"And I am feeling so small. It was over my head, I know nothing at all and I will stumble and fall. I'm still learning to love. Just starting to crawl," Say Something, A Great Big World

"Thank you so much, class. You have really been on top of your game lately. I also want to give a shoutout to Ezra Moore and his team for creating the best presentation!" I nearly died on the spot as all eyes turned to Travis and me, claps sounding in unison. Professor Rollins seemed pleased as he ran through the slides of our PowerPoint.

"Wow," Travis chuckled, winking to Korina across the lecture hall. "Why must he be like this?" I mumbled, sliding lower in my seat. I just wanted to throw myself out of the room because all of the attention was totally unnecessary. "It's fine cuz' he's giving us our A," I rolled my eyes as the professor declared the class to be over, watching as the fellow students grabbed their belongings and made their way towards the door. "I would've been completed fine if he would have said your name instead of mine," I grumbled.

For some reason, the plan of sticking to the shadows wasn't really working out for me. I thought that it would my first year considering that I was brand new on the scene and I was just getting used to things. It worked for a while until it didn't. I guess my dreams didn't allow me to lurk in the dark for too long. I had to shine somehow.

"Nah Ez, you need to get your credit when it's due," Travis smirked, throwing his arm over my shoulder as we stepped down the stairs to exit the room. "Without you, we wouldn't have gotten this project done, and you know it," He flicked my ear and I went to bite his fingers, growling as he snatched his hand away. "Okay, old yeller. Do you need a treat?" He pressed his nose to my cheek, teasing me and I grimaced as I pushed his head away. Affection from Travis was a bit stifling, one could admit, but it wasn't unwelcomed.

"S-shut up," I stuttered with a pout and he guffawed, throwing his head back as he did. "You're too cute, Ezra," He pulled me close to him and I blushed, wondering what had gotten into him all of a sudden. "I think you're talking about yourself," I retorted in a self-deprecating way and he frowned, pushing open the doors to walk in the hallways. "Ez, you don't really give yourself much credit, do you?" Ah, the rich boy hit the nail on the head. "What's that supposed to mean?" I drawled, rolling my eyes as his arm left my body.

"You just don't realize how perfect you are to others," Travis chuckled softly and I furrowed my brows, mingling in with the crowd of students. I didn't know how to respond to those wonders, due to the fact that I had never heard such atrocities leave his lips in all of our years of friendship. "Oh," I winced, rubbing the side of my head awkwardly.

I had no idea what to say to that because this was a different level that we were treading into. "It pains me that you don't know what to say to that, man," I snorted uncomfortably. "Yea well, it's what you signed up for when you decided to be my friend," I didn't know it then and I'd probably never know, but there was a look of disdain flashing on Travis's face but it was too quick for me to even gauge.

"Yea," He nodded with a terse smile on his lips, looking away from me to the courtyard that was outside, where people could hang out and do work with others. "Friends," I didn't know why it sounded as if he was mocking me, but it did. I blinked in confusion. I went to speak, to ask him why he sounded so depressed and pissed all of a sudden, hoping that he would offer a pragmatic solution. However, he beat me to the punch.

"What happened to your glasses, Ez?"

Travis pointed to my fingers that were caressing my head without me even realizing it. "Not that I don't like you without glasses, because I do," I saw a little pink dotting his cheeks as he ran a hand through his hair. "But it's just unusual," He relayed and I sighed, wondering if I should tell him the truth. "Uh," I grinned, though there was absolutely nothing funny about the situation. "You see, w-what had happened was, I was working and uh," I scratched the back of my neck.

"AndIaccidentlyfellonthesonofthefamilyandtheyfelloffandIranbeforethingsgottoobad," I said all in one breath and he looked at me as if I spoke a language that was yet discovered. "English, please," He cut his eyes on me and I took a deep breath. "One night, I had a run-in with their son and my glasses fell. I don't know if he has them or what," I shrugged.

"But he can keep them."

There were no words to describe the amount of distaste, disgust, loathing that I held for Nishan Lawrence. If one ever wanted to look up the word for a close-minded piece of shit asshole, all they had to do was google his name. He literally had no right to come into my life and do the things that he did, but he did. I wasn't going to quit and give him the satisfaction that he thought he had over me. Though, I wished that I could give him a big kick to the balls because that would be great for me.

