Chapter Text
Ethan should’ve known. From the sleepless nights and the ‘working late’ and the fights that had been becoming more aggressive as days went on, he should’ve known. He scolded himself for not knowing sooner.
It was only when he checked his boyfriend’s phone in the middle of the night, did Ethan realize the truth. Page after page of flirtatious conversations flashed across the lit up screen, all from different women and men. Kissy faces and xoxo’s littered the bottom of paragraphs he’d send to the various flings within his inbox. His heart felt as if it fell to the ground and crashed into a million pieces with every scroll.
Tonight was the night he’d decided to confront his soon-to-be ex lover. The brunette spent all day preparing a meal while Liam was away at ‘work’. Bowls and pans sat on the counter while Ethan worked madly. He didn’t dare let himself break down while he cooked but tears would slip and his lower lip would quiver occasionally. Ethan didn’t even think about how he was supposed to act normal while filming Unus Annus videos with Mark and Amy; it completely slipped his mind.
~~~~~
The clock mounted on the wall read nine at night, signaling Liam was already an hour late. Ethan sighed and placed two plates on the table. Before placing some of the dinner onto the plates, he made a beeline to the wine bottles and poured two glasses. Every single thought was rolling through his mind. He didn’t even know if he would go through with the confrontation. The way Liam would put on a sickeningly sweet tone of voice when something was wrong could always lure the younger man in.
The sound of the front door to their place opening took Ethan from his thoughts, which he then realized he was biting at his nails nervously. His head turned quickly to face his boyfriend, Liam. Liam was a taller, more muscular man. His hair was dirty blonde which his green eyes complimented so nicely. Just glancing, Ethan felt so insecure. He almost asked himself 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦, but it nearly made him dryly laugh as he realized no, he didn’t just choose Ethan. Liam chose many, many people apparently.
“Hey, bubs. How was work?” Ethan tried his best to sound upbeat and cheery, but a more monotonous tone slipped out.
“It was alright, I guess, boss made me stay late. You know how it is, Ethan.” Liam sighed, stepping into the dining room and placing a small kiss on top of the brunette’s head. He kept from grimacing.
“What smells good?”
“Oh, I made dinner for us! I have an announcement, actually.” Ethan falsely smiled, hoping the older man wouldn’t notice how it didn’t quite reach his aquamarine eyes. He pulled out a chair for Liam to sit in. Once he did, the younger man went into the kitchen and grabbed a bowl of salad he’d forgotten to bring to the table.
Liam’s shouting from the dining room made Ethan’s mood worse, “I can’t wait to hear, maybe you finally got a 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 job? That kitchen better be clean, too.” Normally, between a couple, you’d assume it was just playful banter, however, Liam was quite the controlling person. Ironic considering how much freedom Liam HAD.
Once Ethan returned to the table, he sat across from Liam. he noticed Liam’s wine glass was already drained.
“This looks…okay,” Liam spoke lowly, stabbing a piece of steak and biting down into it. The brunette bit his lip to keep from cussing him out then and there.
That was the last anyone said before they got to work eating their meals. Ethan thought he’d done a pretty good job, even if Liam wouldn’t ever admit it.
~~~~~
“What’s the announcement? I’ve been waiting. And stop staring into space, makes you look crazy.” Ethan jumped, used to the silence. His stomach turned with the sudden words. His throat dried up.
“Well..” The brunette paused, looking for proper words as his leg began to bounce. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, he urged himself.
“Well?” Liam set down his knife and fork, staring intently at his partner whom he’d been unloyal to for ages.
Ethan smiled, seemingly about to spill some fantastic news, and he did, but it wasn’t quite fantastic to Liam. “I’m breaking up with you.”
“What? What’d you say?”
“I’m done. I went through your phone, jackass. Did you think I wouldn’t find out? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Liam’s emerald eyes went wide and his mouth slightly opened as if he was about to say something. His pale face went red with embarrassment.
“Ethan, I..”
“Go on, try to apologize for this, fucker.” Ethan knew he’d usually NEVER talk to such a horrible boyfriend this way, but he was feeling brave tonight. The younger’s hands shook as adrenaline overtook his body.
“Baby..it’s not what it looks like, I promise-”
“Cut that voice out, it’s not working this t-time.” Ethan breathed, tears already spilling down his face more from frustration and hurt than sadness.
The two men sat in silence while Ethan pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the screen on, going right to his gallery so he could prove to Liam he wasn’t crazy.
“Why don’t we read some of the messages I screenshotted then?”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Some unsaved fucking number said, ‘Can’t wait for Saturday, my legs hurt haha.’ to which YOU said, ‘I’ll hurt them some more if you’re good for me.’ Is this not what it looks like? Because it’s pretty fucking clear to me, Liam.” Ethan spat, clearly extremely aggravated.
