I lowered myself down onto the chair opposite Michelle whose eyes were trained intently on the mug of coffee in her hand. She rose it to her lips and took a sip, her eyes still not meeting mine as she did so.

I relaxed against the seat and placed my hand on the table, fumbling with my fingers nervously at the deafening silence that lingered between us two. Then she peered upwards, but her lips were pulled into a thin line as our eyes came in contact.

"Hey," I managed to croak out. She nodded her head softly as she fumbled with the handle of the mug, "hi," she responded quietly. Once again there was nothing but silence and I knew that now or later I needed to break it.

"I'm sorry. . ." I trailed off. She arched her brows as if silently saying 'so what?' I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling as if someone's hands were tightly wrapped around my neck, preventing me from speaking. But I couldn't leave this place like this, not when we were in this situation.

"I'm sorry for what happened Michelle, for-"

"Do you really feel sorry about everything? For all the pain you've put me through whether that was directly or indirectly? Are you sorry for what your best friend put mine through? Are you really sorry Mason because I see your mouth moving but I don't believe it."

Of course, I'm sorry. Is what I wanted to say, but the disbelief from her even questioning that overpowered me just wanting her to forgive me. I know that forgiveness isn't easy and I never expected her too so quickly but I can't deny the fact that Michelle has been hypocritical when it comes to me and everything she's done as well.

Yet I knew bringing that up would only stir up the tension between us. "You really don't believe me, do you? What's the point of trying to do something over and over again if you keep getting the same results? At this point, I don't know what you want me to do!"

"Earn up to your mistakes, Mason!"

"I HAVE! Every god fucking damn day for the past week I have. What the hell do you want from me, Michelle! You still won't believe or trust me! It's like whatever I say you just automatically look down on me for the mistakes I've made. You act as if you haven't made mistakes too, and horrible ones at that too!

But how would you feel is you constantly apologized to someone and you mean it deep down and you know in your heart of hearts that you truly never wanted to hurt that person but they just don't trust or forgive you!

I know I fucked up Michelle but if I came here just to be criticized by you again then my drive wasn't worth it. I love you, Michelle and I never want to hurt you. I am owning up to my mistakes, I know I could have done more that day with Kaden and those girls, I know all that could have been prevented.

But I'm trying here, give me a break, I'm human too and we're all imperfect but you don't get much of them actually acknowledging those mistakes. I'm not trying to paint myself as this guy who's unhinged and can't control his actions and poor me, Mason. No! I'm actually telling you right here, right now I messed up, I know, and I want to make it better. . .I want you to trust me."

As bad as this may sound I'm a very prideful person. I've never been one to own up to my mistakes and apologize to the people I've hurt. I may have felt sorry but I've never taken it upon myself to let them know how sorry I was.

Michelle is the only person to who I've willingly shown my vulnerable side too. Not even Kaden has seen that side of me. When you've grown up with certain habits it's hard to break out of it even if that's what you truly want.

I'm not trying to be a better person, I'm just trying to alter certain parts of me that have gotten me in trouble in the past. The parts of me who can watch someone get shot and not feel an ounce of sympathy towards them.

Michelle may think I'm a heartless piece of shit, and in a sense I am, but I'm also someone who cried when I thought she would have left me. I did, because again. . .she's someone I can't live without and at the end of the day I'm human.

The only way someone can get me to leave Michelle is if she truly wants me to herself, I'm required to follow her wishes. And if her life is in danger and somehow me leaving her is the only way I can assure her safety. "It's just hard, Mason. Being with you is difficult." She said, her eyes flickering away from me.

It was as if someone had taken a jab in my chest because as soon as those words escaped her lips I felt that sting of pain in my chest and then it felt as if it were caving inside, crushing beneath a huge rock that wanted to suffocate me.

"If you don't want to be with me anymore, I-I get it." I didn't mean that, hell I was shaking on the inside. Fear, fear rippled through my body like never before and I found myself cradling my chest in my hand as I trained my eyes on the table, unable to look her in the eye.

"I don't want to leave you, Mason." I snapped my head towards and watched as she ran her hands down her damp face. Tears trickled down her cheeks slowly and she tried wiping them away quickly but it was inevitable.

"At this point, I can't I-Imagine my life without you. You're a fuck up, Mason and I made the mistake of comparing my experience with Kaleb to ours. I forgot for a moment that you're not him and he's not you. I'm sorry. . .I'm a screw up too! Hell. . .I'm crazy and I blame no one but myself-"

"You're not crazy, Michelle."

"I am! What girlfriend handcuffs her boyfriend to a chair and makes a male stripper dance for him I- what the hell was I thinking? That's crazy, t-that's crazy, why would I even do that? That doesn't happen in the real world!"

"It was pretty funny," I said, shrugging my shoulders nonchalantly. She peered up at me in disbelief before a humourless chuckle escaped her lips, "you said you were gonna kill me and you threatened to rip Sasha's throat out if she spoke to you again, you were having a blast!"

