"Matt?" She called as she stepped visibly into the doorway.

The laughing didn't stop right away. Fallon held an arm backwards towards Trent, keeping him an arm's length back from the door frame.

In front of her stood Matt, one of his arms wrapped around the waist of someone she recognized. The girl was tall, standing just below Matt's height without heels on her feet. She was dressed in jeans and a flowing blue shirt that dipped just low enough in the front to catch a man's eyes, but left enough for them to imagine. Her long blonde hair was highlighted and curled in loose waves, it looked as though she had just left the salon. Fallon imagined she smelled like hairspray. She was pretty, her makeup was light and natural, and her teeth were straight and stark white as she tossed a ringlet over her shoulder and smiled at Matt. He lifted her up and sat her on the counter and leaned against the wall across from her. They looked effortless together.

Her eyes seemed to be scanning the room for something or someone as she turned towards the sink, grabbed a glass from the drying rack and filled it with water. It was at that point she finally caught Fallon's staring from the bedroom. She looked like she saw a ghost when she jumped off the counter and let out a slight yell as Fallon stepped out.

"Oh my gosh, Fallon, I'm sorry, I just didn't expect you to be there." She was clutching her hand to her chest, when Fallon finally figured out why she looked familiar.

"Hi Emma," she said, giving her a half smile. "It's nice to see you." She crossed her arms over her chest and paused at the kitchen island. "Whatcha guys doing?"

"Fal, when did you get home?" Matt finally chimed in, the look on his face made Fallon think about how quickly someone who is so intelligent could look so idiotic.

"I've been here awhile now. Where were you?"

"Um, I had met up with a few friends at the bar for dinner and drinks."

Fallon nodded, "that's nice, where are those friends now Matt?"

He stuttered trying to find the words, "they um,"

Fallon held up a hand, "stop, just stop." She turned her gaze to Emma, "Em, it's truly nice to see you, I apologize that my fiancé," she shot a look in Matt's direction, "seems to have forgotten himself and decided to take you back to my apartment. Very embarrassing for him."

"Fiancé?" Emma turned towards Matt with a questioning glare.

"Emma, wait, we aren't together anymore, I didn't even know she was here."

"Are you kidding me Matt?" Emma popped out her hip with a hand on her waist.

"No, he's right, he didn't know I was here, I didn't know we weren't together anymore, I thought I asked for three weeks. But it's okay Emma," she took a step towards Matt, "because I came home to tell him we should call off the wedding. I came home to apologize for hurting him and talk about how he wanted to move forward. I came home to let him know that I still think about the life we built and then I destroyed and hoped that him knowing I lived with that guilt would be enough to make him at least pity me. But I see he's just fine." She took another two steps towards him so the entirety of her body was now blocking anywhere he may have wanted to go. "Enjoy your life down at the docks Matt, I hope it's everything you wanted. And Emma, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to get to know you better, I know we only met a couple of times but I'm sure you'll be better for him than I ever was, more common interests. But I'm gonna need you to get out of my apartment."

"Our apartment. It's ours, I have just as much right to be here as you," Matt chimed in.

"No, your name isn't on the lease. You didn't hunt it down and pay two months rent and security on it to make sure you were close enough to home and to work and to family. You didn't do that. I did. All you did was move in."

"Fallon, don't do this," he outstretched his hands to reach for her.

"Don't touch her." Trent's bodiless voice rang out from the darkness of the bedroom. The shock caused Matt's neck to quickly turn towards the sound and then back to Fallon.

"Really Fallon? He's in our apartment?" He took a step towards Fallon, the smell of alcohol now clear on his breath.

"Really, Matt?" She pushed herself towards him, her face directly in front of his. She gestured towards Emma, "in my apartment."

Trent, finally coming out of the shadows of the room, made his way towards the two of them, pulling Fallon back from Matt.

"She said go, just go. Take your girl with you and leave."

His calm demeanor surprised Fallon as she stood to the side of him.

Emma was pulling at Matt's arm now, "Matt, stop, let's go." Fallon couldn't help but feel the slightest sense of sympathy for her.

"You know what McBride," the liquid courage effect had clearly taken place as Matt stepped forward to square off with Trent. Despite the fact that he was six feet tall and fairly muscular from his time working at the boat docks, he still looked small standing next to Trent. Whether it was because of his physical size or because of the way he was reacting to the situation when small animals feel intimidated and try to make themselves look bigger, Fallon wasn't entirely sure.

"What?" Trent responded gruffly.

Fallon could tell from the sound of his voice that Trent's patience was wearing thin now and Matt was on borrowed time before he lost it.

"Congratulations, you got your girl, after all these years."

Fallon begged a silent prayer that Matt stopped there. That he would turn and leave and it would be done.

"But guess what," Matt continued.

