Why?! She thought in a panic. Why is he here?! Tonight, of all nights. “N—no. You don’t get to come here and ask me questions.” She said through gritted teeth as tears began to form around the corners of her eyes.

She’s still mad?  He changed his approach. He spoke softly as he feigned regret. “Babe, I didn’t come here to fight.”

Monroe looked away, clenching her fists as she spoke “Then why are you here?” she asked through tears.

At that Dave took hold of her body, pinning her against him. She felt startled at the unwelcomed embrace. “I'm here because I miss you!” he shouted. Monroe’s expression fell, anger taking over her eyes. “I'm here because I love you and leaving you was a mistake.”

For a second Monroe imagined returning Dave's embrace. But she found a pit at the bottom of her stomach as she did. Darcy. I-I don’t want this anymore.  With that she twisted against his body, brusquely shoving him away from her. “NO!” She managed to scream. “You left! You called me poison! I told you to never show your face on my doorstep ever again! GET OUT! OUT!” she howled.

Dave was taken aback by Monroe’s outburst. That’s not how this was supposed to go. “I will make it up to you, I swear I'm not going to lose you!” he said with a harsh edge to his voice.

Black streaks covered Monroe's cheeks, her makeup a mess. “GET OUT!” She yelled out once more.

“Okay, okay! I'll be back though; this isn’t the end.” He warned her as he shut the door behind him. Monroe felt her knees wobble slightly as she collapsed on her carpet.

She let out a sob as she crawled to her coffee table. She reached for the whiskey and took a long gulp, only stopping to breathe as pained cries escaped her lips.

After 45 minutes of sobbing and an entire bottle of Jim Beam, she laid down on her carpet, curling her half-naked body against an empty bottle of whiskey. Her vision was shaky as her eyelids drooped, and after a few moments she passed out, quietly succumbing to the bottle once more.

***

               Monroe felt light upon her face as she turned around on her carpet. She twisted her body, as she opened her eyes. She was sweating profusely, feeling queasy as she lifted herself up. She looked around her apartment, there was a deafening silence. She looked at her alarm clock. 10:50 am. She was almost 3 hours late for work.

She draped her body on her couch as she lit a cigarette. “I think I'll stay home today.” She said somberly to herself.

Her day flew by as six o’ clock approached. She stared at her TV, watching the show she had chosen unfold before her as she chain-smoked. Her phone rang loudly, she looked at the caller ID. It was Mike. She deliberated if she wanted to answer, ultimately deciding she would.

“Hello.” She said with no emotion behind her voice.

Mike took notice of her tone. “Hey, you didn’t call me today.”

Monroe grasped her phone tightly as she spoke. “I didn’t feel like talking today. I stayed home and watched TV.”

Mike was worried now. “Wait, you didn’t go to work today?” he paused. “Did…something happen with the brit?”

Monroe looked away, reminiscing about the amazing night she had with Darcy. “No, I had a wonderful night with him. He was warm, he made me feel special. I started feeling things I've never felt before, even though we were just pretending. I felt safe in his arms. It was…peaceful.” She felt a smile tugging at her lips despite her mood.

Mike smiled at that. “That sounds nauseatingly sweet, so what’s the problem?” Monroe felt the threat of tears sting her eyes. “He came back.”

Mike felt bile rise to the back of his throat. “Who came back?” He asked already knowing the answer.

Monroe closed her eyes as she spoke, her voice sour. “Dave.”

Mike felt fury rise inside him. Was he there with her? Had she taken him back? She had been so close to moving on. “What?! Is he there right now?!”

Monroe grimaced. “No, no he’s not here. I told him to leave.” She explained.

Mike’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead in surprise. “Wow, that’s…unexpected actually. I don’t think you've ever not taken him back.”

Monroe thought about it for a second. He was right. Every time Dave left her, she welcomed him back with open arms when he returned. God I'm pathetic. But this time had been different. This time she told him to get out.

“I was so angry, all I could do was tell him to leave. But a part of me wanted him to stay.” She admitted to Mike. Mike sighed. He supposed it was going to take time to deprogram Monroe completely. “But what about getting better and moving on? What about Darcy?” He questioned.

Darcy. She liked him so much and was so happy that they had a date soon. I don’t want to give him up. Not when we're barely discovering each other. “Darcy? I don’t know…I mean we have a date soon.”

No, she would not return to Dave. He had left her, and it was finally over. She wanted to go out with Darcy. She wanted to experience new things, not just the same dull pain she had been living with since she was seventeen. “Look, I'm not getting back with Dave. I can’t keep living like that. I don’t want to feel empty anymore.”

Mike blinked back tears as he contained his pride. “I'm so proud of you, I know this isn’t easy, but I'm here for you.” He said, encouraging her to continue on the path she had chosen. “Speaking of getting better, how have your new meds been treating you?”

Monroe’s eyebrows shot up in surprise for a second. “Oh right! Actually, I haven’t even picked them up. I kinda forgot.”

