46. Will we have to break up?

Chapter 32: Will we have to break up?

Kelsey's POV

*****

I didn't know what to tell everybody after my conversation with my father the previous day. I was still under shock myself, and I couldn't bring myself to tell them that I was going to have to move. Meg was the first person I ended up telling, knowing that I owed her that much. She was my best friend and she had stuck by my side through all of my ups and downs, if anybody deserved to know first, it was her.

Meg and I were practically sisters, and I couldn't say that I wasn't expecting the reaction I got from her after I told her. Her eyes widened as they filled with tears, constantly questioning me if I were pranking her. After I managed to convince her that what I was telling her was the horrible truth, she froze, not knowing what to do or what to tell me. My heart broke as she broke in a sob and ran into my arms, crying on my shoulder as tears of my own started streaming out. Her and I were like family, and I did not want to say goodbye to her.

It took her a while to calm down, but when she did she instantly asked me what I was going to tell everybody else, making me look down at the ground without a word to say. I did not have the guts to tell the people who had practically become my family that I was moving so far away, and I also did not want to see Ethan's reaction to the news either. Things had been going so well between us, we were happy together, and things were going to have to end just like that. My father told me that we were going to be moving in three weeks, meaning I only had three miserable weeks to warn them all of my move. Normally, I would have seen three weeks as being long, but in that moment, they didn't seem like enough time at all.

"I don't know Megs, I don't even know what to think right now. I don't even want to accept it," I said with a sigh before she hugged me once more, allowing me to rest my head in the crook of her neck.

"I think you should at least tell Ethan," she said after a while. I nodded, knowing that she was right, even if I knew that it wasn't going to be as easy as that.

"I don't know what to tell him, Megs," I replied. I was petrified of how he would take it, and I kept questioning whether he would get mad at me and break up with me. "His mom just got here and decided to stay for a week, he's so happy, I can't just do that to him."

"I get that but he'd get mad if you don't tell him," she reasoned, saying all of the things which my heart had been telling me, but I had chosen to ignore.

"I'll tell him later, I promise," I replied in all honesty.

Only thinking about what I was going to tell him and how he was going to take it was enough to give me a headache, and to make my heart feel as if it were breaking. Nonetheless, I knew that he had to know. I couldn't keep tricking him into thinking that everything was okay when the probability was that they weren't going to be. That was why I knew that I had to tell him when he entered my room about an hour later and flopping down next to me on my bed.

"Hey princess," he said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before pecking my lips, the action making me smile despite the heavy feeling I had inside.

"Hey," I replied, his eyebrows furrowing as soon as he heard the tone of my voice.

He leaned himself upwards with his hands as he tilted his head to look down at me before placing a strand of my hair behind my ear. "What's wrong? You seem a bit off," he softly said, genuinely sounding worried about me.

"No nothing, I'm fine, don't worry about it," I lied, mentally reprimanding myself for not telling him.

No matter how much I had talked myself into it, I still was not prepared to just open my mouth and tell him. I could see the happiness in his eyes, and the brightness of his smile, and thinking that I had the ability to turn off that beautiful light made me not want to tell him at all.

"You know, when a girl says that she's fine, it really means that she's not. Tell me," he said, looking at me with the most beautiful, caring eyes I had ever seen.

"I just don't know how to tell you," I sighed.

He suddenly sat up, a look of alarm on his face as his Adam's apple bopped up and down as he gulped. "Are you breaking up with me?" He asked, his voice shaking and his eyes full of fear.

My eyes widened as I sat up as well, placing my hand on his as I shook my head vigorously, wanting him to get that demented idea out of his head. I couldn't even believe that he would even think that.

"No, God no, why would I do that?" He let out a sigh of relief at my voice, his thumb flying up to my cheek as he gently stroked it, his eyes softening once more.

"Then what is it that's so hard for you to tell me?"

I looked into his deep, chocolate brown eyes, and knew that I couldn't keep stalling anymore. Ethan had the right to know, and I just had to tell him. I wished that I could keep pushing it back, hoping that doing that meant that I wasn't really moving, but I couldn't do that. If Ethan were to somehow find out from somebody else, it would have hurt him far more than having heard it from me. That was exactly why I had to tell him, right then and there.

"Well, yesterday my dad called after that whole thing with your mom," I started off as he nodded, having witnessed the moment my father called himself. "Well, he told me he got the job he wanted to get."

I was stalling, I couldn't not. The topic was a tough one, and I could not find any other way how I could get myself to go about it.

"That's  great! I'm happy for you," he said sending me a smile, sounding truly excited for me, making what I was about to say even harder.

"Yeah, but the job's in New York. We have to move," I finally blurted out.

