The One That Got Away - Ethan Torchio Fanfic

Not Like The Movies

I'm surprised of how productive I'm being this week, I guess inspo keeps coming and I ain't gonna stop it.
Enjoy!
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"You came."

It had been three years, three long years, since I last saw him and I had him so close, yet the distance between us felt like we were on different continents instead the same room.
Neither of us were ready or knew how to break the silence, I only knew I was afraid of the conversation ahead and what the outcome would be, so we stood in silence, with our gazes locked, for a few minutes.
"I don't know what I'm doing here." He shook his head, breaking our staring competition as he turned to look out the window.
"You don't have to be here if you don't want to." Not taking my eyes off him, I walked towards the couch.
"Do you want me to leave?" He looked back at me, his almost black eyes piercing my soul.
"No, I don't!" I quickly shook my head, taking a deep breath as I tried to, once again, calm myself. "But I don't want you to be uncomfortable around me, and to feel that you're forced to be here with someone you hate."
"Hate is a strong word." The way he said it, so calmly, was making even more nervous.
"But do you?" I bit the inside of my cheek, swallowing hard as I waited for his response. "Do you hate me?"
"I don't know what I feel." He shook his head, leaning against the window. "But I don't hate you."
"Why are you here, Ethan?" I raised my eyebrows, leaning back against the couch. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you came, I'm just surprised since Damiano was the one who met me earlier instead of you."
"For starters, Victoria almost killed me when she went back to the hotel and saw me there." He looked down at his hands, chuckling lightly. "I had convinced myself that it was better to leave things like that, that way you couldn't hurt me even more, but she kept talking about how sorry you were, and how you regretted everything. A part of me needed to hear those words for you and not just in a letter."
"I am sorry for what I did and for hurting you, I really am." I quickly nodded, my eyes following him around the room as he walked towards the couch. "Like I said on the letter, I regret how I handled everything. That day, I really thought it was the best for both of us, and I was wrong."
"You broke my heart, Amélie." I swallowed hard, blinking a few times to prevent the tears, that were already forming in my eyes, from falling. "You were the first girl I had truly loved, my first love. I didn't know what to do after you left me, you had become an important part of our lives and suddenly we were like a puzzle with a missing piece, incomplete."
"I know, I wasn't aware of how important I was for all of you until I found myself burying all my feelings in a box." I nodded, leaning back against the couch as Ethan sat on the opposite side. "It wasn't easy for me either, I buried everything but, at the same time, I didn't let myself move on. I just didn't know how to do it. Believe it or not, you were my everything too."
"That's not healthy, Amélie." He shook his head, sighing as he relaxed on the couch. "You cannot live like that."
"I know that, that's why I'm trying to make things right, for yours and my own sake." I got up from the couch and walked towards the kitchen, even though the conversation was going better than expected, I needed a drink with urgency. Holding an opened wine bottle and two glasses, I walked back into the living room. "I haven't gone to Rome in three years, because I was afraid of running into you."
"I know, your mother told me." I almost choked on my drink when he said that, looking at him with my eyes wide open.
"She what?! When did you see her? I-" I shook my head, downing the rest of my glass before pouring some more wine.
"We ran into each other a few months ago, she was actually glad to see me, and sounded honest when she said that she was proud of what we had achieved." He nodded, reaching for his glass and taking a small sip. "She asked, almost begged, to talk to you, to convince you to go back to Rome. In her words, I was the only one who could change your mind."
"I shouldn't be surprised, she also contacted Elle for the same reason." I chuckled lightly, shaking my head as I looked out the window, it was getting dark and I didn't know how much time I would have with him. "It's getting late so, if you want we can order some food, if you want to stay and talk some more."

Much to my surprise, Ethan agreed to stay for dinner, so while we waited for the pizzas to be delivered, just like the old times, I changed into a more comfortable clothes, using that time to also clear my mind and put my thoughts in order.
"The delivery guy was surprised when he saw me at the door." Ethan chuckled, pointing at the pizza boxes waiting on the coffee table as I walked back into the living room.
"Oh, I'm a regular and they've never seen me with a guy in three years, I guess that would be the reason." I shrugged lightly, trying not to think too much about it. "Or maybe he recognized you, since the owners and staff are all Italians."
We both sat down, eating and drinking in a comfortable silence, every now and then our eyes would meet and we would smile softly, and something in the way Ethan looked at me was telling that he wanted to ask me something, but didn't know how to.
"Whatever you want to ask, do it." I nodded, breaking the silence while I ate my last slice of pizza.
"No, it's none of my business." He quickly shook his head, but I could see how it was still running through his mind.
"It is your business if it's bothering you." I shrugged lightly, leaning against the couch with the glass of wine in my hand.
"Alright." He nodded, sighing as he raised his gaze and looked at me. "Is it true what you said on the letter, that you haven't been with anyone else after me?"
"Oh, that." I looked at him surprised, taking a sip of wine before I replied. "It's true, I needed time to myself, and I wasn't ready to start dating either." I wanted to ask him the same, but a little voice in the back of my mind was telling me that I wasn't going to like the answer.
"Now it's you the one wanting to ask something and not doing it." He pointed at me, chuckling lightly as he drank his wine.
"Nah, I'm fine." I shook my head, keeping my gaze on the glass of wine, trying to come up with something.
"I did move on, if that's what you're wondering." He nodded, turning to look out the window. "I'm kind of seeing someone back home."
I didn't know how to respond to that, I could tell him that I understood, that it was normal and I was fine with it, even though I didn't have a saying and it was expected for him to move on with his life, it still hurt me. So I just nodded and downed the rest of my drink.
That had completely killed the mood, and between my crushed hopes and the whole day events, I felt exhausted. So we decided to call it night, saying goodbye with an awkward hug and the fake promise of talking again in the future.

After taking a long shower, I laid down on my bed and grab my phone to send a text to Elle, hoping we could meet the next morning with Victoria before they left to continue with their promo tour. I was putting my phone back on the bedside table when a new notification announced I had received a text.

"It was nice seeing you today, hope we can repeat it soon."

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I'm just going to say, you're not ready for what I have in mind...
Love,
A