Breaking Up

Eloise checked the clock. It’s a little after six when we arrive back at the house. Gail has decided to join them for dinner.

She knew why, and she appreciated it. Hermes greets them as they enter the foyer. His arm still looks sore, but he refuses to use the sling.

He kisses Gail and wraps Eloise in a typical Pierce bear hug while asking them how their day went.

Gail speaks to him as Eloise slips out of her coat and boots and heads upstairs to change into a dress. She got wind from Anna that they were having some company when she suggested she chose something from the closet's left side.

She changed into a little black dress, thinking it was a safe bet as it matched her dark eyes. She has to smile at herself in the mirror as she realizes she resembles her mother more than her father.

Feeling more than a little pleased and with a quick touch-up in the makeup department, she headed downstairs.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my soon-to-be wife,” Ren jokes, giving her a playful smile and a small hug. “Don’t you look lovely?”

“So do you, Ren. I heard you were back. Glad to see it’s true.” She spotted Nicholas across the room talking to Gregory and someone else, his back to her.

“Can I get you something to drink?” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Tale of the Devil?”

She laughed and hit his arm. “No, thanks! Two of those had Edson carrying her to bed last time.”

“It was kinda fun,” Edson jokes, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “You were an open book of info that evening.”

“Hmm.” She rolled her eyes, remembering how drunk she was.

“Can I steal you for a moment?” Edson asks, excusing them from Ren.

Edson keeps his arm around her shoulders as he walks her over to Nicholas. “What did you and Gail do today, Eloise?”

She looked up at him, trying to see if he knew. Bryan promised to keep quiet, and Bryan kept his promises. “Why?” is all she manages to get out before he interrupts.

“Laila told me you stopped by and you had some questions.” Shit, she forgot to tell her to keep it to herself. “Are you looking for a job in town?” Oh, he thinks she was looking for a job. She will let him run with that until she speaks with Nicholas.

“Something like that,” she mutters because she hates lying.

Nicholas studies her face as she comes up to his side.

“There she is.” Gregory nods. “Eloise, please meet—”

“Corporal Jayvie!” she reached out to shake his hand, smiling and pleasantly surprised. “How are you?”

Gregory looks at both of us, confused. “I wasn’t aware you two knew one another.”

Jayvie shakes her hand. “We met when Eloise came to the camp a few weeks back. It’s nice to see you again.”

Bryan appears as she tells Jayvie it’s good to see him again, giving her a nod toward Nicholas, wondering if she has spoken with him yet. She quickly shakes her head.

“Good, Bryan, you’re here.” Nicholas grins. “I wanted to ask you; would you be interested in joining Blackstone?”

Bryan’s face lights up before he tucks it behind his mask.

“I’d be honored.”

“Happy to hear that. You’ll be active as soon as Eloise’s,” he pauses and lowers his voice, “case gets cleared up.”

She rolled her eyes, hating all this.

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” Bryan glances over at her. “You’re up, buttercup.”

Pressing her lips together, she shook her head.

“Could you excuse us, please?” Nicholas leads her away from the group with his hand on her back, directing her to his office. Once inside, away from the noise, he asks her if she likes a drink.

“Yes, whatever you’re having,” she answered, making him stop and turn. She never asks for brandy.

He studies her while fixing their drinks, then leans against his desk while she sips her brandy a few feet away. She was a bundle of nerves. This could go south if she were not careful.

“Anytime you’re ready,” he prompts her. “I’ve got all night, baby.”

She sighed, taking a rather large swig of the brown liquid and feeling it burn on its descent. She and Gail discussed this at length, but she felt like she was about to break his heart…and possibly hers.

“Now that The American is caught, Lucas is dead, Mary is in custody, my father will be soon, and the truth is finally out,” she begins, “I see my life has pretty much been a messy lie. My life has been shattered, and it’s time I pick up the pieces. Since coming back this time, I’ve been feeling all kinds of different emotions.”

His face tightens a little. Eloise can tell this is going to blindside him completely.

“I need to make a change.”

He downs his drink, sets it aside, and folds his arms, which flex like he’s holding back a reaction.

Eloise closes her eyes, deciding to rip the Band-Aid off. “I need to move out.” Silence. Her eyes flutter open to find him staring at the floor. “Nicholas, I need to find out who I am before I can move forward. I just need some time.” He slowly nods.

“It’s not completely safe yet. Your father—” He doesn’t look at her.

“Is being watched by the NYPD, so they'll let you know if he ever heads this way. I’m only moving to town down the street from your parents. It’s a cute little place, one bedroom, a sweet little kit—”

He suddenly stiffens. “You already found a place?”

She only nods, realizing how bad this must look. “I got a job at Jack’s. I have your parents nearby if I get into trouble, and Laila is my neighbor. I know this is a shock, but I need to do this, Nicholas. Please understand.”

He shakes his head and looks anywhere but at Eloise. “And where does this leave us?”

She wants to make sure she uses the right words. He needs to know she doesn’t want to break up.

She loves him. She wants some separate space so she can live a little, be Eloise Lautner, the girl with a dark past but ready to face the light on her own two feet, not have someone looking after her.

This house is fantastic. It’s her home, but the guys are too protective. Now that the threat is pretty much gone, she is ready to take back her life, but before she gets a chance to tell him all this, he tilts her world a little more.

“You know what, maybe some time apart is a good thing. I have an upcoming trip, and I don’t want to worry about you while I’m gone.”

“Don’t want to have to worry about me?” Eloise repeated his words, feeling the sting. “You want to break up?” she barely whispered, feeling her entire body tingle as the blood drained to her feet.

His words slice her open. She knew he worried about her but didn’t know how much he minded it.

He scoops up his glass and moves swiftly across the room, pouring himself another drink.

“You seem to have everything figured out. It seems this goes hand in hand with your plan. Besides, we knew this would have to come to an end sometime. You’re a city girl; I’m a country guy. It’s not a movie, Eloise. This shit doesn’t work out. It’s not always a happy ending. You don’t belong here anymore. You don’t need our protection now.”

Eloise stares at his back in utter shock. She was moving to Redstone! It’s like fifteen or twenty minutes from here, not New York.

She can’t even form a thought. So instead, she places her glass on a coaster and pulls out the paper from her dress pocket, feeling like it is burning her hand. “Christine asked me to give you this. She said thanks for dinner.”

He quickly turned as she rested the envelope against her glass. She left before he could say another word, but she didn’t miss his ‘deer caught in headlights' look before she went.

She doesn’t want to break up, but she will also not be the woman who stands by while another woman has time with him.