Ronan kept his eyes on his phone. He refused to look up or even react at all as the sound of Natalia's laughter and Devin's voice drifted through the car. He was sitting in the backseat while Natalia sat up front....beside his boyfriend. Ronan kept telling himself that that was a stupid thing to be jealous and angry about but he couldn't help the rage bubbling inside him everytime he heard Natalia's voice.
Ronan kept scrolling through his phone, going through his emails. He replied to his teachers, responded to emails from his classmates and deleted any spam mail he found. He had almost drowned out the conversation happening around him when Natalia asked him a question.
"So, Ronan, what are you studying at university?" Her question made him stop typing for a second as he forced himself to soften his voice.
"Business Administration with a minor Economics. It's my second year for my Bachelor's degree," His voice was even but he couldn't stop his reply from sounding cold.
"Ohh the same thing as Dev?! That's great! Do you already have a company you want to work for?"
Did she just call Devin 'Dev'? Ronan kept his eyes on his phone, looking through his files for his notes to send to a classmate, "Yes, Harper & Juliette Industries." He sent the email and checked the time before massaging his temples, his expression blank.
"That's a pretty hard company to get into! What's your second choice? It's good to have a backup plan."
Ronan found himself laughing all of a sudden. 'Hard company to get into'? He really wanted to just tell her point blank that his father was hell bent on him working there next year and that the only reason he was even getting a business degree in the first place was because his father had practically forced him into doing it.
Ronan's laughter faded into light chuckles as he wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eyes, "I'm confident I'll be working there next year."
Natalia was looking at him with a bit of confusion but Ronan just chuckled lightly and went back to scrolling through his phone, answering text messages from his sister and brother and made a mental note to call his parents.
Natalia looked at Devin for answers.
Devin smiled a little, "Ronan's father is Michael Harper."
Natalie's eyes widened in realization and she felt her cheeks heat up as she blushed. She had just told the CEOs son that his father's company would be hard to get into. How had she missed the connection? Harper was a relatively popular last name but Ronan Harper was the third child of the Harper family.
Natalia was silent for a moment as she tried to recall what she knew about Ronan. Unlike his siblings he didn't show up in the media much and the last time he was in the news was when he had come out as gay publicly after some reporter or the other had an interview with the Harper siblings two years ago. He was rarely at any public event and never appeared in the media without his older sister and eldest brother. His brother was being groomed to run the company, his sister was a fashion designer and a model and he was leaving the spotlight to them and living like a normal college student...
Natalia glanced at the boy in the backseat and finally realized why she hadn't noticed who he was. He had black hair. Wasn't his hair originally red? And his eyes were brown when they should've been green.
The drive to Natalie's apartment continued in silence and Ronan only looked up from his phone when they began driving home.
"You didn't have to make things akward you know..." Devin's comment was followed by him sighing as looked at Ronan through the rearview mirror.
"If she's trying to steal you from me, she should've at least done her research. Also, you didn't have to drive her home. She could've taken a taxi."
"Ronan Natalia isn't like that. We've talked about this before. Why do you have to say stuff like that?"
Ronan felt numb. He put away his phone and glanced out the window as they entered the parking lot beside their apartment building. Neither of them moved.
"Today was supposed to be our anniversary Devin. You were supposed to pick me up at 3 pm. I was supposed to cook for you. We were supposed to have dinner and talk and exchange gifts. I was supposed to curl up with you in the couch watching movies. We were supposed to have a bath together and... It was supposed to be a perfect day Devin. Just you and me....-"
"Ronan I'm-"
"But you chose to go to another company party instead. You chose a company party over celebrating the day we became us. There will always be another party like that Devin. Hundreds of them. I bet there's another one next week. But you know what only happens once a year? Our anniversary." Ronan could feel the tears running down his cheeks.
"Ronan, I'm sorry... I didnt think it would go on that long. And there were executives there... I couldn't just leave...." Devin's voice trailed off as he noticed that Ronan was crying...
