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Ellie put up with Tyler’s bullshit simply because she loved him and hoped he’d changed. Her relationship with Tyler mirrored her previous one. She was the one always loving too hard, going out of her way to make sure they were good before her own needs. Tyler had hurt her a lot in the year and a half they’d been together. She still didn’t have significant evidence, but she was almost 99% sure he cheated on her during the week he went to Vegas with some of his buddies. Even though Ellie knew she was letting him put her through this emotional rollercoaster, there was just something about him. Ellie didn’t want to admit that this relationship wouldn’t work. Not yet.

Ellie’s older sister already had several reasons not to like Tyler, and he gave her another tonight when he flaked on Ellie and didn’t show up to her engagement party. Ellie was hurt, yes, but she was more angry at Tyler for humiliating her publicly. After several glasses of wine, it didn’t calm her as Ellie had hoped. Instead, she was angry and drunk—probably not the best combination. It was after two in the morning when Tyler finally decided to stroll through the front door like nothing was wrong. Well, no, he knew what he did wrong because as soon as he saw her, Tyler immediately tried to make excuses. Before he could start, Ellie cut him off.

“No!” Ellie screamed. “You’re not talking your way out of this one!” She warned. She was tired. Emotionally drained. “You promised! You knew how important this dinner was to me! It was my sister’s engagement party, Tyler! Do you know how you made me look? How you made me feel? Do you even care? Like, what the fuck?” Her arms fell to her sides. “You purposely didn’t show up tonight. To spite me for God knows what,” Ellie rolled her eyes. She didn’t know for sure, but from past experiences, Ellie wouldn’t put it past her boyfriend. “Do you enjoy that we fight or something?” Her arms and hands aggressively moved as she spoke. “You do and say shit just to get a reaction, and then you do that thing where you turn that shit around and make it my fault. Not today. I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re the one who turned off your phone, and you’re the one who didn’t show up as you promised.”

Ellie started to walk towards their bedroom but abruptly stopped when something new popped into her head. She turned to look at him, “One of these days, I’m not going to be able to forgive you or take you back when you realise the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.” Ellie couldn’t even cry. She was too angry for that. “I’ve done nothing wrong, and for whatever fucking reason, you feel it’s okay to shit on me every chance you get.” And with that, Ellie turned back around and stomped towards their bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

She fell onto their bed, burying her face in one of the pillows. Ellie knew despite everything she had just said, Tyler wasn’t going to learn. It was a recurring cycle.

The last thing Tyler wanted to do was spend his evening celebrating Ellie's sister, especially since he was well aware that she didn't like him. Did he deserve some of the hate? Maybe. Tyler didn't care, though. He was young and only had one life to live, so he intended to make the most of it. Wyatt's girlfriend was hormonal and pregnant; it was the perfect excuse for a guy's night out. Knowing exactly where Ellie would be made it easy for him to avoid her, and that's how they ended up partying with some tourists at one of the rental lodges on the mountain.

Tyler was still riding the high of the night's festivities when he entered the apartment and was slapped with the consequences of his actions. It didn't take him long to spot how upset Ellie was with him, so he began spewing his white lies to try and get himself out of trouble, but she wasn't having any of it. Tyler knew how infatuated she was with him and for how long; it had become too easy for him to take advantage of that.

"Woah. Think of the neighbours," he said when she raised her voice. He put his hand up and moved it down slightly to get her to stop yelling at him, but it was a failed attempt as she continued to call him out on his bullshit. Everything she was saying was pretty much true. He enjoyed pushing her buttons because he liked watching her get all riled up, and he had intentionally turned his phone off so he could shirk his responsibilities. But honestly? He hadn't thought about how it'd make her look or feel. He figured she'd get over it like she always did. It was just some stupid engagement party, after all. It wasn't like it was theirs or anything.

What she said before leaving the room triggered him the most; he couldn't help but love toying with her, but the thought pushing her until she left him? That was unacceptable. She was his. He'd be damned if he allowed another dude to have her. "Fuuuuck!" he exclaimed, clenching his hand into a fist and punching it into the air before letting out a deep sigh and using that same hand to fix his hair. Tyler finally entered the bedroom once he'd choked down enough of his rage to turn on his "good guy Tyler" act. It wasn't that he wanted to be a "bad guy"; he'd simply seen enough of this fucked up world to know that being "nice" or "good" never got you very far. She'd made it apparent that his usual antics weren't cutting it this time.

