Brooke paced the living room fuming. For the last hour or so, she had been unable to sit down or even calm down for that matter. She was furious and had been ever since the doorbell had rung. It had been a courier delivering her a certified letter from CBS studios. Although still on payroll, Brooke was placed on indefinite hiatus. Her character, Savannah Spaulding, would still be in a coma but would remain off screen.

She waited and waited for Felix to come home. He wasn't answering his cell phone, which wasn't a big surprise. It seemed like he had 101 tricks to avoid her ever since the coma fiasco. He promised he would take care of it, make things better but if anything, he had only managed to make things worse. For more than a year, she had let him make decisions regarding her career without question. She had trusted him, believed him when he said he would make her the biggest star in the world. Now she didn't know what to believe. As promised, Felix had taken her to the top but at the same time, she couldn't help but blame him for her impending downfall.

Hours later, he breezed in the apartment, shopping bag in hand, cell phone practically glued to his ear.

"Is that CBS?" Brooke demanded.

Felix shook his head no and put a finger to his lips indicating for her to quiet down. As far as Brooke was concerned, if he wasn't on the phone trying to save her job, then he didn't need to be on the phone at all. Grabbing it from him, she shut it off and chucked it hard across the room.

"Damn, girl", he said, noticing for the first time the fire in her eyes and the frown on her face. "What is your problem?"

"You're my problem, Felix! This is my problem", she said, shoving the letter in his face.

He briefly scanned the words then handed it back to her without comment.

"Well…", she folded her arms and stamped her feet impatiently.

"Well what?"

"Well what? Aren't you gonna say anything? I mean, that's the least you could do because you're damn sure not doing anything."

"Brooke…"

"Felix!"

"Damn. What do you want me to do? I'm not a miracle worker, Brooke. Now I said I'll take care of it and I will."

"When is the 'taking care of it' going to start, Felix? Maybe I'm not so sure I want your help anymore."

"Oh that's cute", he smirked. "Real nice, Brooke. You want to fire me as your manager? Go ahead then. That's fine with me. See how far you go without me. You'll come crawling back within a week."

"I doubt that."

"Then I call your bluff. Remember, I made you."

She looked at the smug son of a bitch standing before her in an expensive apartment she was paying for and he was wearing another one of those flashy, Mr. Firley type designer suits that once again, she had footed the bill for.

"No, Felix", she shook her head. "I made me. You just broke me."

With that, she huffed off to the bedroom, opening the huge walk in closet where she began throwing a variety of clothing and shoes in her luggage.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'll send for the rest of my things later."

"Brooke!"

"What, Felix? Look, this isn't working out between us, okay? Personally or professionally. I just need some time. I'll be over at Peyton's for a little while."

"Are you firing me?"

"I…I don't know. We'll talk later, okay?"

"I can't believe you", he whined. "You little ungrateful, spoiled bitch. After all I've done for you. I make you rich and famous and now you just want to leave me?"

He was practically in tears as he was watching his meal ticket prepare to walk out the door. He was anxious and whiny, his voice reaching a feverishly desperately feminine pitch as he was two steps away from literally begging her not to leave. Brooke just shook her head. She had spent so much time revering and idolizing Felix, the enigma. Now he just looked like the pathetic, lying loser that he had proven himself to be.

"Good bye, Felix", she said quietly.

"What do you mean, good bye?" he asked, blocking her exit path.

She rolled her eyes.

"Don't do this. Felix, you're about to make this way harder than it has to be, trust me."

"Brooke…"

"Just let me go."

He saw that she was serious. Her mind was made up and there was no turning back. All the sweet fast talking and charming in the world wasn't going to sway her decision.

"Fine", he said. "Fine! Just go. See if I care. But you'll be back. Trust me. In a few weeks, hell in a few days you'll come crawling back begging me to take your ass back and save your sorry career. Trust me on that one."

She smirked in spite of herself and shook her head again. What blinders had she been wearing all that time. The guy was a total douche.

"I'll tell you what, Felix. Sit right here on this couch in front of the door and hold your breath and wait for me to come back, okay?"

Felix felt the sweat beading up on his forehead. He had never seen Brooke so mad or so serious. She had never talked to him like that before.

"You can't break up with me and you can't fire me. Know why? Because I'm breaking up with you. And on top of that, I quit."

"And I'm heartbroken", she rolled her eyes sarcastically.

Opening the door for the final time, she placed her key on the table. She'd have her attorney give him thirty days notice to vacate the premises before she would terminate the lease. She'd crash on Peyton's couch until she could figure out something better. It would do her good to spend time with her best friend and sleeping on the streets sounded better than one more second with Felix.

"Brooke!"

"Bye, Felix", she said again as she closed the door behind her.

A minute later, just as she was disappearing into the elevator, the door to the apartment opened.

"Call me", he weakly half asked, half stated.

Sighing, Brooke wandered how she had ever let things get that far…or that bad. She had given Felix almost one hundred percent control of her career and her life. It had been good for a while. When things were good, they were great…fabulous. She was on top of the world. Now that they were bad, they were horrible. And Brooke had no one to blame but herself. She smiled bitterly as an old saying rang in her mind. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." And Brooke was tumbling uncontrollably on a downward spiral. What would suck most of all, was on her way down, seeing all the people she and Felix had stepped on to make it to the top in the first place.

Whipping out her cell, she sped dialed Peyton.

"What's up?"

"Hey P. Sawyer, it's me. You busy?"

"Not really. What's going on? You sound horrible."

"Mind if I crash on your couch? I…I just left Felix."

Peyton actually sighed with relief. At least her best friend had finally seen the light.

"Sure. No problem. The couch is yours for however long you need it, Brooke."

"Thanks, Pey. I know I can always count on you."

"Of course you can. That's what best friends are for, right? Hoes over bros, dude."

"Yeah", Brooke smiled, remembering their teenage catchphrase. "Hoes over bros."

"Well hop in a taxi and get your ass over here. It'll be fun, just like old times. We'll eat lots of junk food and do each other's hair and make up and have stupid pillow fights. It'll be one massive overgrown extended sleepover. Now, speaking of food, anything special you want to eat when you come over?"

Brooke took a deep breath as she thought long and hard about the events of the last year of her life and especially how she had acted and sometimes treated others.

"Yeah", she sighed sadly. "How about a nice big helping of crow?"