. "Javier was convincing when he said it would be best to not let it harm your career, since you were only following your heart. He doesn't want to make it a big issue because he wanted to protect you too, Thomas."
Thomas was relieved that his career wasn't in jeopardy anymore. With Ethan no longer around, Thomas wanted to cling onto the only other thing that he cared about in his life - that plus the man in front of him.
"You'll find someone soon enough, Thomas. Any guy will be lucky to have you." Giles boasted proudly.
"But I wanted Ethan."
Giles didn't know what to think about seeing Thomas this emotional about another person before. There weren't a lot of people that could make his son feel like this so quickly, and Giles felt so hopeless at seeing Thomas so somber.
"Things will blow over soon, Thomas. It just feels a lot worse because you were in the honeymoon phase." Giles told Thomas.
Thomas looked back at Giles warily, "What do you mean?"
Giles nervously laughed as he felt like his way of supporting Thomas wasn't going to plan. "I'm just trying to be realistic when I remind you that it had been only 2 months. Just be glad that it ended now, and not later when things are going to get more emotionally complicated between the two of you."
Thomas was shaking his head as he began to pace the room. He was really hating how everybody, except those in the relationship, were describing him and Ethan as a fling. Thomas didn't want to hear how there was a happy rainbow at the end of the rain cloud, he just wanted to appreciate the happy times he shared with Ethan.
"I can't be glad, because it fucking hurts!" Thomas vented out loud. "I'm reminded about it everyday, because we still live in different countries! That is the only reason why we broke up, and not because we didn't care about each other!"
Thomas sank back onto the chair as he cradled his head in between his knees. Ultimately it was his decision to break up with Ethan, but it didn't make him happy from having the illusion of control.
Giles' heart was breaking at seeing Thomas in front of him. They never had many heart to heart moments like this, so it was rare for Giles to see Thomas so broken.
'My son really is hurt...'
After a small silence between them, Thomas looked up as he asked. "Is there anything else I can help you with? I just want to go do my paperwork."
"I'm just glad you've stopped pacing," Giles chuckled. "You were making me feel even more dizzy and lightheaded than before you came in."
Thomas just nodded his head as he then stood up from his chair. Before he could leave the room, Giles pulled his son into a comforting hug.
Giles hugged his son close as he affectionately patted his back several times. "You're strong son... There is light at the end of the tunnel."
Thomas just hummed along as he stayed silent. Thomas needed this hug from his dad more than he would have liked to admit, and Thomas was satisfied that he had at least one person in his life that wouldn't leave him.
~~~~~~~~~~
It was in the middle of the night when several day's later, Kristen was woken up to a phone call from a familiar number.
Once Kristen realised who was on the other end of the phone, she rolled her eyes when she immediately answered. "I'll be over there in 10."
The other man on the phone ended up laughing before swiftly hanging up. As Kristen put her phone down, she then woke up Harrison by gently shoving his sides.
Harrison groaned out loud as he began to rub his eyes awake. "What midnight craving would you like now?"
Kristen giggled as she dragged her husband to sit up with her. "We need to pick up Ethan at Signature Red."
"At least he can't continue to hide away from us now," Harrison sighed. As they began to get dressed, Harrison then checked to see what Kristen was going to do next. "You know what you're going to say to him?"
Ethan had given everybody around him the silent treatment whilst he was dealing with his own breakup. As much as Kristen tried to give Ethan his own personal space to deal with things, picking him up from a bar when drunk didn't sound so great for either of them.
"Looks like I'm going to have to wing it."
~~~~~~~~~~
After driving to one of Kristen's least favourite places, Harrison gave the brother and sister some time alone by waiting in the car for the both of them to talk privately.
Kristen found the familiar bartender that had called her earlier. She had Antonio's number saved because either her or Harrison had to pick up a drunk Ethan constantly, and this looked like a similar occasion too.
"So where's my idiot brother?" Kristen joshed.
Antonio was wiping one of the glasses clean when he pointed towards the end of the bar. Ethan was slumped down on the counter as he rested his head against it, simultaneously rolling around an empty beer bottle in between his hands and the counter.
"So what special occasion has gifted me Ethan coming here every other day, and silently brooding in the corner constantly?" Antonio teased.
"Heartbroken." Kristen simply said as she also left a generous tip for all of Antonio's help.
Kristen made her way towards Ethan and sat in the empty besides him. Once Ethan saw her presence, Ethan rolled his head towards the opposite direction so that he was facing away from her.
