"South .."

He hated it when she screamed. He hated it when she screamed at him, but he knew this time, more than any before it, he deserved it. He'd made a really stupid mistake, both with her and Carolina, and now he had two very upset women to deal with.

He wasn't sure he'd ever made such a mess of something before in his life. If she wanted to hit him, if it would make her feel better - he would let her. Because at this point, he wasn't sure what he was going to be able to do to rectify the situation, and all he wanted was for her to stop being so angry with him.

"I wasn't sure what you would think." It was the first thing he could think to say, and even as he said it, somehow, it sounded .. wrong. "I'm - I'm not sure what I thought you would think, other than you would tell me how stupid I was being to get involved with someone we worked so closely with." He paused, and though his heart felt like it was about to beat right out of his chest, he reached for her - just to brush the tips of his fingers against her shoulder, something he'd done since they were children.

"I was afraid you would think you weren't important anymore."