The next morning, Terry couldn't wait to thank Al for the beautiful night they spent together. She was also eager to ask for a repeat performance. However, she awoke only to find that she was alone in her bed. 'He's probably making breakfast,' thought Terry. After putting on a robe, Terry made her way to the kitchen. It was exactly the same as she left it the day before: everything was in its place and no one was there. Terry quickly moved to the window and noticed that Al's car was no longer parked where it was the previous night. 'Where did he go?' thought Terry with some worry. She then decided to call him on his cell phone, only to be greeted by his voicemail which indicated that his phone was turned off. "What the hell's going on?" muttered Terry softly to herself. She vainly attempted to remain calm as she left a message on his phone: "Hey Al, it's Terry…Um, I just wanted to talk…just call me back when you get the chance…bye."

'Perhaps I'm just overreacting. Maybe he left a note somewhere. Maybe he had to tend to an emergency.' Terry engaged in a thorough search of her apartment. After finding nothing of use on top of tables and desks, she desperately looked underneath couches and other unlikely places to leave a note. Allan was gone, but she refused to give up hope. 'He will probably call me soon.'

'Soon' became all day without a call and without any of Terry's questions answered. She avoided the obvious and attempted to go about her routine. 'I should get ready for work.' Then her hope resurfaced. 'Surely he should show up at the facility tomorrow.'

Terry quickly packed her work bag and was grateful that it was already time to go to bed. Hopefully, sleep would prevent her imagination from running wild. 'Tomorrow I will figure everything out. It's probably no big deal.'

Monday morning. Terry was barely able to concentrate on the specimens at her lab station. Before she arrived at the facility, she decided to wait until her lunch break to make her way towards Al's office. Even with all of her anxiety, she managed to remember the importance of keeping their relationship a secret at the facility.

After what seemed like an eternity, the time had finally come for Terry to take her lunch break. The butterflies started flying in her stomach as she got closer to his work station. She was unsure of what she would say when she saw him; she just cared about seeing him at this point.

Her heart sank as she approached the station. Terry only saw two female scientists tending to a small group of experimental mice. She approached the two workers. "Excuse me; do you know if Allan Finley is here today?" "Allan Finley?" responded one of the scientists. "I believe he accepted a job at another branch out west about two weeks ago. Friday was his last day here." "Oh, thanks," replied Terry, attempting to hide her disappointment, confusion, anger and heartbreak.

The rest of the day passed surprisingly quickly for Terry. She was thankful that nothing occurred out of the routine. The young woman did not feel like engaging in meaningless conversation about ordering new specimens or lab maintenance. She just wanted to go home and check her answering machine. Sure, she had a cell phone, but that did not stop her from believing that Allan had left fifty-one messages on her phone at home. Terry imagined that she would open the door to her apartment to be greeted by thousands of bouquets of flowers and her handsome lover apologizing to her endlessly and kissing all of her heartache away.

The young dark-skinned brunette seemed to glide up the stairs to her apartment door and felt her heart begin to race, convinced she would see the image she had concocted on her way home.

When she opened her door, she was not greeted by a garden of flowers, nor did she see Allan. Terry swiftly walked to her phone and was delighted to see that there were two messages for her. Sure, it wasn't the myriad she expected, but she was convinced that Allan was able to redeem himself in those two messages. Terry pressed the play button. The first message was from a phone company offering her a new deal on her long-distance calls. The second message was from her deadbeat cousin, Craig Williams, who ended his three month disappearing act to ask her for three-hundred dollars.

Terry could not believe that she had experienced incredible joy just two nights before. All she was left with was the numbness she needed to shield herself from the pain of abandonment. The remainder of the week passed without a call or a letter from her lover. Terry's routine at work remained unchanged save for the offer she received from the administration to conduct research at another Umbrella facility located in Sioux Falls. Without hesitation and without a good reason to remain in her current situation, Terry immediately accepted the offer and was in South Dakota by mid-October.

Five Months Later:

The crisp cold air of the February afternoon did not spoil Terry's high spirits. Fresh out of the beauty parlor, the young woman was very content with her new haircut. She was also quite pleased with her decision to continue her research at a new branch. Far from the loneliness she experienced in Salt Lake City, Terry was able to develop friendships with her coworkers at the Sioux Falls branch. However, in the midst of positive changes which had been occurring in her life, Terry still dealt with one dismal link with the past. As much as she tried, she simply could not get over Al. Sometimes, Terry caught herself avoiding social situations to brood over her lost lover. Al was especially problematic when it came to her relationship with Paul Edmonds, one of her fellow researchers. About three months after Terry began her stint at Sioux Falls, the young Duke graduate made it very clear to Terry that he wanted more than just a working relationship.

'If I would just give Paul a chance, I would eventually come to care about him and forget about Al…God, I'm letting that bastard keep my heart while Paul is giving me his.' These were some of the thoughts which constantly pestered Terry. Yet, for all of her efforts to move on with her life, she knew that she would let Al back into her life if he ever came back to her.

Terry developed somewhat of a different relationship with Christian Roberts, another of her coworkers. From the first time they met, Terry realized that his personality was such that she could talk to him about nearly anything. It was in him that she confided her situation. Terry made Christian aware of the fact that she was torn between her desire and her lack of readiness to move on with her life. Christian was surprised by Terry's frankness and offered the best advice he possibly could, suggesting that the young woman give herself some more time before she made any decisions.

The young woman looked through her personal effects one evening and was startled when she discovered one of Allan's notes to her. While they were together, he would sometimes surprise her by slipping a note into her locker, usually to ask her out on a date but also to seduce her with a compliment. Terry was certain that she had thrown out all of the notes before she packed for her move to Sioux Falls. The note reminded her of the anger and sadness which nearly consumed her. It took all of her strength to move on from the abyss in which she found herself a few months before, and she vowed that she would never go back. Terry ripped the note up and decided to take Paul up on his offer. The young brunette approached her green-eyed admirer one afternoon once the work day was completed and suggested that they go out for dinner at the end of the week. Paul delightfully accepted, and Terry was eager to start fresh with her handsome coworker. In the midst of this happiness, Terry could not have anticipated that this joy would be short-lived.