Hello! Here another story on Rent.

Since in one of them i mentioned Mimi leaving Roger, i decided to write a fanfic explaining why, so it's takes place before "a Story About Love"

I know most of you dislike my stories, but i honestly don't care, so, for those who like it, i say i do very much appreciated your time to read my work, you make this site brighter.

thank you and nice reading.

PART ONE

Mimi looked at herself in the mirror and she didn't like what she saw. She was getting thinner in a way she was not happy about. She felt tired as she took in a deep breath and lifted her shirt to take a shower, as she felt like she was about to cry. On her torso were small purple bruises that were spread out over her upper torso. She knew they were not from being hit but from what she was dying to.

She turned away from the mirror not wanting to see any more of her once beautiful body and stepped into the shower. She turned on the water and quickly washed herself. She carefully left the shower and dried herself. Not wanting to look at herself in her mirror again she left the bathroom and got dressed. She quickly walked into the kitchen to make lunch for her boyfriend Roger. She heard someone walking into the room and she smiled as she heard a familiar voice.

"I smell something good." Roger said in Mimi's ear. "What are you making?"

"I'm cooking you some soup for lunch." She said kissing Roger's cheek before going back to the soup. "So how did the meeting with Joanne go?"

"It well." Roger said moving over to a stool and sat down.

"Speaking of things going well, I have some good news to tell you."

"Oh tell me please?" Mimi said carefully pouring some soup in a bowl and sat it in front of Roger.

"Well, to begin with Joanne managed to convince my family that with me being HIV positive, Diabetic and blind that me being forced to be them would be more of a burden then a good idea."

"But you're not a burden." Mimi said grabbing the crackers for the soup and setting some next to Roger's bowl.

"Well, they weren't very eager in taking me after that." Roger smiled reaching out and grabbing Mimi around the waist to pull her into a hug. "So it worked out there." He laid his head on her shoulder and smiled as he took in her scent of roses that was her bath soap. "Also I have found a job!" Mimi gently pushed him away and smiled big.

"What? Where did you get the job?" Mimi asked unsure of how many jobs will except a blind diabetic HIV man to work for them.

"You know that Instrument shop just a few blocks away?" Mimi nodded but giggled before saying she did. "Well, they needed someone to tune some of their instruments. Tom took me there when he saw the help wanted sign. I explained my experience and they didn't seem to care that I was blind."

"Baby that is awesome news!" Mimi exclaimed throwing her arms around Roger's neck. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Meems." Roger said kissing her gently on the forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you. But I'm glad you're here. I love you very much."

"I love you too, Rog." Mimi said kissing him passionately on the lips. She truely did love him, but seeing those bruises on her body and the fact she was loosing more and more weight she feared of what Roger would think if she left.

A few days passed and Mimi was thanking God that Roger was blind. The amount of bruises over her body steadily grew more. However there were things she wished she could hide from him. That bothered her greatly.

It was during one night where they were snuggling close together that Roger, gently moving his hands down her side noticed the difference.

She was more thin then usual and he looked worried much to Mimi's fears. "Baby, is everything okay with you?" He asked as he once again felt the thinning of her body beneath his fingers.

"It's a new work out I'm doing." Mimi said quickly trying to think of the last excuse she could think of. "Don't worry, I'm not liking this either..." She stopped and quickly left the bed. Roger knew she had rushed to the bathroom as he could hear her loud coughs echoing against the walls. He slowly climbed into the sitting position but Mimi returned a few minutes later and climbed into bed and moved closer towards Roger.

"Are you alright, Meems?" Roger asked and Mimi nodded her head against his chest.

"Just coming down with a cold." Mimi said and yawned dropping the subject. Roger fell into an uneasy sleep as he wrapped his arms around Mimi's thinning frame.

Later that night he awoke once again with more loud coughing coming from the bathroom. He leaped off the bed falling to the floor and scrambling to find his walking cane.

"Mimi? Mimi is everything alright?" He abandoned his search and walked carefully, however quickly to the bathroom to hear the coughing getting more and more intense. "Mimi?" He gently called once there was a break in the coughing. "Mimi are you alright baby?"

"Roger?" Mimi called her voice was full of alarm. "Are you alright?" Roger heard Mimi running towards him trying to block as much of the coughing as she did. Roger felt her grab his hand and finally felt something wet and sticky slowly sliding down his hand.

"Mimi I should ask if you're alright?" Roger said taking his hand away from Mimi's. He sniffed softly trying to find Mimi's rose petal soup scent before staring directly at her. "You woke me up coughing again. What's going on?"

"Like I said it's just a cold." Mimi said before coughing another couple of minutes not nearly as bad as before though. "A really bad one." She sniffed several times trying to convince Roger that she was indeed sick with a cold but she could see the frown of being unconvinced on his face.

"Are you sure about that?" Roger asked his voice soft but demanding the truth. Mimi hated lying to him. But she knew she couldn't tell him the truth about anything.

"Yes, my love. Now let's go back to sleep." As Roger turned to walk away he felt his hurt hand being gently taken and he could feel a band-aid being placed on the cut he somehow gotten. "That's better." Mimi said her voice sounding happy.

