Monday, I started experiencing very uncomfortable symptoms. Painkillers weren't helping at all. I went into urgent care, and they took a blood and urine test. After the results came in, they rushed me to the emergency room. I was severely dehydrated, and my kidneys were infected.

Four nights in the hospital felt like a lifetime. The fever did not want to go away the first three nights. They gave me fluids and powerful pain medication. I kept dozing in and out.

When they released me, I couldn't wrap my head around how long I had been there. I barely remembered anything while in my hospital room. Only nurses and doctors kept bugging me with questions while I felt groggy. It was frustrating.

According to the doctor, he said it was possible that stress from work could have contributed to the infection. It left my body vulnerable, and I needed to find ways to relieve stress and stay hydrated. All I got from that was if I were to be in stressful situations, I would have to drink even more water.

Though Gray was helping me catch up with my work, Autumn's attitude toward me had been a little disturbing. It seemed like she had a grudge against me. I tried to ignore her passive-aggressive comments. Charlotte and Dana told me to not worry so much about Autumn and to concentrate on my work. It was hard since half of my work should have been Autumn's.

The following Monday, I brought a large water bottle to work. I needed to drink five full bottles a day. I still felt a little out of it but healthier otherwise. I felt useless being stuck in bed. It was exciting to get back to work.

Gray had started bringing me lunches before I ended up in the hospital. I called Vince on my first day at the hospital to let him know what had happened. And I hoped he told Gray to not waste his delicious cooking while I was gone.

As I entered the office, no one seemed to notice. Until Charlotte screeched my name and waved excitedly. I laughed and waved back. She and Dana came over to me.

"Ella! How are you feeling?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm doing better, thanks." I smiled.

"That's good to hear." Dana smiled.

"I'm sorry I missed so much work. I hope you didn't get stuck with extra work as our team did." I said.

"No, but Gray's team has been working extra hard," Dana said.

"Oh, okay. I better get started." I said as I sat in front of my computer.

Charlotte and Dana returned to their area. I turned to see Chloe already working hard on a report. Nick and Steve were discussing a project. Autumn walked back to her desk from the breakroom. She glared at me before sticking her nose in the air. I rolled my eyes, and then they landed on Gray. He concentrated on his computer screen. I smiled and turned back to my desk.

To my surprise, a single rose was placed in my pencil holder. It had a gorgeous deep burgundy color. My heart skipped a beat when I thought of the meaning behind the color of the rose. It symbolizes deep passion and unconscious beauty.

I picked the rose up and held it to my nose to smell its sweet scent. But there wasn't much of a smell to it. I looked at the rose again and realized it had started to wilt. It must have been on my desk for days.

My chair spun around as I glanced around the office to see who could have left it for me. Only one person entered my mind, but I didn't want to let myself believe it. The last time someone gave me flowers didn't end well. I shook the thought from my mind and started to work.

It quickly got to lunchtime. I was surprised that Gray hadn't come by to check in with me. I looked at his desk to find he was already gone. Was he already in the breakroom?

I walked into the breakroom and only saw Nick, Steve, and Alex. Ever since it came out that Dana and Steve were dating, I thought it was strange that the two of them never had lunch together.

"Hey, Alex, do you know where Gray went?" I asked.

"Oh, I thought he was having lunch with you again," Alex said.

"I thought we were too." I frowned.

Something didn't sit right with me. I felt like something was going on that I wasn't being told. No one acknowledged my return except for Dana and Charlotte. Were they all angry with me for being gone for so long?

My stomach tied itself into a knot. I wasn't feeling hungry anymore. I returned to my desk and drank more water. All my reports weren't going to finish themselves.

It came to the end of the day, and my eyes were so tired from staring at my screen all day. I rubbed my eyes and glanced over at Gray's desk. He was gone again. I didn't get the chance to talk to him after he returned from lunch. Autumn pounced on him as soon as he sat down. He didn't look to be in the mood to talk to anyone. I didn't want to get on his nerves.

The next three days were the same. Everyone avoided me except Charlotte and Dana. And I guess Autumn, with her suspicious grins directed at me. The only communication I had with Gray was through emails. He was still helping me with one of the clients, at least. But I still felt like I was drowning in work.

Thursday, we went to lunch at the cafe. I suspected either Charlotte or Dana must have known what was going on. I finally asked them if everyone was angry with me. They looked at each other and hesitated to answer.

"We don't believe anything out of Autumn's mouth," Dana said.

"It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure everyone will be back to normal soon." Charlotte smiled weakly.

"Did Autumn say something about me?" I asked.

"When you were in the hospital, Autumn told Chloe and Nick she saw you out shopping with a man. She said he was your boyfriend." Dana said.