"Motherfucker," I cursed, rubbing my temples. This headache was getting out of hand and I didn't have any pain medication with me. "Do you need me to go and get you another pair?" Travis asked with concern in his voice and it made me wonder if he would fight Nishan just so I could live in peace. "No, no, it's okay," Of course, the rich boy would offer. "I have a spare at home but I'll deal with these sons of bitches for now," I pointed to the contacts holding my eyeballs hostage.

"I mean, you know I'll get you a pair," I rolled my eyes, pushing him away from me as he let out laugh. Sometimes, I really hated my best friend but other times, he could be the best person I knew. I mean, he was. He was my inspiration.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Moore," I heard a familiar voice and my heart began to race. I hadn't got a chance to tell her how the interview was mysteriously botched and I didn't want to tell why because she didn't need to know. "P-professor," I stuttered, plastering a smile on my face. Travis nodded as he went to go stand in another corner to wait for me. "Hi!" The middle-aged woman chuckled as she put a hand on my shoulder, pulling me into the corner of the corridor. I looked around nervously as the passerby's, wondering how I was going to explain this one.

I couldn't exactly say, 'Hi, Professor. My interview was ruined because Mr. Constantino hates gay people and he found out that I was gay because the son of the family that I work for told him. He has it out for me and no matter what I do, he just continues to try to ruin my life as a way to burn the gay out of me. Thank you for listening.'

I wondered how well that would go over.

"So I heard how the interview went," Professor Keaton didn't seem particularly pleased, but it wasn't directed at me. "Oh?" I blinked, sweat starting to pool under my armpits. Did someone have a bottle of water? "And w-what did they say?" I gulped, waiting for those eyes of judgment. Everyone seemed to give me those eyes once they found out or had some sort of inkling. "My colleague didn't tell me much, but it seems that Mr. Constantino doesn't want to hire anyone straight out of college," She explained and internal anger began to stir inside of me.

He really didn't want to tell anyone that he was too much of a close-minded bigot to hire me. He really didn't want to tell anyone that the real reason that he couldn't accept was the fact that he heard it through the grapevine that I was a homosexual. I still didn't understand how it would affect him, considering he was handing his position over and from that point, his problems transferred as well.

"Is that right?" I fought the urge to raise a brow and snort in irritation. People were really something out here. That wasn't all she came to talk to me about because she smiled widely.

"Mr. Moore, I'd think that you would be a great leader for our Alpha Kappa Psi," Professor Keaton nodded and I raised a brow. "Seriously?" I gaped, wondering if her words were a lie. The Alpha Kappa Psi organization was a fraternity made for the business majors to help them get ahead in the game. It was the most prestigious fraternity on campus and it was extremely hard to get into, hence my endless frustration.

"Wait? A leader?" I blinked at her and she nodded, showing me a recommendation form. "The president is graduating early and he is looking for someone to give the position to," I heard of James Sinclair, the senior that everyone seemed to talk about as he was really successful without even trying. "Why doesn't he just give it to someone in the fraternity?" I asked and she sighed.

"It's odd, but it appears that no one wants to take on that much of responsibility because it is a lot of hard work and time to put into it," Professor Keaton folded her arms. fixing me with a serious look. "I wouldn't have thought of you if I didn't know how dedicated you were to becoming a Fortune 500 CEO. At the end of the year, you will get the chance to intern and shadow one of the many big tycoons here in San Antonio, Constantino not included," She smirked and my eyes widened.

"It would also be a good idea because not only do you get more resources and skills," She patted my shoulder as she stepped towards me. "But you get to learn how to speak your mind," She fixed me with a stare that told me that I knew exactly what she was talking about, before she walked away, bidding me a nice day.

She was right though. If I wanted to be a CEO, I needed to grow more of a backbone or else, I would get eaten alive.

"Let's go," Travis nodded to me as we walked outside of the building, heading towards the parking deck. I spotted my beautiful car long before I heard it. "I'll text you later, a'ight?" I waved to Travis as he waited for me to get in my car, making sure that I was safe like the doting best friend that he was. When I was secured, I began to drive off, giving him a peace sign as I made my way to the next destination on the list: Hell. It wouldn't be too long before I arrived on the spot.

"Hello, Ezra," That was said to me upon my arrival. I spotted Michael as I parked my car in the lot, scurrying up the steps. "Hi," I muttered breathlessly as one of the house helpers opened the door for me. I gaped in awe as I entered the household, reminding myself that I did this stupid thing every day I came here. I needed to stop it. "Hello, Mr. Moore," I heard a voice as I slipped on the apron on the hook by the entrance, turning to see who it was talking to me.