"I'm sorry, dollface. That was uncalled for," I muttered to which she shook her head in disagreement, her hands suddenly finding mine on the table. She intertwined our fingers and caressed my palm softly, "it wasn't. We took it too far, I'm the one who's sorry."

We stayed silent for a few seconds before I rose up from the chair and sauntered towards her. She peered up at me in confusion until I tugged her off the chair and pulled her into a hug. Her arms encircled me hesitantly and we stayed pressed against one another for a while, just silently enjoying the feeling of having her in my arms.

"Will you forgive me?" I mumbled into her ear. She pulled her face away from my chest and flickered her eyes upwards so that it interlocked with mine. I grabbed a strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear. "Yes, I forgive you. Will, you forgive me?"

"No, I can't forgive crazy people," I exclaimed. She giggled softly and pushed herself up on her tiptoe before pressing her lips against mine in a soft kiss. I kissed back immediately and tightened my arms around her, hugging her to me as if she would run.

I knew she wouldn't but I didn't want to let go. "I got you something," she said when we pulled away. She retrieved something under the table and brought a small gift bag into view. "What is it?" I inquired as she handed it to me.

She didn't respond but instead motioned towards the bag, beckoning me to open it. Inside the bag were two boxes and I flickered my eyes towards her, squinting them in suspicion. "Look inside!" She giggled loudly.

I opened one of the boxes and peered down at it. Inside was a silver charm bracelet. From what I could tell it had everything that I loved, including a small figure of a couple kissing, it doesn't take a genius to know it's Michelle and I. "It's not a promise ring but I-It's something." She exclaimed as she stared up at me expectantly.

I slipped my hand over the small of her back and lowered my lips down onto hers, kissing her softly. "I love it, dollface. It means more than just something, It's beautiful, and I know your love was put into it and that's enough for me."

"Open the other box!"

I chuckled softly and opened up the other box as well. It was a silver Rolex watch, and I immediately recognized it because I could remember my father having one of his own always on him whatever time it was in the day. It was my grandfather's own and he gave it to my dad before he passed away.

"Where'd you get this?" I asked.

"What? You don't like it?" She muttered. I shook my head and plastered on a smile as I peered down at it, "no it just. . .it reminds me of someone that's all. Thank you, Michelle. I'll wear it when we go somewhere special and then I'll pass it down to our son in the future."

She blushed deeply and pressed her hand against her cheek as it grew beetroot red, "we're gonna have kids huh?" She exclaimed as we began to saunter out of the cafe. "Yeah, if you want kids that is, but I want kids someday. . .with you."

"Awe how sweet!"

For the entire day, I've had this unexplainable dip in my stomach. I knew at first it was because I was nervous about talking to Michelle but then even after we just made up the dip remained. And now as I stood there, facing him. I now understood that it was my gut telling me someone was gonna ruin this day for me. . .for us.

"Michelle, go back inside."

"Mason I'm not leaving you with this cree-"

"Michelle, please." I gritted out through my clenched teeth. Without any other rebuttals, she pivoted on her heels and sauntered back into the cafe. Kaleb's eyes followed her all the way and it took everything in my willpower to not snap his neck right now.

"Why are you following us, Kaleb? Didn't I make myself clear the last time we met? I said-"

He raised his hands in a halting motion and shook his head slowly. I pursed my lips in a thin line and watched as he lowered his hands down, his brows perched upwards, "I know what you said, brother. And I told you I'd be back didn't I? We both know we make good on our words, now what about yours?"

"Screw you, Kaleb." I seethed as I etched closer towards him. He sighed, "how'd we get like this huh? Once upon a time, we use to love one another, now you hate me more than anyone in the world, how'd we get like this Mason?"

"When you abandoned me for dad, that's what happened. I'll never forgive you for leaving me with mom when she needed us both. Now get the fuck out of my face," I spat before pivoting on my heels to leave.

"Mason! Do you love Michelle?" He suddenly asked. I turned to face him, my lips turned down into a frown, "of course I love her."

"Then you'll do as I say, or Michelle will die." He said, and before the words could register in my mind his shirt was already balled in my hand, his chest pressed up against mine as I sneered down at him, anger coursing through my veins. "What did you just say to me?"

"I'm just passing on the message from my boss Mason. Stay with her and she dies, leave her and she lives. It's as simple as one, two, three." He said, his hands raised in surrender. "Why the hell does your boss care whether or not Michelle and I stay together, Kaleb? I call bullshit!"

He shoved me away and I had half a mind to pounce at him before he approached me in long strides, his cool and collected demeanour now gone. He was frantic, almost as if he were scared, "you don't know my boss, Mason. When he wants something he gets it. He wants Michelle to excel and you're standing in the way of that. If you don't leave her it's all three of our heads on a stick, mark my words brother."

"If you love her too, Kaleb. You'd help me protect her." I said, searching his eyes frantically. He sighed and enclosed his hands around the collar of my shirt.

"There's only so much I can do, brother. But I value my life more than Michelle's. In this case, you value hers more than yours so I know you'll do whatever it is to protect her, can't say the same for me."

With that he pivoted on his heels and sauntered towards his car, leaving me standing in the parking lot, unable to comprehend what just happened.