You coulda had a bad bitch, non-committal

Help you with your career just a little

You're 'posed to hold me down, but you're holding me back

And that's the sound of me not calling you back

Why men great 'til they gotta be great?

Don't text me, tell it straight to my face

Best friend sat me down in the salon chair

Shampoo press, get you out of my hair

Fresh photos with the bomb lighting

New man on the Minnesota Vikings

Truth hurts, needed something more exciting

Bom bom bi dom bi dum bum bay."

Tristan's apartment was spotless. Which, it should've been, considering he's been residing in Massie's bedroom for the past month.

He barely lived there anymore. He had everything at the palm of his hand at the Block Estate, but that didn't mean he was a welcome face there.

William was growing more and more aggravated by the day, and Kendra was legitimately afraid of what was happening behind closed doors at night,

Massie knew if she was going to help herself and her parents' sanity, he needed to stay in his own apartment. But, she knew he wouldn't unless she came over.

She always felt uneasy in his apartment, but she knew she didn't have a choice. She had to keep the facade for as long as possible, especially considering her friends and she didn't have a backup plan yet. So, here she was, at Tristan's apartment with a constant ball of anxiety deep down in her belly.

Half of her concern was what she'd find there. She wasn't intentionally snooping, not anymore after finding out his extracurricular habits, but she was terrified she'd find something in his home that gave her no choice.

It would all be figured out in time, but for now she needed to save face. Currently, Massie was standing in Tristan's kitchen plating some sushi while he changed in his bedroom after work.

She carried the plates full of different raws over to the living room coffee table, then took the television remote and put on a random Netflix original movie. Leaning down to the ground, she took her phone out of her purse and sent a quick text to Derrick letting him know to come for 9 still before standing up straight.

Massie poured her and Tristan both a glass of wine, sitting down and making herself comfortable on the futon as she heard his feet padding on the tiled floor.

"Thank you, again, for picking up dinner Mass. I really appreciate it, today was a crazy fucking day."

"No problem, babe, you know I don't mind. I was doing lots today, too."

"Yeah, how's the shopping coming along?"

"Our registry is almost done, I just need to add a few online-only pieces and it'll be published Wednesday." She explained, grabbing her wine glass and taking a sip. It felt good to put her feet up and attempt to relax, at least for a minute.

"Oh okay awesome, my parents keep asking me to send them the list early so they can get a good pick."

'Yeah, your parents who erased your criminal record?' Massie thought to herself, but instead she took a longer sip of wine. "Perfect, that's great news."

"Yeah, they can't wait to see you again or your parents. I think my dad said something about visiting at the end of the month," Tristan mentioned casually as he popped a california roll in his mouth.

"You were just going to tell me this now?" Massie asked, turning her head to look at Tristan and raising an eyebrow in annoyance. How typical, she thought to herself.

"I mean, do they need an invitation or something Mass? They're my parents."

"Yes, and I have a lot of wedding planning to get done this month."

"My mom can help, she loves that shit."

Massie scoffed. "No offense, but I'd rather do it alone."

"Oh, you have a problem with my mom now?" Tristan asked, tilting his head to the side and putting his plate down flat on the coffee table.

"No, I just don't think it's really her place." The brunette shrugged innocently, saying it the way she felt. She wasn't wrong, either. Her mother in law didn't belong in wedding details, it was her mother and her friends who did.

"And who's motherfucking place is it then, Massie? If it isn't your mother in laws, then who? Dylan? Maybe Alicia?"

"I mean," she started knowing fully well she was going to regret this. "Usually, yeah, it is my maid of honor and best friend's place."

"You know, you always do this," Tristan laughed dryly before turning and facing his fiance.

Massie took a big breath in, gulping and blinking slowly. She knew he was quick to get heated, but this was a dumb argument she wasn't really intending on starting. Massie thought she made a valid statement. Who wanted to do this with their mother in law? Her family was paying for the wedding, so she really didn't care what his mother had to say about any of it. His family was pretty much dead to her considering the lengths they went to to cover up Tristan's past. It was reckless endangerment, if any of her pre-law classes told her anything, and she was not so thrilled about now having to cart his family around all day and continue to pretend to be the happy couple he wrote them off to be.

