Hey babes! Back again with a new chapter for ya! It's pretty rare that I'll do this twice in a row, uploading two chapters in one week, I just really want to get to the end of this one because I have a Christmas one-shot planned for my 25 Days of Skyeward and I don't want to upload it before this story is all finished posting. So yeah, that's why I'm doing this.
Anywho, this one's a bit of a turning point, I guess you could say.
Enjoy!
Entering the living room of his place from the hallway, Grant takes a moment to lean against the wall next to him and smile at the sight of Sophia lounging comfortably on his couch, watching something on the television screen in front of her, the tiniest hint of a smile on her lips. He loves watching her be so at home at his place, it makes him think that everything might actually work out for him in the end, despite everything else that has happened.
A sinking feeling enters his gut though, at remembering what happened during Spring Break that his girlfriend still doesn't know about. Can he really continue on in a relationship with her without her knowing the truth?
"Hey."
Pulling himself from his thoughts, he smiles softly at his girlfriend. "Hey."
"Is Jess asleep?" she asks him, shutting off the TV and shifting on the couch.
"Sort of," he replies, crossing the carpet of the living to sit down next to her. "I told her she could stay up a little longer to read more of her book. I figured it's the summertime so she doesn't really need to be going to bed super early." He takes a deep breath. "So what have you been doing?"
"Just watching some TV," she tells him. She shifts a little more and turns toward him. "But you're here now, so we can probably do something else a little more fun." She smiles as she leans forward to press a quick kiss to his lips. "What do you say?"
"Um, actually, can I talk to you for a minute about something?" he rubs at the back of his neck nervously, a small frown on his face as he looks at his girlfriend.
Sophia smiles and nods, leaning back a little. "Yeah. I actually have something I want to talk to you about too."
"Oh, okay. So, do uh, do you want to go first?" he asks her.
She shakes her head. "No. You can."
"Okay." He shifts a little in his seat and breathes in deeply. "Um, so, during spring break, when Skye, Miles, and Jessica were here, we all went to the zoo because Jess really wanted to go since she's never been before. At the end of the day, Skye and I were sitting outside while Jess and Miles were in the gift shop. We uh, we were talking about the past and how things used to be between us when we were together and uh, we sort of...kissed."
Sophia sucks in a sharp breath.
"Well, technically I kissed her and then she kissed me back. But I promise you that it was a onetime thing and it didn't mean anything to me."
"Yes it did," she whispers.
He furrows his brows. "What?"
"You can't just kiss your ex wife, who you've known practically you're entire life and have a child with, and tell me that it meant nothing to you."
"I was just caught up in the moment," he tries to defend himself.
"That's exactly it, Grant. If it didn't mean anything, even if you were caught up in the moment, you wouldn't have kissed her. And you wouldn't have waited until now to tell me."
"Skye didn't want either of us to say anything to anyone."
"So because Skye said that you couldn't, you didn't."
He shakes his head. "No. I also didn't want anyone to know because it'd be all over social media instantly and people, especially the gossip sites and magazines, would blow it way out of proportion and make life so much more difficult for everyone involved, including you. And I also didn't know how to tell you."
"Well it seems like you did perfectly fine just now."
He groans. "Can you please just work with me here? I'm trying to be honest with you. I've felt so guilty keeping this from you for as long as I have."
"I don't want you to tell me things out of guilt, Grant. That's not how relationships are supposed to work."
"I know that. And I'm really trying here. Just tell me what I need to do."
"But I shouldn't have to tell you, Grant," she says to him softly. "You should just know. We've been together for a few months now, I thought you'd know me well enough by now. Or maybe if I was a different brunette you'd have no problem confiding in me about things."
Grant's eyes narrow. "Whoa, hey. That's not fair."
Sophia sighs and nods. "You're right. It wasn't, and I'm sorry." She takes a deep breath. "But what's also not fair is me feeling like I'm more invested in this relationship than you are. And I don't want to feel like that, Grant, I really don't."
"I'm sorry." He frowns and looks down, fiddling with the fabric of his jeans.
Sophia takes a deep breath. "I got offered a job."
Grant looks up at her, remaining silent to let her finish speaking.
"It's in Europe. For six months. The curator at one of the biggest museums fell ill and they need someone to fill in. Somehow, my resume got to them and they've asked me to step in. I was debating whether or not to take the job. I wanted to know we were in a good place before I left for six months so that when I came back we'd still be okay. But now…now I think this is a sign, telling me I should take the job."
Grant nods his head. "I think you're right. I think you should take the job."
She quirks a brow. "You do?"
"Yeah. It's what you love to do. I don't want to hold you back from that and then have you resenting me somewhere down the line wondering what might have been if you'd have taken that job. So you should take the job."
"You really want me to leave?" she asks him quietly.
"I want you to be happy, Soph."
"I'm happy with you, Grant."
He sighs and nods, hearing her unsaid words of how they could both be happier.
"So what does this mean for us, then?" he asks her. "If you're going to go to Europe for six months, what happens here?" He gestures between them.
"Part of me doesn't want things to end," she admits.
"And the other part?"
"Knows that it'll be much easier on the both of us if we just end things right now before I leave. We won't have to worry as much. And long distance relationships are tough on most people."
Grant nods. "Right. So when do you leave?"
"I'm going to call in the morning and let them know. Then I'll probably be leaving pretty soon after that."
"Can I see you before you leave?"
She shakes her head and smiles sadly. "I don't think so. It'll just make this harder."
"I'll never stop caring about you," he tells her. "You're always going to have been an important part of my life."