"Babe. I'm a fuckin' idiot, alright?" he started as he made his way over to her. "I fucked up royally. I know that, and I'm so sorry. I was only thinking about myself and what I wanted. It was selfish." Tyler placed a hand on her back, paused and thought about what he wanted to say next. "I should have been there for my gorgeous, brilliant, breathtaking girlfriend." It wasn't like he was lying, he did think she was amazing but he wasn't sure he was quite as ready for the commitment as she was.

Ellie's back faced the door when she heard Tyler enter, which stayed that way as he spoke. "You're an asshole," Ellie muttered during his unapologetic apology. She swiftly moved her body from under his hand. She didn't want him to touch her right now. Ellie could smell the cheap perfume mixed with his cologne as soon as he stepped through the door. Her eyes closed, listening to the compliments spewing from his mouth as if he believed them himself.

"For once in your life, just stop talking, Tyler." She already had a headache, and he was only making it worse. "If you had any respect for me or even cared about me, you wouldn't continue to hurt me the way you do," Ellie said. She knew if she did this looking at him, Ellie would crumble and wouldn't say what she needed to. Once her gaze settled on their framed picture on the nightstand, Ellie reached out and placed it face down. "That stupid fucking smile," she mumbled. Ellie stared at the wall a little longer before rolling over to face him, finally.

"Why do you smell like another girl?" Ellie called him out. She tried to stay strong, but the crack in her voice told another story. "And don't lie. I may be blonde, but I'm not dumb," she warned. At this point, she didn't care how badly the truth would hurt. She just wanted Tyler to be honest with her. Especially when she already knew the answer.

Ellie sat up and turned her body towards him. "I know if I walked out that door right now, you wouldn't give a shit." It hurt to say it out loud, but she knew it was true. Tyler would continue to live his life. "I think I should probably go to my sister's," Ellie announced. Did she plan on leaving? No. Tyler already thought he was losing control. She wanted to toy with his emotions a little more like he did with hers. "It's probably for the best right now," Ellie said with a frown before getting off the bed and grabbing one of her overnight bags from the closet. "It was your apartment first, anyway. It only makes sense," she choked back her tears, hoping Tyler would stop her. She just wanted him to know what it would feel like to lose her.

Ellie emptied her drawers and placed her undergarments in her bag before going over to the closest and pulling tops and bottoms off hangers. She didn't even bother folding them before shoving them into her bag. Was his heart breaking? She couldn't tell, and she didn't want to look at him to find out.

He obeyed and kept quiet while she composed herself enough to finally turn and face him. Before he even had a chance to try and flash that 'stupid fucking smile' at her, she confronted him about one of his many fuck ups from this evening. Nothing had even happened; a little flirting and innocent touching, but, despite her best efforts and his raging sex drive, he'd stopped it before it got too far. Staying silent wasn't the right answer either however because she wasn't done chewing him out.

Tyler was faced with a decision: whether to let her leave or to fight for their relationship. He knew what she wanted, but it felt like a lose-lose situation to him, and he hated to lose. If he let her go, he wouldn't have her, but if he made her stay, he would have to change to keep her. He didn't know if he was ready to change in the ways she wanted. As beautiful and spectacular as she was, the thought of only ever being with one girl forever felt foreign to him. He loved the thrill of the chase too much. Luckily for her, right now she was also forcing him to have to chase her if he wanted to keep her.

Watching as she started to frantically shove her clothes into a bag, Tyler finally broke the silence that she'd originally requested. "Ellie. El, babe. Stop." he started his pleading as he got up from the bed and moved over to her. "Jesus! Stop." His voice became firmer with the second stop and he grabbed onto her wrist as she tried shoving more tops in the bag. "Your turn to stop talking and listen to me. You want to know why I smell like another girl? Some nothing nobody tried to shoot her shot but guess what? Nothing happened. I could have had any of the girls that I wanted but I didn't want any of them. I want you." Using the hand that was still latched onto her, he turned her around to look him in the eye so she knew that he meant it. "And, I'm sorry."

“You want me?” Ellie scoffed and rolled her eyes while pulling her wrist out of his grasp. “You’re not sorry. You’re only sorry because I’m holding you accountable for your stupid fucking actions,” she firmly added. “If you wanted me, if you loved me, you would’ve been with me tonight. Not with some random ass girl doing God knows what, Tyler!” She refused to call him anything other than his name right now.

