She couldn't believe her father. She really couldn't believe him. She didn't know why she was so shocked, he was always like this, with everything. Especially about her relationships. But she didn't understand why he suddenly had a problem with Conner. He was the one person that she had dated that her dad had actually liked, and now he said that Conner didn't really love her. Or something like that, she was too angry to think clearly. She took a sip out of her glass in her hand, the alcohol giving her temporary relief from her own thoughts. She was so angry at him! The glass in her hand shattered under her tightening grip, the broken glass slicing her hand open. She cursed, shoving her hands between her thighs to try and stop the bleeding. She knew she was in pain, but she couldn't feel it, the anger for her father replacing it. She started to cry, whether they were tears of anger, pain, or sadness she wasn't sure. Probably a combination of the three. She cried harder, all her emotions boiling up to the surface. Underneath all her anger she knew that part of what her dad said might be true. Conner might only be with her because of who her parents are. She knew that wasn't true, but part of her still thought it. She let the tears roll down her face, not wanting to move her hand. She sat like that until the final light went out in the office, the automated one that went off at 11pm every day.
"Hayes?" Conner yelled as he walked out the elevator on the main floor. It was 11pm and she hadn't come home yet, and he was starting to worry. The desk lamp in her office was on, meaning he could she the shadow of a Hayes sized figure on the couch. She was slumped over, her head resting on her legs. "Hayes?" He said again, more gently this time, walking into her office. He could see that she was crying, so he went to kneel on the floor in front of her, and that was when he noticed the glass.
"Hayes, why is there glass all over the floor?" He asked softly, deciding to sit next to her on the couch instead.
"Oh, I broke a glass" she half lied, not knowing how to tell him about her hand.
"How?" he pressed, wanting to know she was okay
"I was just thinking" she told him
"About what? Your father?" he asked, knowing that Hayes and her dad had a complicated relationship.
"Yes. No. Kind of." She replied, knowing she was being vague but not knowing what to tell him.
"What's going on Hayes?" He asked
"My dad said something" she admitted.
"What did he say?" He said gently, wiping away the tears on her cheek.
"It's nothing" She said, trying to act casual.
"It's clearly not nothing Hayes. You don't just cry at anything, so whatever it is must be bad" he told her, knowing it was true
"Why do you love me?" She asked suddenly
"Why do you ask that?" He said, confused at her sudden change in behavior.
"Dad said that you only love me because I'm his daughter. And I need to know if it's true" she told him, the words coming out of her mouth before she had a chance to think
"Why would you think that's true?" He asked shocked
"I don't know, I just need to know if it's true or not" she replied
"Hayes, I don't love you because of who your parents are. I love you because you're a brilliant, caring, intelligent, loving woman who no matter how hard I try, I can't get out of my head." He reassured her, taking her hands.
"Thank you" she whispered.
"You don't need to thank me" he told her. He felt something sticky on his hand, so he pulled it away to look at it. He couldn't see anything in the low light so he reached for his phone, turning the torch on and aiming it at his hand. It was stained red, covered in blood. "Hayes?"
"Yeah" she responded, trying to hide her hand from him.
"Show me your hand" he demanded, knowing that was where the blood was coming from. She reluctantly placed it in his outstretched hand, wincing slightly as she moved it.
"What happened?" He asked shocked. There was a deep gash in the center of her palm, the rest of her hand covered in blood.
"I told you, I dropped a glass" she told him
"Dropped?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her response
"Okay, more like smashed" she admitted.
"Do you have a bandage anywhere?" He questioned, knowing that he needed to reduce the bleeding before he asked her about how it happened.
"In my desk draw" she told him, moving to get off the couch.
"Stay there, I'll get it" he told her, gently pushing her back down.
"You don't need to look after me Conner" she told him, more harshly that she intended to.
"You're not wearing any shoes and there's glass all over the floor" he pointed out
"Okay, point taken" she half laughed, tucking her feet under her legs. He rummaged around in her draws, finding a lot of questionable items before finding the bandages. He walked back over to her and sat next to her, taking her hand.
"So, do you want to tell me how this happened?" he asked, but not really giving her a choice
"I was angry" she told him
"So when you say you smashed the glass?" he said, wrapping the bandage around her hand.
"I may have held it a bit too tightly" she said truthfully, wincing as he wrapped her hand tightly in the bandage.
"This is a pretty bad cut Hayes, we should probably get it stitched up" he told her, bracing himself for her reaction.
"You're right" she sighed, too tired to argue with him
"Huh?" he asked, surprised she wasn't annoyed at his suggestion
"You're right. I sliced my hand open with a shard of glass. That's not going to heal overnight" she said
"Since when were you so mature?" he joked, finishing wrapping her hand
"Since you and I started dating" she told him, shifting closer to him
"Aww, that's cute" he mocked slightly, pulling her onto his lap
"Shut up" she laughed, shoving him playfully.
"I love you" he smiled, kissing her softly
"And I love you too. But, if we stay like this we're never going to leave" she laughed, but didn't move from where she was sat
"Alright, let's go get you stitched up" he sighed, causing her to slide off his lap. He got up and turned around waiting for Hayes to get up.
"Pass a girl her shoes would you" she said, motioning to where her shoes were across the room. He obliged, picking up the shoes and kneeling at her feet
"M'lady" he joked, putting the shoes on her feet.
"Why thank you" she laughed, standing up, the glass crunching under her heels.
"Come on" he said, tugging at her hand, leading her out the office. He pressed the down arrow on the elevator, waiting for it to arrive
"Conner" she said, halting as the doors opened.
"Yeah?" he replied looked at her
"Thank you"
"Anytime"