A/N: Sorry for the Delay. Long ass week, lots of RL work. Posting next chap in a couple days.

Chapter 10 - Kiss

I'm crying. Mom is running her hand over my face. "Hush, baby doll. Hush." She coos softly. I should be the one making her feel better not the other way around. She lays in the hospital bed for a week with tubes hanging from all places. Her lymph nodes swollen, white T cells low. They're still figuring it out. I'm crying for her but it just looks bad when I break down the moment I tell her about him, the affection on the sidewalk, Rose. But really just..all of him—the wonder of being together yet how he's vanished out of thin air.

"My baby is in love," she says to herself. Her fingers trail my brows, my head on her lap. A fat tear streams down my temple. I hold back the pitiful sob when she says that. How true the words.

"Don't worry about Rose, Bella. She's like her father. Stubborn but fiercely loves. She's all heart." The words just anger me more. Still, doesn't give her the right.

I ran here straight from work. It's Friday and so many horrible things in one week, today the ultimate nightmare. I just let it all out as I was fumbling with the lid to the tapioca for mom. The fucking lid wouldn't budge. That's all it took.

The moment Rose walks in, I'm up. I grab my bag and walk right out.

Monday, 4 days earlier

"Say the word and I'll keep him away for good," he says. He's insisting.

I can't speak. I'm just numb, maybe mute from the panic. My mouth is glued shut.

"Did he do it?" Emmett asks again. The third time. I want to run. I glance at the door and the lock is turned. I wonder how fast would I manage to get it open before he grabs me.

"It's important. I don't want an offender working in my Local. It's not how it should go. You know this. I know it's difficult but you have to be honest. Did he do it?"

I look up at Emmett behind his desk he's calm with his knee bent over the other, leaning back in his chair, hands folded over his lap. It's like he's having a casual conversation with me about the weather, not about a sexual offense.

I swallow thickly trying not to look into his eyes. The frames on the wall are crooked. Maybe I should tell him they are.

"Bella, it's crucial. This is a legal issue. I need to know." He explains some more. But I know. I already know. He doesn't have to say. I'm not an idiot. If this happened anywhere else, the disgusting pervert would be gone, locked up in jail.

Jane's eyes staring back at me is all that floods my mind right now. I walked into work and I thought, fuck it, I'm not the one who should be hiding. I was at my desk all morning staring at skype hoping the outlined avatar would turn green beside his picture. Masen was nowhere insight. Not even a text. A few from me but he ignored them. I'm pissed, but mostly over Rose. What has she done? What was the damage?

Jane walked by and sat at her desk. Her words scrawled on email. "I'm sorry. Really." She didn't look up from her monitor. Her demeanor was darkened and down-cast. She sent another email. "Bella, it was stupid. I was drunk and blown, I wasn't thinking straight, at all. I regret it. I'm so, so sorry." She never looked that unkept since I've met her.

Ben came in late, not even a glance my way. He sat at his desk and he looked stoned. He's on something and it goes to show how nonchalant he is. I'm killing myself as he moves on, not a care in the world. That made me angrier.

I never hit reply to that email full of apologies. Even if I'd relented and replied, I would not have had the chance. Emmett called me into his office the moment he walked in. He was late for once. His five o'clock shadow a morning one. My stomach plummeted as I walked in behind him.

So, I'm here, sitting in Emmett's partially ripped leather chair adjacent to his desk, pleading from my insides to let me free from this. But he can't hear me. I haven't answered him.

"Those frames are all fucked up. They make your office look sloppy," I utter. He stares at me. His patience thin.

"Fine. You don't even have to speak. Just a nod will do. Confirm it for me and I'll understand and not ask you again," he says.

I watch the angled wooden frames and nod. "No," I say. He's quiet for a moment.

"Which one?" His head tilts as he leans his elbows on his desk.

"The latter."

"Then why the nod?" He shakes his head. I swallow hard.

"Because it doesn't mean he didn't try."

He sighs, rubs his face. God, have we stressed him out dry. He looks older than even a month ago. "Do you want to press charges?" he asks.

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "With what proof? It's no use."

He nods. "How did it happen?" he asks, but the problem about answering that question is I don't know what happened. I keep quiet.