After fitting what she could in her duffle, Ellie brushed past Tyler and entered the bathroom. It prompted Tyler to follow after her as he continued pleading for her to listen to him. She rummaged in the cabinet underneath the sink, looking for one of her travel bags. “We want two different things.” Ellie forced out, holding back her tears. Standing her ground had been a lot harder than she had anticipated. She immediately wanted to cave and give in to his cries. Ellie could tell in his voice how scared he was about her packing up her stuff right now. It had never happened before. Finding what she wanted, Ellie stood up and started placing her beauty products in the bag. When she went to leave, Tyler planted his feet and stood in the doorway so she couldn’t pass. Ellie sighed heavily, “I’m not in the mood,” she told him, trying not to show her emotions. “Ba-“ Ellie quickly caught herself and stopped talking.

They stared at each other silently for a few seconds. “What do you want from me, Tyler?” After putting up such a fight, he finally broke her. “You don’t act like you care about me at all,” she told him. “If I’d do what you do you to me, you’d be fucking pissed.” If he kept nagging her, he knew he could convince her to forgive him eventually. “Why should I stay?”

The metaphorical devil on his shoulder reminded him why he should have gone home with the random girl at the party. His night would have ended on a much happier note. The angel was quick to question if having a good night was worth losing a potentially happier life. Not that he would say he was a believer, but a travelling carnival psychic did inform that they were meant to be. Tyler remembered asking Ellie how many other soulmates she thought that lady had talked to that night. Were they destined to be forever and always? He honestly didn't know, but he did know that the thought of losing her felt like having the strong man from that same carnival punch him square in the chest.

Yes, they wanted different things from the relationship, but was that her admitting to no longer wanting him? That thought broke him. He'd never pushed her to the point where he felt he couldn't talk his way out of it... until now. This was the first time he felt like he was going to lose her if he didn't fight harder. "You're right. I'm a selfish idiot... I was only thinking about myself. I fucked up. I'm always fucking up. I'm a major fuck up, and I don't deserve you." The words began pouring out of him as he finally started speaking from the heart. "Please, babe, just don't go. Please. Let's talk this out."

Tyler filled the doorway as best as he could; he wasn't ready to give up yet. His solemn green eyes stared into her baby blue eyes. When she was happy, they sparkled and lit up the room, but when she was mad or sad, like now, they reminded him of stormy skies. He remained silent as she spoke the truth but finally spoke up when asked why she should stay. "Because I love you." Tyler paused and pushed his hair out of his face. "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I mean that. And it scares me, makes me feel like I'm losing control. I hate it; losing control. But... you. It's always you." He wanted to go on but, instead, found himself getting choked up and tears trying to form in his eyes. "I'm sorry. Not because I'm in trouble, but because you deserve better."

Her eyes widened in disbelief as he started to take accountability for his actions tonight. She wasn't going to fall that easily into his trap, though. "No," Ellie answered when Tyler pleaded for her not to go and for them to talk this out instead. "We should've been already talking this out. Especially when you feel the only thing to do is to cheat on me,” Ellie said sarcastically but meant every word. “Because that's what you did. That's what you do. There are no ifs, buts or ands about it... nothing. You don't think I notice the unmarked numbers that call you?” Ellie asked rhetorically. “I pick my battles with you because I love you so fucking much, and I ignore so many red flags that I shouldn't just to keep you,” Ellie admitted.

As much as he deserved the pain at the thought of losing her, watching her boyfriend cry broke Ellie's heart. She wanted to keep up her defences, but the wall crumbled as quickly as it had gone up upon hearing the three magic words escape from his lips. “You love me so much that you cheat on me? That doesn't make sense, Tyler! You're hurting me, the one you supposedly love,” Ellie said with a hand gesture towards herself. It wasn't a valid excuse. Not anymore. "You're scared and I get that, but you're going about everything the wrong fucking way, and I can't do this anymore. My heart hurts. You've broken it enough.”

Ellie pushed past him, closing her eyes tightly, finally letting the tears stream down her cheeks. Purposely making sure her back was facing him, she continued crying and silently packed the remainder of her important belongings. When Tyler came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, Ellie began crying harder. She didn't understand how someone she loved so much and claimed to love her could hurt her like he did. Love sucks. Ellie thought to herself before finally letting her body relax in his arms. She surrendered and turned to face him. “I love you, you idiot. But stop acting like one. If you're feeling overwhelmed with our relationship, talk to me,” Ellie said through her sniffles. “I think I'm still going to go to my sister’s though and give you some space.” Their families warned them that living together could be difficult, and expressed their concerns about them moving too fast. Maybe she was crazy for still deciding to leave after everything, but she thought it was for the best. Tyler was feeling smothered, and maybe her leaving and him getting a chance to miss her would be a good thing for their relationship.

