The door to the bathroom swing open, and banged against the tiled wall.
“Ella. Ella, for fuck’s sake. Talk to me!”
I couldn’t believe Alex had followed me into the ladies’ room.
“Go away.” I sniffed, desperately trying to stop my tears.
“Ella, please. It was nothing.”
I screwed my eyes shut, fighting the anger that was building in place of my upset. That was just what Sam had said.
“Ella, if you don’t come out of there, I’m going to smash the door down. Now come out, and talk properly. I don’t like hearing you so upset.”
“Go away.” I snarled through gritted teeth.
“I mean it. I’ll knock this fucking door off its hinges!”
However much I didn’t want to face him, I didn’t see the need for him to break the stupid door down. I lifted my hand to cover the lock before sliding it open with a sharp tug. I pulled the door inwards, but made no movement toward him. I couldn’t even bring myself to look at his face.
“Ella.” Alex moved toward me.
Did he seriously want to comfort me?
“Don’t touch me. Keep away from me,” I snapped.
He sighed and stopped his advance.
“Tessa’s an old friend. I worked with her on—”
“I know who she is,” I interrupted, aware of the newspaper stories that had flown around about the pair of them when they had been filming Starworld together. “She’s one of the many women who you slept around with when you were with Amy.”
“Yes, Amy did name her as one of my women.”
“Well, it seems she was right about one thing then.” I sneered sarcastically.
“What? Fuck. I never slept with her. She was always a lot more interested in me than I was in her. My relationship with her was, is, purely professional.”
“Well it looked more than professional a few moments ago.” I lifted my gaze to look at him, and wished I hadn’t. He looked desperate, broken even.
“What exactly do you think you saw?” There was agitation simmering under his controlled voice.
I stepped out of the cubicle, and prodding his shoulder with my finger.
“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps you, with your trousers off, her on her knees in front of you. And don’t think I missed the, 'Fuck, Tessa,' that you groaned just before I walked in on you both!”
His hand rose to his head and he rubbed furiously at his forehead.
“You think she was giving me a blow job?”
“About to,” I verified. “And you gave me all that shit earlier about being a gentleman, and not letting me near you that way. I smell bullshit Alex!”
“I don’t believe this. Ella, I swear to you, Tessa had literally just walked through my door a few moments before you. I still had my trunks on if you’d cared to look properly. I was getting changed into my clothes for the next scene when Tessa just walked in. It was just after Amy had . . .” He suddenly stopped. “Do you know what?” The tone of his voice suddenly changed and his eyes bore into mine.
“What?” I snapped.
“I don’t care what you think. I know the truth, but if you are so stupid that you don’t want to listen, then that’s your problem. You’ve already decided on what you think you saw.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“So we’re back to square one, are we?” I said, my anger quietly bubbling under the surface. “You’re going to talk to me like you did when we first met?”
“I thought you were different.” I saw the change in him immediately. It was like a switch had been flicked inside him. His heart had formed its protective shell once again. His shoulders slumped before he glared at me. “You believe what you want. Believe the worst. Believe that I could do that to you after everything I’ve said, after everything we’ve shared. I don’t care anymore.”
“You’re an actor Alex. It’s what you do. I’m beginning to wonder if anything you’ve told me is true.” I walked toward the door, my head down. Even though my heart was screaming at me to listen to him, hear him out, my mind had already judged him as guilty. I’d heard enough lies in my life when this had happened before, I didn’t want to hear them now.
Alex’s voice sounded out as I grabbed the door handle ready to walk away from him. “You walk out of that door now, and I want nothing more to do with you!”
His ultimatum should have stopped me but, instead, it just made me even more determined.
“I’m already gone,” I replied, my chest hurting with the renewed effort to not cry in front of him.
“I mean it, Ella. Everything we’ve had is ruined if you walk away.”
I gathered all my courage together before replying. “I can’t do this anymore. I thought I could. But I can’t. Not after this.”
Alex’s voice broke as I opened the door. “You promised you’d help me.”
“Yes,” I said. “But I can’t deal with this.” I didn’t turn around. I couldn’t let him see how broken I was.
“But, Ella . . .” His begging voice was too much.
I yanked the door open before stepping out into the corridor.
