The Broken Road Chapter 3: The Letter, a 24 fanfic

A/n: Thank you to all of the people who have so kindly decided to review! I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well! (And just an advance warning, but I'm going to have to alter some of the time lines of things to fit my story.)

Chapter 3 – The Letter

Although Kara had thought Tony was drunk beyond control, the truth was, Tony still had some sense of what was going on. He just lost control of reality for a split second there and as soon as he came back to reality, he immediately pushed Kara away. He vehemently proclaimed, "No! You. No. You're not Michelle. The only one I love is Michelle."

He staggered drunkenly a few steps backwards and then demanded, "You won't tell anyone this happened. And you know what? Nothing happened. You don't mean anything to me. There is only one person that I will ever love and that is Michelle. No one will ever replace her. Never."

Kara of course had never seen that look of desperation in his eyes and wondered for a second if she had done the right thing by working with Carrie in the first place. But then she remembered a little thing called money and that guilty thought was erased. Instead, she played the role of the wounded puppy dog and instantly cast her eyes downward, solemnly replying, "Of course, Tony. No one will know of this."

She paused for a second, looking into his eyes, and what she saw she never wanted to see again. It was the sight of a man so broken down it looked as if he could barely hold himself up. The strong, definitive Tony she had once known was no longer there. Replacing him was this Tony, one whose eyes betrayed the immense guilt he was feeling.

She spoke up once more, this time out of genuine concern, saying, "I'm sorry Tony. I…I…don't know what I was thinking. I'll just…I'll just go back to work now. And I promise, I won't say a word to anyone. Honest." Tony silently nodded his understanding of her leaving and instead of looking at her, he looked towards the ocean. A magnificent sunset played right before his eyes and all he could think of was that he didn't deserve to even see such a sight.

How could he have been such a fool? How could he have kissed Kara? He stormed back into the bar, grabbing his jacket from his locker, preparing to leave before he felt a rough hand on his shoulder. Soon, he was jerked back by none other than Brett, his boss.

"Where the hell do you think you're going Almeida?" Brett demanded.

"I'm going home. I don't feel well." Tony lamely made up.

"You move your ass one step out of this bar's door and you're fired, you got that? We're up to our necks with orders and you want to leave because you're feeling a 'bit under the weather?' Forget it Tony. You move one step out of that door you're fired. For good. And trust me, I've got contacts in lots of bars so don't expect to be working anytime soon after I fire your sorry ass."

So with little choice, Tony shoved his jacket back into his locker and slammed the door going back to work. Upon reaching the bar, he saw Jack come in from outside. Jack glared at him, but remembered his promise to Michelle that he would keep Tony at the bar for at least a couple of hours. Jack didn't know exactly what had happened in the bar, but he knew that something had happened with Tony. Something big. Something that had made Michelle break down and cry like he had never seen.

And Jack couldn't help but be slightly angry. Michelle had grown to be like a younger sister to him. Ever since she had gone against the wishes of her superior to help Jack prove that the Cyrus tape was a fake, she had earned his trust. And during the time Tony was kept in prison, it had been his shoulders she cried on. He had played the role of her big brother when Danny was too inhibited to comfort her. Jack treated Michelle like she was his little sister, and Kate knew of this.

At first, Jack was afraid that Kate would get jealous, but instead, Kate had been nothing but supportive. She too had taken Michelle under her wing despite their relatively non-existent age gap. After losing Marie to terrorists, Kate needed someone to look after. That was one thing about Kate, she always had these maternal instincts. Even though the age gap between herself and Michelle was almost non-existent, Kate still cared for Michelle and during her hardest hours, was always there for her. And Michelle needed to be looked after when she lost Tony. Jack was angry at Tony. Something he had never felt before. Tony was always his best friend. They had always stood up for each other and helped each other through thick and thin.

But now, Jack knew that Tony had done something to hurt Michelle and he couldn't help but want to hit him. However, Jack knew that hitting Tony wouldn't solve anything and instead, pretending like nothing was wrong between the two of them Jack waved to Tony, and then sat down on a stool and ordered a beer. Jack tried to make small talk, asking Tony, "Hey man, how's it going?"

Almost immediately Jack noticed a change in Tony's demeanor. For starters, he was more nervous. His eyes kept darting around and he answered Jack a little too hastily, mumbling, "I'm fine. Fine. Why? How are you doing Jack?"

Jack tried to play it cool, and replied, "I'm doing well, Tony. What's the score?"