Tyler was a smooth talker, but he'd never expected her to want to come back here tonight. If he had, he would have cleaned up some. She was the neater of the two, but he wasn't typically this messy either; he'd simply been too depressed to be bothered with picking up after himself. "Sorry about the mess. I promise I'll get it all cleaned up tomorrow," he told her as he threw away some empty beer cans and burger wrappers. He wasn't expecting her to want to move back in immediately, but he hoped to assure her that it wouldn't look like this when she did decide to return home.

Tyler ordered the two of them some food on their brief walk home, but they still had time before it would show up. "You want to find a movie to watch? Pick anything you want. Even those girly ones that I hate," he suggested as he scrambled to tidy up some more. Secretly, he also hoped for a break from talking things over for a bit. He'd taken everything Ellie had told them on their trip back to the apartment seriously, but maybe now they could enjoy the time they had left before Ellie's return to Faye's watchful eye. Watching a movie also provided him with less likelihood of saying something stupid and fucking it up. The memories of the last time they were here together lingered like a dark cloud, but he could feel the sunshine coming out soon.

Letting out a sigh of relief when she agreed, Ellie searched for something for them to watch while he continued to make the apartment more presentable. It was far from perfect, but it at least felt better by the time the food arrived. Tyler lit one of Ellie's candles and finally joined her on the couch with the food. Tyler felt the tension leave his body as they sat quietly, enjoying their food and each other's presence while watching the movie she picked.

Ellie shrugged her shoulders when he apologised for the mess. “It’s cool. It is your apartment, and you can do whatever you want.” She said as she started to take off her coat. Ellie wasn’t trying to be mean. She was stating the obvious. She didn’t live there anymore, and she didn’t know if she would ever again. There were too many bad memories still lingering, and it made her sad even though they had reconciled.

She smiled and nodded before retrieving the remote and making herself comfortable on the sofa. Ellie watched him momentarily as he moved around the apartment. He still seemed lost and not okay. She’d watched him long enough to know when something was wrong. The knock at the door brought her back, and she started to look for something to watch. “How about we change it up and watch one of those unhinged Lifetime movies instead?” Ellie wasn't ready to watch an overly cheesy, generic romantic comedy with him yet; it’s all she's been doing, along with crying and wondering why Tyler couldn't be as thoughtful and romantic as some of those Hallmark movie men.

For the moment, the silence wasn't killing her. It gave her time to think about what to do with her sister. Faye would not be happy to find out they got back together, and it was enough reason to lock Ellie away forever. Ellie also had to figure out how to tell Tyler that Faye wanted to fix her up on blind dates and that he had to stay a secret. She didn't want to keep Tyler a secret, though. She has always been proud to call him hers despite his reputation and what everyone else thought. Ellie didn't want to rock the boat with her sister this soon. Faye could be intense sometimes. She let her feelings get the best of her. “I have to tell you something,” Ellie said as she leaned forward and placed her food on the coffee table. She muted the television before turning towards him. “You know Faye is… over dramatic,” Ellie said with an eye roll because that was her being nice. “She’s been trying to fix me up on blind dates,” Ellie knew by confessing all this, she proved Tyler to be right about Faye and how much she could influence Ellie. “I haven't, though. I'm not interested in anyone but you,” she reassured him before he had time to think anything else. “But, like, I can’t tell her about you, and I know that sounds stupid and cowardly, but she'll find a way to ruin this because she’ll think she's protecting me,” Ellie said as she reached out to take one of his hands and pulled it into her lap. “I want to protect you and what we have from her wrath. She doesn't understand how madly in love with you I am,” Ellie admitted.

Ellie hoped Tyler wouldn't be offended and at least try to understand. Other than their aunt, Faye was the only other family Ellie had, and she didn't want to fight with her over something Ellie couldn't control. She couldn't help that she was in love with such a heartbreaker. Ellie tilted her head to the side, “Are you okay with that?” She said with a slight frown. “It won’t be forever, just until everything dies down,” she added quickly for more reassurance.