Brandy gazed out the window of the cop car, watching the scenery go by as they grew closer and closer to Mark's house. By now, her heart was pounding wildly in her chest. She was both excited and scared as hell to see him again. What if he never wanted to see him again? What if he had found someone new? What if he didn't care about her anymore? She wrung her hands as a million different thoughts flew through her head.

Officer Kowalski noted her jitteriness, and asked, "Nervous?"

She looked over at him. "A little bit."

"If you don't mind me asking, who is it that lives here?"

She sighed. "It was my fiancé, but I don't know what to expect. After a year, I'm sure he's found someone else, and that's what I'm afraid of."

"If he really cares about you, then he would be willing to wait. If he did go and find another girl, then he clearly isn't the one," he replied, hoping to help give her encouragement. As he turned onto another street, he added, "Me and my wife had a somewhat similar dilemma. About a week after I proposed to her, I was called into the army. We had to end up getting a quick marriage done by the justice of peace, and three days after that I had to leave. I ended up serving four years before finally getting to come back home. I was worried that Sheryl had grown an interest in another man, but she greeted me with open arms. We've been together now for twenty years, and since then have had two beautiful children together."

"That's so sweet," Brandy commented, placing a hand on her chest. "How old are your kids?"

"Brad is fifteen, and Carmen is thirteen."

"That's amazing. I hope I'm able to find someone to be with that long," Brandy replied, and suddenly saw they were coming up to the lane leading to Mark's house. "Just pull up over here. I'll walk the rest of the way."

"I can drive you to-"

"No, I'd like to walk the rest of the way, actually," Brandy said.

"Oh, okay then. Be careful."

"I will. Thank you officer, for everything," Brandy replied, and leaned over, giving him an affectionate hug.

He returned it just as tightly. Unlike most people he worked with, he had grown a bond with her, and actually didn't want her to leave. Once they finally pulled away, he pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to her. "I don't normally do this for others, but you're sweet kid. If you ever need to someone to talk to, or you need my help, don't hesitate to call. Both my cell and home phone numbers are on there," he informed her.

"Thank you, sir," she replied, and gave him another hug before getting out of the car.

"Take it easy," he called out to her, and waved before driving off.

Brandy took a deep breath, and made her way up the driveway. The closer she got to the house, the more excited she got to see him. She just hoped Mark was as happy to see her as she was him. When she saw the house off in the distance, and Mark's bike parked out front, she couldn't help herself, and started running at full speed to the house. She was merely seconds from being back in Mark's arms!

Just as Brandy was about to run up the porch steps, she stopped dead in her tracks. She could see Mark in the living room window, but he wasn't alone. Tucked beneath his arm was a girl with platinum blonde hair, large fake breasts, and overly tanned skin. "She's just a friend. Mark would never go for a girl like that," Brandy thought to herself, but her heart sunk when she saw him lean down and give her a passionate kiss. He had found another girl after all. "No, this can't be happening. Please tell me this is all a dream," Brandy said aloud to herself as she backed up, but she was still there, watching as Mark made out with she assumed his new girlfriend. With tears in her eyes, she ran back down the driveway, away from Mark and away from the life she once loved.

~*~*~*~

By the time Brandy reached Teresa's house, she was beyond tired. Trudging up the porch steps, she slumped against the wall and rang the doorbell. A few seconds later, she could hear footsteps approaching, followed by Teresa opening the door. "Brandy! What are you doing here?" she asked in a shocked voice.

"Oh, I'm so glad to see you," Brandy replied, and went to hug her, when Teresa suddenly pushed her away.

"Don't touch me, bitch," Teresa spat at her.

Brandy's eyes went wide. "Teresa, why are you mad at me?"

