Breaking in Pieces

"I Have To."

   "Hiya! I'm back!" Ali walks in the door and sets her keys down. Dec stirs and comes back down to earth. "Hey baby," he says, giving Ali a hug. "How was that?" "Good. It was nice to get out of the house for a bit and clear my thoughts." Dec gives a small smile. "That's great, honey. Really." Ali smiles and gives Dec a sympathetic look. "How are YOU doing?" She emphasizes the 'you' so Dec couldn't avoid the question. He looks down at the floor. "Alright I guess. Isla and I spent some wonderful time bonding." He claps his hands together, suddenly becoming happy go-lucky. "But enough of that," he exclaims, "Isla's hungry! I'll go get her a bottle!" Ali puts a hand out. "I'll do it. You've been taking care of her most of the morning. Let me take it from here." She's heading down the stairs before Dec has a chance to protest.
   Dec sits down on the bed solemnly. He looks at Isla. "What should I do? I mean, I really don't want to end the friendship. I need him. But I have to do what's best for the both of us. I don't want him in any more trouble and I don't want our career to end like this. Now. Here. It's almost inevitable now, though. I guess I should try to have a good time the rest of the year because it could very well be the last time I do what I love." Isla smiles and gurgles, and Dec gives a small smile. "Well I guess I have your approval then." He chuckles. "Don't worry, you'll have a long career. This isn't where it ends." Dec looks up to see Ali standing in the doorway. "Oh," he says, "you scared me!" He laughs a little, an awkward laugh. "Well, you say that. I just don't know what to do." Ali turns around from giving Isla her bottle, who's now in the cot. "About?" She questions, tilting her head to the side a little. "I don't know," Dec says, "a lot of things. Should I end my friendship with Ant? Should I quit? Take time off? Move away?"
   Ali makes a move to sit down next to him. "Well," she says, "that's entirely up to you. However, just keep in mind, friends like Ant are hard to come by. Impossible, almost. Think of all the memories you guys have. How you can't go a second, an hour, a day without thinking about each other. You guys have a special bond that all - well, most - of Britain cherishes deeply. And to be 100% honest with you, you don't seem complete without him. You're not yourself, you're more nervous, you get irritated more easy. He can't go a day without talking about you. He misses you so, so much. I don't think it would be fair to him or yourself to end your friendship. And for the career, that's up to you. But just know that you guys truly saved British television. You have a world record for most consecutive 'Best Presenter' awards. You've won 19 NTA's. That's remarkable, Dec. Your career has been brilliant, beyond words. Do you really wanna walk away from that?"
   By this point, Dec has tears rolling down his cheek, silently crying. "No," He sobs, "no, I don't want to. But I have to. I'll never get back there. We'll never get back up there. It's no use." At that, he pulls his phone out, ready to text their manager.