Since You've Been Gone. (boyxboy)

Chapter 35: Calculated

"Why did you come here,"

☆

Ellen finally relents at the persistent ringing at her door. She grabs the phone from her nightstand to read the time. 01:55 lights up the screen. She exhales a groan as she whips back the warm sheets and pulls herself from the comfort of her bed, grabbing her towel effect dressing gown on the way. "If this is bloody deliveroo…" She gets to the door, ready to offload her annoyance, not even registering the person on the doorstep at first as she begins.''Do I look like I've ordered kebab …" before she sees her friend, face streaked with tears, standing in front of her. The case's pull along handle is still tight in her grasp as her other hand clings tightly to her cardigan, her fingers stopping it from opening with the absence of any buttons.

"Beth?" Ellen takes in the unexpected image of her friend standing on her doorstep. "Beth, what's happened?" She says as her arm drops from the door handle.

Beth says nothing as she steps inside, pulling her case behind her. It clatters over the step on the way in, before she lets go of it and flings her arms around her best friend. "He… he kicked me out." She begins to cry onto the fabric of Ellen's dressing gown, with Ellen pulling Beth's back to look at her face. 

"He kicked you out? What do you mean he kicked you out?" She says, her voice coming across rather angry at the man's behaviour, still at a loss as to what the hell was going on. 

"He doesn't love me anymore." She continues to wail, as Ellen finally gets around to closing the front door. 

"He told you that?" Ellen is confused. "You're getting married. I'm a bridesmaid!" Her voice getting all shrill at the last part. 

"Not anymore. You may as well take back the dress." Beth makes tearful sniffs as she makes her way into the familiar space of Ellen's apartment, with Ellen following behind. She gets into the living space, to see Beth making herself at home on the sofa. 

She joins her, still not being able to catch up with what she was hearing. "What changed, did he give you a reason?" 

"He loves someone else." Beth pouts.

"Who?" Ellen frowns in thought. "Not that stupid bitch who was messaging him, the last time you argued." 

"Thomas." 

"W…what? Thomas?, his friend Thomas?" Ellen laughs. She doesn't mean to but this sounded absurd to her. "Beth, you're having a laugh with me right? Jasper is so not into men and Thomas, you saw how he was into me. He couldn't get enough of my body." 

"Your apparent perception is way off Ellen. Thomas is gay, and he and Jasper have…" 

"No!" Ellen holds a hand to her mouth in shock. "Really?...but how…I mean." She furrows her brow in wonder. "Who is the bottom?"

"I don't know, shall I ask?" Beth looks at her friend unimpressed. 

"Will you?" She looks back, hopeful. 

"Of course I won't." Beth looks away in annoyance. 

Ellen huffs out a sigh, before another question enters her head. "Hang on, if he cheated, why are you the one being kicked out?" She suddenly holds her hand to her mouth once again. "Did he find out about our make out session at Jen's 18th? I mean it was nice, but…" 

"It's um… a little more complex than that." Beth rubs her eyes with the sleeve of her cardigan. "There's something I haven't told you." 

"What have you done?" Ellen's voice sounds firm and makes Beth want to cry all over again at her friend's tone. 

"You remember that night, the last time Jasper and I had that fight…"

"Of course I do. I feel bad for not being home when you called, but you went to Cara's, right?" Ellen puts a hand on Beth's shoulder as if to reassure her, but Beth shakes her head. 

"I went to Ed's."....

"Beth?" Ed looks with surprise at the woman standing at his door. "Why are you here? Are you looking for Jas? He's not here." 

"He's the last person I'm looking for." She says as she looks up at Ed, still standing in the doorway. Her eyes seem to go wide and glassy and it spurs Ed to act as he takes a step back. 

"Come in, uh, come in." He says a little flustered as she is invited inside. "Do you want a drink or…" he begins, closing the door behind him. 

"I need answers." She says with conviction as she heads towards one of the bar stools by the breakfast bar, letting her slim frame slide onto the seat.

Ed follows behind her, as if he were the guest. "What has he done?" He asks.  A little nervous to hear Beth's version of events. Forever being caught in the middle of their many fallouts, usually around Jasper's apparent infidelity. It was true he had a past, but as far as he knew, Jasper had never actually cheated. He was just a sucker for appreciation. 

"Do you know her?" She pushes her phone across to Ed on the other side of the breakfast bar. The screen showed a social media page of a woman Ed didn't know by name, but who he had seen around the gym. 

"Not really." He says as he picks up the device. "I've seen her around. Why do you ask?" He hands the phone back. 

"She has been messaging him." Beth thumbs through a few more images of the woman, her body gettting more tense with each image of the woman who looked flawless. 

"Oh." Is all Ed says. He looks away from his friend's fiancèe opposite him. The way she was reacting, made him feel a similar pain. Not because Jasper had actually done anything. Not to his knowledge, but because he hated that she was made to feel like this. Like she had to check on Jasper every time his phone lit up. "You know, it's probably just a client, someome he is training." Ed tries to refocus. Stay loyal to his friend, but Jasper didn't really help himself with his need for attention at work and Ed would be lying if he wasn't just a little jealous of Jasper, always seemingly being able to get the attention of anyone he wanted, whereas he always fell short. 

"But look at her. She is so beautiful and slim..she doesn't look like me at all…" 

"He's an idiot. He doesn't know who he has in front of him." His words of comfort not the best, but he was never the best at these things, which causes him to question, "why did you come here? Why didn't you go to Ellen's?" 

"She was out and… " Beth makes her way around the bar. "You are his best friend. He may have told you something." 

Ed smiles at Beth before he looks down at his feet. "He would be a fool to cheat on you Beth. You are…" Ed suddenly stops himself from talking, maybe afraid that he may say too much. That he may let slip how he really feels about her. 

"I'm what? Tell me." Beth takes a step closer to him, trying to catch his eyeline, as Ed eventually looks back up at her. "Did I fall for the wrong guy?"

 He stares into her eyes. They are so blue and big and hypnotic.  So much so, that Ed feels that he can say exactly what is on his mind and in his heart. "You are beautiful Beth. You are kind and deserve the world." The words spilling from his lips and the look on Beth's face, let in that moment of weakness he had for her. That moment where if he just dared, maybe he could take a chance ….