Julia had probably sensed that he was down and left him alone to mope for the first few days. At first it wasn't that bad, and Ethan occupied himself with his new business plan and some occasional Guitar Hero to relax. But whenever a question popped up that he wanted to ask Rob, or share some kind of weird joke with his friend, it reminded him that Rob really was gone. There was always email and the phone, but Ethan thought (and Julia agreed) that he should be leaving Rob alone for the first few days to let him get settled in. So he had only sent two emails, and Rob had called when he had arrived at the ranch and they had a brief chat. So that wasn't too bad.
At work, it was more unbearable. Ethan had to keep stopping himself from getting up and heading over to the IT department, like he usually did. He ate his lunch alone, or with O'Leary and whoever else didn't mind his glum company. There were always friends around, no question, but Ethan felt like he couldn't really be himself around the others. Just Rob.
Sometimes, after work, he followed some of the other guys to a nearby bar for darts or a game of pool, although it felt weird to be there without Rob. Sometimes he found himself snickering at an inside joke, but sobered immediately when he realized there was no one to share it with. Surely this couldn't be healthy? It wasn't a good sign, the thought of missing one person so much like this.
Julia did try to cheer him up by taking him out for dinner and ice-skating, and as grateful as he felt towards her, he just could not muster the enthusiasm for their outings. He could sense her frustration, and really, he didn't blame her because she was trying her best and he was the one who was being unresponsive and quiet.
One evening, about a week after Rob had left, they were sitting in the park, watching the sunset and cradling cups of hot chocolate when she finally said, "You miss him a lot, don't you?"
Ethan took a sip of the steaming drink, which helped him feel marginally better. "Yeah, of course."
She reached out and squeezed his lap. "He'll be back before you know it. Called him yet?"
"I'm calling him tonight," Ethan told her.
"Oh." Her face was filled with disappointment. "I thought, maybe tonight we could go see the new Paul Rudd movie."
"Well, yeah we could see that." He hated to see her like this. "I'll call him after the movie or something."
"You sure?" Her soft brown eyes were searching his face. "We could go tomorrow. You call him tonight."
"Okay. Thanks." They sat in silence for a while, but he looked up again when she rubbed his shoulder.
"Are you sure you're okay? You've been so quiet. Is something bothering you? Work?" she asked, concerned.
"No, I'm just-" He shook his head. "I'm fine, Jules."
She bit her lip. "Why don't you want to talk to me anymore?"
"What?" He sat up immediately. "No, no, I just...It's not that I don't want to talk to you. I just don't feel like talking. There's nothing much to say, you know?"
She looked away. "It's like you're here, but you're not here."
He just felt really, really tired. God, he needed to talk to Rob. "I'm sorry, babe. I promise I will try harder."
"It's okay, hon," she said, laying her head on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes, hating the fact that he wanted to be somewhere else right now.