Chapter Thirty-Three The Break Point
Evie walked slowly through the cold drizzle of the grey December morning toward the Del Toro Cafe, where she was meeting Alex for breakfast. She was dreading the conversation she knew was coming, but she also knew she would feel at least somewhat better once it was over.
They had only been seeing each other since August, and after a rough start, things had improved.
She wasn’t sure if Alex had thought she would just let him steamroll her boundaries in the beginning and decided to test his luck, or if he had been genuine in his remorse when he claimed he had lost control and forgotten himself.
It took a couple of conversations and one serious discussion about whether they should break up for him to stop pushing her into situations that made her uncomfortable.
Eventually, they settled into a more controlled and caring dynamic.
He still occasionally stepped over the line, but Evie would remind him to rein it in, and he would comply immediately, which she saw as a sign of growth.
Still, she had a sneaking suspicion he was more into sadism than he let on.
She noticed he tended to push boundaries far more with punishment than with the bondage or dominant and submissive aspects of their sex life.
All of that was in the back of her mind, but it wasn’t why she asked Alex to meet her for breakfast. Her mother’s health had worsened rapidly throughout November, and Evie didn’t have the emotional or mental bandwidth to handle a relationship on top of her job and her mother’s impending death.
She also found that he became sulky when she couldn’t see him when he wanted.
Not overtly, but his messages would get shorter and less affectionate.
He also worked overtime more often, which wasn’t unusual, but the way he mentioned it made it seem like he wanted her to know he was punishing her for not making time for him.
This was just Evie’s perspective, and she wasn’t sure if she was overthinking things or if she was simply more emotionally raw than usual.
Since she never talked about her relationships or asked for advice, she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.
She only knew that she no longer felt excited when she saw his name on her screen, and spending time with him had started to feel like a chore.
When she entered the cafe, Alex hadn’t arrived yet, so she sat at their usual table and ordered for them both while she waited.
She was texting Lana about their plans to go Christmas shopping when he finally showed up, fifteen minutes late and looking resigned, like he already knew what she was going to say.
She stood up and let him kiss and hug her, then slid his extra-large Americano across the table as they sat down.
There was a moment of awkward silence before Alex sighed and ran a hand over his buzzcut. “Look, Evie… I think I know why you wanted to have coffee with me. If that’s the case, just get it over with.”
Evie chewed the inside of her cheek as she studied him. She’d known he wouldn’t be happy, but she’d hoped he would understand her reasons instead of turning it into a fight.
“I’m sorry, Alex, but… yes. I want to end our relationship.”
His face darkened, and when she saw the argument forming, she reached out and took his hand to stop it before it began.
“I swear it’s not because of anything you did, or because I want to,” she said softly.
“It’s just… with everything I have going on, I can’t give you what you need or deserve right now.
We’re still so early in this, and we should be happy and excited to see each other, but I’m so exhausted and numb I’m struggling to get out of bed most mornings. ”
She squeezed his hand gently, a silent plea to understand. “I need space to navigate Mom’s last few weeks, and I need to focus on her right now.”
“I understand, I do.” He huffed, his hand gripping hers. “But I want to be there for you while you’re going through all this. I want to be the one you turn to, but you keep throwing up walls and closing yourself off.”
Evie held his gaze, finding it difficult to maintain her stance when he gave her the sad puppy dog eyes, but knowing this needed to happen.
“That’s just it, though. You see it as me shutting you out and putting up walls, but for me, it’s a way to recharge my batteries and get through the next day.
” She smiled faintly. “You’re extremely social and like going out and doing things after a long week.
It’s how you blow off steam, and you expect me to do the same, but I don’t work that way. ”
She sighed. This had been an ongoing clash between them: she unwound by staying home with a book, her writing, or The Sims, while he wanted clubs, crowds, or hiking trips with his friends.
“Look, Mom is insisting she’s going to have one last Christmas with me, whether or not that’s going to happen is up in the air, but I need to focus on her right now, and it’s not fair for me to expect you to be dragged along on this incredibly depressing ride I’m on right now, but it’s also not fair for you to expect me to give you time and energy that I can and should be devoting to my mother in her final weeks. ”
Alex let her hand go and sat back in his chair, staring out the window for a long moment. “And after all this is over? Can we get back together?”
Evie hesitated. She liked him a lot. While he sometimes went too far in pushing her outside her comfort zone, not just in the bedroom, but socially and physically too, it also helped her to grow and experience discomfort safely, and she appreciated that about him.
“I think that we can try again after all this is over, and I’ve worked through everything.” She licked her lips nervously, not sure how he was going to react to her next request. “And you work on your control issues.”
For a moment, she thought he was going to stand up and walk away from her. His body tensed up, and he almost crushed his coffee cup, but then he relaxed, nodding. “That’s fair, I guess.”
“Thank you for understanding,” Evie murmured, finishing her mocha and standing up.
She didn’t want this to drag out much longer and was hoping to get away before he made any requests.
“I also don’t want you to feel like you need to wait for me.
If you meet someone and think they would be a good fit for you, take the chance.
” She smiled when he frowned at her. “I mean, don’t look for someone to replace me, but you know, don’t feel bad if someone falls in your lap. ”
He looked like he was going to argue for a moment, but then he stood up and hugged her tightly. “I want weekly check-ins. I don’t want to have to pester Thorn for updates because I’m worried about you.” He mumbled.
“I can manage weekly updates.” Evie nodded. She didn’t really want to, but she also didn’t want him asking Thorn about her. Stepping back firmly, she collected her things, said goodbye and headed back to the tower, feeling like a weight had been lifted.