The One With The Breakup

By: Jana

Chapter Two

XXX

--Hysterical was the only word he could use to describe it. He'd never heard his sister sound so distraught. So out of control. Panic choked him, making speech difficult, not that he knew what to say.

"Monica!" Ross shot at her through the phone, "Calm down! Breathe! Or I'm going to have to call you an ambulance!"

"I can't live through this, Ross, I can't!" she wailed, the sounds of her sobbing ripping at his heart.

"I'm on my way, ok? I just have to make a quick stop off at my office and cancel my last class of the day, but, I'm coming to you, ok?"

"Why, Ross? Why? Why now? Why after all these years? I don't understand!"

"I don't know," he told her, pushing through the hallway full of students hastily, "But, we'll figure it out, ok? Where are the twins?"

"After school choir practice," she choked out. "They'll be another hour, at least."

Keying into his office, he snatched up the desk phone and dialed the number he knew by heart. "Monica, I'm calling Rachel right now, ok? Don't hang up! If you do, I'm calling you an ambulance, ok?" When she didn't respond, his heart skipped a beat. "Monica!"

"Ok," she whimpered, and he sighed with relief, putting the other phone to his other ear.

"Rachel Green's office," the cheery voice stated.

"I need to speak with Rachel," Ross announced, adding, "This is Ross, and it's an emergency."

Without another word, the phone clicked, and the ringing began again.

"This is Rachel Green."

"Rachel! It's Ross! How fast can you get out of there?"

Hearing the distress in his voice, Rachel's blood instantly ran cold. "What's wrong? Is it Emma?"

"Emma's fine," Ross answered. "It's Monica. Chandler left her today! She's completely lost it! How fast can you get to her?"

"Twenty minutes, if I leave now and speed."

"Do it!" he told her. "I'm ten minutes behind you!"

He hung up without saying goodbye, then turned his attention back to the cell phone that had Monica on the other end. "Monica? Rachel is on the way, and so am I, ok? I'm heading for my car right now."

"Ok," she squeaked out, falling silent, save her sobs and intense whimpering.

"Talk me through it, Mon," he asked of her, just trying to keep her talking. "What happened? What did he say?"

"He said he's not in love with me anymore. He said he hasn't been for a while. He said he's just going through the motions of life."

Sighing, frustrated, he asked as he keyed into his car and slid into the driver's seat, "Did he say where he was going? Did he take the car?"

"No. He called a cab."

Hearing the distinctive beeping in his ear, he groaned inwardly, telling her apologetically, "I have another call. Don't hang up, ok? I'll get rid of whoever it is and be right back."

"Ok."

Clicking the flash button, he snipped, "Hello?"

"It's me."

"Chandler? What the hell are you doing?!"

"She called you."

"I'm on the other line with her now," he told him, then angrily snapped at him, "What the hell is the matter with you?! Your wife is in hysterics! How could you just up and leave like that?!"

"I didn't call to fight. I just wanted to make sure someone was with her."

Something wasn't right, Ross could hear it in his tone. "I'm on my way to her now, and so is Rachel," he informed, then asked, "You're not doing anything stupid, are you?"

"Besides leaving my wife?"

"I was thinking, something more along the lines of, killing yourself," Ross answered hesitantly.

"No."

"Chandler, where are you?" Silence. "Chandler!"

"I just wanted to make sure someone was with her, ok? I gotta go."

"Chandler, wait!" Click. "Shit!" he cursed, then hit the flash to get Monica back on the line. "Monica? That was Chandler."

"Is he ok? Where is he? What did he say?"

The sound of desperation in her voice made him shudder. "He wanted to make sure someone was on their way to you." He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, then turned the car over, screeched out of the parking spot, and sped towards the street, one-handed.

"Where is he?"

"He wouldn't tell me," he answered, wondering if he should tell her how strange he sounded.

"I hurt, Ross." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I know I can't live through this."

"Stop talking like that, ok? What about the twins? Do you know how devastated they would be if you died?"

"I'm not talking about physically dying, Ross. I'm talking about emotional death. My heart won't be able to recover from this. I love him too much."

"I thought the same thing, when Carol left me. I got through it, and so will you."

"No. I won't."

There was no point in arguing with her, he knew that. "Rachel should be there any minute."

"Ok."

"Mon, when he was leaving, how did he seem?" he asked carefully, not wanting to trigger additional worry in her, or give away where his thoughts were.

"What do you mean?"

"Was he crying? Angry? Sad?"

"Distant. Detached."

"Have you guys been fighting a lot lately?" he asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

"No. He's been distant, mostly, and we've had a few arguments, about finances, but no actual fighting."

Hearing sounds in the distance, through the phone, he asked, "What's going on?"

"Rachel's here."

"Put her on."

"Hey, it's me."

"Rachel," he sighed, relieved that Monica was no longer alone. "She's a mess, isn't she?"

"Yeah. She's pretty much fetal, on the floor by the couch."

"God! Ok, I'm about ten minutes away."

"Good. I called Phoebe and Joey from the road. They're on the way."

"Ok, good. I'm gonna get off of here. I'll see'ya in a few."

"Bye." Rachel clicked off the phone, then knelt next to Monica, whose only acknowledgement was to glance up at her. Putting her hands on her shoulders, she encouraged her to stand, then guided her towards the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea, ok?"

Monica nodded, barely, her sobs starting up again as she moved numbly alongside her friend.

"Tell me what happened," Rachel requested of her. "Start at the beginning."

To be continued

Author's note:

I will share more as the story continues, but I will say this… this story is based off my real life nightmare. In October 2004, my husband told me over the phone, that he was leaving me and wanted a divorce. Like Monica in this story, I completely lost it. I have always been referred to as a strong person, but when he said those words, and destroyed my heart… it's as close to a nervous breakdown as I have ever been.

In one review, it is said that Chandler would never leave Monica. I thought the same thing of my husband. You can't say never, because there's no way of knowing that for absolute. That being said, I would like to think he wouldn't leave her either, or if he did, he'd have a really complex reason as to why.

Some will probably not like this story… that's ok. I'm prepared for that. I'm writing this story for cathartic reasons, mostly, and understand that the sheer emotion of it might not be to some people's liking. But, like all my stories, it's in me, wanting to come out, so, that's what I'm doing. I'm setting the story, and all the emotions tied up with my real life, world-ending trauma, free.

This will be a dialog mostly fic.

Reviews are always appreciated.

MTLBYAKY