Tristan began to close his fists and open them, making Massie's stomach start to churn. It was a trigger of his, apparently, but he couldn't control his anger. He was extremely on edge being sober for the time being, so Massie pushing his buttons wasn't going over well. She didn't feel bad, though, she was tired of stepping on eggshells around him over things that pertained to her future.

Keeping some details to herself regarding business transactions or purchase history, sure, but when it came to her future he was too quick to attempt to take it away from her. So, keeping things to herself was the way to go for now, but she couldn't swallow everything he said or did that pissed her off.

Massie looked him dead in the eyes, his face was bright red and his eyes were stormy like the atlantic ocean during hurricane season. As he came closer to her, her vision suddenly got blurry as her face stung with a painful sensation.

She jumped back and off of the couch, holding her right cheek in pain.

"What the FUCK?" She yelled, kicking at Tristan after it sunk in that he slapped her on the right side of her face.

"I-I'm sorry, M-"

"Fucking SAVE IT, you asshole!" She yelled in pain, grabbing her wine glass off of the coffee table and throwing it at his living room wall.

"Mass, I can ex-"

"Don't fucking call me that!" She screamed, reaching down and grabbing her purse. "Don't fucking call me ANYTHING, how about that?!"

"Let's not be dramatic, Massie."

"Let's not be a fucking dick, Tristan. Oops, too fucking LATE." She let go of her cheek and slipped her engagement ring off of her finger, throwing it where the glass shattered against the wall. "Go FUCK YOURSELF."

"Relax, babe!" Tristan yelled, jumping up and grabbing her arm as she grabbed her purse off the floor.

"Don't fucking TOUCH ME," she kicked at his ankle, pushing him back down before grabbing her coat off of the back of the futon and bolting out of the apartment.

Massie ran down the hallway, his neighbors doors opening to see what the fuss was all about. Her eyes darted to the elevator, but knowing she wouldn't risk the time, she settled on the stairwell and sprinted down as fast as her manolo's would take her. She didn't even bother looking for her audi R8's key, instead using the keyless entry by holding her purse to the driver's side door.

Hopping inside, she locked the doors immediately as she turned the car on. Massie could see Tristan coming down the stairs to the exit of the building, and zoomed off letting her tires screech on the concrete ground before he could get out of the door.

She didn't realize she was crying until she stopped at a redlight, and steaded her breathing. Pulling down her visor and looking in the mirror, her right cheek was bright red, and tears were falling down her face.

Quickly, she dug her phone out and sent Derrick a quick text before taking a sharp left turn and speeding away.

Mass: im omw.

D.H: I thought we were meeting at your place in like...three hours?

Derrick's eyebrows crinkled together in confusion. He was currently bent over his soccer bag grabbing his water bottle when he saw Massie's text.

He and his team were wrapping up practice at their indoor stadium in lower manhattan. He was going to drive home, shower, and relax before he met Massie at her home.

He reached up with his forearm and wiped the sweat off of his forehead, taking a long drink from his Nike squeeze water bottle before tossing it back in his bag and throwing the bag over his shoulder.

"Yo, I'll see you guys tomorrow." He promised his teammates who were getting ready to go to the showers. They were all supposed to go out for dinner and drinks in an hour, which Derrick was planning on going to until he got Massie's cryptic text message.

"Dude, you're bailing?!" His best offensive man, Alexandru, pouted.

"I have something that came up, dude. Tomorrow, I promise."

"Yeah, whatever Harrington."

He lifted his left hand in a wave, before jogging towards the exit of the stadium. Derrick couldn't wrap his mind around Massie right now. He knew she and Tristan were having dinner, so he didn't comprehend why it ended, or why she was coming to him when they said they agreed to spend the night at the Block Estate.

Derrick drove back towards Monarch Hill as quickly as he could, which was a record for him. He pulled into his parking lot after swiping his pass through security, spotting Massie's r8 in one of his designated spots.

He pulled up three spots beside her, in case anyone was watching. He had an idea as to what Tristan was capable of, and didn't plan on starting any fights with him for a while.

That was, until he saw Massie get out of her car with a new shade of red on her cheek.

Derrick jumped out, slamming his door and jogging towards her.

