The Trouble With You

f i v e

Did he just really say that? Shit, he was losing touch with everything. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration and turned, giving her his back, as he contemplated how to make what he just said sound not so clingy.

The truth was, ever since he met y/n, his life has been simple. She took a playboy that nobody trusted and turned him into a well respected business man and he ruined that in the span of one night. She knew exactly what he needed when he needed it. She read his body language and he didn't have to speak to tell her how he was feeling. He needed her — in what way he wasn't sure. As an assistant? A friend? Partner?

He chuckled to himself at that...y/n and him? Together? She was out of his league.

"So are you going to tell me what just happened or are you going to continue with the inner monologue I know you're having right now?"

Shit, like he said, she knew him. "I can't live without you," he mumbled again. What an idiot.

"You said that already." She replied, staring straight at him.

"I need you, y/n," his voice sounded whiny and desperate — he hardly recognized it right now but it somehow encapsulated how he felt.

"For what? To iron your shirts and fetch you coffee?" He could taste the sarcasm in her words and they were sour.

"To be in my life again. To talk to me again and I don't mean just professional talk, I mean you rambling on about your day or what's been happening in your life while I sit there and listen."

Whoever said that one never knew who they had until they lost them knew what the hell they were talking about. The appreciation for someone dwindles when you see them everyday - even going as far as being annoyed with them but when when they're gone — shit hurts.  Their absence is a void. He felt like such a sap right now, missing her rambling on about nothing but hearing her voice in the background as he focused on endless paperwork actually made the job doable.

"We can't keep going back and forth like this," she sighed. "I like my new job with your sister. She actually takes me seriously and listens to any ideas I might have."

The mention of his sister had his lips tightening. He hated it, how his sister always managed to swoop in and take everything. Now, y/n wasn't a possession but she had been his since the day she was hired. She's been the only one truly on his side and now he had no one save for the people who loved to empty his wallet when he was out at the club. Those people didn't give a shit about him and he lost the one person who truly did. He would get down on his knees if it meant having her smile at him again.

"I'll earn it."

"What?"

"Your forgiveness. I'll earn it."

"H/N—"

He cut her off before she could refuse. "I'm doing it."

He marched out of the breakroom and was almost at his office when he noticed his sister leaning against his door. She looked pissed, as if she knew he was trying to get y/n back again.

"When are you going to leave that poor girl alone? She clearly said she didn't want anything to do with you...us if it wasn't about work."

She was right but his sister didn't understand how he felt and to be honest, neither did he. "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" His sister said, seeming unfazed by the words coming out of his mouth, as if she had heard them a million times.

"I do. I know you and Dad think I'm a mess but for once in my life, I know what I'm doing."

A knowing smile spread across her lips. "It's about damn time you got your head out of your ass brother."

He eyes her warily. "What are you talking about?"

She moved closer. "Well, does your chest get all tight when you think of her?"

His chest was tight right now because he wasn't with her.

"Do you panic at the thought of never seeing her again?" His sister asked.

His heart started to pound at that thought. "What are you alluding to?"

"My theory is you're in love with her. I don't need your confirmation but I suggest you do something about that before she really does walk out of our lives." She walked to the door and glanced over her shoulder. "She's a good one."

He pondered over his sister's words. Was what he was feeling love? Or was it an unhealthy attachment he formed?

The time for the end of day came all too soon and he was walking to the staircase that led to the parking garage when he heard familiar laughter flow through the air. Without knowing what he was doing, he found himself following the sound, transfixed by the notes it was hitting in his ears. He knew that sound, he dreamt of hearing that sound yet here it was, hearing freely.

The laughter got louder as he got closer to the railing that overlooked the lobby downstairs. He stayed hidden in the shadows but he could see y/n standing there. He smiled at the sight of her, chest filling with warmth that only she seemed to be able to provide.

But that warmth swirled into something more dangerous when he saw her standing with a random man, who was looking at her like she was his entire world. She threw her head back at something the guy said and the laughter that brought him here rung through the air. She's laughing? With him? Then, to make matters worse, he watched as the man reached out and wrapped his arm around her and she leaned in like they had done it a thousand times.

Only one question ran through his mind as he angrily stalked off...who the hell was that guy?