For two weeks, Mark and Brandy kept their distance from each other, doing nothing more than cohabitating together in the house they had at one point made a home. The occasional glimpses they would get of the other person reopened that fresh wound which had been inflicted by the selfishness of someone Mark had considered a close friend. Both desperately wanted to try and work past this problem. Despite being unable to deny the love she still had for Mark, Brandy could not bring herself to tear back down the wall which had been build up around her fragile emotions, and despite his longing need to have her back Mark could still sense her reservations towards him which prevented him from being able to approach her. The air in the house was tense, leaving both of them feeling uneasy, until eventually Mark found himself caving and deciding to make one of the hardest decisions of his life…

Brandy had just finished putting away the last plate from the load of dishes she had washed, when Mark walked into the kitchen. "I'm just finishing up in here, I'll get out of your way," she quickly commented, trying to avoid any interaction with him.

"Please wait," he said as he gently reached for her wrist, a pang of hurt hitting his chest when she flinched away from him. "Brandy I'm not going to hurt you. I would never put my hands on you."

"You shoving me off of the ring tells me otherwise," she commented, the reminder of that night filling him with guilt.

"I deserve that," he replied, and after a moment of silence between them added, "All I wanted to say is…While I'm recovering, I'm going to look into finding a new place."

She frowned with confusion. "Why?"

"Because I feel like I'm forcing myself on you by this point. I think the best thing for the both of us is for me to get myself into a new living arrangement. You can stay here in the house, and whatever you need I'll continue to take care of. I'm not going to stop providing for you because of my own stupidity."

"Mark.." Brandy began, but was unable to find the right words to say, and was taken back when Mark's eyes began to fill with tears.

"I'm so sorry I let you down, Brandy," he said quietly, swallowing hard to try and help hold back his tears. They simply stared at each other, until he broke the silence by adding, "I'm going to pack a couple of bags and get a hotel for a few days while I think over what exactly I want to do. I'm sure you want the time away from me, so…I won't be long."

Just as he went to turn around, she saw tears beginning to slip down his cheeks, and as he walked away her own eyes filled with tears. No. No, this was not happening. For what had felt like an eternity, she had pushed him away, and quickly built up a wall to protect herself from him. Ever since the moment all of this started, she had questioned whether or not she wanted to keep him in her life, but now that she could see how her actions was leading him to leave her for good…

Before she could give a second thought to what she was doing, Brandy dashed out of the kitchen after Mark. "Mark!" she called out, running towards the door leading to the garage as quick as her little legs would take her. When she burst through the door she found him putting his bags in the back seat of his truck. At the site of him her tears started freely flowing down her cheeks as she again called out his name in a choked voice. Immediately he looked over, shocked by the sit of her running towards him but managed to quickly regroup as she approached him, and as soon as she was within reaching distance he pulled her into his arms to lift her up. "Please don't leave me, I'm so sorry," she sobbed into his shoulder, repeating her plea as she clung fiercely to him.

Holding her tight to his chest, he squeezed her as his own tears escaped his closed eyes. "I'm sorry, baby, I'm so sorry," he said in a choked whisper, softly stroking her hair as he silently cried into her neck.

"Don't go, please don't go," she begged, her grip on him bordering on painful but he did not even notice this. All he could focus on was the feel of her in his arms, and how much he had missed feeling her against him.

"I'm not, I'm not, I'm not going anywhere baby," he reassured her, closing his eyes as he breathed in her sweet scent. After a moment of simply standing there in silence, Mark moved first by gently pulling back and placing her back on her feet. "You shouldn't want me to stay, Brandy. You deserve someone better. Someone who isn't going to let you down. Someone who will actually treat you the way you deserve to be treated. I thought I could be that person, but…I've obviously shown otherwise."

"I know." Those two small words hit him like a slap to the face. "I would be lying if I said I have not wanted to start over yet again, but…you're my person, Mark, and when you said you were leaving, it made me realize I don't want to start over with someone else. I want you. I just want back what we had."

"We will. If you let me try to gain your trust back one last time, I will spend the rest of my life trying to give you the life you deserve."

She hesitated, before quietly commenting, "I'm just so worried shit is going to keep happening…I feel cursed, like I wasn't meant to be happy."

When she looked down, he gently but firmly took her face in his hands to force her to look back up at him. "Don't you say that ever again. You're not cursed, and I am going to make sure you never go a day unhappy."

"I'm not sure how you plan to do that when you have such a toxic job."

"Fuck my job, I called Vince earlier and told him I am quitting. You mean so much more to me than that company does. The bullshit with Steph was my last straw, I don't want to go back."

Brandy's eyes began to burn. "I've told you before I can't be the reason you leave."

"This is what I want, Brandy. I'm done with having a life on the road, I want to have one here with you." When her little chin began to quiver, he could not help himself, and quickly leaned down to capture her lips with his, quietly groaning at the taste of her. "Fuck, I need you Brandy. I have never needed someone in my life as much as I have you. You make me a better person, and you make me happier than I have ever been in my entire life." Tucking her hair behind her ear, he looked down at her for a moment before adding, "You're my best friend Brandy. You're the one I was put on this Earth for."

Once more beginning to cry, she reached up to hold onto him around his neck, squeezing tight hen he lifted her back up. "I need you too, Mark. You're my best friend, and the best thing to ever happen to me. You are literally the reason I am still here."

"Well you're the best thing I ever stumbled upon, literally and figuratively," he commented, making her laugh, and kissed her. "Baby, are you sure about this? I don't want to make you feel like you are being forced into anything. If you don't actually want to give us one more chance…"

"I do, I do," she reassured him. "I do want to try one last time, but…when I say last time, I mean it. I can't go through this again, Mark. Twice was twice too many. I already don't know if I can fully recover from this last incident."

"There won't be another time, I swear," he promised, and placed her back on her feet. "You're stuck with me for good from this moment on."

She giggled. "I accept my fate," she replied, making him chuckle in return. "Can we please bring your bags back in? I'd prefer I you not leave, if that's okay."

"I'm keeping my ass put, if that's what my girl wants," he stated, returning the grin she gave him, and reopening the truck door went to grab the bags he had just placed in the back seat when he stopped.

"What?"

He looked at her, and reclosing the door commented, "Go pack a bag."

"What? Why?"

"I have an idea." When she gave him a leery look, he added, "Please trust me. I promise you won't regret joining me…I hope you don't, anyway."

She gave a small smile. "I trust you," she replied simply, and leaning up kissed his cheek before heading back into the house, wondering what he seemed to have planned.