He's not a cruel person, he has never been to be honest. He always made sure he finished his opponents as painless as possible even when John insisted otherwise. Because to him this was the job and he didn't get any kind of pleasure out of it, not the way John did. Looking back at it now, this detail alone should have tipped him off on how twisted and damaged his mentor had been. When it came to her though, when it came to Skye, and after so many years spend in the shadows because she was so ashamed of him and what he used to be, Grant became cruel.
His words were dripping venom every time they fought because of all the pain and frustration from their relationship bled into them. Somehow this hurt ten times worse than any kind of pain his brother or John had inflicted on him through the years. "Did you tell them?" She flinched like he slapped her even though they stood a good foot apart, with enough space between them not to do anything stupid. No, mistakes between them were reserved only cold nights and dark rooms were clothes became scarce and two bodies one. "Did you tell them how I'm the one you call when a mission goes wrong?" His words cut like knives but she still fixed him with a cold stare that was reserved only for him, like he was someone special to her, like he meant something.
"Ward..." She hissed warningly but he ignored her like she used to ignore him.
"Did you ever tell them that you don't trust any of them anymore?" He pushed. "That you sneak away from them to come and see me?" Something flashed in her dark gaze and he'd swear it was shame. "Did you tell them how you wrap yourself around me like I'm your only anchor to reality?" She lowered her eyes to the floor enough for him to know he had hit a nerve right there. "Did you, Skye?" He didn't mean to sound so harsh, he never did with her, but that's how the words came out. They tore up his throat like glass and forced him to bleed on her feet.
"Ward..." It's almost pleading now, changed in just a matter of seconds yet everything stayed the same between them.
"No." He shook his head and there was a finality in his voice that wasn't there before. "I'm done, with you and whatever this is." He knows it's not true, he's tried it before and it never worked.
So he knows walking away from her is not gonna happen yet he still does it, leaving her standing alone in the empty warehouse with only her sad self as a company. She'll call him again and he will be back but for now, just for those few blissful moments he wants to believe that he'll do it, he'll delete her from his life.
Even if he can't.