"Yes, the left thigh. Alright, thank you," Greg said on the phone, sitting in the layout room.

Julian walked in. "What are you doing here on your lunch break?"

Greg glanced at Julian. "Nothing."

"Who were you talking to on the phone?" he asked nosy.

"Do you want something or...?" Greg asked annoyed. He didn't want to see Julian right now.

"Yeah. I want to know who you were talking to."

"I don't have time for this. Would you mind leaving me alone?"

Julian closed the door and walked over to Greg. "Who was that?" he asked rather aggressively.

Greg was getting really irritated by him. "I'm trying to find the guys that tried to rob us."

"Why would you do that?" he asked angrily.

"Don't worry, I didn't find them, anyways. They didn't go to any hospital. They probably stitched the guy with the knife wound up by themselves."

Julian raised an eyebrow. "What would've happened if you found them?"

Greg shrugged. "I would've told Brass to arrest them."

Julian ruffled through his hair. "But I asked you... not to do that..."

"I know, but you didn't give me good reason. I need to make sure I tried everything to keep them from hurting anyone else."

Julian nodded. He was really angry, but needed to keep it together. He was at work, after all.

"You need anything else?" Greg asked rather cold.

"Well, I wanted to check on you. You seemed rather angry last night."

Greg gave him a look. Was he being serious? "I still am."

"...Why?"

"Julian, are you kidding me? How about this?" He showed him his bruised wrist.

"...Did these guys do that?" he asked furious.

Greg looked a bit shocked. "YOU did."

"I did that...? Oh my god, Greg! I'm SO sorry!"

Greg looked a bit confused. Julian wanted to take a look at Greg's wrist, but he pulled back.

Julian was surprised by this reaction. "I just wanted to see if it's..."

"Don't. It'll heal, but... How could you do this?"

"I apologize! I didn't mean to hurt you! I guess the adrenaline was still flowing and stuff... I couldn't control myself enough..."

"Yeah and that's a problem... You could've killed those guys!"

"Come on, I just roughed them up a bit."

"You kicked them when they were already on the ground..." Greg shook his head.

"I told you, I was in a rage, the adrenaline..." he tried to talk himself out of it.

"Where did all that anger come from, anyway?" Greg asked both uncomprehending and worried.

Julian saw another opportunity. A way to gain Greg's trust back after this disastrous night. "Well..." He looked down to the ground. "As a kid... Well, let's just say I wasn't exactly popular. I didn't have many friends and I was bullied." He looked up to see Greg's reaction. He looked compassionate as he listened to Julian's made-up story. "I was beat up on a regular basis. Ever since then, I had these feelings inside me I couldn't control. I started to work out to be able to defend myself against those kids. And when I finally was able to, they stopped harassing me. Guess they got scared." He laughed humorlessly. "And now, every time I see 'bully behavior', something in my head just clicks, and I feel these feelings again. Anger, helplessness, rage... And I can't control it."

Greg now felt pity for him. He believed the story – Julian was an exceptionally good liar. "Did you ever seek professional help?"

Julian nodded. "I started therapy a few months ago, but stopped when I moved to Vegas. I couldn't find a good therapist yet." He wanted to applaud himself for this, what he thought, great lie. It was perfect. He claimed he only went to therapy a few times, meaning his issues were still unresolved, but it also showed Greg he was willing to change. He thought it was brilliant.

Greg didn't know what to say. It all made sense. It was a good explanation for Julian's behavior, but does knowing this change anything? Would it mean now that, if Julian ever hurts him again, Greg knowing where that's coming from makes it okay? It didn't really make Greg feel more comfortable around Julian.

"But I SWEAR, I never hurt one of my friends before!" Julian added. He figured Greg might still be a bit scared of him.

Greg nodded. "But why didn't you want to report the incident?"

"Because I was embarrassed." Yes, another good one, he thought. "How was I supposed to explain this to anyone? If they find out they'll fire me!"

"I don't think they would..." Greg thought about what he just heard for a while, and then asked, "So... Does this mean you're dangerous?"

Julian laughed a bit. "Not really. I mean, yeah, I have a temper, I admit to that. But that doesn't mean you'll have to worry if I strike again or something like that." When Julian noticed that Greg didn't find that funny, he added, "I swear. You're safe with me. This is as bad as it gets." He pointed at Greg's wrist. "And it won't happen again. Ever."

Greg stood up. "Well, thank you for telling me..." He turned around.

"So we're good?" Julian asked with hope in his voice.

'Yeah', is what Greg wanted to say. He tried to be understanding. But he couldn't do it. He's been somebody's victim way too often, the job was dangerous enough. No need to take some of this danger home. "Well, honestly, Julian, the trust is gone," is what he said instead, and walked out.

As Greg walked away, Julian would've loved to punch a wall. He was angry. REALLY angry, but had to control himself. He didn't want to lose his job, after all. But his plan really didn't work out as he wanted it to. He hated himself right now. He walked around in that shady neighborhood on purpose. He was looking for trouble, and when he found it wanted to impress Greg with his killer moves and heroic behavior. He was too ignorant to think about what would've happened if the guys he provoked had guns, he was too confident in his skills, but it was a very dangerous plan. And it ruined the foundation Julian already built. It took him long enough to befriend Greg, and now he ruined it with this act. He was angry with himself. But this wouldn't keep him from achieving his goal, he thought.

"So you really ended the friendship?" Nick asked. Him and Greg were sitting in the break room.

"Mhm. Well, not with this exact words, but yeah." Greg sipped from his mug.

"How do you feel about this now?"

He shrugged. "It'll be weird, I guess. I have to see him almost every day, after all."

"Yeah but he's a grown man. I'm sure he'll act professional. Don't worry about it. You did the right thing."

Greg nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot, I wanted to give you this."

As Greg gave Nick his spare key from his new set, Julian walked in, greeting both men friendly.

They greeted back, but quickly went on with their conversation.

"What are you guys doing?" Julian said with a smile on his face, sitting down next to Greg.

"Just talking," Nick said.

Julian looked at Greg, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't.

"Come on! You're not even talking to me anymore?" he asked, still smiling.

Greg's look went from Nick to Julian. "No, I..."

"Oh like I don't know you told Nick everything. It's okay, I get that. You're best friends, you tell each other everything," he said, sounding a bit bitter. He turned to Nick. "Just so you know, I feel really bad about all of this." He turned to Greg again. "And I really hope you can forgive me someday." He stood up and walked out.

Nick could see how Greg started to feel guilty. "Don't even think that. You know you're doing the right thing. Julian's a lunatic and it's best to stay away from him."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Maybe he's right. You can read my mind now, maybe we're spending too much time together," he said sarcastically.