Teresa rolled her eyes. "Don't act all innocent with me. I know what you did to Mark. I know you used him and left him like a whore. He showed me the letter you left him. Don't ever come here again," Teresa replied in a cold tone, and was about to shut the door, when Brandy collapsed onto the porch floor, covering her face with her hands as she started sobbing. Teresa rolled her eyes. "What the matter, Brandy dear? Suddenly realize how badly you fucked things up?" she asked in a sarcastic tone. Brandy tried to reply, but could only sob harder. Teresa was about to make another snide comment, when she suddenly noticed how sickly Brandy looked, and was beginning to realize that Brandy hadn't up and left Mark for another man. It had been something much, much worse. Sitting down next to her, Teresa softly ran a hand along Brandy's back. The longer she watched her cry, the guiltier she felt for what she did.

Once she gained control of herself, Brandy looked over at Teresa and said, "Teresa, I swear I didn't leave Mark. If I could have somehow gotten a hold of any of you, I would have in a heartbeat. I was gone for so long because… because…"

"What? What happened?" Teresa asked in a gentle voice.

"It's that asshole Tom's fault! That fucker drugged me, and kept me locked in his house this whole time!" Teresa covered her mouth, tears coming to her eyes. "Yeah, while you were thinking I was off fucking another guy, I was getting beaten everyday and raped at least once a week. Is that what you wanted to hear, Teresa? Are you happy now?" By now, tears had come to Brandy's eyes as well. Teresa wrapped her arms around Brandy and held her tight as she began to cry. "How could you think that, Teresa? I thought you were my friend!" Brandy cried as she held her as well.

"I'm so sorry Brandy," Teresa sobbed as the guilt fully sunk in.

Just then, Glenn walked out there. "What the hell is-" he started to demand, when he found the two of them sitting on the porch, sobbing and holding each other. He heard Teresa repeatedly apologizing to Brandy, and could tell this was an emotional moment for both of them. Keeping his mouth shut, he simply knelt down by them, and pulled the two of them into his arms, holding them until they were able to regain control of themselves.

"Brandy, please forgive me. I had absolutely no idea," Teresa pleaded once she pulled away. "I'll do anything to make it up to you. Just please say you'll forgive me."

"You know I can't tell you no," Brandy replied, and gave Teresa another hug.

"Did I miss something? Brandy, what are you doing here?" Glenn asked, a confused look on his face. "I thought you left Mark."

"Where did you guys get this idea?" Brandy asked.

"The night you left Mark found a note with your engagement ring on top of it saying that you never loved him, and that you didn't want to be with him anymore."

"I never wrote a-" Brandy started to say, when her eyes grew wide. "God damnit, Tom must have wrote it!"

"Tom? What does Tom have to do with this?" Glenn asked.

"He's the reason I've been gone for a year," Brandy replied, fuming at this point.

"You went back to him?"

"He drugged me and locked me in house, Glenn! I never fucking left Mark to be with someone else! I loved him, god damnit, and I still do! Why can't you get that through your thick skull?" Brandy practically screamed, tears of anger coming to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Glenn replied, holding his hands up. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.

"I miss him, Glenn. I miss him so much it hurts," Brandy whimpered, burying herself against him. Both Glenn and Teresa's hearts were breaking for her. Not only had she been living in a hell on earth, but also those closest to her had turned their backs on her. She was still hanging in there, though, showing more emotional strength than most people had. Once she pulled away, she once more wiped her eyes and said, "Thanks for being so understanding, you guys. I'm sorry if this caused you guys any pain, but-"

Teresa stopped her. "Brandy, you have no reason to apologize, okay? None of this was your fault. Hell, WE should be apologizing to YOU. I just hope you can forgive us for what we did. I feel like the sum of the earth right now. I feel so horrible for thinking you left Mark, when that was far from the case."

"Of course I'll forgive you," Brandy replied, giving Teresa another hug.

"What about me? You think you got it in ya to forgive my big, dumb ass?" Glenn asked.

Brandy laughed. "Of course I'll forgive you too," she said, giving him a hug as well. Once they stood up, she added, "I do have a favor to ask you guys, though."

"Anything," Teresa replied.

"Since I can't really go back to Mark's house, with him having a new girlfriend and all…could I possibly stay in your spare bedroom until I find a new place?"