I was about to have a melt-down again. I continually stared at the floor as I headed along the corridor, aiming to get to the ladies’ room that was at the other side of the building. I bit my lip, holding back the flood of tears that I knew were going to fall. I sniffed, rubbing the back of my hand under my nose, and urgently pushed the door open that led into the other part of the building.
When I reached the room, I quietly sobbed, letting my own pathetic sorrow wash through me. Was there something wrong with me? Was there a signal I gave to men to treat me like shit? To see other women behind my back? I had been convinced that Alex wasn’t like that. I had believed him when he had broken down at my flat and told me that there had been no-one since Amy. Now, I suspected everything he’d told me to be lies.
I even started to question if Alex was the guilty one in their relationship. Maybe Alex had messed her around. He’d certainly had the opportunity. There were thousands of fans falling over themselves to be with him. Every actress in the films he had been in, said that he was adorable and that they had all fallen for his charm and good looks. Tessa had been the most vocal, and although she had never confirmed a relationship with Alex, she had never denied one. A close friend of hers had fed a story to the papers about their steamy affair whilst he was working with her. I recalled reading about outdoor sex, his insatiable sexual appetite, the numerous sexual positions he had performed with her, and that he had liked to tie her up. I shook my head in disbelief. Did I seriously believe that stupid story now? I had scoffed at it when I had first read it.
I calmed slowly, taking deep breaths. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge him, but my reaction had been instinctive after what had happened in the past. I’d promised myself I would never let a man treat me like that again. I had hoped that Alex would have laid all my rattling insecurities about men to rest. Apparently not. But instead of listening to Alex’s explanation, I had judged him as the same as Sam. It wasn’t the most sensible thing to have done, but it explained my reaction.
I caught my reflection in the mirror above the sinks. I looked a real sight. It was a miracle Alex had ever paid me any attention. Maybe that had been his plan. To take the boring, plain work experience girl, and play with her emotions. Maybe get a few quick fucks in as well to kill the time. I huffed. Even with my anger and frustration at the situation, I was convinced that idea had never even crossed his mind.
I blew my nose, splashed my face with water, and patted it dry with paper towels before heading back to the studio. I had no idea how the rest of today would go after our argument, but I didn’t think it would be easy. I just wanted to sit quietly, and go un-noticed for the rest of the day. I had no idea what other people would make of the atmosphere that I suspected would be coming off Alex in vicious waves. I was just about to turn the corner and pass Amy’s dressing room, when I heard a hushed whisper.
“All done.”
“Did it work?” Amy’s nasally voice asked.
“Hook, line, and sinker. She saw exactly what you wanted her to see.”
“Great. And her reaction?”
“Stormed off in floods of tears.”
“Oh, Tessa, I owe you for this.” There was a ruffling of clothes and I presumed they were hugging each other, congratulating themselves on a job well done.
“No problems, sweetheart. I only wish I’d managed to get his trunks off and sample the goods for real.”
“Yeah, well. You wouldn’t have been disappointed.”
They both giggled.
Bile rose in my throat, and I turned around, leaving as quietly as I had approached. I desperately needed some fresh air.
I ran for the back door that led outside, and once there I sank to the floor with my back against the stone wall.
What had I done?
My own insecurities about men messing me around had come back to haunt me at exactly the wrong moment.
Sam.
The name rang out loud in my head.
Sam.
Alex was nothing like him. Had I not admitted to myself only last night that I thought I knew Alex better that Sam? Where had all my stupid judgement gone when faced with the same situation I had faced two years ago?
I was sure my brain had mixed up the scenes to some degree. I had visualised Alex with nothing on, when he had in fact had his t-shirt and trunks on. Sam had been naked. Tessa had blonde hair—exactly like Janet, but the noises coming from Janet and Sam had been completely different. A wet slapping noise and the chant of, 'Oh, yeah, baby, let me fuck your mouth,' and. 'Harder, suck me harder, bitch,’ had not fallen from Alex’s mouth. He had exclaimed surprise at her action, which I now knew to have been a set up. I could almost imagine the shock that would have registered on his face as she’d sank to her knees on the floor in front of him.
Alex hadn’t turned around and sworn at me before manhandling me out of the room. He hadn’t thrown me to the floor before heading back into the room to finish his business. He was nothing like Sam at all.
I released another loud sob. I hated Sam even more for ruining whatever I had with Alex.