"So, you're not going to mention at all how your drink was tampered with and you were drugged?"

I cut my eyes to his. He knows. "How would I prove that also? That was a long time ago. Their word against mine. You know laws, Emmett."

He sighs. "How did it happen?"

"I can't," I say getting up from the chair. "I don't remember anything. Honestly, ask someone else. Maybe Masen if you get a hold of him, because I sure as fuck can't."

He stands. The wheels on his chair squeak as they roll back. "Thank you, Bella. You are brave and I know it was difficult…" he trails away as I nod and walk out. I can't listen anymore. The mortification of having this conversation with Emmett makes me hugely uncomfortable.

I wheel myself snug into my desk and don't look back. Kate is furious on skype asking questions. I try to answer a few but I give up after a while. I can see her looking at me from around her monitor anxious. I pick up my laptop and head out to Chipotle. I can't be here right now. Thankfully, Kate doesn't follow.

All afternoon I glance at the building imagining Masen walking out the way he always did when I was hiding here. He doesn't show up, though, not even on skype. I'm tempted to message Jess just to ask but I'm not that desperate. I'm just...angry.

I stab a bean on my plate, look up to watch traffic when I see Kate. She's running between cars. I straighten in my chair watching her rushing across the street in heels. She never runs in heels. Something must be wrong.

She rushes through the doors and tries to compose herself so people won't stare or be alarmed. She sits in front of me with a huff.

"They let Jane and Ryan go," is all she says. Blood drains from my face. I let my mouth hang open.

I point. "Like right now?"

"Yup. Out the door. With police escort. They're going to be questioned."

I look out towards the building. A police car stops outside the building. "About what?"

"Emmett called security after firing Ben. He went apeshit at the office and Emmett found drugs on him. He confessed that Jane had something on her, too. They looked in her stuff and Ryan's. They're taking them all in."

I look at Kate. She shrugs, hands failing in haste. "Apparently Emmett already knew. He just needed your confirmation to proceed."

"But who would know, who would tell him?"

She shakes her head. She reaches for my hand and stands like she's ready to pull me to my feet. "I don't know. Listen. That's not the point. I ran here because of Masen. You have to come back." She hooks a thumb towards the office. "They're letting him go, too."

My stomach drops to my feet. "What? But he didn't do anything!"

She flails her arms towards the door in exaggerated motions. "No shit!" She hisses. I pick up my things and run after her.

Emmett is talking to an officer when I run in. I rush towards him. "Emmett," I call. He lifts a finger for me to hold on.

I wait to the side, antsy. He's having a long conversation. I can't wait. "Emmett!" I practically yell. He looks, so does the cop.

"Bella, I need a second."

"No, you can't fire Masen, he had nothing to do with it."

He lifts a hand and turns. "Thank you, Officer." They shake hands. "I'm willing to cooperate with anything you need. You have my contact information. Please, don't hesitate to call." They walk towards the front desk to the door.

The sidewalk is replete with officers now. Some pedestrians look around hoping to catch a glimpse of what's going on as the blue and red lights whirl silently over cruisers.

I spot Ben in the back of one of them, head back, eyes closed, probably relieved he can enjoy the high for once. I can't see Jane, nor Ryan.

Emmett walks back into the office. He lifts his hands my way. "I need a break. Long ass morning. I don't want any shit for the rest of the week."

"Ok, sure, but I just need to explain one thing." I step in his path before he locks himself in his office. "You know Masen. You know he wouldn't be involved. He didn't do anything."

Emmett walks around me as he sighs.

"Emmett, please."

He stops just at the door. "Look. It's out of my hands. There's nothing I can do. He was amongst the involved since he refrained information from me. He's not a hero, he should not have been handling things on his own as a superior and Lead organizer. He was going to quit anyway." He cringes suddenly. His hand goes over his eyes with an exhausted swipe. "Nevermind I said that. Just leave it. This isn't your concern. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a shit ton of resumes to sift through because half my staff is gone and I have a board meeting tomorrow morning. Fuck!" he says, his face red, anger gripping him. With that, he slams the office door shut.

I'm frozen in place. This can't end like this and I know exactly who stirred this up. If she won't fix it, no one will.