That night had been the deciding game seven between Tony's beloved Chicago Cubs and their always annoying nemesis the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs had fought from three down to tie up the series at three apiece. Tonight, would be the deciding game to see which of the two teams would take the long-awaited trip to the World Series. Instead of answering wholeheartedly, Tony simply replied, "I'm not sure. Who's playing?"

Jack almost fell over in his seat as he heard Tony's response. It was then that Jack KNEW something was wrong. Tony would have never said that. NEVER. Especially not when a trip to the World Series was on the line for his Cubs. Jack immediately started to pay more attention to Tony and noticed that Tony was distracted beyond imagination. Instead of bringing Jack a beer, Tony made Jack a Cosmopolitan with a little furry umbrella in it. Jack stared at the drink in surprise as the man sitting beside Jack struggled to stifle a laugh. (Who wouldn't laugh if they saw tough Jack Bauer sitting with a Cosmopolitan with an umbrella?)

First off, while Jack was no drink expert, he knew that Cosmopolitans didn't come with umbrellas. And secondly, a Cosmopolitan wasn't beer, which was what Jack had ordered. Jack then managed to say, "Um Tony? Tony, this wasn't exactly what I ordered."

Tony immediately looked down at the drink he had managed to make Jack and embarrassed, he mumbled a quick sorry before rushing to get the beer Jack had asked for. Jack had never seen Tony so nervous. Even in times of crisis at CTU, Tony was composed. Always the image of the strong, gallant leader. But now, looking at Tony, Tony looked as if he knew that there were people in that very bar looking to kill him.

Of course Tony was preoccupied with thoughts of what to do. What should he do? Do I tell Michelle I made a mistake and kissed Kara? God I wish I didn't have this pounding head ache so I could think properly. Christ, where are aspirins when you need them? Tony's head shot up as a burly man demanded yet another beer. Tony set about getting it for him when he saw Kara.

He froze. He had completely forgotten that she had worked here too. His mind was only on Michelle. And when Tony froze, Jack noticed this. His eyes followed Tony's to the blonde girl he was staring at and recognized her as Kara. He didn't exactly know what the hell was going on between the two of them, but when he saw Tony angrily whip his eyes away from her, Jack felt content that nothing was going on. Tony gave the man his beer and went back to pretending to be interested in watching the game.

It was almost 3 am when Tony was finally finished tidying up the bar. Jack had remained faithful to the promise he made Michelle and made excuses in order to keep Tony preoccupied at the bar. When Tony got ready to leave, Jack offered him a place to crash for the night. Tony politely turned down the offer and said that he really needed to get home to Michelle.

Jack, the ever persistent one, told him that he shouldn't be driving especially when he saw that Tony was still slightly drunk. Tony said that he'd just call a cab and then Jack made one last desperate plea with Tony, saying, "So you're going home drunk to Michelle? What's she going to think of that huh? You know she hates it when you drink. And it's late Tony. She's probably asleep by now and she has a long day of work tomorrow morning. Why don't you just crash at my place tonight and then I'll drive you home tomorrow morning. You don't work tomorrow so you can have all day to do whatever you need to do."

Tony thought about this for a minute and realized Jack was yet again right. Michelle was probably fast asleep by now and would undoubtedly be angry if she was awoken by a drunk Tony. She did hate it when he drank. And an angry Michelle was someone he didn't want to face. Especially when Tony already felt guilty already for having kissed Kara.

Much to Jack's relief, Tony gave in to his offer. But he told Jack that he would leave a message on the answering machine for Michelle so that she wouldn't worry. Tony had secretly hoped that Michelle would pick up the phone and answer, but when he heard the answering machine click on, his ears were filled with her beautiful voice,

"Hey, it's Michelle and Tony! Tony, stop it! Anyways, we're not here at the moment but if you could leave a message, we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks!"

Throughout the course of the message, Michelle giggled like a young school girl. Tony thought back and remembered that day. It had been a few days after they got married. They decided to put both of their names on the answering machine message and while Michelle was recording the message for the 99th time, Tony had gone up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and started placing sweet kisses on the back of her neck.

She had squirmed with delight and giggles overtook her as she tried to finish the message. When they played it back, Michelle thought it was ridiculous and completely unprofessional. She had immediately set about to record another one. Luckily, Tony had gotten there first and insisted that they keep that one. That way, every time he couldn't reach her, he'd still be able to hear her cute voice and her adorable laughter. That way he'd always be reminded of how great things were between the two of them.