"What the fuck, Massie?" He questioned, reaching down and pressing a gentle hand to her bright red cheek.

"I can't, I just can't," Massie repeated softly, and kept repeating it as Derrick pulled her tightly into his body.

"Let's go inside." He murmured, taking his keys out of his pockets and leading her into the building.

Massie had taken a hot shower after Derrick was able to calm her down and get the full story out of her. He was beyond angry, he was absolutely furious, and if Dylan was around to keep Massie company he would've left her to it and went to beat Tristan's head in. But, Dylan and Chris were on some date tonight, and he couldn't interrupt when they already were doing so much for her.

He left Massie a pair of his plaid navy and yellow pajama pants, one of his team sweatshirts with his name on the back, and a pair of fuzzy socks Dylan had left there a few months ago when her and Chris had slept over for a week while their leaking roof was being fixed.

The brunette willingly changed into some warm clothes, leaving her outfit in a ball on the floor of the bathroom. She didn't want to look at anything that reminded her of that night. Instead, she turned and held her head as high as she could, going to join Derrick for a movie in his living room.

While she was showering, Derrick had whipped up some pasta with a creamy tomato sauce. It wasn't his best work by far, but he didn't have much on hand and didn't want to leave her to go to the grocery store. He handed her a bowl when she sat down beside him, and the two ate while scrolling through movies to select.

"You know I'll fucking kill him," Derrick spoke softly into her damp hair.

"I know."

The pair was curled up on Derrick's leather couch, feet covered in warm socks and propped up on his black marble coffee table. She had a fuzzy, sherpa blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and her head was placed against his shoulder as he laid behind her.

There was a bowl of warm kettle corn on the coffee table by their feet, and two half drunken beers beside it. Derrick had texted Dylan an SOS, but not getting a reply, he knew she'd be off her phone until the morning.

"I don't want him near you anymore."

"I know, but I don't have a choice."

"Oh yes, yes you do. He's not going to be with you alone anymore, I mean it Block. This is the third time in the past two months. He's got to be insane if he thinks he's going to be alone with you."

"He's insane enough to do it, Derrick. I don't think it phases him, honestly. It's like...I look at him after, and there's no remorse. It's just….it's empty, it's confused, but it's void. I expect him to feel bad every time, but he just...he doesn't. I know he has tendencies and I know to some extent he regrets what he does to me, but regret and remorse are two very different feelings."

"You need to tell your parents that you aren't coming home tonight," he spoke quietly, hoping she agreed. Derrick didn't want her thinking he was trying to control her life, or keep her somewhere she didn't want to be, but he wasn't going to let her be in an unsafe position anymore.

"I already did, don't worry."

That made Derrick breathe out a sigh of relief. He knew she'd be safer here than at the Block Estate. Tristan didn't know much about Derrick, about her relationship with Derrick, where Derrick lived, etc. Tristan would most likely check her family's estate, then barge into Dylan's apartment, and give up there.

He knew soon the pleading text messages would be coming, and he was prepared to start an argument on behalf of Massie to get him away from her. The dirty blonde contemplated having Massie file a domestic violence report with the Westchester Police Department, but he was sure the Montgomery family would just have that covered up too.

So, he just laid on his couch with Massie in his arms, dirty bowls of pasta in the sink and a warm bowl of popcorn in front of them. He didn't care about the movie playing, but continued to draw lazy circles and shapes on her shoulders under the blankets until his phone began to buzz excessively.

Apologizing to Massie, he sat up and reached for his iPhone from the coffee table. Seeing Dylan's name pop up on the caller ID, he answered.

"She's fine, she's safe now." His automatic response came before his brain could process any of the questions Dylan was actually asking him.

"What happened? Where is he?"

"I don't really know, Dyl, I'm sure he's searching Westchester right now for her car."

"How did it start?"

"You can come and ask her yourself, but I don't want to speak over the phone."

"Got it. Chris and I can come by in twenty if that's alright. I don't think she should keep her car in the lot. Can you move it into another space?"

"He's not going to come here, he doesn't even know who I am."

"Still, I'm just paranoid."

"I know. Look, when you two get here, we'll figure out the specifics, okay?"

"Okay, fine. I'll see you soon, we'll see you soon."