At 5 I run out of work. All day I simmered in anger. All day I tried to contact Masen. I got nowhere with both. I went so low as to skype Jess but she never answered. I didn't know who to talk to and I really felt like I'd explode. Serrano's phone was flooded with texts in seconds. His encouraging and soothing words interjected when I gave him the chance.

I run up the townhouse steps and push the doorbell. When nothing happens. I do it again. And again. Soon enough the bell is a continuous cacophony of noise.

The door swings open. "What the…"

I don't let Rose finish. "You bitch!"

She makes a face like 'here we go.' "Bella…"

"No! You're a ratchet, mean, evil human. You think you own my life and do with it as you please? Well, it's over, and you're done. You're not Dad. He's gone. Stop acting like you need to be this overbearing, protective guardian because I don't need fucking saving."

"How many times do I have to say it? I told you not to get involved with anything that concerns him. He isn't good."

"Isn't good for who?"

"Whom," she corrects.

"Argh!" I practically jump, arms flailing, feet stomping. "Are you fucking serious right now?" She rolls her eyes and shrugs around her folded arms. "They fired him because of you! He lost his job. Are you happy?"

She looks surprised but hides it with a tug of her hair. She focuses past me.

"Well, that definitely wasn't my intention. But, really, who's to say it was something else? He can be...scatter brained. Irresponsible. Fucking childish."

I stand still. Horror strikes me witnessing this person I don't know before me. She isn't my sister. This is a bitter woman who's determined to believe whatever serves up in her head about a man. And then it clicks. I watch her demeanor. She's closed off and actually looks hurt. She tugs on her hair and it's one of many mannerisms she does when she's exactly that. Why didn't I notice?

She's quiet. She shifts her weight to her other hip. "Are you done with your insults? I need to go back inside and ignore this charade even happened." She waves a hand.

"What happened between you two?" I ask. Her eyes cut to mine. Curveball. Her lips part from their firm angry line but nothing comes out. "What did he do to you?"

She scoffs then laughs. "Ok."

"A woman isn't this angry over a man for excuses like 'he's no good'. He must've done something to be on such a shitlist."

She steps into her apartment. "This is ridiculous. I don't have time for this, Bella. It doesn't always have to be about that. Grow up."

I wedge my boot against the door to keep it wide open. "I'm all grown. Look at me. I just want to know, woman to woman, what a man did? Did he lead you on then ran off with someone else?"

She looks at me. Her eyes unblinking.

"Was it when he tore your heart apart while you sat across the room watching him kiss someone else? Or maybe when he'd make you feel like you were the only person in the world as he catered to every emotional need you craved with touches and love and his undivided attention?"

Her brows knit. "Bella." She takes a step towards me. Her arms unfolding ready to comfort and soothe me back to easiness, clearly taken aback by my confessions. Of course, she wouldn't know. I've never told her.

"No." I step back. "I'll take care of it this time. You've done enough. He's gone. You can rest assured it turned out just as you wanted." I walk away.

"Bella, please!"

"I'm going to go see mom and I don't want to see you there!"

...

Serrano is coming. His job has to send him back here for the opening of the new offices. He volunteered to help which is perfect. I help get him get situated and he can help me not crumble. He was trying to keep it a surprise but all of my texts and phone calls since Monday made him spill. He reassured he'd be here. I'm so over the moon elated. I have no one to talk to, not even my own sister since that went to shit.

The office has been quiet all week feeling the absence of four co-workers. They were the most outgoing, leaving behind the introverts who were pushed to their full potential by infectious boldness. Even Emmett is quiet around us. It feels like a death in the family.

The board was tough on him. He didn't take it well. They're talking about breaking up the Local and disbursing into others around the city. I might have to move on and get to know new people, work for new people and hopefully not fuck up relationships with new people.

Kate and I are trying our best to stay together, like sibling orphans. No one wants us anymore—her words, not mine. But I agree. It's heartbreaking and terrifying. This Local really had something special when we weren't drugging each other or feeling each other up. So many nights of great company and fantastic conversations that went on way into dawn. I miss it. It was like college but instead of graduating and moving on to better things, we were yanked apart by our superiors.