Michelle had been so smitten with his reason that she gave in. So that had become their answering machine message. Michelle's girlfriends laughed at how cute they were while Tony's guy friends prodded him for being a whipped man. Tony had insisted that he wasn't whipped and that he was simply in love.

Jack couldn't help but notice that while he called Michelle, Tony had a little smile etched onto his face for the duration of the time and when the machine finally beeped, Tony said,

"Hey Chelle. It's me. Listen, I'm going home with Jack tonight cause well he wanted to talk about…um…Kate. You know. Guy stuff. Anyways, I just wanted to call to let you know not to worry about me and stuff. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye Chelle. I love you."

As Tony hung up and got into Jack's car, he didn't know that Michelle had indeed been awake. And she had heard every word of his message while tears ran down her face. After hearing it, she placed a small envelope by the answering machine with Tony's name on it. And with one last look at the apartment that held so many memories for the two of them, Michelle left. Left to start her new life. Away from LA, and away from Tony.

Tony woke up the next morning with a slight hangover. His head was pounding but none of that mattered. All he wanted to do was go home and maybe catch Michelle before she headed off to work. He just wanted to make sure that she knew that he loved her more than anything in the world. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled out a picture of them together from his wallet. His arms were wrapped around her waist and he was kissing the side of her face as she laughed.

It was a perfect picture. A perfect picture of a perfect woman. Tony was angry at himself for not appreciating the fact that he had a woman as wonderful as Michelle. He told himself that he would buy her roses today. Big pink ones. Her favorite. As Jack entered the room, Tony told him that he was ready to go home. Jack obliged and they made their way towards his Escalade. When Tony asked if they could stop at a flower shop on the way there, Jack frowned and grumbled,

"What kind of flower shop is open at 6 in the morning?"

Tony thought about this and told him that there was this one place he knew that was open pretty much 24 hours of the day. They went and picked up two dozen long stemmed roses. Sure it cost him a small fortune but it was worth it. Michelle was worth it and so much more.

As soon as they arrived, Tony practically ran out of the car in eagerness to see Michelle. Upon reaching the door, he grabbed his keys and shoved them into the door. In all of his excitement, it took him a few moments to realize that he was trying to shove his car keys into the slot instead of the house keys. After much more struggle than necessary, Tony finally got in.

Upon entering, he quietly stepped inside, not wanting to wake her up if she still happened to be asleep. And plus, he wanted to surprise Michelle if it was possible. He quietly snuck towards the bedroom, expecting to find her lying on the bed. He smiled as he opened the door of their bedroom…

…But as he opened the door he couldn't find Michelle anywhere.

Instead, it almost seemed as if no one had been sleeping there last night at all.

The bed was neatly made up.

The curtains weren't even drawn.

Disheartened at the fact that he couldn't locate Michelle in their bedroom, Tony then thought to himself, 'maybe she's in the bathroom.' He then proceeded to go towards their main bathroom and when he found it empty, he was starting to get concerned.

What concerned him was that all of Michelle's stuff that normally cluttered the sink was gone. And upon entering their bedroom, he noticed that the majority of her clothes were gone too. He looked at the pictures that normally sat on the dresser and instead saw them all pulled downwards so that the pictures were no longer visible.

Her toothbrush, her comb, her clothes, everything. Everything was gone.

He started to grow into a slow panic as he ran out into the living room where he was met by Jack.

He nervously sputtered, "Jack! Michelle's not here! I can't find her and all of her stuff is gone! Maybe she was kidnapped! Christ, Jack what the hell am I going to do? I gotta call the cops. Shit. Oh shit. JACK! I shouldn't have stayed with you last night! Damnit!"

Jack quickly realized that Michelle had been serious when she said she was going to leave LA for good. Jack had thought that she had meant it only in jest. But as he saw Tony's frantic face desperately trying to figure out what to do, he couldn't help but be saddened.

Jack saw how desperate Tony was becoming as Tony asked him for 911's number in haste.

But instead of telling Tony that Michelle had left him, he told Tony,

"Tony! Calm down! Think about it logically. If she was kidnapped do you think her kidnapper would have allowed her to take everything she had with her?"

Tony looked over at Jack, and realized his foolishness. However, he questioned,

"Then where is she Jack? Why would she pack up everything she has if she was just going for a girls' night out? Kate. Maybe Kate knows where she is. I have to call Kate."

Jack sighed as he knew that Kate wouldn't have the answers. No one had the answer to Michelle's disappearance except him. And Jack knew that he couldn't tell Tony. He had made a promise to Michelle. A promise that he had no intention of breaking.

