C12 CHAPTER TWELVE

Ethan crossed his office parking lot and walked toward his car. It had been a long day, and he was about ready for a break. He had taken some days off work to attend his immediate younger sister's wedding and so he had to finish up with the work that had amassed during his absence. It was all good though, he hated being idle just as much as he hated going back to his empty apartment. Thinking of the wedding, he had to smile a bit.

"Love is indeed a beautiful thing." He thought to himself, as he remembered how happy Megan and Toby had been to tie the knot. He had never seen his sister glow that much and he hoped for her sake that it would last. He himself had been unlucky in love, with his only real relationship coming to a very abrupt and sad end. He scowled a bit, knowing that he couldn't think about her. Thinking about her never ceased to cause sharp pangs of pain and guilt to grip him, so he never did it.

He stopped to get some takeout and his mind strayed to the 'relationship' mess in which he currently found himself. Apparently, he had a self-acclaimed girlfriend... Madison, the girl he had gone home with that day at the bar and had sex with a day after that. Madison was definitely crazy and it was high time he did something about her, although he was not sure what he was supposed to do. Thinking about her made him scowl, and after seeing the funny look that the cashier gave to him, he concentrated on what he was doing and drove home.

However, even as he drove, his mind still strayed to his very lonely life. After all, what else was there for him to think about? This weekend had been fun-filled for him, as he had met his friends and loved ones. But then, it also reminded him of how lonely he was out here and he inwardly resolved to go home more often. He had not had time to check his phone because he was so busy at work and so he had put it on silent. Now, he unlocked it to see that he had fourteen missed calls. Three were from his college buddy and best friend Chad, who lived about three hours away and the rest were from Madison. In addition to the calls, there were also four voice messages. The first one was from Chad.

"Yo man, I just wanted to remind you of our get-together by the end of next month. Seeing as you've got a chicken brain, I've taken it upon myself to remind you about it every now and then. I don't want to hear any excuses like you gave last time. Bruce is also coming. Trust me, we're going to have a blast. Alright. Later."

Ethan had to smile. He really missed Chad and Bruce. They had been a close-knit group and so they still made time to meet together now and then and relive the good old times. It was almost as though Chad had been there earlier this evening when he had been reminiscing about how lonely he was feeling lately and had taken it upon himself to cheer her up. The second message was from Madison and the cheer he had been feeling disappeared as though it had never been there.

"Ethan, please you need to stop doing this to me. I really love you and it hurts me when you refuse to return or even take my calls," she said, sounding like she was crying.

Ethan rubbed his head wearily. Heaven knows that he had never led Madison on, but had told her from the beginning that he was not interested in a relationship. He was tempted to delete the other messages from her but decided to listen after all.

"Ethan! I can't believe that you actually changed your lock! I'm just leaving your house now and I'm surprised that you can do that to me after everything."

He groaned at this, not entirely surprised. Madison had stolen his home keys and had had duplicates made without his knowledge, enabling herself to go and come as she pleased. He had not been cool with this, especially when he needed his space and she had steadfastly refused to give it to him. All this happened within three weeks of their first meeting and it was more than absurd and stifling, to say the least. So, he had changed his lock and hoped that she would take the hint. Apparently, she didn't.

It was at times like this that he thought about Mildred, even though he tried everything possible not to think about her. Thinking about her always brought a fresh and terrible ache in his heart. He had loved her so much, and she had loved him back too with as much fervency, if not even more. But then, she had died in a car accident four months after their engagement. That had been three years ago when they were both twenty-seven years old. Yet the pain was still as fresh as if it had happened yesterday. Putting the thought of the past out of his mind, Ethan deleted the messages without replying and went to bed.