*6 Month time-skip*
I smiled as my laptop started ringing, signaling a call from Imogen. She was due to come home for two weeks any day now and I was looking forward to it. In the six months that she's been living and working in New York, she's come home two times but only for a couple days each time so I was looking forward to having her all to myself for two whole weeks. I set the laptop on the kitchen counter and pulled up a stool to sit on before answering.
"Hey, Imogen."
"Hey, babe. How's your day been today?" Imogen's wide grin was infectious, and I leaned forward on my elbows as if it brought me closer to her.
"It's been pretty good. No school today so Abby and I spent the morning cleaning up her room."
"Where is she now?"
"At her friend Taylah's place. They're having a sleepover."
"How will you go with that? Being all alone tonight?"
"I'll be fine. I did it once before about three months ago when she stayed at my parents' for the night."
"Oh, yeah. I remember. Does my pillow still smell like me?"
"Not really. You've been gone too long now. You need to come home and fix that." The smile fell from her face at my words and I frowned, concerned. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, um, it's just, there's been a bit of a change in when I can come home."
"Oh? What's happened?"
"I, uh, I kinda can't make it home for at least another month. They need me here too much."
"What?" I was upset that she wouldn't be home for longer. "That's not fair."
"I know, babe, I know."
"And it's not the first time, either. There've been other times that you couldn't come home. Imogen, it's getting ridiculous. I need you here. With me. Not halfway across the world."
"I'm sorry. Nick, there's nothing I can do."
"You run the damn magazine, Imogen!" I was getting a little angry at her seemingly careless attitude towards this. "Surely you can take time away from there to visit your family."
"It's not how that works."
"Oh really? So you can take time off to visit the sights and even get to LA but you can't come home?"
"LA was a business trip. I was consulting with the Editors of some American magazines. And seeing the sights, I'm not taking time off for that. That's in my own free time when I don't have work."
"Imogen, do you hear yourself? Making excuses? I thought Abby and I were the most important people in the world to you but here you are barely visiting us just to make a bunch of strangers happy."
"Hey! That's not fair. You and Abby mean the world to me. But if I miss deadlines, I lose my job. And then what? I come home to still no job because the magazine there won't hire me either."
"It's not the only magazine, Imogen." My voice was low and dark, daring her to argue with me but she didn't seem to pick up on that.
"The only one that matters. I thought you wanted me to be happy. That's the reason we decided to do this whole long-distance thing."
"Yeah, but I thought we'd be seeing more of you. Do you know how many days we've spent together in the last six months? Eight days. That's it. And you don't call every day like you promised you would. Abby begs me every day to call you but I don't because I don't want to disturb you if you're sleeping or working. Because your schedule is crazy and I never know what you're doing. You could be hooking up with other people for all I know."
"Oh, don't even go there. That's a little hypocritical, coming from you. I was gone for two weeks before you were all over Charlie."
"I was drunk. And so was he. It was my fault but he pushed me off. You know that. I told you everything. And you forgave me so you can't use that against me." I snapped. I could feel my face heating up as I got angry with her.
"I can. You basically cheated, Nick."
"I didn't. Imogen, you're being a little pathetic right now."
"Right. Look, I can't come home for another month, if that. Make of that what you will but don't go blaming me and bringing up all this other random stuff."
"You know what, I don't care anymore. If you want to come home, then come home, but if it's too stressful for you, or interrupts your new life too much, don't worry about it." It was a mean and spiteful comment to make but I didn't want to talk to her anymore so after I spat out the last words, I angrily shut the laptop, effectively ending the call. Tears fell from my eyes as I sat there for a moment.
We'd never argued like that before, deliberately saying things to hurt each other. This separation was definitely taking a toll on both of us but I wasn't about to be the first to apologise. If she wanted to, she could message me later to apologise.