As Tony frantically called Kate, Jack paced around the room. Noticing too that all of the pictures of Michelle and Tony had been placed flat down as if someone didn't want the pictures to be seen. As Jack reentered the room, he saw Tony throw his phone down in frustration after Kate told him that she hadn't spoken to Michelle in days and had no idea where she was.

By now, Tony was near hysterical. Where was she? Why would she take all of her stuff and leave? Was she okay? Oh God. What happens if she's not okay? I can't live without her. And as he paced from side to side, he noticed a letter by the answering machine with his name on it.

"Jack!" Tony called. "It's a letter from Michelle! It's her handwriting!"

Tony's eyes seemed to dance with happiness as he looked down at the only piece of Michelle he had left. He carefully opened the letter and his eyes moved quickly across the words. And as he read the letter, the smile that plastered his face earlier slowly diminished. The light in his eyes slowly faded as he read each painful word of Michelle's letter.

Tony, I can't live like this anymore. When you got out of prison, I thought that we could work this out. That we could be the way we were, but I was foolish. I was wrong to think that things would ever be the way they were. You and I are not the same people we were when we said our vows. You are not the man I fell in love with, in fact, I do not believe I love you anymore. In fact, I know. I don't love you anymore Tony. I know that you will not understand my reasons, but please, just respect them. Do not try and contact me, I have left no number, no address, nothing for you. I just want to get away, Tony and I hope that you can allow me to do that. Try and forget me. I want you to be happy. That's all I've ever wanted. For you to be happy. I do not love you anymore. And please, forget me; I was only a momentary interest for you. An infatuation, nothing more. I'm sorry I couldn't be the woman you needed.

Michelle Dessler.

Jack observed Tony as he read the letter, and what he saw made him sick to his stomach. He saw the same devastated look that Michelle had on her face when she told him she was leaving. It was the same angst, the same pain.

Tony stared down at the letter. And he read it over, and each time, the words pierced his heart like a million tiny knives. He analyzed it to make sure that it was her handwriting. And upon further inspection, he found what he believed to be wet blotches of paper where her tears must have flown while writing this.

Something else bugged Tony about the letter. She signed Michelle Dessler. She never signed Michelle Dessler to him. She had always signed her little notes to him as "Love Michelle XOXOXO."

With every passing moment, he felt his stomach clench and his heart break. She couldn't mean this. Surely not. This wasn't his Michelle. No. This was some cruel joke. It couldn't be Michelle. She loved him. He was positive. She would never say that she no longer loved him.

Replacing his angst was anger. He began to get angry and wondered what the hell she meant by not contacting her. Of course he would contact her! He wanted answers damn it! He wasn't just about to let her run out of his life without answering his questions!

By now he had thrown the letter at Jack and told him to read it. After Jack quickly read the contents of the letter, he stared at Tony and said,

"Come on, Tony. We need to get you somewhere else so you can calm down a bit."

Jack began to lead Tony out of his house, but Tony resisted. He firmly stood his ground and shook his head.

"No. I won't take this for an answer. I won't rest until I know what the hell is going on with Michelle. Why the hell did she leave me, Jack? What did I do to her that was so horrible? She told me to get a job. I got a freaking job. Sure it's not as glamorous as my old job, but hell, I GAVE UP MY LIFE FOR HER, JACK! Why the hell would she leave me! Damn it, I want an answer!"

Tony strode purposefully towards the door as Jack jogged up to catch up and said to him,

"Yeah, then what are you going to do huh Tony? Are you going to run after someone who obviously doesn't want to be found? She's avoiding you Tony, and while I have no idea why I don't understand how running after her will help. Michelle's running from you Tony. Don't you get it?"

Up until that point, Tony had managed to avoid eye contact with Jack because he knew that if Jack looked at his eyes, he would see the tears that threatened to fall any moment now. But he slowly looked up at Jack and tentatively questioned,

"Do you think she means it, Jack? Do you think she doesn't love me anymore?"

Jack searched for an answer. He knew that if he told Tony that there was yet hope for him and Michelle, Tony would go after her. But if he told Tony that there was nothing left for him and Michelle, that would destroy him. Tony had given up everything and though Jack would never question Tony's love for Michelle, he questioned Michelle's love for Tony. When she had told him that she was leaving Tony she hadn't faltered. She had stood strong in her proclamation.

Jack knew that if Tony knew of this his already fragile heart would be shattered to the extent where it might never heal. But Jack knew that it would be wrong of him to give Tony false hope. Why tell him to run after someone who so desperately wanted to avoid him? And what happened if he found Michelle? She would just say the same thing the letter said. What good could that possibly do for Tony?

