"Are you mad at me?" I ask quietly.

The fact that we've been sitting on this couch in silence for five minutes now isn't exactly comforting. To add onto this, he would barely even talk to me in the car.

"I'm not exactly thrilled." He sighs, taking a drink of the water bottle in his hands.

"Okay. Go for it." I say, sitting up on the couch. I cross my legs and sit on hands, not wanting for him to notice when I begin to fidget with them.

"Go for it?" He asks with confusion.

"Yeah. Go ahead and yell at me." I reply.

"I'm not going to yell at you." He sighs. "I just need to get some things straight with you."

Something about the way that he says this makes me more nervous than if he were just to start yelling at me. I can deal with the angry words and shoves. I can deal with all of that. It's what I'm used to dealing with.

"Get some things straight?" I ask.

"Yes." He nods. "Shane told me that there was an incident between you and Gen." He says.

"God, why do you keep calling her that?" I groan.

"Because it's her name, Natalia." He replies.

"No, it's a nickname that you decided you would start using." I snap in reply.

"That's hardly the point in any of this." He sighs in reply.

"It's what started this entire thing!" I counter.

"No! What started this entire thing is your jealousy over someone who is nothing more to me than an intern. I don't know why you're so insecure when it comes to Gen, but it needs to end. I can't have Shane telling me that my girlfriend is threatening my intern." He snaps in reply.

I shrink back at his harsh tone. I've never had Grayson snap at me before, so this is new. Hell, maybe I'm not ready for him to yell at me. If I can't even handle him snapping at me, how the hell am I supposed to handle him yelling at me?

"I'm not insecure!" I say, ignoring everyone else.

"Natalia. You have an issue with this girl and it needs to stop. You're being written up." He replies.

"Wait, what?" I say.

"You're being written up." He repeats.

"For what?!" I exclaim.

"For threatening to fight my intern. It's Shane's decision and I completely agree with him." He informs me.

"I did not threaten to fight her!" I lie. "But of course you would believe her over me."

"You're really going to sit here and lie to my face?" He asks with disbelief. "Natalia, I know you threatened to fight her if she got too close to me. You're being written up for it. End of discussion."

"End of discussion? Excuse me, but I'm not just some fucking child!" I spit out in reply. I know I'm raising my voice at him, but this is absolutely insane. This isn't fair.

"Well that start acting like it!" He yells in reply.

When I don't reply, he lets out a sigh and runs a hand over his face in frustration.

"Look, I didn't mean to yell at you." He sighs.

"No, I get it." I mutter in response, picking at the skin around my fingernails. So much for sitting on my hands, I guess.

"I just don't want any problems at work, okay? You had a right to be upset earlier. You felt as though you were being lied to and I would be upset too. However, you can't just threaten Gen. She is my intern and works for me. She hasn't tried making a move on me, and even if she did I would immediately shut it down and approach it professionally. It hasn't gone that far, even once. Nor did I ever believe that it would. You can't just threaten her because you don't like her. We aren't in high school anymore, Natalia. I need you to start acting like an adult in this entire situation. Be the bigger person and let all of this go." He says in a calm tone.

"So what? I'm just supposed to let her get away with all of this? I'm supposed to be the one that takes all of the blame for this?" I ask, tears filling my eyes. I feel like such a pathetic human for crying like this, but the frustration that I feel is overwhelming.

"Yes, Natalia. You have to take the blame for this because you caused the issue. She hasn't done anything wrong." He explains.

I let out a laugh and wipe the tears from my eyes. This isn't fair. Nothing about this is fair. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have threatened her in the office today. I'll give them that much. But she shouldn't have been the one to lie to me. She is lying to all of them. She is manipulating Grayson and Shane into thinking she's innocent. She wanted to get with Grayson and she still does. I know she does.

"Fine. Take her side. Fuck me, right?" I say, standing up from the couch and walking towards the bathroom.

"Natalia, wait." Grayson sighs.

"No, Grayson." I snap before closing the door behind me.

When I look in the mirror, all I see is the pathetic and broken girl who has always been there deep down. I can pretend to be as confident on the outside as I want. At the end of the day, he's right. I'm jealous and insecure. I'm pathetic and overdramatic. This really is my fault and I know it. It doesn't make the situation feel any better, though.

I hear a soft knock on the door followed by Grayson's calm voice.

"Nat?" He calls.

"I'll be out in a second." I reply, wiping the last tears away and splashing my face with cold water. I can do this. I can face him.

When I open the door, Grayson is standing there with his hand raised, preparing to knock once more. He lowers his hand once he sees me in front of him.

"Are you okay?" He asks softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You're right about all of this. I'm sorry. I owe you, Shane, and Gen an apology." I say, hoping that by saying her stupid fucking nickname, everything will somehow get better.

"It's okay." He says with a nod. "I just don't want any more issues at work, okay?" He says.

I nod in reply and offer a small smile. He gives me a sad smile in return and kisses my forehead gently.

"Good." He whispers and gives me cheek a peck. "I'm sorry that it came to this."

"It's okay." I reply in a small voice.

"So we're good?" He asks.

"Yeah, we're good." I nod.

"Okay." He sighs in relief. "I need to take a shower. I'll be quick."

"Okay." I nod in reply.

"Do you want to join?" He asks, knowing that our showers have been together every time since the morning we shared before my brother's party.

"I think I'm just going to wait out here if that's okay?" I ask.

"Of course. I'll be quick." He says once more.

I listen as the shower begins and wait until he is completely out of ear shot to let out a cry. I've seen something like this play out way too many times with Ryan. He knows that Gen is flirting with him. I mean, he has to know. He just doesn't care. He'll cheat on me just like Ryan did. I know he will. He may not know it yet, but I know the truth.

Grayson's shower is no more than five minutes or so. I hear the water shut off and wipe my tears once more, not wanting him to see me at such a weak point. I can't let him see me like this. He'll use it to his own advantage. I can't let him take advantage of my vulnerability.

"Want to put on a movie or something? I'm pretty tired, but we can watch something if you want." He says as he searches through his dresser drawer for a pair of boxers and a t-shirt. It's the same thing he always does after a shower. I used to love watching him, but right now I can't stand to look at this. I have to get out of here right now.

"I actually think I'm going to head home for the night." I say, clearing my throat before it cracks from the previous tears.

He pauses his search to look up at me. He searches my face for anything and looks concerned while doing so.

"You're leaving?" He asks, turning his body to mine and giving me his full attention.

"Yeah, I just want to be in my own bed tonight." I say, giving him a tight smile.

"I thought....I thought everything was good?" He asks nervously.

"It is." I reply.

"Then why are you leaving?" He asks.

The truth? My ego feels like it's been body slammed to the fucking ground.

"I just don't feel good right now." I say. Truthfully, this isn't exactly a lie.

"Then stay here and you can get some sleep. You can go straight to bed and we'll see how you feel in the morning." He offers.

God, I don't even want to think about the morning. I know facing Shane tomorrow is going to be rough. He won't be nearly as nice to me as Grayson was over this entire situation.

"I'll just see you tomorrow at work, okay?" I say, slipping my shoes on.

"Nat." He sighs, walking towards me. "I thought we were good." He repeats in a small whisper.

"We are." I say. I can't tell if this is a lie or not.

"Promise?" He asks.

"Promise." I reply.

"Pink promise?" He asks.

I let out a genuine chuckle and nod in reply.

"Pinky promise." I repeat.

Here's the thing about a pinky promise: It almost is never a real promise.