After an hour of bliss, I find myself wrapped in Grant's strong arms. We lay silently on the rolled down leather seats, enjoying the moment.

He kisses the top of my head. "Can I tell you something and you promise not to freak out or do anything about it?"

I look up at him, skeptically. "Is it illegal?"

"Highly." There's no humor in his voice.

I press my back against his chest. "Then, I can't promise anything."

"Then, I can't tell you anything." He challenges.

I sigh, defeated. "I solemnly swear I won't freak out or do anything about what you tell me."

He toys with my hair. "Regina didn't come here just to say hi."

I feign surprise. "That sweet old lady had an ulterior motive? I can't believe it." Sarcasm coats my words.

"She asked me to do something for her." He says quietly, like he doesn't want me to hear.

I turn to him, feeling nauseous. She has some audacity asking him for a favor. "What'd she want you to do?"

"Kill my dad." He says so fast I almost miss it.

I jump up and hit my head off the car roof. "Come again?"

He pulls me down to him and rubs my head. "Are you okay?"

"Forget about me, your mom wants you to kill your dad?"

Grant bites his lip, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Yeah, but remember you promised not to freak out."

I take in some oxygen, trying to relax. "Right, no freaking out." I sit myself down comfortably. "What did you say?"

He looks out the window. "She has a lot of things on me, Rinnie. Things I can't tell you so please don't ask me to."

"Grant, please tell me you didn't agree to do this." I panic but do my best not to show it.

I watch his eyes shift as he disconnects himself from reality. "I am going to talk to my dad and get him to pretend to be dead. I'll hide him somewhere far away, somewhere she'd never go. Then, I'm going to tell her I killed him. If she thinks I didn't do this, she'll find someone who will."

I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping to wake up from this nightmare. "Can't you just have her arrested? You're a police officer."

"I don't have any proof. She's always been very careful. Besides, I can't arrest her myself since I'm technically her son. It's a conflict of interest."

They way he says 'technically' breaks my heart. "That sounds, umm, dangerous." Is all I can say.

He gives me a stern look. "I don't have a choice. He isn't father of the year, but he doesn't deserve to die. Simply telling Regina no costs way too much."

As unbelievable as all this is, I know he's right. He's once again putting someone above himself. "I want to help."

"No chance that's happening. I only told you this because you've been feeling like I don't trust you and I promised I would do better. This is me proving I trust you." He looks pleadingly at me, "This is me trying."

I click my tongue as I sort out my internal struggle. He really is trying, but this is insane. "If I can't help you, do you promise to at least keep me updated?"

He drums his fingers along the steering wheel. "The less you know the better, but I can periodically check in and let you know I'm okay."

"Deal." I reach out my hand.

Grant just stares at it then bursts out laughing. "Rinnie, I'm still mad at you."

I make a face at him. "What did I do now?"

"You beat the s**t out of my mom! I'm so mad but I also have never loved you more than I do right now."

I look him straight in the eyes. "No one who's hurt you will stand that close to me and not feel my wrath."

With that deep conversation, Grant drives me back to the apartment and tells me he's going to meet up with the twins (if he and Aiden are able to convince Alec to leave his room). He's been spending a lot of time with them lately, so I didn't think too much of it. Besides, part of me is relieved. Grant finally started to open up to me. Tonight was a huge step for us. He still hasn't told me any of the things I've read in his diary, but I have a feeling he's going to. I decide that I'm not going to read his diary tonight. I want to stop and give him a chance to tell me what's going on himself. Maybe I don't have to worry as much as I thought I did.

Once I make sure he's safe, I can finally start focusing on my career again. It's been amazing hanging out with all my friends, but I miss filming. I only have a few days left of my break and I'm excited to get back on set.

I decide that tonight I want to be alone with my thoughts. I take a long shower, grab a good book and let myself get lost in it. I turn the ringer off on my phone, choosing to take the night off. I have been so drained lately that I worry if I don't disconnect, I'm not going to be able to show up for my loved ones like I want to. Once you get to the level of exhaustion that makes you unempathetic, the only way to resolve the issue is to step away for a minute.

After I read a few chapters, my heart starts to race. This dark, ominous feeling comes over me with no warning. I shut my book and speedwalk to my phone. My heart sinks as I see the three miss calls from Aiden. Aiden rarely calls me, something isn't right. I immediately call him back, drowning in my guilt. I say a silent prayer as the phone rings.

"Zephyrine?" Aiden asks. The urgency in his voice makes my hand grip the phone tighter, knowing this is the only thing I can hold onto right now.

I focus on a spot on the wall. "I'm so sorry I missed your call, is everything okay?"

He clears his throat. "You need to get to the hospital."

"Hospital?" I choke.

"I'll explain everything when you get here."

I hang up the phone and run to my coat. I drive as fast as I can to the hospital, matching the speed of my racing thoughts. I have no idea what's going on, but I have a feeling it's not good.

When I get to the hospital, Aiden is waiting for me in the lobby.

I make my way towards his pacing figure. "Hey."

When he looks at me I notice how broken he looks. How long has he looked this broken? "We have to go to the third floor." His voice is soft.

We head to the elevators and he hits the button like he's done it a million times.

"What's wrong?"

He keeps his eyes on the ceiling. "Grant overdosed."

I feel like someone punched me in the stomach. "What? No!"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" He says, harshly.

I eye him, taken aback. "I'm sorry, was I supposed to expect my boyfriend to overdose? He doesn't mess with drugs."

"Yes, he does Zephyrine." He says through gritted teeth. "He has for years." He glares over at me, finally meeting my gaze. "For someone who's so obsessed with him, I thought you'd know that."

I'm not sure if Aiden's words or Grant's condition make me fight back tears, but it's where I find myself. "Years? I knew he drinks a lot, but I've never seen him pop a pill."

Aiden voice deepens. "That's because he doesn't want his precious Rinnie to see the dark side of him. You're too pure." He looks so like he's been dying to give this speech. "He pops pills every time he gets stressed, drinking is just to help the pills go down better."

"How did he hide this from me for so long?" I am once again in a battle with my guilt.

"You're not hard to hide things from."

I move a tiny bit closer to him, afraid to set him off again. "Why are you so mad at me?"