Both her and Teresa looked up at Glenn. "You know our house is your house, little one," he replied, and she squealed, jumping into his arms.

"Thank you, Glenn. You have no idea how much I appreciate this," Brandy gushed.

He chuckled as he held her. "You're more than welcome, Brandy. Hell, it's the least I can do for treating you the way I did," he replied as he put her down.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do about clothes and whatnot, though," Brandy muttered, cursing silently.

Teresa and Glenn shared a smug grin. "Actually, Mark gave me your stuff hon. I never could bring myself to use any of it, so it's been in out basement this whole time," Teresa informed her.

Brandy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Uh-huh. Come on in, and we'll move it into the room," Teresa replied, and they all headed inside. It was in the light that they could see just how bad Brandy looked. "Holy shit, Brandy, look at you! What did that asshole do to you?"

Brandy looked down. "Pretty much everything you can think of," she muttered.

Teresa simply brought her into her arms. "You're safe here with us," she whispered in her ear, and felt Brandy squeeze her. "Come on, let's get you something to eat first. You look like you're starving," she added, taking Brandy's hand in hers and leading her into the kitchen.

"I am pretty hungry," Brandy commented, her stomach suddenly growling loudly.

Teresa laughed. "When you have a husband like mine, you learn to always have the pantry stocked," she commented, and opened up the pantry. "What would you like?"

"Hell, I don't know," Brandy replied, and walked over to her, looking at all the food they had. "Actually, you got pizza?"

"Uh-huh," Teresa replied, and headed over to the refrigerator.

"I'm gonna start bringing her stuff into the guest room," Glenn said, walked out of the room and into the basement.

"How did Mark take all of this?" Brandy asked once they had the pizza in the oven.

Teresa gave her a sorrowful look. "Not good at all. That's why I was so pissed over this. I hated seeing him hurt like that. I saw him go through the same thing with Jodi, and it killed me to see him hurt like that again. Right off the bat, he started going out every night, and every night would bring some random girl back home with him. I know, because he would tell Glenn, who would tell me. He does have a girlfriend now who he met about four months ago, and I can't stand that bitch. She clearly is just with him to say she fucked a celebrity, and I hate it. Mark may be stubborn-headed, but he's sensitive. He doesn't take broken hearts well."

Brandy hung her head. "I feel bad for causing him so much pain," she said in a quiet voice. It might have been Tom who caused all of this madness, but right now, she felt like everything was her fault.

"Brandy, damnit, quit blaming yourself! I know I said earlier it was your fault, but that was before I knew what really happened," Teresa said in a stern voice. She could see Brandy was hurting, and added in a softer voice, "None of this was your fault, okay?"

"I just feel like I lost Mark for good," Brandy commented in a quiet voice.

Teresa wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Just give him time to come back around. I know he's still pissed and bitter over this, but once he knows what really happened, I'm sure he'll take you back."

"I hope you right," Brandy replied.

"Just you wait and see, babe. Mark can't stay away from you long," Teresa said as she walked over to the oven to check out the pizza. This comment made Brandy grin.

"Okay, it's all in the room," Glenn said as he walked into the room.

"Thank you for doing that, Glenn. I could have helped you, though," Brandy replied, giving him a hug.

"Don't worry about it, Brandy. I don't mind helping you out one bit," he replied, patting her back. "Hey, is that pizza almost done? It's making me hungry," Glenn added as he looked over at the oven, making the two of them laugh.

"God, can you not go two hours without eating?" Teresa demanded.

"What? I can't help it if I like my food," he replied casually, shrugging his shoulders.

"It's okay, Glenn. You can have some of it," Brandy offered as she walked over to the cabinets and got out some plates.

"No, that's alright. You need it more than it do."

"I may be hungry, but trust me, I'm not hungry enough to eat a whole pizza," Brandy replied, making him chuckle.

"Alright, I'll eat a slice or two for you," he replied, getting out a couple of sodas as Teresa got the pizza out.

