in an open relationship 2

chapter 40

"Yes and I meant it ,no need to jump on defence mode  ,I was just curious about what you spent it on ".

" Oh".

" Were they hostile towards you?".

" They were ...Kelly and Elizabeth " .

He smiles at my not so funny Joke and I laugh like it was hilarious.

"I didn't bath , so I might have to use your shower when we get to your dad's " .

" Sure , you should use the one in my bedroom ".

" Cool ".

....

We arrive at Ethan's home , after greeting his stepmom and dad I head to Ethan's bedroom to take a shower .

I can hear that some of Ethan's family members have arrived judging at the noise increase that's coming from downstairs, Ethan's bedroom has not changed since last time I was here and that was two nights before our wedding.

His walls are painted in blue with white stripes in the middle, there are tons of pictures of us , our school trips , luncheons , personal trips and just some other personal photos that displayed our friendship , my favourite is the one when we went mountain hiking in Montana village and I had a knee cramp so Ethan borrowed one of the villagers wheelbarrows and pushed me to the bottom ,he then pouted next to me and took a selfie, I didn't even notice because I was crying.

" This is what I'm praying for , us , to go back to this " I speak to myself whilst staring at the picture, Ethan has the potential of being the world's best partner he just needs to be revived and I'm hoping the therapy brings about that revival.

I put on the clothes I was wearing  and stride back downstairs.

The staircase lead directly to the door , before I open it I lean in to hear the voice that sounds awfully familiar to me .

" It's obviously Sarah , you look like a sneaky crook with those clothes on" Seth says behind me and proceeds to open the door without greeting me.

Their yard is extremely wide on the front maybe somewhere around 20000 meter squares, Ethan and I used to play soccer here all the time.

I stand up straight and slowly turn around, Seth's height is the most intimidating, his never smiling face is the least.

He heads straight to his dad who is standing by the fish pond , I look around and spot Ethan ,Eric and Sarah standing near the BBQ stand .

After a few seconds of battling with myself I step out the house and Eric spots me ," eyy! , Lauren!" He runs up to me and hugs me ," how are you doing ?" His  smile shines the brightest.

His wearing all white just like Seth I'm sure they didn't agree on it he just decided to copy him.

" I'm doing good Eric how about you ?" I hug him back with a half smile .

He throws his arm over  my shoulder and leads me to where Ethan and Sarah are standing.

On the way he whispers," what have you done to Ethan ?, You are all he has been talking about,the new changes , I have to admit I never saw this day coming " .

I smile at him," patience I guess ".

" You think?, Congratulations, you've come a long way " he holds out his hand for me to shake.

" Thanks " I do just that.

We get to the BBQ stand and the first person to talk to me is Sarah.

" Good afternoon Lauren ?, How was your drive here ?" She asks like we are friends.

I throw a glance at Ethan who has a rather normal reaction towards Sarah  being here than I expected.

" A simple hello will do , I'd like to think that we're not enemies or anything of that sort " she adds.

" Ethan can I talk to you ?" I completely ignore her.

" Is everything alright?" Eric asks .

" Yes Eric , everything is fine . Ethan?" I try to hide my rage .

He nods and follows me inside the house to his bedroom, "what is going on here ?" I cross my arms .

" Dad  invited her over " he seems more casual about this .

" And you are okay with that ?" .

" What can I do ,it's the twins party ,I don't want to cause any drama,plus dad had no idea about you and I he still thinks that we are faking it ".

" So he brought Sarah here for you ?".

" That's what she told me ,but I'll tell him to stop interfering after the party is over ".

" How about you tell him now and ask her to leave ?".

" That's just being unreasonable ".

Tears start welling up on the corner of my eyes .

"Do you think I'm being ridiculous right now ?" .

He holds my shoulders," relax ,why are you being emotional all of a sudden, our relationship ended months ago, I think she understands that , she accepted the invitation because she didn't want to be rude to dad , you know how persuasive he can be " .

I push his hands away" I asked you , am I ridiculous for being mad ?, You seem more calm about the present situation than I am ? , Just last year didn't you bash away the tray in my hands because the soft drinks were too warm?, infront of those very kids ? , And today you don't want to cause drama? , Had I been in Sarah's shoes the response would've been different wouldn't it ?".

" that's not fair  " he shakes his head in disappointment, he's too calm for my liking and it irritates me.

" What's fair then ?, Why are you being all cool with your ex that you threw out in the middle of the night ?"

" should we leave?".

" And make me look like the bad guy for dragging you away from your niece's birthday party?"

" What exactly do you want Lauren?".

" I want you to chase her away but something tells me you won't so what else is there ?, I'll just act like I'm fine with it " the tears start streaming more," I've been acting my whole life , you can go downstairs and enjoy the gathering with your ex, maybe all I need is to take a nap to let this madness go away " I turn my back towards him.

" My Grand aunt is outside she is just as fragile as your dad and some of Seth's colleagues and close friends are present,what exactly do you want me to do?, I'm trying to change Lauren ,I'm trying to break free from the image that you have of me and it's like you want the Ethan you've known for the last five years , is me talking to Sarah wrong ?, How come I didn't get mad when you said you woke up at your exes place? " He speaks behind me.

I remain silent.

" Are you okay?" I sense the concern in his tone.

" Do I look okay?" My voice weakens," it's like you're not hearing me " , I sit on the edge of his bed ,"Just leave Ethan if this prolongs it's going to be disastrous for both of us and everybody here ".

He lingers a bit longer and  exits the room .