Chapter 3
Claire had wanted to break up peacefully, but Ethan just couldn't stop bringing up Emily's name. It really got under Claire's skin, and she totally blew up at him.
Claire looked at Ethan's hand gripping the suitcase and snapped, "Let go. Don't make me call the cops and charge you with false imprisonment."
Ethan stood there, rooted to the spot by Claire's words. His hand tightened and loosened on the suitcase handle, his eyes full of pain and confusion. "It's not like that, Claire. I love you. Emily is just sick. She needs help.
"We grew up together. I can't just stand by and watch her get hurt. If you don't want me to, I promise I'll never get involved with her again. Please, you have to believe me."
"Not get involved with her? Ethan, how many times have you said that? And how many times have I believed you? Stop kidding yourself. Your parents like her better than me, and you care about her more than you care about me."
"It's not like that!" Ethan insisted.
"It is," Claire cut him off before he could say anything else.
She continued, "Emily's constant suicide threats are because you keep enabling her. I see it now. You feel sorry for her, you care about her, so as long as she keeps pulling this, you'll never be free from her.
"Since that's how it is, let's break up. Maybe she'll finally stop with the suicide drama, and you won't have to keep suffering, and I can actually live like a normal person."
Claire grabbed her bag and laptop. "I waited until now just to set things straight. Let's just call it quits, no hard feelings."
She tugged at the suitcase. "Let go. I'm exhausted. Please, just let me go."
Ethan finally let go, his expression wounded. "Claire, I know you're angry. I was wrong. I haven't considered your feelings. If you want to move out and get some space, that's fine. But breaking up? I just can't accept."
Claire gave him a defeated look, picked up her suitcase, and walked out.
The moment the door closed, she heard a loud crash from inside.
The soft click of the door shutting behind Claire hit Ethan like a sledgehammer to the chest.
Claire was gone.
The suitcase wheels echoed down the hallway, painfully clear.
Ethan just stood there, not moving. Claire said she was tired. She said she wanted him to let her go. He thought that was insane.
Claire's icy words kept ringing in his head. She said she was tired of him, and his love was like poison.
He couldn't believe that was how she saw everything between them, like the seven years were nothing. She just erased everything they had.
Ethan's eyes landed on the entryway table, where Claire's engagement ring sat, abandoned and alone.
They had picked it out together.
She'd said she'd never take it off.
But after just a few days, she'd already taken it off.
It was all because of Emily. But Ethan caught himself before laying the blame on her.
Emily was sick; she couldn't help what she did. She was fragile, and if everyone gave up on her, she might truly fall apart, maybe even die.
He couldn't understand why Claire couldn't see that. To him, this wasn't just a matter of patience or forgiveness. It was a matter of life and death.
But a small voice in the back of his mind whispered, 'Understand? Again and again? For the rest of her life?'
Ethan angrily brushed the thought aside, a mix of anger and hurt rising inside him.
Frustration boiled over in Ethan. How could she walk away so easily? Was a few days in the hospital enough to make her give up on everything? Did his parents' harsh words really matter that much? The questions churned in his mind.
Ethan could swear he was good to Claire.
Four years in college and three years after, Claire was the only one he ever cared about.
Emily was around, but he'd never crossed any lines. He knew where to draw the line between pity and real feelings.
Claire was the one he loved.
With a bang, Ethan slammed his fist into the wall. The pain shooting through his knuckles was nothing compared to the ache in his chest.
He sent a glass flying off the coffee table, and the crash as it shattered on the floor was deafening.
But it wasn't enough. Not even close.
The suffocating silence and the fact that she was really gone were enough to make him lose his mind.
Ethan clung to the thought that she just wasn't thinking straight, that her anger had clouded her judgment.
He believed Claire was just having a fit, like she had so many times before. This time, she was especially mad because the engagement party went south.
It was not the first time this has happened.
Every time something happened with Emily and he had to drop everything to help, Claire would be mad at him for days, accusing him of ignoring her.
But every single time, as long as Ethan put in the effort, bought her favorite gifts, took her to that restaurant she'd been talking about, or just held her and told her he loved her over and over, she'd always soften up and come back to him.
This time would be no different. He just needed a little more time and a lot more patience.