Before we get into this particular chapter, the finale, I have some trigger warnings to give. There is a lot of trauma responses and unhealthy coping mechanisms in this chapter. Ethan and Carter haven't done enough to not have this particular fight happen, and neither handle it well. So, TW for harassment, alcohol consumption, abandonment, and eating disorders/disordered eating.
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The announcement about Carter joining the Knicks was big news, and much like Ethan had told him, it was only a day later that Marcus put out an article that made their relationship press official. With the article was a photo that Marcus had taken of Ethan with his phone at the Championship game. It was a pretty good photo, too, because it showed Ethan cheering Carter from the stands while Carter was moving away from the basket in the background. Ethan had just been turning back around to smile at Marcus when the photo was taken.
Ethan explained to Carter that Marcus started as a photographer before he worked his way up, so it wasn't surprising the shot was so good. He actually remembered when he took the photo. What wasn't shown was the way Ethan rolled his eyes right after he realized what Marcus had been doing, but on the plus side, Marcus had been kind enough to send him the photo, and Ethan rather liked it.
While Carter was meeting his new teammates and speaking with the press, Ethan had contacted his realtor again to tell her he definitely wanted to move forward with finding a place in New York, and so with the list of his needs in the house, she went to work trying to find something that was perfect.
It wasn't long after that his realtor showed him a house that was in a quiet neighborhood with a ton of room between homes. It was farther out from work than his old home was, and would make the most sense to just take the train to work rather than driving, but it was nice, and he loved how beautiful the trees were around the house.
It was once they got into the house that Ethan knew it was perfect though. The ceilings were higher than most homes, and vaulted in the living room and master bedroom. Even Ethan, at his six foot one frame didn't have to duck a little to go through the doors, and there was still plenty of room between his head and the top. Going down into the basement, which was finished and had a great setup for exercising and a game room, especially since it had a built-in bar, would be easy for Carter to get through.
What really sold it to Ethan was the backyard though. There was a tree, obviously old and beautiful, reaching up into the skies, and he could see an old treehouse built into the middle of it. It made him smile as he thought of the treehouse on Chloe's parent's property, way out in the woods and mostly forgotten by them though movement would be caught by the cameras, but not by Chloe and her friends. It had become their sanctuary, their safe place. This treehouse was smaller, and could definitely use some work, but that was exactly a project that Ethan would be all over.
Plus, the driveway, which was fairly big and led up to a three-car garage, had a basketball hoop.
Ethan told Carter he wasn't going to put down an offer on the house if he didn't like it, because he didn't really want to move somewhere that Carter couldn't view as his own home too, but in the end Carter thought it was an amazing home, and perfectly suited for their needs, so Ethan put down an offer at full asking price, and the offer was accepted. The inspection went well and, since the previous owners had already moved and wanted things done, as rich people tended to, they closed not long afterward.
Luckily, they had Ethan's whole friend group and Carter's new teammates who wanted to welcome him to the area, who were willing to help them pack and move. Coco hated the whole experience, and spent most of her time sitting in the sink in the new master bathroom. She even swiped at Ethan at one point when he tried to make sure she was okay, out of stress. Carter came into the bathroom to see Ethan holding up his arm where she had scratched him as he said, "I will carry this with me always, as a reminder of your everlasting hatred of me, Coco. But that's okay, because I love you, you little shit."
By the end of the day, Chloe was driving Ethan nuts, though. She had her own ideas of how the layout of rooms should be, while Ethan liked to spend a little time planning out how he did things. He was only able to get her to stop talking about the right setups for optimal use of the space by pointing out that he wasn't the only one who would be living there, and while Wayne was happy to let Chloe take the leads on many things in their relationship, likely out of self-preservation (that comment which got a smile out of Wayne and a glare from Chloe), Carter probably had opinions.
They had everything moved over and placed, and most of it unpacked by the end of the day though. Carter was surprised that despite how much space Ethan had at the old house, his personal effects were actually only enough to fill about six boxes, and less than half of his wardrobe was not scrubs, though he did own a few work suits that he rarely used.
Coco only came out once everyone had left and the furniture was in the places they would stay. Ethan had made one corner of the living room up for her with her cat tree by the sliding glass door that led outside, with her toys, scratchers, and food and water bowl.
They were getting ready to sit down and relax after everyone had eaten pizza, had beer, and now had finally gone home, and Ethan noticed that Carter's phone kept lighting up. He had been leaving his phone on silent more often now, and his demeanor would change sometimes when he looked at it. Ethan could tell something was wrong, but Carter just wouldn't talk about it. He'd made the comment about someone who didn't exist anymore, and then generally didn't talk about it. He would change the subject most of the time now.
"Carter?" Ethan finally asked as he watched Carter turn off the screen of the phone and put it away before he sat down on the couch. "I may wear glasses but I'm not completely blind."
"What do you mean by that?" Carter asked.
"Something is bothering you lately, specifically dealing with your phone and likely someone contacting you," Ethan replied. "So what is wrong?"
Carter looked deeply uncomfortable, "It's.... complicated," he said.
"That much I get," Ethan sighed. "Whatever it is, though, is making you distant and distracted. Maybe actually talking about it will help."
"I don't think it will, honestly," Carter said. "The backstory alone is... it's just too much."
Ethan frowned at him. "Alright, well, if it's something that's bothering you so much, can you at least block the person or people?"
Carter frowned, "You think I haven't thought of that? It's really just best to keep ignoring him like my therapist suggested. He'll eventually get bored and disappear again."
