As soon as the phone rang Brianne Grimes – soon to be Walsh- knew exactly who it was. And when Shane slid out of bed and walked into the living room of his little house, sliding the pocket doors that lead into their bedroom shut behind him, she knew somehow… Lori Grimes was always going to come before her. Her brother's wife was always going to be higher on the priority list of Shane Walsh than his own damn fiancee.

"I cannot live like this anymore." she mumbled to herself as she rolled over so he wouldn't know she'd been awake, she'd heard him answer the phone and leave her lying in bed just to go talk Lori through whatever crisis she thought she needed his help right that second with. She didn't want to fight with him.

She was done fighting.

Apparently, she was the only one who thought that what they could have if he'd stop chasing around her brother Rick's wife was worth fighting for. If he wasn't going to fight for them then Brianne wasn't going to anymore, either.

By the time he'd slid back into bed and his alarm went off again, she'd made up her mind… She was leaving him today.

She was getting out of this situation now before she totally lost the will to do it or she convinced herself a fourth time that he'd change.

He wasn't going to change, not now, not ever.

Brianne acted normally, as if nothing at all were wrong until Shane left for work. She didn't want him getting a heads up. She wanted to hurt him like the way he put Lori before anyone else had been killing her silently for a while now.

Once Shane was gone to the station, Brianne began to pack. Her sister in law called at least 9 times. Brianne didn't answer. She had nothing to say to Lori that Lori wanted to hear her say and Brianne was going to have class about the situation as it stood.

She wasn't going to be catty or bitter; she wasn't going to blame Lori for something Shane probably initiated on his own but Lori stupidly went along with because she was a weak woman.

Shane had always had this one tracked mind where Lori was concerned. Brianne knew the man she loved with all her heart to know that. Loving him was becoming too toxic for her though.

She'd just finished packing her things when she came across the red silk nightie that Shane bought for her. She grumbled and left it draped across the foot post of the wrought iron bed frame.

She didn't think that leaving him was going to hurt like hell but then as she stood there looking around, realizing just how final this was, how she was really doing this, how this part of her life was over… The tears came fast and uncontrollably.

She took that red lipstick he loved so much and she scrawled the word Goodbye on the bedroom mirror. The sun reflected off of the 22 necklace she hadn't taken off since the night he'd given it to her almost 3 years ago. She sighed and quietly, she slipped it off, put it on top of the dresser.

After one last look behind her, she stepped out of the little house he was living in and she locked the door behind her. She got into her Eclipse and she drove away. Her sister in law Lori called her just as she turned on the radio and heard the emergency broadcast alert.

Brianne ignored the call and turned the radio up, her jaw dropping as the radio deejay told listeners how to proceed, where to go and what was going to happen. In less than 8 hours, they were going to evacuate Georgia. Anyone who remained behind was going to die.

Her grip tightened on the wheel.

Shane got home from work early, he'd left so that he could get Brianne and they could get the hell out of town. He stepped into the little house he'd been renting. Normally, there would be the tantalizing smell of something cooking, the radio would be on a local pop station she liked that he hated and she'd be greeting him at the door with a kiss and a beer.

That day all that greeted him was an unnatural silence. "Brie?"

He walked through the house, looking in every room. He'd told himself that maybe she'd just gone to her apartment to pack more things she'd need when they all had to evacuate, but when he opened the bedroom door, the first thing he saw was the word Goodbye. It was scrawled on the bedroom mirror in that bright red lipstick that he loved on her.

It hit him like a ton of bricks. But when it really started to sink in was when he found the 22 necklace and the lingerie he bought for her. They'd broken up before but every single time before, she hadn't given the 22 necklace and the things he'd bought her back. He'd had something to hope for those times.

This time, from the looks of it, he didn't.

He picked up his cell phone and dialed her number.

The call failed.

His stomach sank.

She was out there somewhere, all alone, and now, it was hitting him… he loved her. He needed her. He'd really made a fucking mess of everything.

He tried to call her again, this time, the call went through but he got voicemail.

"C'mon, Brie, pick up yer god damn phone, baby." he mumbled over and over to himself as he went around, packing the things he was going to need into bags.

Maybe she was at her apartment.

He jumped into his Bronco and took off for the side of town Brianne lived in and when he got there, her car wasn't parked in the parking lot of the apartment complex. He called Lori, hoping that maybe she'd talked to him.

"Lori, have you talked ta Brie today? We gotta leave… I can't find 'er."

"I've been trying to call her all day, Shane… Did you guys fight again?"

"No, hell, I thought everythang was fine." Shane said as he began to realize that the world was about to end possibly, they weren't together and he had no idea where she might be. Then it hit him… She'd been distancing from him a little more at a time lately.

He'd been getting closer to Lori, Rick's wife… he'd been trying to help the woman get on her feet again… But then he thought back over everything and it hit him… Whenever Lori needed him, he'd drop any and everything to rush to her.

He'd never done that for Brianne, he'd never once stopped to consider what he was doing to their relationship as a result.

Now, he didn't have to make any decisions, Brianne was obviously done fighting for what they had.

Shane was just now realizing what they had and what he was losing.

His stomach churned bitterly and he told Lori quietly, "I'm on my way to ya. Have Carl ready when I get there.. We gotta go."

"Brianne.. Did you find her?"

"I'm gonna keep lookin. Just be ready to go when I get there."

"I'll try to call her again, Shane."

"I'm gonna try again too."

He dialed Brianne's number again.

Brianne stared at the cell phone in her console. She almost didn't answer, but she knew he'd worry and she didn't want that.

"What do you want, Shane?"

"Baby, where the hell are you?"

"Getting onto the interstate. I'm leaving town, the evacuation, remember?"

"Come back. Go with me."

"Why don't you take the one you really love with you, Shane? Let's be honest for once… I'm an expendable. I'm a toy for you. Whenever Lori snubs you, Shane, you turn to me. See, I thought you'd change. I told myself you loved me, you were just helping her. But I'm done being stupid, Shane. Just go, okay? I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself."

Before he could try to convince her to come to him, to leave town with him and Lori and Carl, he got a dialtone.

She'd hung up on him. Punching the wheel, he started the drive to Lori Grimes house. His stomach sank and churned when he realized that Brianne's car wasn't sitting in the driveway at Lori's house either.

He couldn't just leave her, damn it… But he had to get Carl and Lori to safety.