"Hi penny" she noticed how quiet she was as she put her stuff in her locker.

"Oh hey, Bernadette."

"I heard you were sick last week. Is everything okay." concerned for her friend. Penny burst into tears. "Are you all right? As she hugged her and let her cry on her shoulder. After a few minutes, she handed her some tissues.

"I'm sorry I not usually like this I'm just going through a lot at the moment." blowing her nose.

"It's okay. Want to talks about it. She rubs her shoulder. "It might help," she said sincerely.

"My jerk of a boyfriend has been cheating on me, I mean I knew he was because friends told me but I just didn't want to believe them."

"Oh Penny, I'm so sorry."

"I came home early last week because I wasn't feeling great and caught him in bed, our bed with another woman." She cried.

"What did you do?"

"Well I lost it and attacked the girl, but Kurt stopped me. I just want to kill her. How could he do this to me? We've been together for four years."

"Penny a man like that does not deserve you or your love. I hope you dumped his ass."

"I did, but I still love him. She began to weep again. "I moved out. I had to take time off to find a new apartment."

"Good for you. You might think you love him but time is a great healer of pain, and someday you will realise that he never deserved your love."

"I hope you are right. The worst thing is that it doesn't really bother me that we are not together anymore. Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's not, it just goes to show that you might not have loved him as much as you, thought."

"I guess it bothered me more that he cheated on me than anything else."

"Sometimes we stay with partners because we think it's the best we can do and ignore all the pain they inflict on us. love is not a reason to remain in a relationship without trust, and the mental abuse and infidelity."

"A few years ago I would have forgiven him, but not anymore he has given me the strength to leave and change my life for the better."

"You made the right decision Penny. You are stronger than you thought."

"Thanks, Bernadette. I feel much better talking to you."

"Anytime, so how is the new apartment?"

"It's not too bad. I stayed with my friend Chloe for a few days until I found an apartment. It's cheap and affordable. It has a living room and kitchen area and a large bedroom I guess it's home now."

"Glad that you are moving on, it's for the best. You see. Come on we better go before we get into trouble for being late again." They walked out the locker room, not knowing what the evening will bring.

"So Penny did your fancy man show up? They sat outside a coffee shop during their break.

"No. Maybe he came earlier, and I missed him," she said disappointedly. She was hoping he show up to cheers her up. When they met two weeks ago, it was the best time she had had in a long time. He listened to everything she said and showed interest in her and not her body.

"Maybe he had to work late," said Bernadette

"yeah," Penny said sadly.

"Hey don't look so down. It will be alright. There is a reason for everything, and I'm sure you don't want him to see you looking so sad."

"I'm not looking my best so maybe it is a good thing, apparently, he was here last week when I was off sick. Oh well."

"Don't worry too much about it. You will see him again."

"Our paths will cross again. I just have this gut feeling. It was easy talking to him, and I hope we can be friends." She missed him and didn't know why, just thinking about him gave her butterflies in her stomach.

"Yeah, you don't really want to rush into another relationship right now."

"Who said anything about a relationship." she smiled at Bernadette as they both giggled and drank their coffee.


Leonard was in bed he had trouble sleeping. He had been suffering from insomnia for the last few months but just put it down to his worry about his experiment and the publishing of his paper. It had been a fortnight since his encounter with Penny and Leonard was in the same mind that she just used him to win a bet. It saddens him because he really thought they had a connection. He vowed never to go back to the cheesecake factory he didn't go last week so why should this Tuesday be any different. He thought about the girl at work that had been chasing him for a while. He didn't even realise she was hitting on to him because he was so obsessed with Penny and his paper. It took Raj and Howard to point it out to him, and he still didn't believe them until one day at the canteen she sat next to him and started rubbing her knees against his. She was stunning in fact, she was one of the most beautiful scientists at Caltech, and all the guys were in love with her. Not a day goes by without someone asking her out. He liked her too but always thought she was way out of his league. Even Howard tried his luck but got nowhere so why should he have any chance he thought back then. Now he knew she liked him; he was going to ask her out. What had he got to lose? But at the back of his mind, he wished it was Penny. What was it about this penny that captured his imagination like no girl ever had? He thought of them together married with kids and living in a beautiful part of California. What the hell. Where did that come from? Why did he reflect on all the things he didn't want? Marriage and kids. He has never had the thought with any of his previous girlfriends, and that was the reason he broke up with Kelly. Leonard was losing his mind. He tried to think of his work to take his mind away from this line of thought. An hour later he fell asleep.


Penny day was busy at work she was glad for the distraction as it helps her not to think how screwed up her life was and how she wasted four years with Kurt. She knew it was the best decision she had made in her life breaking up with him. Why didn't she see it coming she thought they were in love, and one-day would get married, but all he did was lie to her and used her. Did he ever love her? She wasn't so sure anymore and too dumb to see it. Her dad even warned her about him, but she wouldn't listen she was in love with him, and when he asked her to come to California with him she didn't even hesitate. It was her dream to be any actress and her fulfilling her dream with the man she loves was her dream coming true. But her dream slowly turns into a nightmare as Kurt began to hang out with the wrong crowd and started taking drugs, he stole money from her to feed his habit and was rough with her. He would always apologise and promise to stop and seek help, but he never did. She wondered if she made the right decision or should she have given him another chance. He seems very sorry when she went to collect her stuff. He also promised to change, and she still loves him.

As she walked toward the dining area, she spotted him she couldn't help the smile that came across her face. She was so happy to see him that she grabbed the waitress that was about to go and serve him.

"I got this," Penny said.