As Roger lay in his bed listing to Mimi's soft coughs beside him he had to wonder if she was indeed telling the truth. He moved his head in her direction but closed his eyes instead falling into a dreamless sleep.

While she was glad her lover couldn't see her, Mimi had still eighth pair of eyes, to watch over her and noticing how much she had changed. Everyday she fought to male up a lie not only to Roger, but to Mark, Tom, Joanne and Maureen as well.

"Meems are you alright?" Tom had asked as Mimi and him walked to the kitchen of the loft.

"Yep." Mimi said with a smile. But Tom could see that the smile never reached her eyes. He knew she was hiding something by the way she quickly answered and seemed to dodge other questions about her appearance.

"Then how come you're wearing a lot of makeup?" He asked and saw something flash in her eyes. He remembered when she was working at the Cat Scratch she wore a lot of makeup to draw in crowds but when she changed her job and started working as a housekeeper she didn't need to wear that much.

"Roger likes it when I wear makeup." Mimi said too quickly to have thought it through.

Tom gently grabbed Mimi's shoulders and held her directly in front of her. His face had the signs of concern for his friend. "Mimi, Roger can't see anymore. I'm not trying to be unfair to him but you have to tell him. I've seen your bruises on your arms Meems. I'm not blind like Roger. Tell me the truth, are you doing okay?"

"I said I'm fine Tom!" Mimi said getting out of Tom's grip. "I'm just fine. Now let's drop the subject please!" Tom watched as Mimi spun around on her heel and headed towards the door.

He knew she wasn't fine. He knew she was hiding something and he was more worried about what his friend Roger would say if he found out the truth.
_/_
Mimi shivered as she left her doctor's appointment a week later. Even though it was the middle of Summer, Mimi felt cold.
She was scared what the future now held for her. She walked into an alley way and lit a cigarette. She thought of the last time she "died". The last time she felt like giving up on love her late friend Angel gave her life again by telling her to listen to one of Roger's songs. However no matter how many of Roger's songs she head she knew it wouldn't happen again. She began to cry hard when she thought of what she needed to do.

She didn't want Roger to have to deal with her dying on him like their friend Angel. She knew she had to leave him to save him from the pain. She knew she had to act fast before it was too late to leave.

It was a fun night in the loft a few days later where Mimi felt herself surrounded by all of their friends. They had gathered to watch Mark's new film and not wanting to exclude Roger from the merriment, Mimi had spent describing every scene to him. The full night was full of laughter and happiness. But Mimi wasn't feeling that. She felt scared and miserable.

"Are you taking your AZT?" Tom asked her the next morning when he came by to see her. Roger had gone to work, with Tom's help and Tom came back to check on Mimi.

"Yes I am. Why do you ask?" Mimi questioned as she worked on fixing some sandwiches for them, even though she wasn't feeling like eating.

"Mimi I'm worried about you." Tom said as Mimi set the food in front of him. "I'm scared that we're going to loose you like we lost Angel. None of us deserve that. Roger doesn't deserve that."

Mimi continued to stand next to the table contemplating on sitting down but Tom quickly stood and pulled her into a hug. He was careful not to crush her for he could sense how brittle her bones were. Mimi gently placed her head on Tom's chest and felt her heart breaking into a million pieces. But she didn't cry. She had no strength to cry.

"Don't worry Tom." Mimi said her voice barely a whisper. "I'll make sure none of you have to witness this." Mimi was let go before heading into her bedroom without a word.

That night, Mimi spent most of it watching Roger sleep. She gently traced every line in Roger's face with her finger memorizing everything. She knew that what she had to do would be hard on him and her. She wanted to remember Roger every day she had left. She wanted to have his face in her thoughts as she went away. That way she wouldn't be alone without a friendly face.

"Mimi?" Roger whispered confused with Mimi being so close to him. "Is it morning?" He asked looking back and forth.

"No, it's still night, my love." Mimi answered her heart feeling like it weighed like a hundred pounds. "I just couldn't sleep. At least not at first. Go back to sleep." Roger was confused as he laid back down but felt more relieved as he felt Mimi's head on his shoulder.

The next afternoon, Mimi was ready to leave when she heard the cheap cellophane that made her turn around. She was surprised to see Roger tapping his way towards the kitchen where she was.

"Roger..." Mimi squeaked as Roger held out the roses for her to take. Mimi gently took them from him and felt pain in her chest. She was beginning to rethink her decision on leaving him. "What are these for?"

"Tom told me you were feeling down so I had asked Maureen to help me buy you some flowers. Roses were suggested. I hope you like this." He waited for a kiss of thanks but all her heard was Mimi's loud sobs. "Mimi, did I do something wrong?"

"No..." Mimi said giving Roger a wet kiss on the lips. "No. They're beautiful. Thank you." Her fray thin arms wrapped around Roger holding him close feeling his heart pounding in his chest and in turn breaking hers.

It was dawn, after a long sleepless night, that Mimi decided she needed to leave after all. She quietly packed all of her belongings, which wasn't much.

She held a small piece of paper, write a note and attach it on his guitar, thank she walk slowly and quietly towards the bedroom door but stopped for just a minute to look back at Roger who turned on his left side. She had to leave right then before she changed her mind and put Roger in the world of pain.