"She also said that you were taking advantage of Gray." Charlotte paused. "She said you offered Gray sex if he did your work."

I wanted to throw up. How could someone say those things about me? Did they believe her?

"So that's why no one is talking to me?" I asked.

"We don't know that for sure," Dana said.

"Honestly, no one has been talking in general. Your team has been super busy with all of the extra work." Charlotte said.

"I don't think anyone is angry with you, but your team had to take on your work as well. It's just a lot for them all right now." Dana said.

I couldn't even finish my sandwich. Guilt crashed into my chest. I told the girls I appreciated them being honest with me. We returned to the silent office.

That evening I decided to stay behind to get more done before tomorrow. I wanted to avoid rolling into the weekend, feeling like I didn't accomplish anything. I drank a couple of energy drinks and hunched over my desk. It was so dark and quiet in the office. I hadn't stayed that late since Garrett asked me to help with his reports.

My mind became hazy, and my eyes were dry and stinging. I needed to send one last email. Then I would feel satisfied enough to go home. The screen became blurrier, and my eyelids became heavier. Suddenly I felt extremely relaxed.

-

"Gabriella? Gabriella? Ella?"

I heard someone calling my name and felt my body jolt. A bright light blinded me for a moment. I covered my eyes and groaned.

Someone sighed next to me. I moved my hands and let my eyes adjust to the light. Gray stood over me.

"Were you here the whole night?" Gray asked.

"Huh?" I looked at my screen. It had shut off. I looked across the office and saw sunlight coming through the windows.

"I guess I fell asleep." I rubbed my face.

"Why didn't you tell me you needed more help?" Gray asked.

I looked at him. He leaned over as he studied my face. I couldn't face him. I still felt guilty for making him and the rest of the team work so hard. He must have hated me after hearing Autumn's lie about me using him. The more I thought about how my team hated me, the more I couldn't hold back the tears.

"I don't want you to think I'm just using you. I don't want to feel useless anymore!" I cried.

Gray crouched down and was at eye level with me. "Hey, hey. I didn't think you were using me." He whispered.

"I'm sorry, you guys must hate me for being gone so long. Everyone had so much to do because of me." I couldn't stop crying.

"No, Ella. You were sick in the hospital. Autumn is the reason we have more work to do." Gray grabbed my hand that was tugging on the bottom of my blouse.

"It felt like everyone hated and ignored me." I couldn't believe I was letting myself break down like this, especially in front of Gray.

"No one hates you. Everyone is just stressed. No one blames you for anything." Gray smiled and rubbed the top of my hand. It felt nice.

"What about the things Autumn said about me?" I looked into his eyes.

"I don't even remember what she said. Whatever she said about you was just to put attention on herself." Gray said.

I started to calm down. "I really thought you hated me. I wanted to have lunch with you when I came back. But you were always gone."

Gray sighed. "Ella, to be honest, I thought you hated me."

"What?" I asked.

"I thought you wanted space. You didn't reply to my texts while you were gone." Gray said.

"I don't remember getting texts. I don't really text anymore since Emily stopped talking to me."

I frowned as I grabbed my phone. I opened the messenger app and saw I did receive multiple texts from an unknown number.

"Wait, I remember seeing texts when I was in the hospital. I was so out of it I must have swiped away the notifications and forgotten about them."

I looked back down at my phone screen and read the messages.

Monday 12:00 pm

- It's Gray. How are you feeling?

Tuesday 5:20 pm

- Do you need anything?

Wednesday 7:00 am

- If there's anything I can do, please let me know.

Thursday 7:05 am

- How are you feeling today?

Friday 9:35 pm

- If you need to talk to someone, I'm here.

Saturday 1:10 am

- Please don't leave.

I had no idea Gray texted me. Even the ones from Friday and Saturday. Most of the weekend, I was in and out of sleep yet. A side effect of the pain medication the doctor gave me.

Tears streamed down my face again. "I'm so sorry, Gray! I swear I didn't see them! If I did, I would have replied!"

Gray smiled. "It's okay. I understand. But don't worry, you don't need to cry over me. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

I was about to say something, but then the elevator doors opened. Dana and Steve walked in together. I quickly wiped my face and walked to the bathroom before they could see me.

After freshening up, I ran into Gray in the hallway. It looked like he had been waiting for me. I looked behind him and saw everyone else come into the office.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I feel like I should be asking you that. You must have felt like I was doing the same as Emily." I tried my best not to cry again.

"I admit I was scared at first. Then I saw you come in on Monday. I felt relieved, but I couldn't risk messing things up. So I decided to try to keep my distance."

I saw Gray's cheeks turn red. Was he blushing?

"I would never do that to you or anyone," I said.

Gray smiled. "Would you like to meet up after work? Maybe get a drink and talk?"