I feel to blame for all of it. Kate thinks it's ridiculous to feel this way but I can't help it. Maybe if I'd gone home more nights rather than follow Masen and the group to a bar we wouldn't be going through this adolescent drama. I would've been straight with him, sitting on my couch when he was beside me, not chasing him around town hoping he'd notice me. I'd tell him without hesitation my heart. I wish I could turn the hours back to the warmth and the cozy throw pillows and his honest eyes. I'd tell him everything.

So, I woke up today and decided I'll forget him. It's best. Anger has passed and I'm done wondering, hoping and planning his slow excruciating death if I ever see him again.

He lied. He failed me once again like a thousand times. This time, though, it's the hardest because I actually had him for once, or did I? Why am I holding on to something unhealthy, or dare I say, not good? I hate to think I'm agreeing with Rose. I'd rather gouge my eyes out than ever admit that.

It's Wednesday and I'm getting ready to go to work, sneak out after and pick up Serrano at the airport. Despite the sorrow and bitterness I can't help but feel relief and excitement. My friend is coming. I didn't have to move away with him to escape. My escape is coming to me.

I'll take him to the hospital to visit mom with dinner in hot bags and try to sneak it in. I can't wait. Something to do. Something to distract. It's Rose's night at the state house meeting, so I don't need to worry she'll be there.

I work at my desk. Quiet as quiet can be. I reach for folders under binders and a few sheets slip out and whirl to a stop on his desk. His desk. I'm so used to seeing it unorganized I didn't realize it's still unorganized. His things are here, yet he's been let go.

My chair creaks as I swivel. I stare and I stare at his things. His pencil bitten down, eraser worn out to metal, lying by his scribblings on a yellow notepad. I notice my name. I pick it up. I read from the top. It's a schedule for his day.

Call Garcia the Janitor
Start presentation outline
Ask Bella to lunch
Ask Bella to dinner if lunch is declined
Meeting with Emmett about New York
Ask Emmett to let her go with me.

The latter is scratched out roughly. The list continues about work. But my name...my name is outlined multiple times. The dark lead of the pencil heavy and shiny where it fills in over itself.

Right to my gut. I flick the pad away. It lands on the corner of the desk where I can't see it. I get back to work and try to focus.

I was the first choice for New York. Just that thought makes my eyes wander off my laptop screen to a wall, straight for that cracked paint I stare at where "what ifs" dance around in my head and daydreams turn disappointment into happy endings. The musings of anger start up again.

There's a protest at 4:30. The rest of us pack our things to meet the workers at the location. We're there for an hour before I have to sneak out. Before I do I watch the picket signs bounce from over people's heads as I look back to see smiling faces of all colors coming together.

Workers from a shipping corporate company stomp down the front of the grounds. The chanting rhythmic and intoxicating. People passing by stop to watch.

"What do we want? Change! When do we want it? Now!" shouts Garcia, the janitor who became the voice of the entire force. The quiet, short, and round caramel skinned man caught everyone's hearts with his passion. He fights for overtime pay and better health benefits for their families. In the Dominican Republic, he was a Literary professor in his early thirties. His decision to start a better life in the States and accept the demotion was ultimately better than living where'd come from. Years as a citizen helped him find his voice and the voice for others who are just like him.

I'm proud of them. They've all become friends with the months of communicating, house visits and meetings we've shared along the process. All with Masen. This was our project together. He's not here to see the results.

I hug Sue around her shoulder when I find her. She smiles brightly. Her kids more than the count of her fingers. Some are older, struggling to go to college, some younger with a few adopted ones from her late sister who passed years back. Better pay and benefits for her children would mean the world to her. I laugh watching her because she was the toughest to convince to join the Union, afraid she'd be fired. Now she stands with a sign in hand, hands that worked hard making meals at the cafeteria for years.

"Where's Edward?" She asks, leaning in for me to hear over the noise. She wiggles her brows and snickers. I can't help but chuckle even with the pang in my chest. Sue fancies Masen, always has. The days we would meet with her I enjoyed the most. I'd watch how uncomfortable Masen would get when she'd flirt and pet him far too much for a professional relationship. He didn't care, he'd go along with it just to get that signature of hers. He only allowed hugs to his torso. It was all she could reach with her short height anyway.

I tell her I don't know and smile. She looks disappointed. I don't tell her I am, too.

