Oh, people, people, people. You thought that this chapter would give you fluff and romance. Well, I'm a little too cruel for that. Beware of angst for a few more chapters at least. I'm not ready for the despair to end just yet!!

Liars and tell-tales:1st person Brennan

I asked Booth to leave the room. Asked him to wait somewhere else while I spoke to Sully in here. He nodded and told me he'd be just a few doors down in the parlor if I needed anything. With that, he gave me one last slow, sweet kiss that made my toes curl and my heart-rate increase considerably. He walked out, turning to give me a small tight-lipped smile before closing the door behind him.

I took a deep breath and opened the door, asking Max to send for Sully. He gave a smile which was dangerously close to being smug, but he cut it out at my warning glance. He walked away and I closed the door, awkwardly sitting, and then standing, and then pacing until Sully finally entered the room.

The look on his face told me that he already knew what this was about. He approached me and put his hand on my arm.

"Temperance please. Don't let him come between us. Please don't do this. We can work through it, I promise," he said softly.

I shook my head softly. "Sully, this is unfair to you. You don't deserve this. You deserve someone who'll love you unconditionally and who'll never have to think twice about….going away with you and getting married. I can't give that to you, and I'm sorry, but a working marriage needs at least that."

"This isn't about that Tempe, and you know it. This is about him. You wondered why I didn't want him here? Why I didn't want him around you? It doesn't take a genius to know that he wants you. I've seen how he looks at you like you're a piece of meat and he's a predator. It's also clear that what he wants is only skin-deep. But us Tempe; God you already know that we're so good together. I mean, if there's anyone in the world you can trust, it's me."

The ending of his little speech is what really made my blood boil. "Oh really? Because I'm pretty sure that putting a restraining order on Booth BEHIND MY BACK is kind of a violation of the whole 'trust' analogy," I spat angrily.

His brows also furrowed in anger at my outburst. "Yeah? He told you about that huh? I bet he just 'accidentally' left out the part where he decked me."

My uptight body loosened, and my eyebrows rose in shock. Yes, as a matter of fact he did fail to mention that little tidbit.

Sully emphasized his point by raising his shirt. There were a couple of faded bruises at his ribs. "Marks are still there, after all these months. But you wouldn't know, would you? You don't even look at me anymore when we make love. What are you doing, huh? Thinking about him? Thinking about the night you spent with him? OUR ENGAGEMENT NIGHT?" he bellowed.

Shit. My eyes went even wider as I looked from his ribcage to his eyes, which were burning with anger.

"You think I didn't fucking know huh? You think I didn't notice the hickeys on your neck that sure as hell weren't from me? Think I didn't realize the look he gave you when you told him you were assigning me as a partner, as if he fucking lost his little playboy bunny for good? Don't you realize that that's all you are to him? One incredibly good fuck that he wants another piece of. Well, you go have your happily ever after with him, but just don't come back to me when he gets bored of your tricks."

The fury rose in me and I felt an uncontrollable urge to pick up a blunt object and hit him hard with it. I probably would have if Max didn't come bursting in through the door and take one hell of a swing for Sully. When the blow didn't quite knock him down, Max grabbed him by the neck and pinned him against the wall.

"Don't you ever fucking talk to my daughter like that again you son of a Bitch," he snarled.

I immediately ran over, grabbing Max's forearm and pulling it from Sully's neck.

"Dad, get out!" I shouted.

He looked at me, fury softening as he released Sully from his grip.

"If he gives you any hassle-"

"He won't," I interrupted. "He's just leaving."

Sully looked at me again. "You know what the really big hinter was when you cheated on me? The fact that a few days later, Booth told me. Started bragging about how he got you on your back even though we were together," he sneered, his expression slightly smug as he seen the surprise in my face. Happy with the fact that my love-life was now as fucked up as his, he stormed out the door, slamming it behind him.

I just stood there, dumbfounded for a while. Booth wouldn't do that; he wouldn't. He cares about me. But then again, Sully knew. Logically, Sully could have figured out on his own, but why would he pretend not to know for three months and then lie about Booth telling me?

I snapped out of it once Max put his hand on my shoulder. "Are you alright, Sweetie?" he asked tenderly.

I turned around quickly to face him. Right now, he was the only person I could vent my anger on.

"What the hell gave you the right to listen in, let alone barge in here," I spat furiously, causing Max to take a couple of steps back.

His eyes went wide. "Whoa, Tempe, I was just trying to help, like a good father-"

"Well you're sixteen years too fucking late for that," I snarled, before barging past him and out the door.

I walked straight past Russ, who was calling me back, supposedly concerned. But right now, I had somewhere else to be.

I practically ripped the door from its hinges and found Booth there, looking at me with a surprised expression. "Bones?"

"WHAT THE FUCK GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TELL HIM THAT WE SLEPT TOGETHER?" I bellowed.

Don't hate me just yet. Save the hate for the next chapter, and the one after that, and maybe the one after that too! Please review. Maybe seeing all the feedback would help my imagination be a little less cruel. Maybe.