Tony stared at Jack desperately awaiting an answer. But when he saw Jack pause, he took this as a sign that there was indeed no hope left for him and Michelle.

After much thinking, Jack finally replied,

"Michelle's gone Tony. She's obviously moved on. Now, it's your turn."

Tony after hearing Jack's verdict, marched out of the house.

Jack called after him, saying,

"Tony! Where the hell do you think you're going?"

Tony tersely replied, "I want to be alone."

And Jack could do nothing more but stare at the back of a man so broken that it devastated him. Tony walked towards his truck and sped down the highway.

He had no idea where the hell he was going. He didn't care. All he wanted to do was to get as far away from this place as he could. It held too many memories. Too many memories of him and Michelle. Too many memories of her.

And as he drove, the rain began to pour on as did his tears. He hadn't cried since his wedding and was certainly not a crier. He drove faster and faster deeper into the desert. He didn't care that he had no direction. He couldn't stand the silence so he hastily put on the radio. And low and behold, the song that came on, none other than a good old break-up song, and as the song went on, Tony couldn't help but think how much the lyrics related to his situation.

Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)
Phil Collins Mariah Carey

How can I just let you walk away, just let you leave without a trace
When I stand here taking every breath with you, oh
You're the only one who really knew me at all

How can you just walk away from me, when all I can do is watch you leave
Cause we've shared the laughter and the pain, and even shared the tears
You're the only one who really knew me at all

I wish I could just make you turn around, turn around and see me cry
There's so much I need to say to you, so many reasons why
You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space
And there's nothing left here to remind me, just the memory of your face
Take a look at me now, cause there's just an empty space
But to wait for you, well that's all I can do and that's what I've got to face
Take a good look at me now, cause I'll still be standing here
And you coming back to me is against all odds
That's the chance I've got to take, oh, oh

Just take a look at me now

Funny, how he could withstand so much pain and suffering at CTU. But with one simple letter, Michelle had managed to destroy him. She destroyed his hopes of having children with her, growing old with her, hell, maybe even grandchildren. Funny how a few little words when put together could bring so much pain to a man like him.

He drove with anger, with sorrow, with self doubt, but no matter his emotion, the thought that plagued his mind was that of Michelle. Finally, he noticed that he was near exhaustion from crying his heart out; he started his way back home. He had no where else to go. No one to go home to.

As the day wore on, Tony became more and more devastated. What did he do? What did he do to make Michelle leave him? Maybe he wasn't good enough for her. Maybe he should have told her more often how much he loved her. Maybe…he didn't deserve her.

From that day on, Tony was never the same person again. For starters, he quit his job at the bar. Well, more like he got fired. Not showing up for a whole week without a reason tends to do that. But he didn't care. Tony didn't care about anything.

In fact, contrary to many people's belief that he would turn to alcohol to drown his sorrows in, Tony gave up alcohol cold turkey. Within weeks, Jack had also noticed that Tony had lost a considerable amount of weight. The bags underneath his eyes also seemed to grow daily as he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks.

Actually, the last part was true. Tony hadn't had more than three hours of sleep in the past month. It had been one month since that fateful day. He refused to sleep in the bedroom, preferring the couch. The couch didn't have as many memories as their bedroom. All of the pictures that once graced his living room were stashed away into the bedroom. All of his past memories of her were hidden from view.

Not that it made it any easier. He still thought of her constantly. She plagued his dreams. That was why he was afraid of falling asleep. Because every time he closed his eyes, there she would be. Smiling at him, laughing. And these images terrorized him.

But if there was an upside, it was the fact that Jack had somehow managed to get Tony's old job at CTU back for him. They had desperately needed a programmer and well, with Jack being in charge of field operations, he had more than a little influence on Driscoll. She had finally relented to Jack's persistence that she bring Tony back after viewing his files and taking note that he had indeed been one of the best.

However, Driscoll was cautious in bringing back a man tagged "traitor" by many and told Jack that if anything at all happened, Jack would be responsible. Jack happily took the challenge and told Tony of the good news.

Tony on the other hand, couldn't care more. But at the same time, work meant getting away from home and anything that involved leaving the house was a plus in Tony's mind. So instead of grieving, Tony immersed himself in work. Rising as early as 5:30 in the morning to go to work and not coming home until it was well past midnight.

