"Baby, wake up." Grayson mutters as he nuzzles into my neck.

"No." I groan, covering my face with his blanket.

"Your phone is going off." He says in a sleepy voice.

"What time is it?" I groan. "Can you check?" 

"It's three in the morning. It says...Maybe: Ryan?" He says in a questioning tone.

"What?" I say, leaning up and feeling very awake. 

"Who's Ryan?" He asks, hanging me the phone.

"No one!" I say quickly. "Probably just a wrong number." 

"Okay." He says, kissing my shoulder and laying down once more. "Let's just go back to sleep." He says.

"Cuddle with me." I say, holding my arms out for him.

"With pleasure." He says, pulling my body closer to him. 

Not even two seconds later, my phone begins to ring once more. I groan and Grayson lets out a sigh. I grab my phone and end the call, only for Ryan to call once more.

"I don't think they're going to stop." Grayson says, taking the phone from my hand. "I'll just tell them that they have the wrong number." 

"No, wait." I say, but before I can stop him he answers the call.

"Hello?" He answers.

"Who the fuck is this?" Ryan practically yells into the phone. Grayson pulls the phone away from his ear and gives me a look of confusion. He puts the phone on speaker before answering the question.

"I think I should be the one asking you." Grayson replies.

"Ryan. Now give the phone to Natalia." He spits in reply.

Grayson gives me a look of confusion but doesn't let me reply.

"Who are you?" He asks once more.

"Her boyfriend." He replies. 

At this point, I'm sure Grayson is just as confused as I am. Ryan is drunk, I'm sure. I'm positive of it.

"I find that hard to believe, since you know...I'm her boyfriend." Grayson replies.

"Ryan, you need to stop calling me." I sigh, running a hand over my face.

"Baby girl, please. Just talk to me. I'm sorry, okay. Just talk to me." He pleads.

"You need to stop." Grayson adds, growing more annoyed with every second that passes.

"Fuck off." Ryan replies. 

"You need to leave me alone, Ryan. It's over. We're done." I say.

"Who the fuck is this guy, anyways? Come on, Natalia. Come and see me, please. I need you." 

"Listen, I don't know who you are but you need to stop. She has already told you to stop calling and to leave her alone. She's with me, and you need to respect that." Grayson says with an anger in his voice that I've never heard before.

"Natalia, if you don't come here then I'm going to your apartment. Just meet up with me. Please." He begs, ignoring Grayson completely.

"She's not going anywhere." Grayson spits out.

"Okay, fuck you. You don't know anything about me and Nat. You know nothing. So why don't you do us a favor and fuck off." Ryan yells in reply.

"No, fuck you!" Grayson yells back.

"Grayson." I say, pulling the phone away from him, "Stop." 

"No, this guy needs to stop." He snaps and me, grabbing the phone from my hands.

"Hang up the phone. Right now." I say.

"Don't you dare hang up this fucking phone, Natalia. I swear to God, if you end this call I will show up to wherever the fuck you're at right now." He yells.

"Ryan! Stop!" I yell, too scared to end this call on a bad note. He'll show up. I know he will.

"I've got your location, Natalia. You never stopped sharing it with me. I know exactly where you are." He reminds me.

"Are you threatening her?" Grayson asks before I can reply.

"Did I say I was fucking threatening her?" He spits back. "Natalia, make this easier for all of us and just meet up with me." 

"She's not going anywhere. If you want to get to her, you have to get to me first." Grayson replies before hanging up the phone.

"Grayson! Why did you do that?" I yell at him, reaching for my phone.

"I ended the call."  He replies. I hear the phone begin to ring but he keeps it away from my reach.

"Grayson! Give me the phone." I say in frustration.

"No, Natalia. I'm turning it off." He replies as he turns my phone off.

"Grayson, please." I beg.

"Why are you so desperate to talk to him?" He asks in an accusatory tone.

"I'm not desperate to talk to him!" I say instantly feeling defensive.

"Really? You're not? Because your words and your actions are saying something completely different." He accuses.

"I just...I don't..." I begin before I feel the tears burning my eyes.

"Answer me. Is there something going on that I need to know about?" He snaps. He's mad. God, of course he's mad.

"No! Nothing is going on." I reply immediately. 

"Okay, then why did he say that he was your boyfriend? I was under the impression that you were my girlfriend and no one else's. Am I sharing my girlfriend with another guy?" He says, anger still laced in his voice.

"No, no, no." I say, covering my face with my hands. This can't be happening. This can't be happening to me.

"No what, Natalia?" Grayson yells in frustration.

"I'm sorry." I cry in defeat. "Ryan is my ex boyfriend. He's been trying to get me to see him for days now. I thought I finally got rid of him but he just keeps coming back and threatening to go to my apartment if I don't talk to him. We've been broken up for a long time but he won't stop calling me. I thought he stopped after I didn't hear anything for a full day. He's drunk right now and I know that's why he's calling. I'm sorry, okay? I'm scared. I don't want to see him and I don't want to talk to him, but if I don't then he's not going to stop." I say in a pleading tone.

"Nat, why haven't you told me about this?" Grayson sighs in reply.

"Because of this! You're annoyed and you're mad at me. This isn't your problem. This shouldn't be something that you need to solve for me. I got myself into this mess. I'm not going to drag everyone else down with me." 

"Baby, you're not dragging me down with you. I'm your boyfriend. Got that? Me. I'm your boyfriend. Not him. He lost that opportunity and now it's my job to take care of you. Let me take care of you, okay? Don't be scared to ask for help." He tells me.

"But you're mad at me and it's because of him! It's because of me, too. This shouldn't be your problem." I sigh.

"I'm not mad at you, Nat. I'm just...frustrated. Not with you, but with this situation. I don't like the way he was talking to you. I don't like that he was threatening you. I just didn't like it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you." He sighs.

"It's okay." I mutter in response.

"Natalia, I need for you to be honest with me. Has this guy like...hurt you?" He asks. 

"What?" I ask, shock covering my face, I'm sure.

"Has he hurt you? Has he ever laid a hand on you?" He asks.

"No." I lie. "No, he hasn't." 

"He hasn't..." He says, not sounding convinced.

"No. He's mean, but he hasn't hurt me." I lie. I can't tell Grayson the truth. I can't. I know it's bad for me to be lying to him, but I can't bring myself to tell him the truth.

"I don't want you talking to him anymore, Natalia. Promise me that you won't talk to him anymore." He practically begs.

"I promise." I say with a nod. Deep down, I know this is probably a lie too.

"Okay. Now...let's just get some sleep, okay? We'll figure it all out in the morning." He sighs.

"Okay." I nod.

"Goodnight, Natalia. Don't let any of this change anything between us, okay?" He says.

"Okay." I nod once more. "Goodnight, Grayson. Thank you." I say, kissing his cheek gently.

He tucks the covers around me as I curl into his side. Despite the comfort I feel while in his arms, I can't find myself to let my guard down knowing that somewhere right now, Ryan is waiting for me to turn my phone on so he can come and find me.

-

Author's Note!!!

Okay, we've got trouble in paradise from ALL ANGLES!! It's about to get REAL,