At My Wit's End

Ch. 12 Some Goodbyes.

Carly's POV

It was the morning of truth. Marshall was officially leaving and heading back home. I wasn't really sure when I was going to be able to see him again, which made me entirely too depressed to even think about it. Violet had loaned me her car so that I could bring him to the private jet terminal at the JFK airport, and so we could say our goodbyes. We avoided the subject the entire ride there. I guess we both figured that if we pretended it wasn't happening, it really wasn't going to happen.
Marshall had everything ready security wise, so we were both handed IDs that allowed us to be out near the plane. I parked the car a few steps away, and then we both got out of the vehicle. The airport workers took care of Marshall's bags, so all we had to worry about was telling each other goodbye.
I made my way around the front of the vehicle to give Marshall the biggest hug I had ever given anyone in my life. I could instantly feel the tears begin to form in my eyes just as I was telling myself over and over again that he was leaving.
"Baby, don't cry," he said as he pressed a kiss to my hair. I looked into his blue eyes and tried to push back the tears. I sniffled and felt his hand touch my cheek to comfort me.
"I'll call you as soon as I land, alright? We'll still be able to talk all the time. And when you're ready to come visit Michigan, I'll fly you straight to me. Okay?"
I nodded and gave him another huge hug before I had to watch him go. Marshall, in turn, gave me a very soft and luscious kiss, one that I would have to keep in my pocket for a rainy day.
"I love you," he told me.
I grinned and gave him another small fleeting hug and said that I loved him too.
I watched him walk up the stairs to the plane, wishing that I could just drop everything and leave, but I knew that wasn't the best thing for me or my relationship at this very moment in time. It was terrifying to think about leaving my job, my friends, and not being close to my grandparents. I had lived in New York for the past 4 or 5 years, and it had become home. But so had Marshall.
He turned and waved goodbye to me, so I waved back before getting into Violet's car and driving away. It was so hard to leave him behind, but I put on a brave face and dealt with it.