Fallon took a step towards Trent, taking the fist that had balled up in his left hand besides him in both her hands, "don't," she whispered as she pulled at his fingers, unraveling each of their tight coils.

Matt moved his face closer to Trent's now, "I've been inside her too, she feels just like everyone else, she's not that special."

The sounds that came after that statement blurred into white nose. The sound of Trent's fist connecting with Matt's nose, the sound of Emma screaming, then the sound of Matt falling against the drywall and sliding to the floor, all combined together to form a low whirring in her brain.

As quickly as it happened, it was over. Emma was pulling Matt from the floor, and despite a concerted effort to stay, between the alcohol and the pain, he eventually followed her out.

Without a word, Trent walked across the kitchen and to the front door. He opened it and paused in the threshold, a pained look on his face as he inhaled deeply.

"Where are you going?" She asked, the concern in her continuing to grow.

"I'll be back, I promise." He walked out and closed the door behind him.

She was left in silence, staring at the chaos that had ensued. The blood droplets scattered across the kitchen, the knocked over chair from Matt's fall. She leaned against the kitchen counter and sighed, the weight from the events starting to lift.

After scrubbing the blood splatters from the surfaces and pushing the chairs back to their original spaces. She checked the clock. Trent had been gone for almost a half hour, it was close to eleven now.

She had restrained herself against running after him. He had already followed her here, given up his everyday life to be with her. The last thing she wanted to do was drive him away by forcing him to talk to her. But with the night now having taken over and the sky, dark, she figured it couldn't hurt to at least go and see if his car was still here. She slipped on a pair of old sneakers that she always left by the door and grabbed her keys from the countertop, locking the door behind her. She made her way down the stairs, knowing they would take less time than the elevator, and as she hit the first floor, she exited out of the side door and into the parking lot.

Looking both ways up and down the side of the building, she hoped she would find him sitting on one of the benches scattered around the perimeter, but she didn't see him. She made her way out into the lot and hastened her pace as she made her way to the spots that they were in earlier. While her car remained, the car next to her was no longer Trent's.

She found herself with a sinking feeling. What if he had left and gone home? What if he decided she was too much? That this was too much and he had made a mistake? Reaching for her phone to call him, she realized she had left it in the bedroom.

"Dammit," she stomped her foot like a frustrated child would. And started making her way to the front of the building. As she rounded the corner to the glass sliding doors, she saw him.

He was leaning against his car, now in a different spot, towards the front of the building. He was on the phone with someone, talking quietly, a lit cigarette billowing from his lips. The anticipation of reaching him grew with each step she took towards him, her pulse quickening. When she finally stepped foot in front of him, a look of shock came across his face when she plucked the cigarette from his lips, tossed it to the ground and replaced its space with her lips, the smokiness of the tobacco still lingering on his tongue.

He quickly disconnected the call he was on, pushing his phone into his pocket and taking her in his hands.

"You were doing so good with the cigarettes," she pulled back slightly

"I know," he nodded, "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." She retorted. "If you want to go home, I'd understand."

"Why would I go home?"

"Because my life is a wreck, why should you have to deal with it?"

He smiled, "wherever you are, that's home. This is not the worst thing I've dealt with."

"He was bringing her there to cheat on me. In my own apartment."

"I don't think that's the first time he's brought her there."

"Why do you say that?"

"She seemed very...comfortable when she walked in."

She bit at the skin of her lip, "you think he's been cheating on me?"

"I do, not because I hate him, but because I've gotten good at reading people with what I do, and I just think it's been awhile."

She frowned, "I was gonna marry that."

"But you're not now," he tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her once again, the taste of his lingering cigarette, lesser now.

"Who were you on the phone with?"

"Frank," he smiled, "I have him scanning through police reports, so when Matt eventually files one against me, no police show up knocking at your door to arrest me."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Yes, but I can't risk a cop showing up at your door and you seeing his handcuffs and falling in love with him instead of me." He gently held her hands behind her back, she let go of a giggle.

"Where did you go?" She asked, the seriousness coming back to her voice as he relinquished her hands.

"I went and bought a new lock for your door. And had an extra key made."

He opened the door he was leaning against and materialized a new lock, the packaging already opened, and two keys on a ring. He handed both the lock and keys over to her.

"I don't know how to even put these on," she laughed as he locked the car and handed the hardware over.

"I do," he grabbed her hand and started leading her back towards the building.

"Wait," she paused in their path, taking his keys from him and handing him the lock.

"If you wanna drive it, I'll let you. You don't have to steal my car," he joked.

She pulled one key off the key ring he had given her and moved it over to the ring attached to his keys.

"I don't think you'll need it long, but while we're here, the key to my fortress," he handed the keys back to him. "Once you change the lock, of course."