Liam knew he was already fucked, so he did what he was best at. Begging. “Ethan, Ethan please. I know I fucked up, but please give me another chance. Please stay. Ethan please. Why the fuck were you even snooping around on my phone anyway? What happened to trust?” Liam’s voice grew louder, causing the brunette to wince. He came back just as hard.
“TRUST? TRUST? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? WE NEVER HAD TRUST! NOT SINCE YOU STARTED FUCKING RANDOMS FROM OUR 𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙏𝙊𝙒𝙉!" Ethan screamed, standing up and slamming the table.
“It was an accident. Please, baby, lower your voice. You’re acting crazy right now.” The visible disgust on Ethan’s face was apparent.
“Don’t you fucking dare, you prick. We. Are. DONE.”
“Get out of my house then.”
“It’s not even your house you idiot. It’s mine.”
“Paid for it with a ‘job’ that you suck at. Maybe you’re getting extra from sleeping with…what’s his name? Mark?” The blonde male stuck his bottom lip out, mocking Ethan’s sad face.
Ethan’s heart skipped a beat. He was furious now.
“Don’t bring my friends into this.”
“You brought my friends into this so why not? Hm?”
“BECAUSE MY FRIEND ISN’T MY FUCKBUDDY, LIAM. God, you are SO FUCKING insufferable.” With every loud word, the brunette slammed his fists on the table, knocking over a wine glass and sending plates to clink together. An eternity’s worth of anger was spilling out tonight.
“I’m leaving. I want you out in two days. If you’re not, I won’t hesitate to call the fucking police.”
With these final words, Ethan stepped away from the table and practically ran to the stairs so he could begin to pack clothes. One thing that wavered on his mind was who he would go to once he left.
Kathryn would be happy to have him, but ever since she’d gotten a partner herself, they were all who she had time for. And most of his friends were either busy or asleep. Once he was upstairs, Ethan pulled his phone from his pocket and looked through his contact list, dreading who he knew would be up.
He wasn’t dreading calling Mark to spend a couple of nights because he didn’t 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 Mark. The two owned a channel together, it was obvious that the two had a great friendship. Ethan dreaded it because Mark didn’t know he was gay. Although the two were very close companions, the brunette only came out to two people. He wouldn’t dare take it public yet, fearing backlash and bullies online.
Ethan couldn’t lie, either. Mark was a prayer, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 when one of his friends was upset. He texted Mark’s number, trying to sound as calm as he could when in real life his hands were shaking uncontrollably and tears clouded his vision.
__
𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙧 𝙪 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚
𝙔𝙚𝙖𝙝 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙪𝙥? 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮?
𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨
𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚 𝙚𝙩𝙝, 𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙄 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜'𝙨 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮.
__
Ethan let out a shaky sigh of relief and stepped to his closet to grab a dark gray suitcase he could throw some things in.
An assortment of clothes, chargers, self-care things, and other small items were packed away with haste. Once he paused and let himself feel, Ethan realized how hard he’d been crying. Hiccups and broken sobs wracked his body.
“Ethan this conversation isn’t done!” A deep voice boomed from downstairs.
The man paid no mind to his now ex-boyfriend and zipped the suitcase shut, grabbing the handle and taking it off the bed so he could head back downstairs.
Liam’s eyes met Ethan’s once he reached the top of the stairs. He kept going though, avoiding the older man. The suitcase behind him thudded on the steps while he walked.
~~~~~
“Ethan, I’m talking to you-”
“Spence!! C’mon bud where are you?” Ethan called out, ignoring Liam and searching for Spencer; there was no way he would leave his dog with this dick.
A happy, smaller dog trotted to the younger male, tongue hanging lazily out of his mouth. Spencer didn’t seem to have a clue about the heavy atmosphere that seemed to blanket the house.
They walked to the front door where the brunette slipped into his shoes. Liam stood behind them, breathing heavily. Ethan opened the door, and the cold night air flowed through the house.
“You’re not leaving,” Liam demanded.
“I am…and I’m 𝘴𝘰 fucking happy I’m getting away from you. You’re a horrible human being and such a fucking cun-” A hard shove from the back caused Ethan to lose his balance; the concrete steps approaching fast. The brunette reached an arm out to catch himself but felt the stairs slam into his ribs, knocking the air from his lungs.
All he could do was stare up and gasp for the air that had left him. In the corner of his eye, Liam stood as still as a statue, smiling.
“See you soon, Ethan.” He whispered. Footsteps echoed and then a door slamming soon followed.
~~~~~
Ethan lay there for a few minutes. He’d finally gotten his breath back, but all he could do was sit and cry. Spencer lay beside the male, nudging him with his wet nose, almost urging the male to get up.
He realized there was no use in staying in the cold, so he slowly stood up. It was difficult, and his ribs ached with every breath, but he knew there wasn’t serious damage. God, did it hurt though. Once Ethan was up, he made his way to his car. This going to be an even longer night.
~~~~~