"No... no Devin. I'm tired. I'm so fucking tired. Last month I left my sister's birthday party early because you had an argument with your father and you needed me. I skipped my art class last weekend because you were free and we hadn't hung out together like that in a while. I make time for you all the time. I give things up for you. I defend you when my family keep listing reasons for me to leave you!" Ronan tried to keep his voice down but by the end of his rant he could feel the sobs rising in his throat.
Silence followed his statement and the silence stretched on for what seemed like forever.
"I'm done Devin. I can't do this anymore. I'm moving out tomorrow. I need some time away from you and you need to figure out whether or not what we have is worth it for you. I'm giving you one week Devin. One week to figure out if you love me enough to fight for me, for us... Because I'm tired of being the only one fighting." Ronan slid out of the car, closing the door behind him. He dried his tears, being mindful of his contacts, and headed to their apartment. He didn't look back when he heard Devin's car drive away.
******
Devin didn't come back that night and Ronan couldn't sleep.
He decided to pack instead of laying in bed staring at the ceiling. If he didn't pack now, he'd probably end up talking himself into calling Devin and apologizing and convincing himself that he was wrong and that Devin missing their anniversary wasn't a big deal.
Maybe he could convince himself if Devin had forgotten their anniversary like he did the year before. But somehow, it was worse that he remembered and still chose a company party with Nalalia over a dinner date with him.
Ronan packed his clothes quickly, making sure he had them all so he wouldn't have to be back for anything. He gathered his books and his other school supplies and put them in a box he found in the kitchen. Ronan made his way to the livingroom to gather his easel and paints and brushes. He emptied his desk, thanking the universe that he had been doing so much online shopping lately as he put everything except his easel in boxes.
By 5am he was packed and ready. He dried his tears for the umpteenth time in the past however many hours and texted his brother.
*Hey Cam? You up?* - Ronan
*Yes... barely... I'm working on a proposal.. What's up?* - Cameron
*Devin and I are on a break... I'm moving out. I'm already packed. Could you send a van around 10am for my stuff? I'm thinking of asking Jerrica if I can stay with her till I find an apartment so I need to put my things in storage.* - Ronan
Ronan exhaled loudly as he pressed send. Less than 5 minutes after he sent the text, his phone rang. He could feel the tears coming back as he answered.
"Ronan? Ronan are you ok? What happened?"
Cameron's voice was enough for Devin to start sobbing again. He couldn't even get words out.
"Fuck... Ronan I... Ok, listen to me. I'm not in the country right now so I can't come get you but I'm calling Jerrica ok? She's got a fashion show this weekend but it's Thursday so she should be home...."
Ronan tried to get a hold of himself. He was sobbing uncontrollably and was sitting on the floor. 'Damn it... Ro you're scaring Cam... calm down'. Ronan tried to tell Cam he was ok but he couldn't get the words out.
"I'm gonna be back this weekend. I'll take you to the museum and you can gawk at paintings..."
Ronan could hear the dread in Cam's voice as he mentioned the museum and it was enough for Ronan to smile. Cam hated the museum. It was the most boring place in the world to him, right up there with libraries. He was always willing to let Ronan drag him there though.
"Thanks Cammy...." he let the childhood nickname slip and layed on the floor, looking at the ceiling.
"I'll let that slide...." Cameron chuckled softly. "Get some rest. I texted Jerrica and she'll wake you at 10am. Make sure you have some water before bed and Jerrica will bring breakfast. Promise me you'll tell me everything in detail so I can decide how exactly to murder the bastard that made my little brother cry?"
Ronan laughed a little at his brother's final question, "Sometimes I think you're more protective of me than you are of Jerrica."
"Yes. I am," there was no hesitation in Cameron's voice. "Jerrica can take care of herself pretty well but you....you worry me."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence Cam..." Ronan scoffed.
"You're welcome. Now go get some rest. I love you Nan..."
Ronan smiled at the nickname, "Goodnight Cam... and thanks."
They ended the call and Ronan dragged himself off the ground and into bed. He didn't even bother to shower or change. That could wait till he woke up .