The Bad Boy Next Door

"Uh…knock knock?" Mikey walked into Frank's house, surveying the damage around him. "Wow. It looks like something really bad happened in here. Frank, are you okay?"

Frank looked up from where he was sitting on the floor. "Hey, Mikey. Remember when you told me not to do something stupid?"

"Yes. What did you do?"

"Melody."

Mikey frowned. "Yeah, she is pretty stupid. So what's with the destruct-o-rama?"

"Jo came over this morning. Melody was still here."

"Ouch. Jo didn't break everything did she? Or Melody…"

"No, that was me. Jo left, and I was…well, I didn't trash my house out of glee."

"I thought Jo had already broken it off with you."

"She did. But then she caught Pete shagging some hooker, and she came back. She wasn't too happy to find I'd slept with Melody last night…"

"I'm sorry, Frank. I…"

"You know what really hurts? She seriously didn't love me. I was just a thing to her. Something to play with. She got so mad about Melody, so mad that I hadn't just pined away for her when she left me. And I know she wouldn't have come back if she hadn't found out the truth about Pete."

"I know it hurts, but maybe it's for the best. I mean, look at what she's reduced you to."

"When she said she loved me, she didn't mean it."

"Wait, she said she loves you? When?"

"Right before Mel walked out of the bedroom in a sheet."

"Did it occur to you that maybe Jo does love you? Maybe finding out her husband was cheating gave her the jolt she needed to realize what she really had with you all along."

Frank looked up at Mikey, his eyes wide, vulnerable. "Do you really think…" Frank closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No. She was using me. She said it enough before. I can't keep… I can't…" Frank looked around at the mess surrounding him and began to cry, his whole body shaking.

Mikey stood there, staring at Frank in shock. In all the years he'd known him, he'd never seen him this broken. "Love's a funny thing."

"Is that what this is?" Frank stood, wiping at his face. "I'll tell you what I need to do. Move. Get out of this house and away from her. Don't even know why I stayed here after Jamia left. As if I liked living here."

Mikey frowned. "You're not going too far are you?"

Frank ruffled Mikey's hair. "Don't worry. I won't desert you. Got some mates in L.A. Maybe I'll look them up." Frank sighed. "I just need to get out of here. Not one bloody good thing has happened to me since I came here. It's like I've just been rotting away here. I need to get out, be back among the living, y'know?"

"You do what you have to, Frank."

"I wonder if it'll even be worth it," Frank said, leaning against a wall. "I'll probably just find some other bloody woman to ruin my life all over again. All I've ever been is love's bitch."

"Hey, come on now, Mr. Negative. You never know what's just around the corner. Things change."

"Yeah, they do." Frank gave Mikey a small smile. "Would it be too much for me to ask for a little help here? Something tells me a realtor won't exactly jump at the chance to sell a place that looks like this."

Mikey smiled back, just happy to see Frank wasn't going to be as bad as he'd feared when he first got there. "Sure thing, buddy. I'll be happy to give you a hand."