Next chapter will be Rhonda! Then I'm going to have the 'Flashback' section to give you all more of a background on why everyone turned out how they did. Then after that I'll have an Epilogue set one year after this part to show how everyone has progressed!

Thank you all for the Reviews so far!

I don't like seeing people suffer who don't deserve it. Prime examples of these kinds of people are Helga, Rhonda, and Curly, even I. Harold didn't feel any pain, and I hope that Brainy didn't either in his unconscious state. Helga is being so strong today, I'm proud of her. We've always had our differences and we've always butted heads on numerous topics. However, that's all gone now, well we still have our differences, but we haven't started arguing yet.

The morning after I walked out on Phoebe I went back to the apartment. I needed to try and talk things out with her. I mean the way I walked out? Especially after all those years together, well I needed to try. Except when I got there she was gone. Now I don't mean out shopping gone, I mean gone gone. Her toiletries were gone; most of her wardrobe was gone. Most of her books were gone too. I tried calling her but her phone was off.

I tried calling her once a day for a whole week but her phone was always off, or it would ring for a while and go to voice mail. I don't know where she's gone to. I finally called her parents and they said they talked to her a few days earlier. That she was with some relatives in Maine. Maine of all places. I thanked them and then decided that I wasn't going to go after her.

I love her, loved her, hell I don't even know how I feel about her anymore. On top of cheating on me for over five years, she just up and vanishes when it's all out in the open? I decided she isn't worth my time and she wasn't the right girl for me. The only good thing that came out of this whole mess is that Arnold came to see me after he and Helga finally broke it off for good. We had a good talk, about everything.

I was naturally hesitant at first and ready to beat him to a pulp again- I went to his apartment a couple days after I discovered Phoebe gone and when Helga was at work and beat him good. Brian stopped by the shop and told me that Arnold was going to have two black eyes for quite a while. No bones were broken unfortunately. Instead of beating him up again though, I let him in. We sat down and we talked about why we stopped talking (his ego, his drug use, our personalities just differing too much by then) and he apologized about a million times for what happened with Phoebe.

You know what I did? I became the bigger man and I forgave him. When he left for California we were on better terms. Helga was still pretty bummed out and looking for work since as soon as he left she quit her job. So I hired her at the shop. I was still feeling pretty down myself and we found out that we actually aren't so different.

Helga's not so bad once you get to know her better. She got some of her fight back, but when we got the news about Harold and Brainy…one look in her eyes said that her world had just ended. She went on a head and I stopped by after closing. She looked frozen almost, lost, no idea where to turn. Helga was just starting to build back up and Brainy had been the one helping her.

So I took his place, well I can never really take his place – and I would never want to, but I wanted to be there to help her, especially today. I really am proud of her. Watching her try so hard to stay composed when she talked about Brian and how she spoke about him, you could tell that she did love him. Maybe not the way he loved her but she did love him.

After the funeral had ended Curly and I talked for a bit while Helga and Rhonda talked with some other guests. "They both did good today." Curly said, he had been crying too, but we all had.

"They did." I agree, looking to the girls and then back to him. "Have any plans tonight?"

"I was thinking of bringing Rhonda back home and making dinner, then watching a movie or let her alone. Whichever she feels like by the time dinner is over."

The thing I admire about Curly is his persistence. I think it's what most of us admire about him. He was telling me a couple days ago that Rhonda wasn't eating, and so he made her eat. He made her take care of herself and helped her when she needed it. He really did love Rhonda and he was going to be with her until she told him to get lost. "Good idea. I was thinking about the same. Helga still wants to go on that road trip, wants to get out of the city. I think it's a good idea. Maybe you and Rhonda should come too." I suggested.

Curly contemplated it for a moment and then finally nodded. "That does sound like a good idea. I'll talk to Rhonda tonight. Sounds like something we all need- a vacation."

Soon after we went our separate ways. Helga and I went back to her apartment and I made something quick for dinner while she read. I noticed that when she's upset or there's a lot on her mind, she reads. Usually it's stuff that Phoebe would read, or that Rhonda would read, or well anything except what I would imagine Helga reading (the answer to that is not much because she never struck me as a lover of books).

Right now she's reading Hamlet. Shakespeare seems to be her go to author/playwright lately. "Dinner's done Helga." I say, walking over to her.

She looks up at me with a faint smile and I can't help but smile back. She truly in an amazing person and extremely strong despite how it may seem. She's the only person I know who could go through all that she has already and still find the ability to smile and to be somewhat happy. I really am proud of her.