"Oh," I fiddled with my fingers. "Hello, Eve," I hoped that my face didn't reveal how scared I was. "Do you fancy a quick conversation with me?" She smiled sweetly but I could sense the real intent of malice creeping through that smile like it was nothing. "S-sure," I nodded tensely, moving to follow her as she led me to her favorite sitting room. I hadn't seen her since that fateful night and something told me that this conversation would just be out exactly that.

I closed the door behind me as she sauntered over to her table. "You think that you have everything once you marry the person that you love and you think that life will just be a perfect happily ever after," Eve poured some wine into her glass, swishing it around with disdain on her face. I waited anxiously for what she had to tell me. "You think that you found forever in this person, only for them to turn around and betray you as if your love meant nothing to them," She chuckled but there was nothing that she wanted to laugh about. She let out a sharp breath, clicking her teeth before she continued.

"I know you saw everything that happened that night," Eve gritted out and I gulped, sensing a dip in the atmosphere. Oh god, this was really happening. She took a sip of her red wine, allowing it to marinate in her throat and every second that she remained silent, it felt like a weight was crushing my skull. She took another sip and then looked up at me, her eyes completely free of emotion. "If you know what's good for you, Ezra," Her tone sounded threatening, but I got the feeling that she was trying to warn me.

"You'll keep your mouth shut."

I slowly nodded and she pointed to the door, letting me know that I could leave and that it wasn't too long for me to escape the web of lies. However, deep down inside, I knew that I was in too deep. I bid her farewell before I left the sitting room, heart beating crazily as I reached down to grab my supplies. What the hell was happening around here? I wanted to get to the bottom of it, but I had a notion that this was only the beginning.

I started my way towards the stairwell, unsure of what to do now. "Hi, Ezra!" I heard a cheery voice and I turned around, cleaning kit in hand, to see who it was. "Oh!" I stammered with a furrow of my brows. "H-hello, Natalie," I muttered awkwardly. The last time that I had seen her, she nearly ripped my head off for gently bumping into her. I had no clue how to act around her because I was too afraid that her claws would sink into my neck. "I hope you're doing well today," She beamed with a wave and I stared, blinking at her whole new attitude.

"Y-yea, you too," I nodded, turning around to make my way to the second hallway on the second floor, where her room was located. I had gone in there once, but it was only to put her laundry on top of her bed. I had never actually done any cleaning, much to my chagrin, but today, I would. I sighed deeply as I dragged myself over to the junction, debating on if I should take the elevator or the grand staircase.

"Stairs, it is," I mumbled lowly, knowing that I needed the exercise anyway. I trekked up the marble and carpet, regret pooling inside of me with each step that I took. I was nearly out of breath once I reached the last step, gasping on the way to her room. I didn't know why they needed so many rooms because it was only like 15 of them. "Easy come, easy go, that's just how you live, oh," I smiled as I stepped inside of the pristine room, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Good, my job would be a lot easier.

The only thing that was amiss was the scattered pieces of lingerie that led up to the side of her bed. "How nice it must be to have a man like this," I mumbled to myself, picking up the many pieces of underwear and throwing them into the laundry bin to be washed. She seemed to have an avid sex life. I sighed, putting the bin down to make up her bed, folding it and aligning it neatly.

I giggled to myself as I continued to sing, spotting two pairs of earrings underneath her pillow. I picked them up and opened her nightstand drawer, assuming that was where all females put stuff like that. When I opened, I saw nothing that resembled a container of jewelry and I went to close it, but all of a sudden, something spotted my eye. I had to stop being nosy. I reached down and I picked up the picture of what was an ultrasound, analyzing it. It had a picture of an empty sac at 15 weeks and it was dated 10/23/13. That meant that it would be five years ago next month. I furrowed my brow in confusion, trying to understand whose child this was or where the child was in the picture.

"Neveah Nicole Lawrence," I spoke out loud, reading the name that was on the ultrasound. Maybe it was the child's name. I didn't see any embryo as I should have. All I saw was a large gestational sac that was used to house the embryo, with nothing else around it. "Did she," I swallowed carefully, seeing the stats on the falling levels of hCG hormones and my heart jumped around in my chest, the saddest realization occurring to me as I clutched the picture in hand. I took a deep breath, shaking my head in pure, absolute sorrow.

"Did she have a miscarriage?"