Swipe of Fate

Chapter 12

NEXT up is chapter 12. As the story gets even more wild, please do let me know what you think and provide feedback below. Thank you all so much.

It was five days later when Ethan finally answered me. I had called him every day three times a day for the last week. I sent texts telling him to please at least tell me if we were completely over, so I could say goodbye. 

I blamed myself and accepted what I thought might be the worst outcome: he was gone forever, while somehow maintaining the smallest sliver of hope alive. Then, on the fifth day, he answered.

I didn't block you. I needed to be away from you. Look, we have to say goodbye. You and I both know we are toxic for each other. Our relationship doesn't work.

Of course, Ethan was right. But I couldn't give up that easily.

I know that things right now between us are not working. We need something to change... But I still think we can figure what's not working and fix it.

How? We are too different. It's probably best to just end things now.

No, we can make rules. I can make a proposal about what the rules for our relationship should be, like not talking about other people. We can be okay if we just follow the rules to not make each other upset.

After texts going back and forth with much reluctance, Ethan said:

Rules? You really think that will work?

It's worth a try. I don't want to just give up on us. I know it's complicated, but I think our friendship is worth too much to just give up.

Okay...Send me a proposal by Sunday.

It was desperate and pathetic, but that was just who I was now, I guessed.

On Sunday, I emailed Ethan the full proposal. 

It was too pathetic to even put in exact words here, but it outlined the need for us to believe the best in each other. We wouldn't talk about other people. We would have serious conversations face to face, not over text. 

We would do a lot of things that shouldn't be necessary to keep a relationship alive. 

Ethan, defying all the logic when it came to how our relationship got to this point, accepted. 

I thought we could put the Max explosion behind us. I thought I could forget Ethan had said he was going to shoot Max, that he was going to shoot me.

Ethan invited me over the next night. I told myself things were the same. We still slept together. Riley still smiled and joked with me, but I could feel our impending doom.

We were on the way home from the liquor store, the one Ethan knew the owner of and always purchased beer, wine and whiskey from underage, and I was inquiring about Riley's inability to pick one girl out of three he was seeing casually.

Really, I was inquiring into Ethan's inability in a hidden way.

"Don't you feel stronger feelings towards one more than the others?" I asked Riley as he drove and Ethan sat in the front passenger seat. The options were Natalie, Claire and Courtney.

"I wouldn't really say I have strong feelings for any besides lust," Riley admitted. 

Ethan snorted. I resisted the urge to steam inside. 

"Truth is, I'm still hung up over Anastasia." 

Was Ethan still hung up over Becca? Was that why he was still unable to love me?