"You guys can catch up and whatnot. I'm gonna take a quick shower," Teresa said, and gave Glenn a quick kiss.

"Do you want us to save you some?" Brandy asked.

"No, that's okay," Teresa replied, and headed up the stairs.

"So how have you been Glenn?" Brandy asked as she cut the pizza into slices. "I can see you've been letting that gorgeous hair of yours grow out."

He grinned. "Yeah, but don't get too used to it. I think they're starting to talk about having me shave it off."

Brandy gasped. "No, Glenn, don't do that! I don't think I could handle it if you got rid of those curls," Brandy replied, running a hand through his hair.

"Relax, little one, relax. If they do decide to have me do it, it won't be for a while."

"That doesn't matter. I don't want you to EVER get rid of them," she muttered as she got herself some pizza.

"It's not like it's the end of the world," Glenn replied as he grabbed the rest of the pizza and sat down.

"Hey, where do you keep your spices?" Brandy asked.

"Above the oven," he said, pointing to the cabinets up there, and she walked over to them. As she reached up to grab the garlic salt in there, Glenn suddenly saw the scars on her lower back. "Brandy, come here," he said, and she walked back over to him.

"What?" she asked.

"Turn around," he replied, and carefully lifted up her shirt when she did so.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, trying to pull away.

"Relax, I'm just looking at your back," he replied, and had her once more face away from him. He was at a lost for words as he looked at her bare back. Lines crisscrossed over her back, and mixed in with it were what looked like scars from a cigarette. "Did that bastard really do this to you?" he asked, and she nodded. Glenn shook his head, and carefully brushed his fingers across the skin. Seeing this made him feel even more guilty. "Shit, he really did a number on you, little one," he commented as he had her turn around to face him. "I really don't see how you were able to put up with his abuse like that."

She forced a small smile. "After a while, I just grew numb to it."

Glenn shook his head once more. "You are one tough girl, you know it?" he said. She grinned sheepishly as she sat back down. Changing the subject, he said, "Did Teresa tell you she bought Chuck's Diner?"

"She did?" Brandy gasped.

Glenn nodded. "Chuck had to move away about five months ago, so he let Teresa become the new owner. She absolutely loves it, too." Taking a drink of his soda, he added, "I must admit, she's been doing a damn good job too. The diner has been doing really well."

"I'm glad to hear that. I always thought she would do good at something like that," she replied as she finished off a slice of pizza.

"Who would do good at what?" a voice behind them said.

They turned around, and found Teresa standing there. "I was just telling Brandy about how you own Chuck's Diner now," Glenn replied.

"Damnit, Glenn, I wanted to tell her!" Teresa exclaimed, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Shit, I'm sorry babe," Glenn replied.

"It's alright," she replied, and walked over to them. Turning to face Brandy, she added, "Just so you know, I'm more than willing to let you work at the diner. Just say the word, and I'll make you my manager."

Brandy smiled at her. "I appreciate it, Teresa, but I'd like to see if I can get my job back at the hospital. I'll definitely keep that in mind, though," Brandy replied, and gave her a hug. When she pulled away, she stood up and said, "I'm really tired, so I think I'm gonna go ahead and get some sleep."

"Night," Glenn and Teresa said simultaneously, and gave her a hug. The two of them cleaned everything up, and then headed up to bed as well.

"Teresa…you should have seen Brandy's back," Glenn commented. The two of them were lying in bed, with Glenn holding Teresa in his arms.

"What is that bad?" Teresa asked, looking up at him.

Glenn nodded. "I've never seen anything that bad," he replied.

"Poor girl," Teresa murmured, tightening her arm around him. "You have no idea how guilty about all of this."

"I do too. Brandy said she was willing to forgive us, though, and the way she was acting showed that she wasn't holding a grudge. I think she understands that this all was a huge misunderstanding, and that if we knew what had really happened we would have never acted the way we did," Glenn replied.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Teresa replied. Resituating herself, she then added, "I'm just wondering how Mark is going to take all of this." Glenn nodded, thinking the exact same thing.