Next Generation (Book 4)

Broken Hearts

|Paul's POV|

Watching Murphy go up the stairs, I wasn't sure whether to follow her or wait for her to come to me. A breakup? With Ethan? These two loved each other. Was Murphy flirtatious, yes. I've seen Ethan do the same though. They call it being "friendly." This type of situation was more Stephanie's wheelhouse. I guess I could give it a shot and see if Murphy's at least willing to talk.

Heading up the stairs, I could hear her crying. I knocked on her door, no answer. Opening it, I saw her sitting on the floor with her knees to her chest, crying. I closed the door and held out my hand to help her up. She didn't move. So, next best thing was to sit on the floor with her. Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, she moved closer, crying into my chest. All I could do was hold her until she was ready to talk.

"Dad, I messed up," she said.

That wasn't the first time I heard that today.

"What do you mean?"

"I broke up with Ethan."

"You broke up with Ethan?"

All she did was nod.

"Why did you break up with Ethan?"

She sat there, playing with her fingers. A moment later, she broke out of my hold and moved to sit on her bed. Yeah, not in the mood to move if she's going to move to another spot once I start questioning her.

"Murphy, why did you break up with Ethan?"

"It's a long story, dad."

"I'm all ears," I quickly replied.

She signed and moved back to sit against her headboard. I took that as my cue to get up and sat on the foot of her bed.

"You know, you can talk to me about anything, no judgment."

She nodded.

"I went over to Ethan's a few weeks ago for dinner. His mom asked if I could help her in the kitchen with something. I thought nothing of it. While I was helping her, she made the comment of Ethan needing to be single and focus on which sport he wants to play in college whether it's football or baseball. Ethan wants to play both in college. I told her whatever college Ethan chose wasn't up to me. She said he was so in love with me, he'd go wherever I go and that wouldn't be in his best interest. She thought it'd be best for us to break it off, the sooner the better. This way I could focus on my future and he could focus on his."

I sat there taking in what she said. While none of my kids needed to be in relationships, it wasn't my decision to tell them not to be in one. As a parent, I get where Ethan's mom was coming from, but that's a decision that Ethan should make, not her. Again, I get she wants to protect her son. I live to protect my own.

"So, you listened to his mom and broke things off?"

She nodded.

"I mean, she didn't seem to like me much anyway. She said before they moved here, Ethan was more focused on his sports. Then he met me and started to include me in his future plans. It rubbed her the wrong way, I guess."

"Having met both of Ethan's parents, they seem like nice people."

"Some people don't always show you your true colors, but you told me once they do, believe them."

I nodded.

"Is this decision to break up with Ethan solely based off the conversation with his mom or did you want to do this prior?"

She shook her head.

"Ethan and I have talked about going to different colleges. We weren't really thinking that far ahead though because we are applying to a lot of the same schools. I come from a family where you make things work, no matter the distance. If it's meant for us to stay together, then sure, we will. I love Ethan, dad. I'm in love with him. He's my best friend. He's always had my back. I feel like I betrayed him and wasn't completely honest. I just wanted to explain to him..."