Was I to blame for the major cock-up I had caused between Alex and myself?
My mind kept relaying the desperate way he had looked, and I could still hear him begging me to believe him. And when I’d refused to listen to his explanation, all his barriers returned. His eyes had blocked their openness, his body had become tense, and to make things even worse, I had broken my promise to help him. Even as I’d walked away, he had tried, one last time, to change my mind about everything. And I had turned my back on him—just as I had with Sam.
There was one huge difference though. Sam had been guilty of fucking Janet behind my back. I had caught them when they had only just started seeing each other. His reaction and the betrayal of trust never left me. It had hurt so much, the pain was still there, jabbing its gnarled finger into my chest.
But this hurt even more. I had let Alex down in the worse possible way, and I had no idea how to make things right.
I shook my head, wondering why Amy and Tessa had behaved the way they had. Were they best friends, joined in their hatred for me. Were all the actresses Alex worked with hate filled bitches, who couldn’t stand anyone from the normal world finding happiness with him?
My brain scrambled with hate spewed thoughts directed at Amy, and now Tessa. I even wondered whether Rowan had been in on the whole thing, because something certainly hadn’t been right with him this morning.
I pushed myself up from the ground and headed to the studio. I had no idea whether filming would have started without me there, but I doubted that they would have waited for Work Experience Girl to make an appearance.
* * *
held my head high as I entered the studio, determined to not let anyone see any evidence of my upset. Unfortunately, the first person my eyes caught was Alex. He was seated in his usual lonely corner of the studio, slumped in his chair. His long legs were stretched out straight in front of him as he studied his tatty script. He didn’t look up.
My heart ached for him, and I breathed in deeply, letting the air slowly escape from my mouth as I headed over to him.
I had no idea if anyone in the room was watching me, and I didn’t care. I stopped next to his feet waiting for him to lift his gaze. His shoulders visibly stiffened, but he refused to look at me, keeping his gaze fixed on the white papers in his hands.
I took another deep breath before speaking. “I shouldn’t have said what I did earlier. I shouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion I did, and I should have let you explain things properly. I’m sorry.”
I expected a response. I wasn’t sure whether he’d shout, curse or even laugh. Would he forgive me, or would he have already returned to the snarling man I had initially met?
He didn’t move. I slipped my hands into the pockets of my jeans and tried again. “Alex, I’m sorry. Please, talk to me.”
He placed the script on his knee before lifting his gaze.
“Sorry?”
I nodded, shifting nervously from one foot to another under his uncomfortable stare.
He sniggered, shaking his head. “You think a fucking sorry will make everything okay?”
My heart sank. He had reverted to the person I had met at the beginning of the week.
“No, just—”
“Save it!” he snapped. “I’m not interested anymore.”
“But, Alex, can we please talk about this? Perhaps later.”
“No.” He straightened up in his chair. “I’ve chosen to scrub the last week from my mind. I suggest you do the same.”
“But I don’t want to. Please, Alex, we need to talk. I need to explain myself properly. I want to tell you why I reacted how I did. Please?”
His expression softened slightly, but then it hardened as he composed himself. “It’s like I said earlier. I thought you were different. You’re not. You’re the same as all the other bitches that fill my fucking life.”
“Alex, you don’t—”
“What? You think I don’t mean it? Well I do. Now leave me alone, I have work to do. If you bother me anymore, I’ll have you escorted off set, and you’ll never return. Understand?”
I took in a shuddering breath before nodding.
“Don’t talk to me, and I won’t talk to you. It’s quite simple,” he added coldly.
I sniffed, and turned away from him, but he wasn’t finished. “Amy doesn’t want you here, Rowan doesn’t want you here, and neither do I. Do you think you’ve got the message, Work Experience Girl?”
I blocked him out, all sights and sounds merged into one as I move across the studio to my usual chair. How had things spiralled so out of control and ended up like this? One word sprung to mind—Amy. If she hadn’t interfered, I wouldn’t be in the position I was in now. Alex and I would still be in our little bubble. Us against the world.
I couldn’t help but glance over to where he was sitting, expecting him to be sneaking a look at me like always, but he wasn’t. He was reading his stupid script again, with his face screwed up in concentration. His actions reminded me of my first day here. I had hated that day, and this was like living it on repeat, only much worse.
