Chapter 1 – Willingly Taking the Offer
"You're a fuckin' whore." The way he said it, so quietly put chills in her heart. She could handle his fury, his raging, his violent mood swings, because she knew that it was just his way of expressing things. But the way he said it quietly, his eyes narrowed, no raging whatsoever, made her afraid, very afraid. It also made her speak the truth.
"We needed rent." He just looked at her, nodded before standing.
"Mimi, pack your belongings. I want you out of here by the end of the week." And Roger walked out of the loft, leaving Mimi alone, broken and slumped on the couch.
She knew it was her fault. How could it not be? She willingly took the offer of the man at the club, and took his money. Roger had worked so hard to quell his jealousy, but he came home early; she was caught red handed. She found it so creepy, the way he just calmly took the man by the elbow and led him to the door. The way he calmly gathered the clothes strewn apart and put them in a plastic bag and gave them to the man, who was standing in the hallway. The way he calmly entered the room as she was getting re-dressed and said the words: "you're a fuckin' whore". The way he walked out with out looking back.
At this point she was so heart broken, she didn't even bother thinking, she just gathered up her things and put them in plastic bags and spare boxes. She was running on auto-pilot. She couldn't even weep because she knew that when she did, that was it. It was over.
She packed all her meager belongings, taking only what she had entered the loft with. Anything that had belonged to both of them, she left. Once she was done packing, she waited. And waited.
Roger never came home that night, nor, curiously enough did Mark.
Roger didn't come home the next night.
Roger didn't come home at all.
At the end of the week, Mimi left. She had waited for Roger, but he never came home. She wasn't even given the chance to beg forgiveness. She knew on the third night that he didn't come home that it was truly over. And that Mark didn't come home either spoke volumes. That she was cast out. There would be no pity anywhere.
Where to go now? she though furiously. Maureen. That was it. She knew it, Maureen would take her in, help her out. Joanne wouldn't mind.
She hoped.
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She hated doing it, but she had to splurge on a cab in order to transport all her stuff. When she reached Maureen and Joanne's building she pressed the call button and hoped that someone was home. The cab driver had piled all her stuff next to the stoop, and she couldn't abandon it. It wasn't' much, but it was all she had. She waited, and finally Maureen spoke through the intercom, "Who?"
Mimi said her name and heard the buzz meaning the door was open, and propped it open with her shoe. Slowly she moved all her belongings into the lobby of the building before grabbing the suitcase with her clothes and taking the elevator up to Maureen's floor. When she got there she found the door open and walked in.
Maureen was lying on the couch, a crumpled disheveled heap. She was crying her eyes out. Mimi, who hadn't cried over her and Roger's break up felt herself starting to crack. She knew she had to cry at some point, but she figured that the longer she kept back the tears the less final it was. But she knew she was about to break down. She went to Maureen and hugged the actress and started crying.
They didn't say anything for a long time, not even when they had stopped crying. Maureen finally looked up with completely lucid eyes and saw Mimi's suitcase, she stood and took Mimi's wrist and led her back down to the lobby where they started gathering Mimi's belongings.
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A/n: Ah yes, another Rentfic. Some of you may be reading my other one, Mending Fabric Rent By Death, and have figured out my love for non-traditional slash. The reason for this? I get bored. I mean how many different ways is there to get Mark and Roger in bed together? It's always entertaining, but it gets tedious. So as such I go non-traditional.
This one, if I can keep it up, is going to be very interesting, that I promise. Occasionally I'll throw in a traditional slash couple when its appropriate, but my main focus is going to be on non-traditional.
Read and review, it keeps me motivated and lets me know that I'm not the only one reading this crap. Oh, and if anyone wants to beta this story, let me know.