He Promised Me A Sunset, He Kissed Her Under It Chapter 06

He Promised Me A Sunset, He Kissed Her Under It Chapter 06

Three days later, Ethan returned to campus.

He expected me to be waiting in my dorm.

After all, whenever we’d fought before, I’d never stayed mad for more than two days.

By the third day, I would always be the one to text first, giving him an easy way to make up so we could pretend nothing had happened.

But by that afternoon, there was still no sign of me online.

The message he’d sent me — [Come back when you’re done throwing a tantrum.] — still had no reply.

Meanwhile, the startup team was already in chaos.

The equipment supplier they’d lined up suddenly raised its prices, and the studio they’d been using for free took back their reserved dates.

Two clients who had been close to signing contracts put everything on hold.

One of the co-founders cornered Ethan outside his dorm with a new quote in his hand.

“Ethan, what exactly happened between you and Claire?”

“The same equipment is going to cost us thirty percent more on the open market.”

“We’re supposed to start production next week. Where are we supposed to find replacement this late?”

Ethan was already irritated by the questions.

“So the whole project falls apart just because she’s gone?”

“Call other vendors.”

The co-founder laughed in disbelief.

“Easy for you to say.”

“They gave us those rates because Claire worked on three documentary projects in college and won a national student film award.”

“Those two clients came to us because of her proposals too.”

“Without her, we don’t even have a complete production team.”

Ethan stared at the new quote, his expression growing darker by the second.

He had always assumed that everything I did for the startup was simply me helping him achieve his dream.

Only after I pulled my resources did he realize that what I’d taken with me wasn’t just my name on the team.

It was the foundation that made their projects possible.

Chloe hurried over with her laptop in her arms and spoke gently.

“Claire’s still angry. When she comes back, I’ll help you talk to her.”

Ethan didn’t answer. He called me again but my phone was still off.

There was no response to his messages either.

Finally growing restless, he went to my dorm.

When the door opened, Ethan found two girls he didn’t recognize packing their things inside.

Ethan frowned.

“Where’s Claire Bennett?”

One of them blinked at him.

“She moved out.”

“When?”

“The day she finished her graduation paperwork.”

“She started shipping her stuff out almost two weeks ago. You didn’t know?”

Ethan stood in the doorway without moving.

He’d believed I’d only left Lake Tahoe early because I was angry.

He hadn’t realized I never planned to come back to campus at all.

Chloe caught up to him and looped her arm through his.

“Maybe Claire went home. Commencement is in a few days. She’ll definitely come back for that.”

Ethan seemed to latch onto the explanation.

“Right. She hasn’t even picked up her diploma. She has to come back.”

As soon as he said it, a notification appeared in the class group chat.

The faculty advisor had posted the final list for the senior showcase.

My name wasn’t anywhere on it.

Someone immediately asked in the chat:

[Where’s Claire? Wasn’t her senior project already finished?]

The coordinator replied a moment later:

[Claire Bennett has been approved to use the Western Heritage Digital Imaging Project in place of the senior showcase.]

The group chat exploded.

[No way. Doesn’t that fellowship only take a dozen or so people nationwide?]

[Didn’t Claire turn it down before? Why did she suddenly go?]

[It’s a year-long program. Is she skipping commencement too?]

Professor Reed posted a photo soon afterward.

At the edge of the desert, the ruins of an old settlement glowed gold in the setting sun.

I stood on higher ground in a shell jacket, holding a camera in my arms.

The wind wiped my hair around, but I was smiling more brightly than I had at eighteen.

Professor Reed added only one line beneath the picture.

[Reached our first filming location. Everything’s going smoothly.]

Ethan stared at the words everything’s going smoothly, his thumb frozen on the screen.

I hadn’t fallen apart because I was sick.

I wasn’t crying alone in some unfamiliar place, begging him to come get me.

If anything, after only a few days away from him, I looked lighter than I ever had at Lake Tahoe.

Chloe leaned over to look at the photo.

“Claire looks so happy. She probably isn’t angry anymore.”

“Once the excitement of the fellowship wears off, she’ll contact you.”

Ethan locked his phone.

“Of course she won’t stay mad forever. The project is only a year.

She’ll come back eventually.”

He sounded certain, though it was hard to tell whether he was trying to convince Chloe or himself.

But that night, for the first time, Ethan couldn’t sleep.

At two in the morning, he opened Professor Reed’s photo again and zoomed in.

My neck was bare.

The necklace he’d given me was gone.

Ethan suddenly sat upright.

Only then did he remember that when I left Lake Tahoe, I’d taken everything with me.

Everything except anything that had to do with him.