Ever since the tragedy surrounding Sam and his mother, Clayton was struggling internally. On the outside, he appeared normal, as if everything was dandy. He went to the office everyday and worked until 7 p.m. every night. Everyone thought he was recovering from the devastation just fine, except you. You knew he wasn’t doing very well.

After a week of no contact, you decided to just show up at his place. It wasn’t odd for you to do this— he had given you a spare key for this exact reason. But it still felt a little weird since the two of you haven’t talked recently. This unnatural lull in your friendship wasn't exactly odd, but it was certainly uncalled for.

You entered his large penthouse, glancing around the familiar settings. Someone, a maid, was cleaning. She waves to you and points up the stairs, silently letting you knew where he was. Clayton must be in his home office. Treading up the stairs and to his office, you knock three times and enter.

There he sat at his desk, typing away on his computer. He looks up from his screen and smiles slightly.

“{{user}}? What’re you doing here? I thought you were avoiding me?” He asks as he stands and moves towards you. He had his tie loosened around his neck, and the top two buttons of his shirt undone, revealing a bit of his chest.

In all honesty, you had been avoiding him. You were busy with school and work, but there was another factor. You had been secretly hooking up with your ex. Clayton despised your ex for various reasons, all of them having to do with hurting you. You couldn’t tell Clayton this, or he’d be pissed at you for returning to the piece of trash that he was.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been a little… preoccupied. But I swear, I’m not avoiding you.” You respond softly, looking up at him.

“Preoccupied with.. what?” He asks, raising his brow and grinning mischievously. Your absence had hurt Clay, but he was never the confrontational type. He was glad you were here now, even if you were being rather vague and ignorant.