I headed back to the city and returned Violet's car to her designated parking spot of her apartment's garage. She was spending the day with Jack going over wedding stuff, so I decided not to mope and cry to them about Marshall.
I took out my phone and dialed Ethan's number to see what he was up to. I hadn't seen him since Marshall and I had met that fateful day in the coffee shop. I was a bad friend sometimes.
"Well, well, well," Ethan started. "I would say I was beginning to think you died, but I've been seeing your pretty little face all over the celebrity mags. Do you want to tell me when you became Mrs. Eminem?"
I rolled my eyes and remembered why I loved Ethan Knight so very much. He could always make you laugh no matter what the situation. Ethan just had such a presence and a huge heart you couldn't ignore.
"Well, if you must know, we met at your place of employment, and fell madly in love over pizza and sad childhood stories," I laughed into the phone.
"I missed seeing your whirlwind romance?! Aw, shoot!" He teased in the most serious tone ever.
"Well, I know for sure I don't miss seeing your white naked ass fucking every guy in New York on my couch every weekend."
"You're just mad because I always snatched them up before you or Violet could," Ethan said with a hint of a smirk in his tone.
"Look, Queen Latifah," I began. "Do you wanna hang out or what? Marshall had to leave today to go back to Michigan and I'm sad."
"Why don't you come over to my place and we can have a carb fest so you can explain yourself to me" Ethan replied. "You know I love when people spill the tea."
I hung up the phone and had to laugh to myself at how goofy my friend really was. Spending time with Ethan was just the thing I needed right now in order to forget about the pain I was feeling over Marshall's departure.
After a subway ride next to this couple that literally would not stop sucking face, and a few blocks of walking, I had finally made it to Ethan's. I was expecting Marshall's phone call any minute because it was only a two hour flight back home. Unless there was no phone call coming because I had made up the entirety of the past week in my head.
Then, my phone lit up and there was his name: Marshall.
"Hi, I was beginning to think you were just a figment of my imagination. How was the flight?"
"It was fine," he replied with an upbeat tone. "I'm really wishing you were here next to me right now, though."
"I know you do. I told you, I'll come to visit soon. I promise, Marshall. I miss you already."
"So what's your cute little butt up to today?" He questioned.
I pressed the button to the elevator so that I could get to Ethan's floor.
"I'm visiting a friend. Ethan. He's was the guy at the coffee shop the day we met."
"Oh. So, you're hanging out with a guy."
I rolled my eyes, "Marshall, he's just a friend. Plus, he's incredibly gay, and would never be interested in me."
"Everybody should be interested in you," he sighed. "You're Carly."
"You don't have to worry about anything. I promise. Ethan's harmless."
We said our 'I love you's' and our goodbyes, and hung up the phone. As much as I wished I was with him too, I knew it was better to just slow things down a bit. I was scared that if we moved too fast, that things would inevitably fall apart. I didn't want to push my luck with Marshall, who had a bigger wall than the Great Wall of China around him.
I walked to Ethan's door and banged as loud as I could while imitating a man's voice.
"Stripper gram for Mr. Ethan Knight!" 
Ethan opened the door and rolled his eyes at me.
"Don't fucking joke about male strippers, Carlito. You know I'll get triggered."
I walked into his apartment and flipped myself down onto his couch, crossing my legs on the arm rest.
"So, you ordered the pizza, right?"
Ethan grabbed the boxes off of the counter in his kitchen and plopped them down onto my lap.
"With extra cheese, just for the princess."
"Yessss," I whispered graciously, more towards the pizza box over Ethan. I opened the box, and took a slice for myself, the cheese oozing off of the bread and back into the box.
"So, how big is his dick?" Ethan asked as he sat next to me and turned on the tv. I almost choked on my food when I heard the question. It wasn't out of the ordinary for Ethan to be so forward. That was just his personality, but he still surprised me sometimes.
"You don't want to know anything else about him? Just his dick size...."
"Isn't that all that matters when it comes to celebrities? Isn't that why sex tapes are a thing?" Ethan retorted matter-of-factly. "Is he good in bed? You're complexion is looking rather nice. I'm assuming you two have been riding the hobby horse."
"You're such a bitch," I told him as I flipped the channels on the tv.
"I take offense to that! When have I ever been a bitch to you?"
I knew as soon as he opened his mouth that he wished he could take it back. There were plenty of times he was a total bitch to his friends.
"Junior year of college, you called me a dumpster fire in front of the entire swim team at the Sigma Chi party."
"That's not being a bitch!" Ethan said defensively, with a full mouth of pizza. "I was just nervous around that many guys that I had seen with their weiners almost hanging out. Those little speedos are God's gift to the world."
"What about the time you pantsed me at the gym in front of everyone? I was butt ass naked in a public gym! You got me kicked out of there!"
"You're too skinny anyways. Plus, that smelly dude near the treadmills was a super creep around you. I was doing you a favor," he said nonchalantly.
"What about Wyatt's 25th birthday party? You got me incredibly drunk without my knowledge, smashed his cake I baked myself in my face, and then threw up on my dress?"
Ethan sat there and sighed as he took another piece of pizza.
"...okay, that time I can agree with. I'm a shit friend. We get it. So sorry I don't have the Carly Sheppard seal of approval."
"You're not a shit friend," I told him with a grin, nudging his side with my elbow. "You're a dumpster fire."
I finally found Mean Girls playing on tv, so I left it there and continued to eat the delicious pizza that was before me. Seriously, it was amazing. And then I remembered, the last time I had pizza was with Marshall.
"Speaking of shit... I ran into Wyatt the other day," Ethan said.
"Spare me the details," I retorted. "The best thing that ever happened to me was breaking up with that jerk. You know, and then meeting Marshall."
"That's all he kept asking me about. If he was still in town, if you two were sleeping together, and how he still misses you and could make you happier yada yada yada.
"I called him on his bullshit, deemed him a fuckboy, and carried on with my life."
"That's why, secretly, you're my best friend. Just don't tell Vi."
Ethan rolled his eyes at just the mention of her name, which was quite odd. I always knew Ethan to completely idolize Violet in the way that little kids do their heroes.
"Something happen between you two?"
He shook his head, "No, I'm just over the wedding crap. Straight people can be so annoying sometimes."
"She's just really stressed out, Ethan," I berated. "She's basically going to work and planning events, and then coming home and planning an event. It never stops. Yeah, she's kind of being a bridezilla, but it's okay. It'll be over soon. We love her, right?"
"Yeah, I do love her," he grinned softly. "Just not when she complains about halibut for 3 hours straight."
We continued to joke and laugh with each other for the next few hours or so until I got a phone call from my grandmother.
"Hey, grandma," I grinned. "How are you guys?"
"Not good," she said sullenly. "Your grandpa isn't doing too well. He tripped the other night and broke his arm."
My heart sank into my stomach and I felt like I was going to throw up.
"But he's okay right?"
"Yes, he's going to be fine, just a cast and a few bumps and bruises. I just wanted to call and let you know."
A feeling of sadness and guilt swept over me as I thought about my grandfather being hurt and me not being there to see him. My grandparents had raised me into the woman I was, and I owed them everything for it. I should've been there for him l.
"Well, thank you, grandma. Give him a kiss from me, okay?"
"I will, dear," she said on the other end of the phone, a sweet smile in her voice. "We love you."
"I love you too. Bye."
Ethan looked at me, took my hand into his, and gave it a squeeze.
"If you need me, I'm here."
I took him into my arms and hugged him as tight as I could.
"That's why you're not a shit friend," I grinned.