"Antonio asked me to pick your drunk ass up." Kristen told her brother.
"All of the cigarette smoke is bad for your baby." Ethan mumbled.
"Then we have to make this quick then," Kristen laughed. "We can talk about Thomas here, or we can at least get some fresh air while I listen to you."
Ethan sat up straight when he processed what Kristen had just said to him. His first reaction was to deny everything by asking in between his hiccups, "What are you talking about?"
Kristen squeezed her brother's arm when she told him, "I know that you and Thomas broke up."
A dejected Ethan answered back by placing his head sadly back onto the counter. "Then you know why I want to stay here."
Kristen rested her hand on top of Ethan's head as she began to stroke it - just like all the other times when she had to comfort him. "I'm really sorry you and Thomas didn't work out."
"But it's going to get better, right? That's what everyone kept telling me - right as when we broke up!" Ethan laughed melancholy.
Kristen batted away the drink that Ethan was reaching for. Ethan didn't need any more drinks tonight, and Kristen was going to make sure he spent the rest of the night away from throwing up in a toilet bowl.
"Maybe it will help if you talk about him?" Kristen suggested.
Ethan unsteadily pointed his finger towards Kristen, as he looked straight into her eyes when he said. "I fucking hate sushi now..."
Kristen chose to ignore exploring what sushi had to do with anything, because she wanted Ethan to try and focus on the good things he gained from their relationship. "I'm going to ignore how sad I am from you hiding your relationship from me, and ask you what was great about you and Thomas."
Ethan had a softand sad look in his eyes as he remembered Thomas. "Thomas always made feel so fucking special. That jackass has helped me like myself when I was in rough patches. He always took care of me by doing the tiniest little things. And Thomas was able to look past all the money and power, and actually like me for being me..."
Ethan kept softly banging his head on the table as he was reminding himself of everything he had just lost. After more things were being remembered, Ethan's head banging became more aggressive as his forehead turned red from the beating.
"That bastard has blocked all of my calls and messages too..." Ethan cursed.
Kristen held her brother's face up so that he would stop hurting himself. Kristen brushed his cheek after seeing his eyes shimmer, as she then tried her best to be what Ethan needed.
"Breakups suck Ethan, but you need to take better care of yourself." Kristen then pointed towards their surroundings as she added, "You can't just shut everyone out of your life, and drown your sorrows so that you can pretend like it's helping."
Ethan was shaking his head because there was only one thing that could make him feel better at this specific moment. "Right now I only care about Thomas... And he's gone."
Ethan pulled out his phone and showed Kristen how all of his previous messages were left on read, and how all of the phone calls were never connected. "I think he's made it perfectly clear that I'm no longer a part of his life. Thomas no longer wants anything to do with me... He's moved on..."
Kristen was crying on the inside over how she m her little brother could be so crushed and rejected by another person. After picking up how Ethan secretly hinted towards wanting someone special, Kristen felt awful knowing that Ethan had just found and lost him.
Kristen squeezed her brother's hand as she whispered, "Time and space is the best medicine. No one can control the pace of how you move on, but it will happen eventually. You just need to be patient."
Ethan was vigorously shaking his head as he couldn't let go of his relationship with Thomas. Neither of them wanted to be separated from each other, so Ethan knew that there was something real between them.
"It's terrifying, but I've already fallen for him - so fucking hard..." Ethan sobbed.
Kristen had no words left to say as she just hugged her brother closely. She let her brother whimper into her arms as she tried to guard Ethan close, wanting to protect him from any other pain.
"I miss him." Ethan cried into Kristen's shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~
Kristen had texted Harrison to help her carry out the passed out Ethan into their car. Kristen held her brother close as they sat in the backseat together, with the younger sibling falling asleep against Kristen's shoulders.
Harrison was careful not to wake up Ethan by whispering, "Where am I driving to?"
Kristen looked away from her brother briefly, so that she could talk to Harrison. "Ethan's staying with us tonight. I think we need to just make sure that he doesn't feel alone anymore."
Harrison nodded along as he agreed that Ethan needed the company. "Ethan's breakups aren't normally like this, right?"
Kristen nodded her head as she threw her jacket over Ethan. "I'm pretty sure this is the first time it wasn't his decision. Even if the positions were reversed, it would still definitely hurt him just as much."
"So what happens next?" Harrison asked.
Kristen squeezed her brother's hand as she threatened, "I'm going to give Thomas a piece of my mind!"
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Author's Note: Hang in there everyone! Some of you already know that I ain't a guy that likes sad endings...