I look over the crowd who've taken measures with bravery and hope to get what they want. They're happy and they're in solidarity. I'm miserable and alone. I should leave in case I'm contagious.

The airport is packed. I stand by a column by the gate exit. I look at the signs and marvel at all the flights going places. Maybe I should go. Start my life again and leave everything behind. It would be so easy. But then bills and mom. I wouldn't leave her. She's always been healthy and strong. Watching her in a hospital bed is jarring. I don't know how to help her. She needs someone. She's been alone since dad died. I want her to be happy.

People file out little by little from other gates so I know Serrano's is next. I stand on the tips of my toes and look for the dark mop of hair. It appears to the left and I squeeze through the crowd to get to him. He's pulling on a carry on when I jump his back.

"Ah!" He yelps. Some people look, some hug and kiss their loved ones without a glance our way. He staggers forward and turns to me when I slip off him.

He grabs my face. I'm smiling and holding onto his biceps. And then he's looking at me, really looking at me. My smile fades and so does his but it settles on something else. Like wonder or determination. I don't know. I'm about to ask what's wrong and I realize, maybe his mom isn't ok. Maybe his first words will be tragic. My brows knit and I step into his frame where he's holding me and settle my hands on his shoulders ready to hold him up if he begins to grieve.

"Tell me," I say to him. His fingers bury into my hair and curl around my neck. He's fiercely holding on. I'm patient. I wait.

He says nothing but his lips descends. My lips part to speak but he captures them just perfectly. I stand frozen. My eyes are open and I watch him do this. I try to step back but he's got me. He dares to move our lips, making them mold together in such a way. I grow red. My eyes blink shut and for some reason I let him. Desperate for something to make sense in my life, I let him. And it feels...good. Foreign to feel his tongue but not completely. It kind of...fits, right through my parted lips.

He tilts his head and kisses me with all this passion. From where? Where is this coming from? My fingers dig into his chest. He lets go with a soft slip.

"Wait, what?" My eyes are sealed shut when I mumble. He chuckles once. Thumbs running over the apples of my cheeks.

"See? Other fish in the sea. It should feel like that all the time," he says. He holds out his hand for me to grab and get out of here. "Shall we?"

I crack a smile and grab on. It's so like him to help me understand by doing. But as we walk I tilt my head to watch his profile. He's serious. His heart was there...on his sleeve. That was real. My heart pitters and then sinks. He's into this more than he shows, more than I am for him. More than I'll ever be.

"So what kind of fish are you in this...sea?" I ask. We swing our hands between us.

"Hmm. Maybe not fish but more like the tentacles kind. The eight legged ones."

I nod. "Hm. Exotic...and slightly perverted." There's a question over his face. "I mean you expect me to sleep with each one of those tentacles? Sorry. I have a job and things to do. You go fuck an octopus."

He laughs, head back. "GTFO?"

"Yup. Go To Fuck an Octopus. New meaning," I reiterate. He's laughing so hard his shoulders shake. I look up and he's watching me. Not Serrano, but Masen. My insides cramp up. Just instantly everything stops. My heart, my speech, my feet stuck to the old dingy carpet of Logan airport arrivals.

He's standing in the middle of the wide aisle. People go around him as he's in the way. His backpack by his feet. His jacket unbuttoned revealing a plaid button up shirt, the one he wears on Wednesdays. One thing is minuscule but I see it, all buttons are misplaced, leaving a tail longer. He's tired. Eyes red and dark circles under them. His hair is pulled back in off directions by fidgety fingers.

I glance quickly towards the monitor listing gates close by. New York: Arrival on time brightly lit. I look back at him. His eyes travel to the tips of my toes and back up, then they traverse to our hands between us. He bends and picks up his backpack, hooks it over a shoulder and walks away.

Serrano has long grown silent. He's tense beside me and his hand has tightened around mine. When I try to take a step to run he pulls me right back.

"No. You don't run. You let him come to you."

I'm left speechless, heart pounding because he won't come. He saw everything. The way this looked, I've moved on, I've let go. I wasn't here for him.

He stood there, bag on the floor where he probably dropped it. I just know, deeply, he must've seen me first and he was ready to come to me. Now he's not.

"He won't," I whisper as I watch him disappear into the crowd.