The one thing that kept me from running out of the studio and escaping was that I refused to let Amy think that she had won. I had until Wednesday afternoon to make the most of Alex’s presence. Once he left for Los Angeles, I would probably never see him again. I couldn’t even class him as a quick, cheap thrill, not that I’d ever wanted that from him. Regardless of what he’d said about me being like all the others, I didn’t think he meant it. I believed everything that he had told me up until our misunderstanding. He cared for me, and I doubted that he could completely shut down, ignoring everything he had felt for me. He was hurting, and his reactions were the only way he knew of coping. I’d accused him of acting with me over the past few days, but as he rose from his chair and swaggered across the studio to the set, I saw the true acting taking place. He was currently giving the performance of his life, and it was before the cameras had started rolling—it was purely for my benefit.
Rowan joined me, sitting in his chair. A huge sigh escaped him. He didn’t seem any happier than me.
“Congratulations,” I growled sarcastically. “Yours and Amy’s little plan worked a treat, but I’m not as shallow as you both seem to think I am. I’m not giving up. Amy wants a fight—she’s got one.”
“Ella, I’m sorry, it was all her idea.” He didn’t look at me as he spoke.
“And you went along with it? Why Rowan? I didn’t take you for the vindictive sort.”
“It’s complicated.”
“I somehow suspect life is whenever you let Amy get under your skin.”
“Meaning?”
“I’ve seen the way you jump when she says jump. I’ve seen the way she seems very possessive over you. It isn’t healthy Rowan. I mean, do you actually like her?”
Rowan started laughing but it was a quiet nervous laugh. “I slept with her a couple of times, but the answer as to whether I like her or not is a definite no.”
“You slept with her?” I was stunned. “Why?”
“Because she made herself very available. She flirted when nobody else was around, she teased me. She also wants to star in the next film I’m scheduled to be directing.”
“Rowan, you took advantage.” My eyes widened. Here was another example of the shady way in which the film industry worked.
“Not really. She used me.”
I didn’t answer him. It seemed Alex’s earlier outburst about her and Rowan sleeping together had been completely accurate.
“That’s why I had to help her today. I didn’t want to, but she told me I had to make sure you went off to Alex’s dressing room all fired up. I did try to warn you earlier, I told you to follow your heart.”
Suddenly what he had said in Alex’s dressing room made sense. He had known what was going to happen.
“She planned for Tessa to be there,” he said. “I can only guess what you opened the door to.”
“It wasn’t much. I over-reacted. History and all that.” I didn’t want him to know how bad things were between us. He’d report it straight back to Amy.
“So why has Alex shut down again?” he asked.
“We argued about something. It seems he’s not the easy forgiving sort.” I tried to make light of the situation.
Rowan sucked in his breath. “I’m sorry, Ella. If there’s anything I can do to help you two sort it out, just tell me.”
I turned away from him. I’d never ask for his help, not now.
“If you’re so willing to help me and Alex sort things out, why did you help Amy try to mess things up? What’s she got on you Rowan?”
He looked away, took a deep breath and then turned slowly to face me. “She pregnant, Ella. She says the baby’s mine.”
“What?” I shrieked.
Rowan shot me a panicked look. “Don’t you dare breathe a word of this to anyone.” His eyes darted across the studio, and I followed his gaze as it landed on Alex. He must have heard my loud shriek. He was frowning. Was he concerned? His face set as hard as stone and he turned his back as soon as he caught me looking at him.
I tutted at his childish behaviour, and shook my head, pushing all thoughts of Alex from my mind for the time being.
“Is it definitely yours?” I asked. I knew her history, and her track record with pregnancy.
“I’m not convinced. She says it is. What else can I do? She refuses to get rid of it.”
My stomach twisted. “You want her to get rid of it?”
Rowan frowned as if I had asked him the most ridiculous question in the world. “I don’t want a child now, and definitely not with her. She says she’s keeping it, she refuses to kill a child.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It would have been so easy to tell Rowan about how she’d behaved when she was last pregnant, and there had been a chance that it was Alex’s baby. I kept that information to myself.
“But there must be a chance that it’s Simon’s,” I said.
He nodded. “Of course there is. She was sleeping with her boyfriend when she was seeing me.”