"Just not the most important one. It's okay," she says before he can open his mouth to respond. "I was hoping that you wouldn't still be in love with your ex wife after so long, but clearly there are still some things that need to be figured out between you two."
"It's pointless. She's getting married to someone else soon."
"I know. And I'm sorry. But I think…I think that maybe we need some time apart, either way. And if, in six months, either of us is still single and you've moved on a little more, maybe we can try again."
Grant nods his head. "Yeah, okay. Uh, have a safe trip, then, I guess."
She smiles softly. "Thank you. And I don't want you moping around this place, okay? Enjoy the last full week you have your daughter here with you."
He smiles back at her. "I will. I promise."
Sophia hesitates a moment and then leans forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Grant's cheek. She lingers for a moment before pulling back and smiling sadly. "I'm going to miss you, Grant."
"I'm gonna miss you too," he tells her.
Without another word, Sophia stands from the couch and turns around, making her way to the front door, leaving Grant alone in the living room.
Letting out a deep sigh when the front door closes, Grant leans back into the couch, resting his eyes as he breathes in and out slowly. Another relationship done, unfortunately. Maybe he's just destined to be alone forever.
"Dad?"
Lifting his head and opening his eyes, Grant looks over to see Jessica standing next to the side of the couch, clutching her favorite stuffed elephant tightly in her arms. "Hey, Jess, what's up?"
"Where'd Sophia go?" she asks him.
"She uh, she left. She went back to her place."
"Oh." She sits down next to him. "Is she gonna come back tomorrow to hang out?"
Grant sighs and shakes his head. "I don't think she's coming back at all, sweetheart. She broke up with me and is taking a new job in England."
"She broke up with you?"
Grant nods. "Yeah, she did."
"How come?"
"It's complicated grown up stuff."
"But it doesn't have to be complicated, though."
"This time it does. Now go back to your room, okay? I'll be there in a minute to say goodnight."
Jessica sighs. "Okay."
Grant waits for his daughter to stand from the couch and move back down the hallway before letting out another deep sigh and hanging his head. He may not have a romantic relationship anymore, but at least he still has a relationship with his daughter, and that's all that should really matter in the long run.
After a minute of just thinking, he takes a deep breath and then stands from the couch to go down to Jessica's room, Max right at his heels like always.
Entering the bedroom, he smiles when he sees his daughter sitting up in her bed with a book open in her bed, her eyes fixated on the pages.
"You should be asleep," he comments, drawing her attention.
"I was waiting for you."
"I know." He steps further into the room and moves to the bed. "Alright, book away, time to go to sleep."
Jessica sighs. "Fine." She closes her book and sets it on the nightstand off to the side, shifting so she's deeper under the covers.
"Good." Grant tucks the blankets in a little tighter around his daughter and leans down to press a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, Jess. I love you."
"Love you too, dad."
Smiling, he stands up straight again and moves back toward the door when his daughter's voice stops him.
"Hey dad? Can I tell you something?"
He turns around to look at her. "Of course you can, sweetheart. What's on your mind?"
She fiddles with the edge of her blanket. "Um, I heard when you and Sophia were talking."
He frowns. "You were eavesdropping? That's not very nice, Jess."
"I know. But I heard some of what she said to you. Are you really still in love with mom?"
Grant sighs and steps over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. "It's a bit more complicated than that, Jess. Your mom's marrying Miles."
"But she doesn't have to. If you tell her you love her then maybe she'll take you back."
Grant shakes his head. "I don't think it works that way, sweetie."
"But it can."
"Where's all this coming from, anyways?" he asks her, his voice laced with concern. "I thought you liked Miles."
"I do like him, he makes mom happy."
"Okay. So then why are you making it seem like you don't want your mom to marry him?"
Jessica shrugs. "I don't know. I was just thinking about what it'd be like if you and mom got married again. We'd be a family."
"I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but I don't think that's going to happen. Your mom really loves Miles and she's going to marry him. Besides, I've got you, and you're all I need right now. Your mom and I don't need to be married for you and me to be a family."
"Okay. But you still love mom, right?"
"Your mom will always have a special place in my heart, she was the first girl I ever loved completely, and she gave me you, so I'll always love that. But it's time for me to move on from your mother. She's moved on and I should too. Understand?"
Jessica nods. "Yeah."
"Good. Now go to sleep, okay?"
"Okay. I love you, dad."
"Love you too, sweetheart." He leans down and presses a quick kiss to her head before standing up and making his way out of the room, shutting off the bedroom light as he goes.
Moving back into the living room, he grabs his phone and unlocks the device, going straight into his messages and clicking on the one between him and Kebo.
Sophia left me tonight. Why do I keep doing this?
A few seconds later he gets a reply.
Bloody hell. I'm sorry, mate. I know you really cared about her.
What sucks the most is that I honestly think I could have seen a real future with her if I wasn't still so hung up on Skye. I wish I didn't still feel like this.
Do I need to come over there again?
Grant chuckles quietly. No, Kebo, I'm fine, I promise. Just doing a lot of thinking.
Alright. Well don't wallow for too long, yeah? You've still got a week left with Jessica; you need to make the most of it.
I plan to.
Good. I'll talk to you later then.
Yeah, thanks man. Night.
No problem.
Locking his phone again, Grant sets it off to the side and picks up the remote control for the television. Relaxing back on the couch, one arm resting up on the back of the couch, he lets out a deep sigh as he flips the TV on and gets lost in the shows playing for the next couple of hours.
So? What did you think? Let me know in a review down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Grant is no longer with Sophia, what's going to happen next?
Until next time,
Jellybean96 out!