He submerged himself with work and even his co-workers noticed this. Tony hardly took breaks throughout the course of his day. This worried many of his co-workers especially Jack and Chloe. Chloe worked in close vicinity with Tony and noticed how he hardly seemed to even eat. Jack of course noticed the frazzled Tony. How Tony wouldn't speak more than a few words to anyone. And even when they invited him out for a couple of drinks after work, he would decline, staying at the office until late into the evening.

Tony was great during a crisis, as he got all of the necessary information quicker than anyone else could have imagined. But it was after working hours that Jack was most worried about. He knew that Tony had managed to fool the majority of his co-workers at CTU. In fact, most of them believed that Tony had actually taken his split from Michelle quite well. But Jack knew Tony. He knew that Tony was hiding from the rest of the world. Hiding in fear that he would be hurt yet again.

Unbeknownst to Tony, Michelle was also suffering. She cried endlessly. For nights unending she cried her eyes out. Even small stupid things would remind her of Tony. She would be watching a commercial on TV and all of a sudden for no reason she would start crying again. She couldn't go anywhere without seeing his face. He haunted her dreams. With his smile, oh his smile. That smile that he had for her alone. But what was she thinking? He obviously had that same smile for another girl or else he wouldn't have kissed that woman.

Michelle shuddered at the very thought of the other girl. The woman who broke her heart, her dreams of a life with Tony. And then she thought back on Tony's eyes. Those beautiful big doe brown eyes. They were so soft and loving. Every time she looked into them, she felt like she could just melt. And as she thought about him, the tears kept flowing.

Michelle was more than positive that she had bought out Costco's entire stock of Kleenex in the past few days. She had been using them endlessly. She too could not fall asleep at night. But she couldn't fall asleep because she couldn't help but wonder, does he care? How was she to know whether or not Tony wasn't already sleeping with the other girl?

For all she knew, he could have been having an affair behind her back all that time. She doubted he even cared. He was probably already screwing her. Hell, he probably forgot all about Michelle. Plain old Michelle. She manipulated her mind to believe that she had only been a momentary infatuation for Tony. That the moment he found someone younger, more gorgeous than her that he would leave her.

She tried to convince herself that it was his fault so that she wouldn't have to feel guilty about leaving him. After all, why should she feel guilty? She wasn't the one that was making out with someone else. She had been faithful. She had even waited for him all those long months while he had been stuck in prison! And this is how he repaid her. By cheating on her.

How typical was this. Just like all the other men in her life, Tony didn't care. All he wanted was a fuck. And as these thoughts entered her mind, she felt her heart break, rendered to the point where there was almost no hope left for it to ever be healed. She didn't want to believe those lies.

She wanted to believe that Tony hadn't kissed that other woman. But she had seen them with her own eyes. God, why did she have to be so beautiful? She was blonde, stunning to say the least, and she had a body to die for. She was everything Michelle wasn't.

Self doubt grappled Michelle. She knew she wasn't the prettiest girl in the world. Heck, at first, she was surprised Tony had even been attracted to her. She was never the girl who got the good-looking guys at school. She always got the cocky jerks that just wanted to get laid.

Michelle kept thinking to herself, 'I'm plain. I'm not extraordinarily beautiful or unique. I have brown hair, brown eyes, plain. So plain that no man can stand to be with me for a prolonged period of time.'

And then there was a knock on the door. Through her tears, Michelle couldn't even muster up enough energy to tell the person to enter. But she didn't need to because within moments, her best friend from high school, Megan, entered.

While Michelle had been devastated after leaving Tony, she knew that she couldn't stay in Los Angeles. Tony had too many contacts and it wouldn't be long before he found her. So instead, she chose to leave California completely. She flew out to Detroit where she remembered Megan lived.

Megan had been nothing but hospitable since Michelle had arrived unannounced. Megan had welcomed her with open arms, telling her that she could put her up for as long as she needed to get back on her feet. And of course, Megan had also been there when Michelle needed a shoulder to cry on, not to mention a couple of tubs of Ben and Jerry.

Megan had reassured her that there wasn't anything wrong with Michelle. That it had all been Tony's fault. That Tony didn't deserve someone as great as Michelle. But even as Michelle listened to Megan's words, she couldn't help but wonder. Is he feeling this? Is he feeling the same pain I'm going through? Or has he already moved on?

Megan noticed Michelle deep in thought, and comforted the already flustered Michelle. She told her that everything would be okay and that everything would work out eventually. And for a moment, Michelle wanted to believe her.

A/n: I finally know where I'm going with this story! So yay! But please do review! It not only shows me that people actually want me to continue this story, but all of your advice is really, really appreciated! Thanks again!