《Anger Issues》10

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The trip all the way up to the cabin was half comfortable silence, a quarter of really lame jokes, and the last quarter was filled with Brent's angry ranting about the "ignorance of that man, I mean, how does he not know who I am? And he had the audacity to tell me that I need to control my temper-that's what I have you for!"

Once they had finally reached the cabin, it was time to eat dinner, which solely consisted of pizza they had picked up. "You know," Brent started, "this is a great idea and all but we really didn't think about the whole 'what are we gonna eat these next few days' issue. I don't know if you remember or not, but neither of us are very skilled in the culinary department."

"You know," Maisie mocked, "I did think about that. But I also figured that we're both grown adults and are perfectly capable of figuring something out. Besides, there are grocery stores here and restaurants-we can handle that. Anyways, leave the worrying up to me, this is supposed to be your relaxing weekend."

"Not only did you give me the most thoughtful Christmas present ever but you are continuing to be so meaningful towards me. Why? I'm such an ass to everybody and yet you keep pretending like I'm not."

"On the contrary, Brent. I most certainly do not forget about you being rude to everybody. But I know that you know, so I see no point in pointing it out to you all of the time, I just correct you on it. And it's my job to help you out." Even as Maisie said this, she knew that it wasn't the whole truth. Sure, it was her job, but she truly cared deeply for the man sitting across from her-no matter how egotistical and arrogant he could be. She spent a lot of time studying him. She knew that there was a whole lot more to him than what meets the eye and, for very brief moments, she could see a bit more below the surface.

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"I've gone to plenty of therapists and have had many counselors. Not a single one of them flew my best friend out for a week or took me to their parents cabin for a weekend of detox. Actually, none of them have even lasted as long as you have," Brent said, as the tiniest blush almost crept to his cheeks.

"Well, Brent, if you're going to force it out of me, I do truly care for you and your well-being. Even on my first day I realized that, yeah, you are technically the richest man in America, but, in a way, you are quite poor. There are times when I am honestly so proud of you. Then, there are times when I, honestly, pity you. Sometimes I feel sorry that you drive so many people away with how you act. I think your past counselors were looking for an experiment, and when you didn't react as they'd hoped, they just gave up. Though, probably unfortunately for you, I'm not a quitter. I know that there is so much more to you than the I'm-tough-don't-talk-to-me mask that you always wear. You're a human being that needs a little more kindness, understanding, and love in his life. And I'd like to think that's what I'm here for-to help you get through you're problems by treating you like a person and not a test subject."

If he was honest, Brent wouldn't have even been able to express the feeling he felt in the bottom of his stomach that flowed all the way up to his chest. The way Maisie would look at him almost reminded him of how is mom used to when he would get hurt as a child. He knew that his mom loved and cared for him, obviously, but it was a different kind of care and concern that came from Maisie. Though he couldn't put his finger on how it made him feel, he just knew that he didn't think he could get enough of it for a lifetime. It had been nice these past few months to have somebody to genuinely be there for him. Granted they really only spent time together during work hours, Maisie had become his constant. And, on the long drive up to where they currently were, he decided that even though he wouldn't show his feelings, he wasn't going to bother trying to push them away. When he did that before he used anger to mask how he really felt and the look in Maisie's eyes when he blew up on people was almost enough to make him drop to his knees and immediately ask her for her forgiveness.

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"And I, Mace, genuinely appreciate you. Not just what you do for me but you in general. You have so much love in your heart that it is amazing. Thank you," Brent concluded. He figured that saying he appreciated her was just as good as any compliment he could muster up to say to anybody-which never actually happened.

....

The pair sat on two separate couches watching the movie of Brent's choice. "We could be watching Harry Potter right now but, no, Brent Daniel Hollier just has to be a big fat cheater at Connect Four," Maisie teased.

"Okay, first off, I won fair and square, so we're watching The Hangover. Secondly, how do you even cheat at Connect Four? I'm pretty sure that it's impossible."

"I don't know how you did it, but you did it. I'm practically a board game master, there's no other way you could've beaten me!"

"Cocky, aren't we?" Brent joked, "Well, Board-Game-Master, we'll see how you good you really are tomorrow night. Though, I do have the feeling that we'll be watching The Hangover Part Two, loser."

....

As the movie went on, Maisie found herself drifting closer and closer to sleep. She found herself thinking about the man on the neighboring couch. And he found himself covering her sleeping body with a blanket as he went to the room in which he'd be staying in that night.

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