I spent the next couple of days helping Rob move all of his stuff to Alice's house. I didn't hear anything from Larissa, and decided not to dwell on it, I needed to focus on getting ready for Liam to move in.

Alice and I planned to go shopping for some furniture while Rob was working, it was the first time I would be alone with her, so I was hoping it wouldn't be awkward.

My phone buzzed with a text from Alice, letting me know she was outside. I quickly put on a jacket, and went downstairs to her car.

"Hey," she smiled, when I got into the car.

"Hey, thanks for coming with me today," I said.

"That's alright," she replied. "It's nice to go out with you, without Rob. We can get to know each other a bit better."

I smiled at her words. Alice was such a nice girl, and I was so happy that Rob finally asked her out. I hoped that Alice and I would become good friends.

We shopped for around an hour, chatting as we walked, and managed to buy a bed, a wardrobe, and a few other things for in Liam's room. After we loaded everything into the car, we walked across the street to a coffee shop.

After ordering our drinks, we sat down and talked some more. I was careful not to ask too many personal questions, as I didn't her to be uncomfortable.

"How's work going?" I asked politely.

"It's alright," she replied. "I've been looking for something else for a while, but haven't had much luck."

"Really? What are you wanting to do?"

"Well, I studied as a veterinarian, but didn't find a job when I first got out of college, and I just got a little too comfortable at the gym. But it's getting old now, and Rob's convinced me that I should follow my dreams."

"You definitely should, you deserve so much better than the gym," I said, and she blushed.

"Thanks," she grinned. "What about you? Why are you working at the coffee shop?"

"I don't know," I laughed. "It's just what I've done since I left home. Rob and I didn't make it through college, so we just settled with what we had. I thought about studying again at some point, but there was always something in the way."

"I think it would be great if you went, and Rob too. I did mention it to him once, but he didn't seem interested, really," she said.

"Yeah, education was never his strong suit," I joked. "I think he's honestly just waiting until Tom retires, so he can run the coffee shop."

"Yeah, I had considered that myself," she laughed. "It's crazy how you both-"

I waited for Alice to finish her sentence, but she just stared past me, looking surprised and annoyed. I turned around to see what she was looking at.

Stood at the counter, with his hand on some skinny brunette's ass, was Brandon. When I saw them, I clenched my jaw without realising. I watched as he bent down slightly to kiss the girl.

I turned back to Alice, who was staring in disbelief as Brandon and the girl. I pushed my chair back slightly, so that I could stand up. Alice grabbed my hand, before I got up.

"Don't," she said.

"Are you joking?" I asked angrily, then realised I was talking to Alice. "I'm sorry, but I'm going over there."

I pulled my hand away from hers, and got to my feet. I saw Alice stand up quickly, probably to stop me, but I was in front of Brandon within seconds.

He looked nervous as I approached him, then cursed under his breath when he saw Alice following me. He quickly stepped away from the girl next to him.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

It only took a second to consider my reply.

There wasn't one.

I stepped closer, and swung my fist into his stupid face, and watched him stumble back slightly, before he put both of his hands to his nose, which was bleeding profusely.

"Ivy!" Alice gasped, then grabbed my hand. "We need to go."

"Fucking bitch," Brandon groaned, through his hands, as we walked away.

Alice pulled me a little harder, and I followed her out to the car. I saw several people gathering around Brandon, through the window.

"I'm not fucking finished with him yet, Alice," I said, wanting to turn around. "He's a piece of shit!"

I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my body. I hadn't hit anybody for years, and it felt great. I assumed that was because it was Brandon, but I wanted to go back inside and do it again.

"Ivy," she said, putting her hands on my shoulders, and looking into my eyes. "You're gonna have an inspection from your brother's foster home soon. Do you really think it matters how suitable your apartment is, if you end up getting arrested?"

I realised she was right, and sighed heavily. She nodded towards her car, and we both walked quickly, and got in. She pulled away without saying another word.

After a few minutes, Alice stopped the car. We were at the gym car park. My eyes widened.

"What are we doing here?" I frowned.

"You need to do something with that," she replied, pointing at my hand.

My knuckles were swollen and bloody. I hadn't realised how much it hurt, until Alice pointed it out.

"What do I say to her?" I asked, suddenly aware of the situation I was in.

"Whatever you want to say," she replied. "If you don't want to tell her, I'll do it later. Now go inside, and see Larissa. I'll wait here."

I nodded, and got out of the car. I could feel the anxiety building up as I got closer to the entrance. I wasn't sure if I could tell Larissa about Brandon and the girl. It would mean that she probably wouldn't be with him any more, which means I have more of a chance with her. But if she really loved him, I didn't want to be the one to break her heart.

The second I walked through the door, I came face to face with Larissa. She looked uncomfortable at first, as she probably didn't want to see me yet, I did say I wouldn't keep showing up. When she saw my hand, her expression changed to worried.

She grabbed my arm and pulled me into the room where she had bandaged my arm, the first time we had properly met.

"What happened?" She asked, and took a seat. She gestured for me to sit next to her, and I did.

"I hit something," I said, not wanting to tell her the truth.

"What did you hit?"

"It's not important," I replied.

She looked into my eyes for a second, then rolled her eyes, and pulled her eyes away from mine. She took my injured hand in one of hers, to hold it still while she swept an antiseptic wipe over my knuckles. The wipe stung my skin, and my grip on Larissa's hand tightened slightly.

Her eyes flickered back up to mine, only for a second, and my heart stopped. When it finally started again, it was beating too fast. The adrenaline rush from punching Brandon was nothing compared to a second of eye contact with Larissa.

"Why did you come here?" Larissa asked. "Why not go to the hospital?"

"Alice brought me here," I mumbled.

"So she was with you, when you hit... whatever you hit?"

I didn't answer her question, as i made the mistake of looking at her hands as they cleaned up mine. The shiny diamond ring on her finger caught my eye. I closed my eyes for a second, hoping that when I opened them, the ring wouldn't be there. Unfortunately, my eyes weren't wrong.

"Ivy, where's Alice now?" Larissa asked.

"You said yes," I whispered.

She pulled her left hand away from the table for a second, and I looked up to find her eyes.

"Ivy... I was going to tell you, I just... i didn't expect to see you today."

"Larissa, he doesn't deserve you," I told her, taking her hand in mine.

"Why? Because you want me?" She asked, slightly annoyed. "Ivy, it's not all about you. Brandon and I have been together for years. We love each other, and since he moved here, everything has got back to normal. I am so sorry for everything that happened with us, and that I don't feel the same way that you do, but Brandon is my future, and I'm gonna marry him."

I felt like my insides had been ripped out and fed to me.

I avoiding eye contact with Larissa, and stood from my chair.

"Where are you-"

"It was Brandon," I interrupted, earning a confused look from her. "I hit Brandon."

"Wh- why?"

"Alice and I saw him today... with another girl," I said. "I'm sorry, Larissa."

I walked out of the room, and straight out of the gym to Alice's car, and cried silently in the passenger seat, while Alice drove me home.