He was silent as soon as I told him, no sign of emotion evident in his face. His lips were formed in a thin line, as his eyes were fixed at me, unblinkingly. It was clear that what I had just told him had shocked him, and I found myself silently begging him to say something, anything at all. I would have much rather had him be mad at me in that moment, than just staring at me with no words coming out of his agape mouth.

I feared where our relationship was heading, and I feared everything that I was about to lose just by having said those few words. It hurt me to know that right when I decided to allow myself to feel something for another person, the universe was separating me from him just like that.

"You're moving?" He finally asked, his voice coming out in barely a whisper as his eyes started watering.

"What do you mean you're moving?" Noah said, barging into my room as my head snapped to look at him, shock overcoming me at the fact that even Noah had heard the conversation.

"Yeah, my dad got a job in New York. I have to go with him," I said, tears threatening to spill.

"But can't you stay here with us? You're old enough to make your own decisions," Ethan said.

I smiled at him gently, my hand going up to his cheek lovingly as he leaned into it, a small sigh escaping my mouth. "Ethan, I'm not legally allowed to stay on my own for long, besides, I can't leave my dad alone. He has been by my side for all of my life, giving me all the love that I needed. I can't abandon him now, I have to be selfless," I replied softly, hoping that he could understand where I was coming from.

"But you can't leave us Kels," Noah said as he sat down next to me, his arms wrapping around me in a warm embrace.

"I know, but you have to understand. It's not easy for me to just let my dad move half the way across the world on his own. He's my dad, my best friend, I just can't. I'm sorry," I replied, a tear slipping down.

I knew that they were all hurt, and I wanted them to know that I was hurt too. My heart clenched as I looked at Ethan, a mixture of emotions on his face. He looked up at me, clearing his throat and got up from the bed, his next words hitting me like a truck.

"Yeah, you're right. You should go. I want you to go actually, it's for the best." I could feel my heart shattering into thousands of pieces as I watched him walk out of my room, the pain overwhelming.

I looked at Noah, who was just looking at my door, stunned at what his brother had just done, before turning to look at me softly.

"I'm so sorry Noah," I sobbed as he hugged me, his arms tightening around me.

"It's fine Kelsey. It's not your fault. Ethan is just hurt," he said as he tried to calm me down, rubbing soothing circles on my back.

"And I'm not?" I asked as tears started streaming down my face uncontrollably.

"Shh, it's okay. I'll go talk to him," he gently said as I nodded my head.

He gave me one last squeeze before heading out of my room to look for Ethan, once again putting his emotions aside to help other people, just like the amazing person Noah Walker was. No matter how young he was, he was still a person from whom even I had a lot to learn, and thinking that I was going to have to be saying goodbye to him only a couple weeks later made me feel as if somebody was stepping on my heart.

Ethan's POV

I knew that I was harsh towards Kelsey, I knew it and I hated it, but what I also knew was that leaving would have been much harder for her if she saw how it affected me. I couldn't hold her back from doing what she felt was right, because being there for her dad had to be her main priority, and I could not be selfish and beg her to stay for me.

Kelsey was the kind of person who hated hurting others, and knowing that one of her actions was inflicting pain on another would probably leave her restless. I loved her more than I ever thought possible, and it was for that reason that I wanted her to follow her heart. I knew that I was going to be broken when she left, but I would have taken the pain if it meant minimising some of hers.

"Hey bro," Noah said, sitting next to me in the tree house.

"Hey," I told him, knowing very well why he had gone there. I knew that Noah must have been hurting nearly as much as I was because of Kelsey's news, and yet he was still coming to check on me.

"Why did you storm out like that? You know it's not her fault. She's right, she can't leave her dad alone," he said.

I nodded, not knowing whether I should tell him the reason for my outburst. Kelsey and Noah were best friends, and I knew that there could have been a chance that he would tell her. Even if so, Noah was my brother, and I knew that if he were to find out how important it was for me for Kelsey to think that I was okay with her leaving, then he wouldn't tell her.

"I knew that it would be tougher on her if I were to ask her to stay. I can't do that to her Noah. What she said left me broken, but I couldn't show her that," I explained as he looked at me understandingly, a small sad smile on his face.

"It would be good for her to move, wouldn't it? Her dreams of becoming an actress and a writer could come true over there," he muttered, as if he were asking himself more than I was.

I put my hand on his shoulder reassuringly, noticing the tears in his eyes threatening to come out. Noah was the kind of person to try to find the positive in everything, which meant that he barely cried. Kelsey was more important to him than I had initially thought, and seeing him destroyed made me feel even more horrible.

"And that's why we can't let her think twice about going," I said, my own words breaking my heart.

Noah looked at me, clearly not buying into my strong man act, and with my brother looking at me like that, I could feel tears forming in my eyes. "But she's broken Noah."

"Well of course she is. She's leaving everyone; her best friend, the girls, you," he said, a sympathetic smile on his face.