Mike rolled his eyes as he shouted at his phone. “Pick them up!”

Monroe was taken aback for a second as she distanced herself from the phone. “Okay, okay.”

***

               Darcy sat at the table in the middle of the kitchen as he took a sip from his orange juice, face grim.

Val stared at him from the couch as she adjusted her head wrap. “Why are you sulking?”

“I'm not.” He said defensively. In truth he was sulking. Monroe hadn’t showed up to work today and she hadn’t texted all day long either. He felt anxiety rolling in his stomach. Was she okay?

“So…big brother finally got himself a girlfriend.” Val said mockingly. “I hear she’s on the younger side, you dirty old man.” She said with an air of judgment.  

“How do you know about her?” Darcy questioned, his lips stretched into a thin line.

She looked at him coldly as she spoke. “I spoke to Darla last night. She told me all about the little stunt you pulled at the gala.”

Darcy’s face twisted into a scowl. “I don’t appreciate that you gossip about me with the woman who’s trying to ruin my life.”

Val stared at him harshly. He’s such an idiot sometimes. “What about you, eh? Parading around with that woman to make Darla jealous. It's very unlike you, brother.”

Darcy sat back in his chair. Okay, so Monroe had gone with him to anger Darla. But now he knew it was more than that. They had a real connection. “I'll be the first to admit that Monroe came with me to anger Darla but…” he tried to find the courage to continue. “But I genuinely enjoy her company…I like her…very much actually.” He said heat creeping into his cheeks right below where his glasses sat.

Val eyed him suspiciously. “So, you're admitting that it was a fake date…but you do actually like her?”

He cleared his throat as he spoke. “Yes, that’s correct.”

At that Valerie squinted her eyes, judgement visible on her face. She left her spot on the couch and approached Darcy as he abandoned his seat, walking towards the sink. “How old is she, Darcy?” She asked. Shit. He knew Val would never approve. She always worried about what people thought, she was just like their parents in that regard.

“Um…she's twenty-six.” He said cautiously.

Val’s expression was even when she spoke. “She's twenty-six?” Valerie swung her hand back and slapped Darcy on the chest as she began shouting. “You are fifty-one years old! You nearly double her age! You old man!” She slapped him again.

Darcy grabbed her arms gently, remembering she was weak from cancer. “Oh, please stop it. And I am not an old man!” He said as he stepped away from her.

She eyed him severely. “Is this some sort of midlife crisis?”

Midlife crisis? The insinuation insulted him. “No.”

Val's tone took a serious turn. “Look, one-night stands with twenty-six-year-olds are fine.” She said to him, her expression was terse.  “But dating a twenty-six-year-old? That’s messy! Can you imagine what people would say? It's wrong.”

Darcy huffed. He didn’t care what people thought. Monroe was a grown adult. If it didn’t bother her and it didn’t bother him, then why hold back? “Why is it wrong? We're both adults.”

“When she’s sixty-five you'll be ninety.” She stated matter-of-factly.

Darcy swallowed at that. He brought his hands to rest atop his head, rubbing circles in an exasperated manner. “Look, we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Who says she’d even be with me then?” he said dejected.

Monroe is in her prime. He supposed she might grow tired of him the older he got. He shook those thoughts from his head as he frowned. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

“Oh, please DeeDee, you know as well as I that you don’t date casually. You never have. The only person I know of that you dated, you ended up marrying. And look at how that went! If you're going to date her then you've already thought of the future.” She accused.

She was right of course, Darcy dated very sparingly throughout his life, closing himself off from serious relationships at a young age after a couple relationships that ended badly.

His inability to feel love hurt every serious partner he ever had. He thought of Monroe, he felt different with her. A feeling unlike anything that he had known before. It was the reason he felt brave enough to pursue her. Something deep inside him told him that he would regret it if he let her get away.

He shook his head. “Look, I've only known her for a few months, but I'd like to get to know her better. I just have to.”

“You’re not even divorced yet, DeeDee. Darla won’t sign until you grant her alimony and after what you did last night, she'll probably want your head too.” She said sarcastically.

Darcy glared at her. He hated that Darla and Val had formed such a bond. Darcy still remembered the night he arrived at Val’s apartment, announcing that his marriage was over. You can’t stay here. She had said. Not after what you've done to Darla. You selfish, selfish man. She had taken Darla's side in the divorce.

Though Darcy wasn’t exactly shocked. His family had never been particularly supportive of him. “You're still pretty chummy with her.” He commented.

Val rolled her eyes. “Don’t try to change the subject!”

Darcy smiled at her pleasantly. He wasn’t going to let anybody get in his way. “Look, I asked her out yesterday and she said yes. I'm sorry if you and Darla don’t like it but I'm taking that lovely woman on a date. Now let me take you home.” He finished.

Val crossed her arms as her expression turned sour. “Ugh fine whatever.” She harrumphed.