Disclaimer:Monk belongs to the USA Network
Author's Note: Once again, I must say thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I really appreciate the feedback! This chapter gets us back to the romance part of the story. I hope it's not too corny. I can't wait to see what you guys think!
"Hmph, I've been asking myself those same questions," Sharona said, staring off into the distance. She sighed and turned her attention back to Monk. She grabbed Monk's hand and absent-mindedly began to rub his forearm, feeling the warm material of his gray suit jacket. "I guess the main reason why I came back is because I figured out that me and Trevor were never meant to be. We couldn't stand each other anymore, so we decided to call it quits."
"Aw, gee, that's—that's a shame. I'm sorry it didn't work out." Monk said, trying to sound sympathetic.
"No you're not," Sharona said with a small smile.
"Yeah, you're right, but I thought I'd say it anyway," Monk said, unable to hide the smile that was forming on his lips.
Sharona rolled her eyes and shook her head, then looked into Monk's brown eyes and smiled. "I also came back because…I missed you."
"You missed me? Really?" Monk asked, dumbfounded.
"Well, yeah, of course I missed you."
"You…missed me," Monk stated. He pulled his hand away from Sharona's and stared at his coffee table. "If you missed me so much, how come you never called? Or wrote?"
"I…I…"
"You what? You forgot how to use a phone? Couldn't remember how to write a letter? What?"
"Adrian!"
"No, don't 'Adrian' me, okay," Monk said as he stood up from the couch. "I want to know, why did you leave without saying a proper goodbye, and then not even contact me for three years?"
"Because I…"
"Because why!"
"Because, I wanted to make a clean break!" Sharona shouted at Monk as she stood up to meet his eyes. "I was afraid that if I talked to you again after that night, I wouldn't have been able to leave you!"
Monk took a step back, surprise spilling over his face. He had always thought it was because she thought that he wouldn't have been able to handle it, but all this time, she was the one who couldn't handle it.
"I didn't really want to leave you, Adrian, I had to. I needed to go with Trevor so that I could find out if there was something there for me, but there wasn't. I thought that…" The tears started rolling down Sharona's red cheeks. She sniffled and continued, "I thought that I didn't have a life here. I thought that you were holding me back from finding a father for Benjy. I wanted to give him a real family." She stepped closer to Monk, took both of his hands in her's, and stared straight into his silky brown eyes. "What I didn't realize was, Benjy already had a father, and I already had a life. A good one. And…I threw all that away the night that I walked out your door."
All kinds of feelings were running through Monk in that moment. He was angry at her for leaving, but happy to see her again. He was excited to be feeling her skin against his, yet repulsed by what kinds of germs could be on her hands. He was sorry that she had such a rough time in New Jersey, but glad that it didn't work out for her. He wanted to forgive her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He let go of her hands, stepped away from her once more, and said, "You're right, Sharona, you did throw it all away."
Sharona looked down and covered her face with her hands. She tried to stifle a sob but was unsuccessful. She pulled herself together long enough to look into Monk's face and say, "I'm sorry, Adrian. I know that I hurt you. I know that I made a mistake. And…I know that you don't need me anymore. I should never have come here, I'm sorry." She wiped her tears away, grabbed her coat and purse, and headed to the door.
"Sharona, wait!" Monk shouted as he turned to look at her.
Sharona had her hand on the doorknob, but stopped at the sound of his voice. She slowly turned her head to look at him and softly said, "What?"
Monk looked into her crystal blue eyes and froze. This couldn't be happening, not again. He didn't want to have to wait another three years before he could see her again. He knew what he wanted to say, but the words just weren't coming out.
Sharona turned her gaze back to the door and opened it. She took one step out the door when she felt a hand on her arm, pulling her back into the apartment. Shocked, she stared up into Adrian's face as he pulled her towards him. She could feel his warm, unsteady breathing brushing across her forehead.
"I do need you, Sharona," Monk whispered. "Please…don't go. You're back where you belong."