“Then why does she think it’s yours?”
“She’s confident it’s mine. She says she’ll find out for certain when it’s born.”
“She’s one seriously fucked up woman,” I muttered.
“I know that now. I even managed to feel a bit sorry for Alex over the last few days. I began to understand how he could hate her so much.”
“You have no idea,” I whispered under my breath.
“So, what do I do?” Rowan asked. “I don’t want the baby. I don’t want her. She’s adamant the baby’s mine, refusing to get rid of it unless I help her split you two up.” He inclined his head in Alex’s direction.
“Hang on a minute. You just admitted that she’s using this to blackmail you. She’s basically saying that she’ll get rid of it if you help split me and Alex up?” I had to make sure I had heard him correctly.
“Yes.”
“So one minute she says she won’t kill a baby, then she’s saying that she’ll get rid of it if you help her. She’s just saying that to make you feel guilty, and force you into doing her dirty work.”
“I just wish there was something I could have on her. Something that would just make her go away and never bother me again.”
He wasn’t alone with his thinking. Maybe I had the perfect way to bring her down, to let the paparazzi, that she so voraciously fed information to, know what she had done to Alex. How easy would it be for me to call Anthony and tell him the whole story?
But I couldn’t do it. No matter what she had done, I didn’t want to cause Alex any more aggravation and upset concerning her aborting his child. The ridiculous situation that Rowan was in was all down to him not being able to keep his trousers buttoned up when she laid herself out for him. It was his problem, not mine, and he needed to deal with it.
“I presume Simon knows she’s pregnant,” I said.
“I would imagine so. She’s throwing up all over the place first thing in a morning. Her head’s in the toilet for nearly half an hour as soon as she’s out of bed.”
I raised my eyebrows. “That’s very specific?”
Rowan lowered his gaze.
“You’re still sleeping with her? For god’s sake Rowan, what’s wrong with you?”
“She says she needs time away from Simon. He’s too intense for her.”
I laughed—I knew it was completely out of place to find any humour in what he was telling me, but I couldn’t help myself. Rowan and Amy deserved each other. I felt sorry for Simon. He was the innocent in all this. It seemed that whatever man Amy wanted, she got, sod the consequences. I also wondered whether it was the reason she couldn’t stand to see me and Alex together. I had something that she couldn’t have any more.
I suddenly had an idea. “So, let me get this straight. Amy is pregnant. She says it’s yours. You don’t want it. She is refusing to get rid of it unless you do as she says. In reality, this baby could be yours or Simons.”
Rowan nodded.
“You need to tell Simon,” I said. “Let him know that there is a chance the baby is not his.”
“Ella, I can’t do that. How? I mean—”
“Simon deserves to know that she could be pregnant by someone other than him. He may be a forgiving man, but everyone has their limits. I strongly suspect that it could end their relationship.”
I was possibly being just as much of a bitch as Amy. But my mind was running through all the scenarios in my head. If I was Simon, I’d want revenge, and I suspected that he’d know just where to hurt her.
I slipped Anthony Edward’s card out of my pocket and placed it in Rowans hand. “I’m sure you can work it out, Rowan. Talk to Simon, give him that card.”
I stood up and headed for the studio doors. I was thirsty and needed a drink. My purse was in Alex’s dressing room.
As I crossed the studio, I was aware I was being watched. Alex was following my every move. If he was paying me this much attention when he was supposedly ignoring me, it was only a matter of time before things between us got sorted out. I couldn’t forget about the time we had spent together, and I was sure he couldn’t either. The man I had got to know would return at some point.
I strode toward Alex’s dressing room. It was only as I neared the door that I caught shouting from inside. It sounded like an argument. I pushed the door open.
Amy spun around to face me. “What are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same,” I shot back before glancing over to Erin who looked as if she’d been crying. “What’s going on?”
“Get out!” Amy shouted. “Get out, you useless whore!”
I moved further into the room ignoring her order. I was concerned about Erin.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded quickly, before glancing at Amy.
I wasn’t convinced. It looked very much like Amy had upset her, and I had heard them arguing before I entered the room. I turned my attention to Amy.
“What have you said to her?” I asked.
Amy shrugged.
“I’ll find out, Amy. What have you said to Erin that’s upset her so much?”
“I haven’t said anything, have I Erin?”
