Walking through the ward, Grant stopped for a moment to peek at his phone for the fourth time since he woke up. Nathalie still hadn't called or messaged. He remained hopeful that she'd contact him so they could work things out.

"I guess, she still doesn't want to speak with me." He sighed.

His eyes forlornly gazed at its screen. I'll give her space for a few days, then I'll call her. Maybe she'll call me first? I don't want to be 'that' guy, the one that just keeps pestering the woman that dumped him. But I really do want to hear her say the words—ugh, who am I kidding? Just hearing her voice would be great. She could say "go to hell, Grant" and it'll probably be music to my ears. Someone spoke and interrupted him from his thoughts.

"Woah, she must be great in the sack. You look pretty lovestruck and pathetic. Was this your first black girl? Once you go black, you never go back?"

"Rob," he held his breath and tightly gripped the phone with a trembling hand.

"What'd it look like? Purple? Did it look similar to a white chick's? Oooo, did she like doggie? I hear they like daddy roleplaying and spanking." Rob chuckled.

Grant raised an eyebrow and stared at Rob, approaching him in a predatory way. Reaching out, he grabbed his tie and yanked him forward. An uncharacteristic glint shone in his eyes as he leaned forward to whisper in Rob's ear.

"There's a lot of surgical equipment in this facility ... accidents can happen. That was a joke, this isn't," he let out a breathy laugh. "There's a lot of trainees here that would just love to file a sexual harassment suit against you and what do you know? I'm a witness. Don't speak about her like that EVER again. Understood?"

Quickly releasing the tie, he pat Rob on the chest. "Oh, I'm sorry. Let me fix that for you," smirking, he straightened the tie and forcefully tightened it. "There we go, all better! I'll see you around." He nodded and walked away.

Rob coughed as he loosened the knot. "Never seen him like that. Who knew he was such a psycho?"

Running on the sidewalk, Nathalie approached her apartment complex. The day had been long and she wanted to contact Grant to apologize. She hoped he wasn't angry with her for the unintentional radio silence. A familiar face caused her to stop abruptly.

"Charles? Umm, what're you doing here?"

He descended the steps. "I've come here with a message from my mother."

She eyed him suspiciously.

"Stop seeing Grant. Don't contact him in any way. Just stay away from him."

"Everyone just keeps getting all up in my business! What if I say 'NO'? Huh? She gonna send a hitman? Or beat me over the head with a grape juice prison jug?" She crossed her arms.

The final question briefly confused him, but he quickly squelched the reaction and regained his composure. "She had a heart attack last night after arguing with him—over you."

A wretched feeling washed over Nathalie. She dropped her arms. The shock had rendered her speechless.

"So, please, stay away from him."

"He's a big boy. Don't you think he should decide that for himself?"

He shook his head. "Basically, you want him to choose you over his family. Is that it? Let's say he does. How do you think that's going to work out? How long before he resents you for it?"

The words cut like a knife and she strained to hold back the tears that pooled in her eyes. He was right, there was no winning in either situation. If she stayed with him, she'd lose him a million different ways.

"Unbelievable," a broken heart revealed itself through her voice. "This is all too much to handle. Okay! I won't see him anymore! You can go now." She pushed past him.

Upon entering the apartment, she found her phone with a note and a drawing on the counter.

Nat,

Found your phone in Brie's stuff. She was using it to make a doodle.

Gabrielle

Teary-eyed, she admired the drawing. The outline of the phone was made to create a character with stick arms and legs. A smiley adorned its face as it jumped on what seemed to be a sunny beach. It made her laugh, but the flicker of emotion swiftly drifted away once she placed it on her fridge.

She reached for the phone and threw it across the living room. An uncontrollable sobbing possessed her. The more she tried to reel it in, the stronger it poured out. Every emotion that was previously carefully contained, burst out all at once. The struggle between control and release continued for four hours while she sat in the darkened room.

Before going to sleep that night, she went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. A face drained of color with swollen, glossy eyes and drooped eyelids, stared back at her. Pinkish hues stained the white areas around veins that branched out from the corners. The elongated dark circles underneath them were a reminder of the emotional exhaustion she had endured.

"It's bad now, it will get better. Slowly, everyday's gonna get better. Just focus on work. That's all you gotta do. It will get better." She told herself.

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***[900]***