Scarlett Johansson - Where Do We Go From Here?

Strained Friendship

Y/N POV 

For the next few days, I kept expecting Scarlett to walk away. Maybe she'd finally let it sink in that I had an aggressive background, but nothing seemed to change. The only thing that did change was my relationship with Chris. I think it had been strained for a while now, but neither of us wanted to admit it while we still worked so closely together. Having his invasion into my life made me draw back. I still don't know how he knew I missed my appointment, and I know that Claire wouldn't tell anyone anything about me. That's her job. 

The thought that he had been perhaps "watching" me? That was the worst of it all. Neither of us attempted to talk at work the next day. Scenes were more like work instead of the typical goofiness that sprouted from Chris, Robert, and me. Now it was just Robert being confused at the sudden change in our relationship. And Robert is definitely not the kind of person to let things confuse him for too long. Because soon enough, he was after some answers. 

He would sprinkle in a question to me whenever we spoke, but I just couldn't make myself voice the problem to anyone. Scarlett was the only one who I talked to, and she agreed with me that I should take a step back. Alyssa had reached out the day after the argument, and we had healed some broken bridges. She knew what happened was wrong, and she thought the conversation was going to be something completely different. The only thing left unsaid between the two of us was why the hell she got involved. She and Chris weren't close to my knowledge. He must have reached out to her, but why didn't he just come alone? 

Robert's attempts to find answers soon shifted from a work problem to a personal life problem. I spent a lot of my afternoons with Rose at the new house as we ordered new furniture and planned out some renovations. She was really interested in everything and actually wanted to draw her own plans for the house. There was a large stone table near the pool she liked to lay on as she worked. I would walk around the house, finishing up measurements and making a list for Scarlett to look over later to see if we liked any of the same things. It was a sound system, and we had a very easy job of matching interests. 

"Looks like you've got a mini architect." Robert opened up the gate that surrounded the backyard, and I looked up from Rose's drawings. 

"Looks like you decided you own the place," I answer, and he laughs. 

"Since you live so close, you better get used to me showing up." He locks it behind him and joins us at the table. 

"Look at my plans for the house!" Rose picks up her paper and shoves it toward his face. I smile as he takes it from her and starts to look over everything. 

"What is this?" He asks and points at the upstairs hallway. 

"Trampoline flooring! Every house should come with one." Rose explains as she stands up on the table to look at the paper too. 

"Hear that, Y/N? You better order the floors soon; I've heard they're hard to get these days." Robert says, and I scoff. 

"Can we, Mama?!" Rose spins to face me, and I glare at Robert. 

"How about we get a trampoline for the backyard?" I try to reason, but she pouts and crosses her arms. 

"You can't jump when it's cold." She says, and I frown a little. 

"They have trampoline parks." I offer, and she sighs. 

"What's this one?" Robert draws her attention away from me, and I sigh in relief.

"That's a room for all of my stuffed friends!" Rose says, and she hops around a little. 

"Does she at least get this one?" Robert asks me.