Erin didn’t speak. Her fear of Amy seemed to have taken a hold.
“What is it about you?” I said, stepping closer to her. “That makes you such a complete and utter bitch?”
“Huh? So speaks the queen of bitches.”
“Me? I don’t think so. Have you forgotten just what I know about you? You well and truly have the queen’s crown on your head. And why exactly are you in Alex’s dressing room?” I repeated my earlier question.
Amy ignored my query. “Why are you here?”
“I’ve come for my purse.” I nodded toward the ledge that ran under the mirrored wall. My purse was laid at the side.
“Well get it, and get out!”
“No,” I said calmly. “You have no right to be in here in the first place.”
“I have more right than you. I’m Alex’s co-star. What are you now?”
“Now?” I queried. “What do you mean, now?”
“Well, he’s dumped you, hasn’t he?”
I narrowed my eyes. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The confused look that crossed her face was almost comical. She’d just dropped herself right in it. She shouldn’t have had any idea about what had gone on between Alex and me, and the only way she could have suspected that we’d argued would have been because of her little set up. She’d shot herself in the foot. Her face turned ghostly white.
I couldn’t help but gloat a little bit.
“They’re waiting for you in the studio so they can start filming. I’m surprised your ears aren’t burning with what’s being said through there about your un-professionalism.”
She glared at me before striding toward the door. I grabbed her arm just before she opened it. “Don’t think for one minute that you’ve fooled me. I know what you planned with Tessa. You’re sad and pathetic. I seriously hope that you get what’s coming to you very soon,” I hissed at her.
Her face turned even paler as she shot out of the room.
“Oh. My. God!” Erin exclaimed.
“What?”
“I have never, ever seen Amy so flustered. You were amazing.”
I scowled. “I hate the woman. I mean, how can I have such a strong hate for someone I’ve only just met. She is complete and utter poison.”
Erin nodded.
“Are you sure you’re okay. Was she being nasty to you just before I came in?”
“In a way. She was trying to get me to cause trouble between you and Alex. She wanted me to pretend that I was sleeping with him.”
I raised my brow. “I’m sorry Erin, you shouldn’t have to put up with that.”
“Why are you sorry? It’s not your fault she’s deluded. Anyone can see that he’s madly in love with you.”
“Well . . .”
“You’re amazing for him. Honestly, Ella, I have never seen him as happy as he has been this week, and I’ve worked with him for years. Of course, Amy didn’t like it when I told her what she could do with her stupid idea. She threatened to get me sacked. She got angry. I just threatened to tell Alex everything she’d said. She knows that he’d believe me over her.”
I smiled weakly. “Thank you for the support, but Amy has already worked her poison on Alex and me. He’s currently ignoring me, and I’m afraid that his snarling former self seems to be back even worse than before.”
“What? Ella, no! How? Sit down and tell me everything.”
“I can’t. I need to be in the studio. I only came back for my purse. I need to buy a bottle of water.”
“Here,” Erin said as she picked up a large bottle of water from the floor. “I always carry it around with me. She spun the chair to face me and nodded at the seat. “Sit. Now!”
I sank onto the chair.
She spun the chair around again and jumped up on the counter so she was facing me. “Spill. And it had better be good. I’ll be slapping you and him if either of you have cocked this up.”
I managed a grimace. “It was all me, so, you know, slap me now.” My tears pushed behind my eyes and my throat burnt as I swallowed.
“Ella, what did that bitch do?”
“I don’t know all the details. But I thought I saw Tessa giving Alex a blow job. I walked in on them.”
“Tessa? Titty Tessa? The woman who starred with him in Starworld?"
I nodded, my tears disappearing as I heard Erin’s nickname for her.
“She’s a complete whore! God, when I think about all the times I had to save Alex from her. He couldn’t go anywhere without her following him. He couldn’t stand her. He would never let her near his peen.”
“I know that now. But when I saw her on her knees . . .” I shook my head, knowing how stupid I’d been.
“You thought she was actually doing it?”
I nodded again. “I panicked. I ran away. He came after me, but I wouldn’t listen.”
“Let me guess,” Erin said. “As soon as you stopped listening, he shut down, or rather, his defences went up again. He went back to being horrible to you.”
“Yep, and I have no idea how to make it right between us.”