lailisms:
A trip had never sounded better to Elizabeth. Summer was in full effect in New York City and it scorched her skin every time she stepped outside. If she was going to melt Wicked Witch style, Elizabeth wanted to do sipping a fruity cocktail with the waves crashing in the background. Jordan’s offer to venture out to the Bahamas was welcomed. Filming for Gossip Girl had halted to allow its tired cast and crew a needed vacation and while it wasn’t as long as she would’ve liked, she wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Her bags were stuffed with all the swimsuits she owned and her stack of paperbacks that she had been putting off forever were finally going to be given the attention they deserved.
Jordan had asked her to meet at his place and even though she was a hour early than he requested, Elizabeth figured he wouldn’t mind. They could beat traffic to the airport and not stress about rushing to their terminal. She thanked the cab driver for neatly stacking her suitcases into his trunk and scrolled through her phone as they drove over, informing her team where she’d be and to not disturb her unless absolutely necessary. After that was finished, she simply stared out the window and enjoyed the scenic views.
When they arrived, Elizabeth hoisted her bag on one shoulder and used her hand to wheel her suitcase up the steps and into the building. There seemed to be no one around and her boots clicked audibly as she walked towards his door. When she reached it, she could hear muffled arguing and Elizabeth paused. There was clearly a woman inside and she sounded pissed. Unsure as to whether she should knock and interrupt or hide and wait for the storm to pass, Elizabeth also couldn’t help but overhear what was being said. Especially when she heard her name.
“–almost saying her name during our vows?”
Well, fuck. That had to be Ellie. And – what? Jordan had said –?
Elizabeth’s head was spinning as she struggled to digest all this information when the door suddenly swung open and nearly hit her in the face. Ellie stormed out and the dogs bounded towards Elizabeth but she smartly stepped back. There was a look of such deep disgust on the former’s face and when she saw Elizabeth, her scowl only increased. Nothing was said, however, except a sniff and then Ellie and the dogs were disappearing from view. Elizabeth stood still, stunned. She caught Jordan’s eye. “Um. Hi.”
The part that bothered Jordan the most was that he knew part of everything Ellie was saying to him was true. He was a shitty person for everything he had done to her over the last year, and there was no denying any of it. It was a shame and a guilt that he lived with every single day. He wished he could take it all back and do it all differently so that Ellie wouldn’t have gotten hurt and that he wouldn’t have gone this long without Elizabeth. It was the those things that made him feel ashamed in himself for the first time in his life, and he wasn’t sure any of that would go away any time soon.
“I’ll let you know when I’m back so I can get the dogs,” was all he said to Ellie as she disappeared out the door. Jordan was leaning against the couch, running a hand over his face and letting himself feel the guilt for the moment. He knew he had time to try to sort through it, or at least he thought he did until he saw someone else standing in the door frame and heard his favorite voice in the world. “Hey, you,” he smiled, letting a deep breath. He knew she had to have seen Ellie storming out, the timing was way too close for her to not have noticed. He just hoped that’s all she had seen or heard. “Clearly this whole divorce thing has her and I getting along really well,” Jordan joked with a laugh that didn’t have much humor in it, “She’s watching the dogs while we’re gone. It was one of the only things she asked for in the divorce, was time with them.”
Jordan stepped forward to grab her suitcase, setting it over next to his own and then pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Are you ready for a private beach with no one to bother us for the next week?”