black garbage bag and set it aside. He ran his hands through his hair and blew a harsh breath through his nose. He bit his lower lip and looked at Kelly’s empty side of the closet, once again feeling the pang he’d felt for the past few mornings—she really was gone. And she wasn’t coming back.
He then grabbed the neck of the plastic bag and dragged it around the apartment with him, dumping in framed photos, clothes and other stuff Kelly had bought for him, any kitchen stuff they’d bought together—anything that reeked too much of Kelly, in other words. He kept the towels, though. They were really nice and the only ones left because she had thrown out all the old, threadbare ones he’d had when they moved in together.
She’d tried to call him more and sent some texts. She’d even gotten Amy to try to call him, but he didn’t want to hear about being friends. Seeing her, talking to her would be too hard. The only way to do it was to have a clean break. He couldn’t do it any other way without making a mess.
When he was done, he set the garbage bag by the front door and sat down next to it, drawing his knees up to his chest after grabbing the remote for the stereo. He flipped it on and the opening bars of Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry” filled the room. He barked a short, bitter laugh and dropped his head onto his knees.
* * *
Chace opened his eyes and yawned, realizing he must have fallen asleep. He looked at his watch and realized he’d been out for quite a while. After taking the bags of memories down to the dumpster in the apartment complex parking lot, he came back up to his apartment. He was ready to start packing. Enough of that. Time to move on.
He decided to check his Skype before getting started and he saw that Ethan was on. He grinned, sat down at his computer, and connected with Ethan via video chat. His best friend in the whole world since they’d met through their frat in college popped up on the computer screen. Ethan’s black hair was tousled and didn’t look recently combed, he wore a light blue T-shirt, and he was tanned a dark golden brown as if he’d spent every minute outside since arriving in New Zealand. Knowing Ethan, he had.
“Chace, what is up? Merry belated Christmas, bud. How ya been?”
“Merry Christmas to you, too, man. I’ve been—good. How are things? How’s life with the Kiwis?”
“Oh, great, man. I’ve been hiking every day. It’s beautiful here. I love it that I’m in summer right now and you are freezing your butt off,” Ethan said before going into a detailed account of his most recent hiking adventures, which had involved a pretty nasty spill when Ethan leaned too far over a ledge. Ethan held up his leg and showed Chace a nasty gash.
“Nice. So you haven’t gotten eaten up by anything yet, I see?”
“Man, all the animals are tame here. Nothing dangerous. They don’t even have snakes or big cats or anything. Well, there are rumors of some big cats running around, but I haven’t seen anything.” Ethan made a face. Ethan didn’t seem to be happy unless he was putting his life at risk.
Chace was all about adventure, but Ethan gave the word new meaning. There was the time that Ethan had convinced him to wander away from their guide when they were on safari in Africa. They’d almost made themselves targets of a very big and angry rhino. Apparently he’d chosen to miss out on the tamest of Ethan’s trips so far. “Well, are there sharks, at least? Maybe you can go swimming with them or something.”
“Man, you’ve known me too long. I’m going shark diving tomorrow.”
They laughed.
“So, how’s Kelly Kellz? She around there somewhere? I don’t hear her nagging you.”
Chace looked down at his keyboard, running his fingers over the keys. “We broke up.”
“What? Really? When?”
“She moved out on Christmas Eve. Said she was leaving me for Hank.”
“Christmas Eve? That’s just cruel. And what, Hank? That’s that
He then grabbed the neck of the plastic bag and dragged it around the apartment with him, dumping in framed photos, clothes and other stuff Kelly had bought for him, any kitchen stuff they’d bought together—anything that reeked too much of Kelly, in other words. He kept the towels, though. They were really nice and the only ones left because she had thrown out all the old, threadbare ones he’d had when they moved in together.
She’d tried to call him more and sent some texts. She’d even gotten Amy to try to call him, but he didn’t want to hear about being friends. Seeing her, talking to her would be too hard. The only way to do it was to have a clean break. He couldn’t do it any other way without making a mess.
When he was done, he set the garbage bag by the front door and sat down next to it, drawing his knees up to his chest after grabbing the remote for the stereo. He flipped it on and the opening bars of Brian McKnight’s “One Last Cry” filled the room. He barked a short, bitter laugh and dropped his head onto his knees.
* * *
Chace opened his eyes and yawned, realizing he must have fallen asleep. He looked at his watch and realized he’d been out for quite a while. After taking the bags of memories down to the dumpster in the apartment complex parking lot, he came back up to his apartment. He was ready to start packing. Enough of that. Time to move on.
He decided to check his Skype before getting started and he saw that Ethan was on. He grinned, sat down at his computer, and connected with Ethan via video chat. His best friend in the whole world since they’d met through their frat in college popped up on the computer screen. Ethan’s black hair was tousled and didn’t look recently combed, he wore a light blue T-shirt, and he was tanned a dark golden brown as if he’d spent every minute outside since arriving in New Zealand. Knowing Ethan, he had.
“Chace, what is up? Merry belated Christmas, bud. How ya been?”
“Merry Christmas to you, too, man. I’ve been—good. How are things? How’s life with the Kiwis?”
“Oh, great, man. I’ve been hiking every day. It’s beautiful here. I love it that I’m in summer right now and you are freezing your butt off,” Ethan said before going into a detailed account of his most recent hiking adventures, which had involved a pretty nasty spill when Ethan leaned too far over a ledge. Ethan held up his leg and showed Chace a nasty gash.
“Nice. So you haven’t gotten eaten up by anything yet, I see?”
“Man, all the animals are tame here. Nothing dangerous. They don’t even have snakes or big cats or anything. Well, there are rumors of some big cats running around, but I haven’t seen anything.” Ethan made a face. Ethan didn’t seem to be happy unless he was putting his life at risk.
Chace was all about adventure, but Ethan gave the word new meaning. There was the time that Ethan had convinced him to wander away from their guide when they were on safari in Africa. They’d almost made themselves targets of a very big and angry rhino. Apparently he’d chosen to miss out on the tamest of Ethan’s trips so far. “Well, are there sharks, at least? Maybe you can go swimming with them or something.”
“Man, you’ve known me too long. I’m going shark diving tomorrow.”
They laughed.
“So, how’s Kelly Kellz? She around there somewhere? I don’t hear her nagging you.”
Chace looked down at his keyboard, running his fingers over the keys. “We broke up.”
“What? Really? When?”
“She moved out on Christmas Eve. Said she was leaving me for Hank.”
“Christmas Eve? That’s just cruel. And what, Hank? That’s that
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