As I was bringing a case of soup out of the stock room to place on the shelves, I saw Tessa approaching me. Rolling my eyes, I wondered what the hell she could want.

The closer she gets, I can see her tear-filled eyes and crimson face twisted in anger. In response, my shoulders drop.

Here we go.

Bracing myself for impact, I place the heavy box on the floor and cross my arms, ready for the impending explosion.

"What the actual fuck, William?" she bellowed.

My expression hardens. "What happened now?" I retort.

"You happened!"

I looked heavenward, curious about what I did to deserve this attack. "Care to elaborate?"

Tessa's eyes blazed with fury. "How dare you tell that bitch Nicole about my father? I trusted you, William, and never thought you would break your promise, but I guess I was wrong about you."

Realizing that Nicole had said something to Tessa about Tessa's father, I closed my eyes and shook my head before apologizing. "I'm sorry, Tessa. I never meant for it to happen. You have to believe me; I didn't have a choice."

I started to tell her why, but she held up her hand to stop me from continuing.

"Save your breath; little miss jealous, nosy-ass snooper told me the whole sob story. That didn't give you the right to break your promise to me," she screamed.

Surrounding shoppers looked in our direction, curious about our overzealous interaction.

Trying to defuse the confrontation and remove us from prying eyes, I ask, "Can we please take this conversation into the stock room?"

"Screw you, William," Tessa announced with enthusiasm as she turned on her heel and left the store leaving behind a group of shocked shoppers, including me.

I pick up the bulky box and walk to the canned food aisle. After setting it down on the tiled floor, I pull my box cutter out of my back pocket and cut open the case.

All I can think about while stocking the shelves is that even though Tessa is nasty toward Nicole, it doesn't give her the right to break my trust by using Tessa's dad against her.

The more I think about it, the more pissed I get. The first thing I do when going on break is to call Nicole about what the hell happened with Tessa.

It didn't go well at all. After accusing Nicole of being no better than Tessa, Nicole hung up on me. I could tell by her voice that my words deeply hurt her. The sadness in her voice when she said to me that she had to go all but broke my heart.

I told her I thought she was better than that. But she did what I did to Tessa: break the trust. In truth, I'm no better than Nicole. We both are to blame for Tessa's misery.

We each have our excuses. I don't want to lose Nicole over her doing whatever it takes to get Tessa to stop her hostile behavior.

As rude as Tessa is to Nicole, most would think that Tessa deserves what she got. Hell, deep down, I think Tessa deserved to be humiliated. But that doesn't change the fact that stooping to Tessa's level is wrong.

How do I fix this?

I asked my dad if I could leave work an hour early, allowing me the time to stop at Nicole's before it got too late. I was going to text her first but opted not to, so she didn't have the chance to tell me not to come.

Standing before Nicole's front door, I'm now second-guessing myself, thinking that maybe I should have let her know about my stopping by.

Since I'm already here, I ring the bell. Nicole's mom answers the door.

She greets me, "Hello, William."

"Hello, Mrs. Myers. Can I speak to Nicole, please?"

She raised a brow and crossed her arms; this can't be good.

Instead of telling me to leave her porch, she opens the door wider.

"Of course, she's upstairs," she deadpanned.

I gave her a half smile before entering her home. "Thank you."

Music was coming from Nicole's room, so I knocked loudly on her bedroom door so she could hear me.

"Come in," she yelled from inside her room.

I slowly opened her door, just enough to peek my head into the space provided.

She didn't look up immediately, so I took this opportunity to observe my beautiful girlfriend. Her head was down as she looked at her textbook, causing her long honey-blond hair to fall alongside her face, covering up most of her striking features.

She glanced at me, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"William? What are you doing here?"

Instead of replying, I step in, smooth out her fluffy purple comforter, sit beside her on her bed, and pull her into a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Nicole," I whisper.

"I'm sorry, too, William."

We stay like that for a few moments before Nicole pulls back, looking at me with tears shimmering in her chocolate eyes.

"Please don't cry," I plead. "I'm as guilty as you are in breaking trust."

Her eyes crinkle with confusion. "What do you mean?"

I exhaled before responding, "It means I broke Tessa's trust in me by telling you about her family situation. I'm no better than you and should never have said those words to you. Can you please forgive me?"

