Prompt: Can you do one where Will and Ethan never got back together?
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I sat, hugging my legs in the corner of my room. I had lost a ton of weight, and my fingers gently traced the new marks on my legs.
My door opened and I jerked my hand away from my legs. Benji came in and I looked up at him with tired eyes. My nightmares had been merciless lately.
“Hey Ethan,” he said, his voice gentle. He held his hand out to me and I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. “We didn’t see you all weekend, and you weren’t in school today. We were worried.”
Jude, Nate, and Landon had been having a freaking ball making a punching bag out of me. My body was constantly covered in new bruises from them. My grades were slipping in school, and I really just dreaded going.
How ironic. Will’s disinterest in school had started us towards our relationship, and now it was happening to me.
Will had nearly failed out of college that semester, and his parents made him get a second job and pay for all of his classes to make up for it. He had been forced to work and take summer classes to get himself back on track so that he could graduate on time.
He was living at home again this semester, dreading his school since they found out about us. Anytime they hung out at Sonnet’s house, I wouldn’t go.
I had hit a point in my life where I didn’t know which was worse. I didn’t want to be alone, but I didn’t want anyone to leave me again. At least if I didn’t have friends, I didn’t have anyone that could break promises to me and leave me alone again.
“Ethan!”
Benji snapped in my face. He was the only one I still trusted. Even Gideon and Sonnet made me wary.
“Sorry, I was busy fantasizing about your ass. Your pants are really tight,” I said.
He pouted. “I hate you. It’s laundry day.”
“You can admit that you’re just trying to impress me,” I said with a wink.
“Look, we’re going to Sonnet’s and we want you to come,” he said.
“No thanks,” I said.
“Ethan, please,” he said with a frown.
“Going to my moody ex boyfriend’s house. What could possibly go wrong?” I said.
“Ethan, please, come with us,” he said, giving me a pleading look. “We want you there.”
I sighed, looking in his eyes, afraid to refuse Benji. “Fine, fine, fine. But if things get awkward, you’re in charge of handling it.”
“Deal,” he said with a smile.
We went outside and got in his car. I was afraid I would have another panic attack, since those were becoming common for me again, but I figured Benji would handle it.
We got to Sonnet’s house and I took a deep breath before following Benji up to the door. He rang the doorbell and Sonnet answered, letting us in.
“Ethan, ditching school,” Sonnet said as she led us up to the living room.
“I was too busy making sweet love to one of my many hot booty calls,” I said, sitting on the couch with her, Benji, and Gideon.
We started playing a card game together, and I forced myself to relax and laugh with them. But then I froze as I heard a door in the basement shut, and footsteps on the stairs.
Will came up, his hair a tangled mess, his clothes lazily put on. “Sonnet, do we have leftovers from last night?” He looked over and I saw him force back his surprise at me being on the couch.
I put my hands together and made them swim. “Awkward turtle.”
“Sarcastic as always,” Will said dryly. He looked awful. There were heavy bags under his eyes, and I could tell he had lost weight too.
“Yea, there’s leftovers,” Sonnet said.
Will eyed me, and I couldn’t read him, couldn’t read a damn thing he was thinking. My heart ached at the sight of him, but I had tried calling him and texting him and visiting him, but he had shut himself in.
Sonnet told me he had become even more introverted after our breakup. She said he was basically closed off from the world, and even his close friends had trouble pulling him out of his shell long enough to hang out.
Will disappeared into the kitchen. He returned a few minutes later with a small plate of food, and didn’t bother looking over at us as he went downstairs. I heard his door shut, and had a feeling it wouldn’t open again for the rest of the night.
What a giant fucking mess. God, I hope Jude Tibbits dies. I hope he dies so painfully. I hope he dies screaming and crying and begging.
I shook my head, pushing away the dark thoughts that I had trouble hiding nowadays. Our relationship was over, we were never getting back together, and as many times as I cut myself or wished for Jude to die, that wasn’t going to change.
I shrank against Benji, the only person I trusted anymore, and wished that I had never met Will and saved myself this pain.
