Ethan: Please sit back down for just five minutes.
Chloe: We have spent five months talking in circles.
Ethan looked at the front door as Chloe pulled her coat off the wooden rack near the entrance. The bright sun shone into their living room, lighting up the thick stack of pink final notices lying across the coffee table.
Ethan: We can call the bank together and ask for a payment plan today.
Chloe: The bank sent three final foreclosure warnings already this month.
Ethan: I am working double shifts at the warehouse starting tomorrow morning.
Chloe: Your extra shifts will not cover ten thousand dollars in late fees.
She pulled her silver suitcase out from the front closet. The sound of the plastic wheels scraping against the hardwood floor made Ethan flinch.
Ethan: You are really packing your bags over money issues right now?
Chloe: This is not just money issues, Ethan. This is my entire future.
Ethan: We took an oath to stick together through better or worse.
Chloe: I never signed up to go completely bankrupt at twenty-six years old.
Ethan stood up slowly, his legs shaking under the crushing weight of the moment. He reached out to grab her arm, but she stepped backward quickly to avoid his touch.
Ethan: I spent every dollar of my savings trying to pay your medical charges last winter.
Chloe: Nobody forced you to put those hospital bills on your personal credit card.
Ethan stared at her in utter disbelief. He felt a sharp pain in his chest as her harsh words sank into his mind.
Ethan: I did that because I loved you and wanted to save your health.
Chloe: Well, now you have to figure out how to pay it all back by yourself.
Ethan: Where are you even planning to go without any money in your account?
Chloe: My mother bought me a plane ticket back to her house in Dallas this morning.
Ethan stared at the airplane ticket sticking out of her purse pocket. His mouth went dry as he realized she had planned this departure days ago.
Ethan: You planned this behind my back while I worked late nights?
Chloe: I had to protect my own financial standing before you dragged me down completely.
Ethan: I gave you everything I ever earned over the last four years.
Chloe: And clearly your everything was never enough to keep us afloat.
She grabbed the heavy brass door handle and turned it slowly. Cold autumn air rushed into the warm room, rustling the piles of paper spread across the rug.
Ethan: If you walk out that door right now, do not ever come back to me.
Chloe: Trust me, Ethan, I have no reason to ever step inside this house again.
She stepped out onto the front porch and slammed the door shut behind her. The loud bang echoed through the empty house, leaving Ethan standing alone in the quiet living room.
Ethan sank back down onto the soft cushions of the couch. Tears began to blur his vision as he looked down at the bright red collection letters covering the glass table.
Ethan: What am I supposed to do now?
He put his head in his hands and wept quietly. The framed American flag hanging on the white wall seemed to stare down at his sudden ruin.
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