My heart soars when her face brightens with a sweet smile.

"Don't apologize for speaking the truth. I should've never stooped to Tessa's level by bringing up something I knew would hurt her. It was in the heat of the moment and uncalled for, regardless of how she treated me. I'm just so frustrated because she makes me feel like shit."

Resting her head back on my shoulders, I feel myself loosen up. It's unbelievable how caring my girl is. She could've come at me with judgment. Instead, she owns up to her mistake without throwing mine in my face.

Her voice is soft and weakens with emotion when she says, "I thought you hated me and that this was the end of us."

Squeezing her tighter, I say, "You can't get rid of me that easy. We're going to have disagreements, misunderstandings, and miscommunication. Still, as long as we talk it out without shutting each other out, we'll strengthen our relationship and grow closer. I love you, Nicole. Nothing is going to change that."

Her body relaxed as she softened into my embrace.

"I believe that, too, and I'm sorry for hanging up on you when we probably should've talked it out. I love you so much, William."

Caressing her back with one hand and running my fingers through her silky hair with the other, I took a minute before responding.

"Sometimes it's necessary to step back before saying something we regret. You hanging up broke my heart and caused me to reflect on my words," I said, attempting to assure my beautiful girl. "I should've never said what I did."

"My mom told me the same thing you did, to ignore girls like Tessa and not to let her get to me," she says, sounding defeated.

"Your mom is a smart woman," I reply with a chuckle before continuing. "Honestly, the way she looked at me when she opened the door, I had doubts that she would let me into the house."

Nicole lets out a cute giggle. "That's my momma bear, mom. I was on the phone in the kitchen when you called. She knew it was you and could tell that what you said affected me even though I didn't say anything to her."

I lowered my head in embarrassment at how I spoke to Nicole. It was the result of Tessa calling me out in front of my customers that pissed me off more than anything, and it caused me to take it out on Nicole.

"Well, she had every reason to react to me like she did. She could've easily shut the damn door in my face. She was justified, and I appreciate her letting me talk to you," I admit willingly.

We quietly cuddled for a bit before Nicole broke the silence.

"I should apologize to Tessa tomorrow," she announces.

"Good luck with that. Tessa wasn't receptive to my apology, and she liked me. Well, at least she used to," I say, shrugging.

"I'm not naive enough to believe she'll forgive me, but it needs to happen because I'm not like her. If I'm in the wrong, I have no problem accepting that responsibility and trying to make amends," she claims with resolve.

After kissing her head, I reply, "This is one of the many things I love about you. You always want to do the right thing."

Looking at the clock, I see it's getting late; Nicole has homework, and I want to stop over at Tessa's to apologize again with the hopes that she's calmed down

"I should get going so you can return to your homework. Full disclosure: I'm going to Tessa's to apologize again."

Nicole rolls her eyes but doesn't try to talk me out of going to Tessa's.

We kiss goodbye before I leave and drive to Tessa's house.

I arrive at Tessa's house within five minutes with a few lefts and a right. It's not far from Nicole.

Tessa's home is not much to look at from the curb. The overgrown lawn surrounds the neglected house, representing those who reside inside. The white paint is chipping, and a faded black shutter on the left side of the front window looks like it's about to give up and fall to the ground.

I notice an unfamiliar car parked along the street but don't think anything of it.

When I approach the front door, I can hear Tessa's father screaming and her mother crying. Shit!

I don't even knock before bursting through the door. All eyes are on me as I assess the situation.

My eyes meet Tessa's mother's tear-filled eyes, and relief washes over her face.

Tessa is cowering in a corner with tears running down her cheeks. Upon seeing me, her eyes went round with surprise.

Tessa's dad's face flushed with fury as he immediately dropped his eyes when he saw me entering the door.

I lose my shit. "What the hell is going on here, Adam? I'm pretty sure you're violating Kathy's restraining order against you. So why don't you get the fuck out of here before I call the police."

"I was just leaving," he said as he brushed past me exiting the home.

Before I realize what's happening, Tessa jumps into my arms, her lips crashing against mine.

A/N: What do you think of how William handled the situation between Tessa and him compared to Nicole and him? What do you think about Tessa's reaction to William getting her father out of the house?