To Fight for Love

Chapter 1

It was like any other Saturday morning. The sun was peeking through my curtains just enough for me to know that it was time to get up, and the birds were singing. I looked to my right and saw a shirtless Ethan on his laptop.

“Morning,” I said, shifting from my spot in the bed.

Ethan looked up from his laptop and smiled, saying “Look who’s finally up early.”

“Please,” I said. “It’s not even that early.”

I took a look at his laptop. It read 9:47am.

“Okay, so maybe it’s a little early,” I said, laughing.

I looked around the room, and replayed the scene from last night in my head:

“Ethan, I can’t do it. I can’t just leave you behind!” I said, tears streaming down my face.

“Listen to me,” he said calmly, holding my shoulders. “You can and you will.”

Even with the dim light in the room, I could see that his brown eyes were becoming glossy. He was on the verge of tears. His voice was even starting to give out. It was so unlikely of him to show emotion.

“Katherine!” he snapped me out of my flashback.

“Sorry, I was just…” I trailed off; not wanting him to know what was going through my mind.

“Thinking about last night?” He asked.

I nodded and tears started welling in my eyes.

“Don’t think about it,” he said, pulling me closer to him. He was about to kiss me, but I pulled away.

“I have morning breath,” I said.

He smirked and said “So?” He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and started to get up.

“Get dressed,” he said as he walked out the door. “We’re getting coffee.”

Caffeine. That was just what I needed to get my mind off the events of last night. I jumped out of bed and into the bathroom. I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth. Still in my towel, I walked back in the room to find some clothes. I found a pink t-shirt and some black jeans. I put those on and went back in the bathroom to find my lip-gloss.

When I walked into the living room, Ethan was watching TV. He was still shirtless, but had changed his pants.

“When are you planning on putting on a shirt?” I joked.

Right when I turned around to head for the room, Ethan grabbed me by the waist and hugged me from behind.

“I miss doing this,” He whispered in my ear.

I giggled and said “Me too. Now put on a shirt.”

He walked in the room and nearly twenty seconds later, he came out with a grey t-shirt.

“That was fast,” I said.

He replied with a grin.

***

Living in the city was surprisingly convenient. All stores were in walking distance. This is why I was surprised when Ethan told me to get in the car.

“But I thought you said we were going to get coffee?” I asked.

“We are, I promise.”

Twenty minutes later, we were in the parking lot of Petit-Déjeuner Fantaisie. Also known as The Best Breakfast Place In The World!

As soon as he was done parking, Ethan looked at me and laughed.

“What?” I asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

“You look happy, that’s all.”

He got out of the car, opened my door, and grabbed my hand. We walked into the restaurant while holding hands. We got a table while holding hands. We even sat down while holding hands. It wasn't until our large order of pancakes came, that we realized our fingers had been interlocked the whole time. I was the first to pull away. 1) Because my palms were starting to get sweaty and 2) because I have yet to master the art of eating pancakes with one hand.

As I was pouring my syrup, I remembered the last time we came here. If I remember properly, it was my 19th birthday. That day, Ethan had asked me where I wanted to go. Without really thinking, I replied by saying Petit-Déjeuner Fantaisie. I remember the cute little smirk on his face when he said “This is why I love you”.

The waitress, who I didn't even know left, placed a glass of orange juice on either side of me. One for me and one for Ethan. Looking down, I saw my pancakes drowning in a sea of syrup. What monster committed this heinous crime? Me. I didn't believe it was me until I felt the warm metal handle still in my hands.

Ethan was looking at me. I knew he was. I could always feel his eyes burning gaping pits in the back of my head. In this case, it was the side of my face, and boy did it burn. It burned my face into the slightest shade of pink. I carefully rested the nearly empty bottle of syrup on the table.

“Well,” he started. “It looks like you have a sweet tooth. And it’s not even noon yet.”

“I could say the same,” I said, staring at the mountain of whip cream on his plate.

“Touché,” he said.

For a while, we were surprisingly quiet. It wasn't an awkward silence though. It was an inviting and comforting silence. Every once in a while, I caught Ethan looking me and he caught me looking at him.

When we were finally finished eating, Ethan paid for our breakfast and left a tip for the waitress. I told him I didn’t think she deserved it because she never checked to see if we needed anything else. That was the thing about Ethan. He always saw the good in everyone, but I guess that’s what I liked about him.

Instead of playing the music like we usually do, he wanted to talk. I knew this was going to come back up eventually. He wanted to talk about the events of last night,

“Kath,” he started. I felt a lump start to form in my throat. He put his hand on my knee and squeezed it slightly.

“Kath, we have to talk about it. I know you don’t wanna but it’s for your own good.”

“There’s nothing to talk about. I'm not going Ethan,” I said, wanting to end the conversation before it really started.

“I already got your plane ticket,” he said.

As soon as Ethan turned 18, he had joined the army. When we were little, that was the only thing he ever talked about. Ever since the rest of the world declared war on the U.S, it wasn't safe.

"Where to?" I asked. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em right?

"The only safe place in the world; the island of California."

After an earthquake about 3 years ago, California literally floated away from the rest of the states. It floated so far away that it had to become its own country.

The reality of the conversation hadn't occurred to me until Ethan said "You leave in 3 days. Sunday is your last day."

His voice sounded so cold. It was almost like he wanted me to leave.

"So I have 3 days to spend with the love of my life who so desperately wants me to leave," I said, upset.

"Correction, you have 3 days with the love of your life who so desperately cares for your safety," he said.