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Without warning, Elliott moves towards me to give me a hug. I don’t fight it. We may not be together anymore, but this man was my life for three years. I don’t hate him. I hate how much time we wasted, but neither of us is the bad guy. Sometimes things just don’t work out, right?
Honestly, a hug feels good after what I went through yesterday, and for just a second, I melt into his embrace. Finally, I step back, inviting him into the house, and he closes the door behind us.
I excuse myself before padding to the kitchen to start the coffeepot. Then, I move to my room to get dressed. I throw on sweatpants and a bra because even though he’s seen me millions of times in much less; it feels weird now to allow myself to be so exposed to him. It’s strange how much can change in such a short time. The entire time I dress, my mind jumps to conclusions about why he’s here. Is it to argue? Or what if he changed his mind? What if the time apart made him realize he loves me and he wants to settle down and give me the life I wanted?
How in the hell am I supposed to tell him I am falling for someone else so quickly?
“Coffee?” I offer Elliott when I reappear in the living room.
He declines, so I make myself a cup and then join him. I take a seat across the room to put plenty of space between the two of us.
His head swivels around the newly painted space. “It looks so different here. Did you do all this yourself?” He asks, in what appears to be an attempt to make small talk.
I nod, “I did. How’d you know where to find me?”
“There’s only so many places to look in Fawn Creek.” He smirks.
“I guess so.” I pull a throw blanket over my lap. Even fully dressed now, I feel more exposed sitting here with him, knowing that he’s been watching my every move from afar.
“How’s your dad?” He asks casually, as though driving to Fawn Creek and showing up in my doorway unannounced is a regular thing for him.
“He’s okay.” I nod. “He had surgery yesterday and they are just watching him now. Hopefully, he will be home soon.” I turn to look at him and sigh. “Elliott, why are you here?”
He shrugs, casually. “I found some of your stuff after you left. I thought maybe you’d want it back.”
I shake my head. “So you just decided to just drive three hours up here to give me stuff that you could have shipped? That makes no sense. You always hated driving down here.”
Elliott lets out a deep sigh and drags the palms of his hands down the sides of his face. I watch him wearily and wait for him to speak. I have not had enough coffee for this beating around the bush business and my patience is wearing thin.
“Well, I also came to talk to you.” He pauses for a beat. “Tyler… I’m so sorry.”
I take another sip of my coffee and put a hand up to interrupt him. “Elliott, we don’t need to do this. You and I are not meant to be together.” I say, feeling almost bad for the guy. Obviously, he’s here because he misses me and I just have no feelings for him anymore. “This was best for us.”
He fidgets in his seat. “That’s actually not it.” He looks down at his hands that he is wringing over and over. “I…..” He looks up into my eyes again. “Kinda met someone.”
His words knock the air from my lungs and it makes no sense to me. I’ve met someone too. This shouldn’t hurt the way it does, but I can’t ignore the sting of it all.
“I know it’s soon…. but I think I’m going to propose to her.” He whispers.
In an instant, my hurt turns to anger. “Wait… what?” I say. “Surely I didn’t hear you right. Last I knew, you would never get married.”
Two weeks ago, we were living together, and he was content with me being his live-in girlfriend for the rest of his life. He had no desire to get married, but now he does? What kind of asshole comes all the way up here to tell me this?
“I know. I’m sorry, I just can’t explain it.” He says.
I stare down at the floor, trying to channel my feelings. “Who is it? Do I know her?”
He shakes his head. “Her name is Jessica. We work together.”
I rack my brain. Why does that name sound familiar? Did we meet at a party or a company picnic? That’s when it hits me, the girl I met after hot yoga. “Is she friends with Mandy and Caroline? Pretty thin brunette?” I ask with a furrowed brow.
He swallows hard. “Yes. How do you know her?”
“I met her when I went to hot yoga with them, the weekend before we broke up.” I say, blinking back my tears. But this time it’s because I’m livid, not because I’m hurt. “So, how long were you messing around with her while we were together? I never pegged you as a cheater, but not much surprises me about you anymore.”
Elliott stands immediately from the sofa to defend himself. “I know it looks bad, but I swear there was nothing going on until you left. She and I were just friends.”
“Well, how convenient for you that as soon as I was gone, she was there.” I say rolling my eyes, and pointing to the door. “Please get out of my house. We are done here.”