"I'll go talk to her," I said, getting up from where I was sitting.

I was not going to change my mind about letting her go, but I also knew that she needed me close to her in that moment, and I couldn't let her think that I was happy with her going. I was not going to show her how upset I truly was, but I needed her to know that I loved her.

*****

I stopped slightly as I arrived outside Kelsey's closed door. I had no clue what I was going to tell her, because it was going to impossible to not let her see how much her leaving was hurting me. No matter how hard I always tried to hide my feelings, Kelsey was always able to see right through me, and I knew that as soon as she saw me, she was going to realise what I truly thought about her leaving.

Deciding that me being by her side was more important to me, I let out a sigh and knocked on her door, asking her if I could enter. As I opened the door, my heart broke as I caught sight of her red, puffy eyes. It was clear that she had been crying, and I hated seeing her that way. I wished that there could have been a way for me to remove all of her pain and sadness, but I knew that there wasn't.

"Hey," I said as I sat down next to her, putting my arm around her as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Hey," she sniffled as I gently stroked her hair, wanting to reassure her.

"I'm sorry if  I came off too strong earlier," I said. I was not sorry for hiding my feelings, but I was sorry for having made her think that I didn't care about her.

"I never meant to upset you," she said as she looked up at me, looking so small and sad that she nearly made my heart break.

"I'm not upset Kels," I lied. "I really do think you should go."

"You do?" She asked in surprise, her eyes searching mine for any hint of a lie.

"Yeah, besides there are lots of opportunities for you in New York for your own career, not just your dad's," I said as I tried to avoid her gaze, knowing that she would have instantly figured out my lie if she took one look into my eyes.

"You think I should leave?" She asked, with a small, genuine pout.

"Yeah. Look Kels, I'm going to miss you like crazy, but it's a great opportunity for you and you can't leave your dad on his own," I said.

Saying all of those words to her made me feel as if my heart were being torn apart, yet I knew that it was for the best. I wanted my princess to succeed in life, and I knew that she couldn't do that if she were to stay there, in a place which didn't have any type of resources.

"But if I move I won't be able to see any of you again," she said, the hurt evident in her voice. Hearing her say that was like being punched in the gut.

The thought of never getting to see her again was overbearing. I could live without many things, but I couldn't live without hearing her laugh and seeing her radiating smile. Even if so, Kelsey was too talented for that place, and I knew that even if she were to somehow convince her father to stay, she would someday be leaving anyways. It was her destiny, and even I could see that.

"I know, but your father made the decision, and I'm sure he deserves to live out his dream," I said with a sigh, knowing that what I was saying was the exact same thing she was thinking.

She looked at me and blinked a couple of times, before asking me the one thing that sucked all of the air our of me.

"Will we have to break up?"

I sat there and stared at her, not knowing how to reply. I wanted so badly for the answer to be no, for me to be able to tell her that we didn't have to break up, and that we could stay together even if she was going to be on the other side of the globe, but I couldn't. I did not want to be holding her back from having fun, and I knew that if we were to stay together, she would spend most of her time thinking and worrying about me instead of moving forward with her life, and I did not want that.

"We will, won't we?" She silently asked as she noticed how long I was taking to answer her.

I sighed, giving her a light peck on the forehead, hoping that she wouldn't take what I was about to say in the wrong way. "I don't want you to just think about our relationship and not have any fun. The time difference is a big one, and I won't be able to be there for you the exact moment you need me. I don't want to hold you back from finding someone who can actually be there with you."

I had to admit that telling her those words hurt me probably as much as they had hurt her, The thought of her being with somebody who wasn't me, and confiding in him, angered me. I did not want her to love any other guy who wasn't me, but I also could not be that selfish.

"Let's just stop thinking about this, okay? We should just enjoy what we have now, and then we'll worry about everything else later," I said, intertwining my fingers with hers before bringing her hand up to my lips and kissing it.

"Yeah," she nodded in agreement, right before her eyes widened in panic. "How am I going to tell the girls?"

The love she felt for my siblings was incredible, and thinking about losing the girl who was lying in my arms in that moment was something which I did not want to be doing.

"We don't have to tell them yet, and I'll be right here with you when you do," I said, wanting to at least take some of her worries away.

I wished that I could fight for her to stay. I wished that I could hold her in my arms forever, and never let her go, but often times, when you love someone, you need to do what's best for them, and not what's best for you. That was what I was doing with Kelsey, and I hoped that she could be able to understand that someday.

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry if you thought that was a bit too short and boring but since I have plans this evening I had to make a quick one to be able to publish it. I hope you enjoyed it either way.

So what's going to happen to Elsey? Will their relationship finish once Kelsey moves?

Find out next time on...BTBBF.

xD

Anyways, hope you're having a fantastic day and I'll see you guys next Monday!

Love,

~M