"See? I told you she was a goner." Laurie chuckles as she finishes cleaning the last of the dishes, before setting a bowl onto the draining rack to dry. "What she did wasn't okay in the slightest. She got what she deserved."

"I guess ... " Michael, having finished his shift, leans himself against the front counter, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "But I still feel guilty. I just wonder what she's going to do with herself now."

"It's not your problem to deal with," Laurie answers, as she unties the cords of her apron and flings it off her body. She folds it neatly as she continues to talk. "She made her bed, and now she can lay in it."

Unsure of how else to contribute to the conversation — mainly due to knowing Laurie is correct — Michael simply nods in response. "Time to go home now, I guess."

"Today was a long day." She heaves a sigh. "I'm glad it's over with. And I'm also glad that you got to stay here. I'm glad Allie saw some sense."

"Me too. I really thought I'd lost my chance at a future." Michael looks down, a melancholy feeling in his soul. "I just ... I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what happened yesterday with Joanne. I didn't get this job to find a new romance or anything like that. I'm not that sorta person."

Laurie rests a hand on his shoulder, and such a small gesture serves as a huge reassurance to him. "Michael, I know. I was just shocked, that's all. You don't have to explain that to me. I know that what happened in there didn't mean anything to you."

"It really didn't," Michael says, daring to make eye contact with her once more. "I know it's been a year or two since my divorce, but ... I'm still trying to heal. It just felt so ... odd, I guess. We'd both had so much chemistry—I mean in terms of the work. We sorta just complemented one another and got the job done." He hesitates a moment, but decides to divulge his true thoughts. "She—she reminded me of Valerie."

"Do they look alike?"

Michael shakes his head, defeat evident in his brown doe eyes and his mellow frown. "No, not really. It wasn't so much about the looks ... but the mannerisms. The body language. The facial expressions. The vibe she gave off was very much like Valerie."

"You know, it's probably not healthy to seek anybody out who reminds you of her anyway." Her brows furrow, emphasising her sympathy. "Otherwise you'll spend your entire life comparing. And that's not fair on them."

"I know." Irritated at himself, he presses his hand to his face, muffling his speech. "It was such a stupid mistake, and now it has cost somebody their livelihood."

"Hey, what have I told you about feeling guilty about—"

"Guys?" A familiar voice cuts through their conversation.

Both pairs of eyes avert to the source of the sound, to find Avery pacing towards them with a sense of urgency.

"I thought you'd gone home, Ave. What are you still doing here?" Laurie asks. "Are you alright?"

Avery swallows harshly, suppressing the emotions they clearly want to express. "Yeah, I'm good, thanks."

"You ... don't look so good," Michael adds. "Has something bothered you?"

Just the innocent concern of two individuals is enough for Avery to crack, as their eyes suddenly fill with tears, quickly cascading down their face. "It's the girls," they explain between sobs. "I can't keep going on like this. You guys are the only people I trust in this place."

"Oh, Avery." Michael moves in to give them a hug, enveloping the sweet twenty-four-year-old perfectly in his arms. "Talk to us. We would never judge you, ever. Have the girls been making comments about your gender again?"

"Yes, exactly that." They sniffle gently, trying to avoid crying while talking. "It's mostly Rita, but she hasn't been here today thankfully. But the other girls have been picking up on what Rita says, so now I just feel ... ganged-up on, I guess." They withdraw from Michael, swiping away their tears. "I'm just being silly. I'm sorry guys."

"You're not being silly, my lovely." Laurie caresses Avery's stylish locks of hair between her fingers to calm them. "They've been so nasty to you lately. Have you told Allie about it?"

"I tried to, but Allie just defends them by saying it's not serious." They shake their head, bewildered. "I know she likes me, but it just feels like the whole world is against me. Why do people care if I just want to be ... me?"

"The world is a very cruel and prejudiced place," Michael explains. "I don't tell many people this, but I have a skin disorder called Vitiligo. It destroys the pigmentation in my skin. I'm African American, but the Vitiligo creates patches of skin that are just ... well, white. Usually I can hide it pretty well with makeup or whatever. But when I first started finding lighter patches, people would make comments directly to my face. And it hurt, because I've always been proud of who I am, and proud of my race. Some people would straight-up tell me I looked nothing like my childhood pictures, just because my skin was different."

"I had no idea," Avery answers. "I'm so sorry you went through that."

"It's alright," Michael assures them. "Since I started evening out my skin tone, nobody really says anything anymore. Of course, it was a little shock to see myself change like that ... but I know who I am inside, and that matters more to me than any comments anybody else could make."

"That's ... a really nice way to look at it." Avery smiles. "I guess it should be the same with me. I know who I am inside, and despite what the girls say, I'm not a woman. They don't get to tell me who I am."

"Exactly." Laurie playfully punches them on the arm. "That's how you have to look at it. But just to be ... extra cautious, why don't we try talking to Allie about the bullying? If it comes from somebody other than you, she might actually pull her finger out and nip it in the bud."

"I'd really appreciate that. Thank you." Avery springs forward, hugging Laurie unannounced. "You've always been like a big sister to me."

"That means a lot," Laurie answers. "And you've always been like a younger sibling to me, too."

Michael, feeling excluded among this heartfelt exchange, grants himself permission to join their embrace, leading them all into bursts of childlike laughter.

• • •

"So you're all good then, MJ?"

Michael looks to his buddy, nodding silently while he prepares his more elaborate answer. "Yeah, I'm good. Allie saw all the footage, and it showed that I was completely innocent. Joanne didn't even turn up for work today."

"Well, at least that's one less bitch in the workplace, huh?"

Michael flinches at Sean's choice of wording. "That's a little harsh ... "

"Mike, you needa hear this." Sean shifts his body so that he faces Michael on the sofa, and he gives his friend a stern look. "You gotta stop giving bad people the benefit of the doubt. Valerie for starters. But this Joanne girl seems like she was bad news, too. Why do you keep trying to defend people like that?"

"I just believe that one bad decision shouldn't tarnish a person's entire identity." Michael leans forward in his seat, resting his arms loosely over his knees in despair. "So yeah, maybe Valerie left me. And yeah, Joanne may have kissed me at work. It doesn't make them bad people."

"Valerie literally left your son unattended for Lord-knows-how-long while you were at work. She just upped and went away, only leaving a letter behind to explain why she fuckin' left. You're telling me child neglect doesn't make her a bad person?"

Michael remains silent, for he knows deep down that Sean is correct. He has spent months, turned to years, trying to justify Valerie's actions — even going as far as blaming himself occasionally for her behaviour. He knows what she did is inherently wrong, but his pain from the separation tars his acknowledgment of her wrongdoing, and he feels great shame over this. He knows that both he and his son deserve better than what she provided, but heartbreak can often warp one's perception of who a person truly is.

Sean's hushed, snarking voice cuts through the quiet. "Checkmate."

Michael responds at last, his words full of defeat. "Whatever, man."

"Hey, it's been over two years, Mike." Sean smacks Michael's back, attempting to comfort the melancholy young man. "She's probably out there livin' it up and partying every night. Because she never cared about you or Case. Yet here you are dwelling on her as though she's your one true love. I'm telling you buddy: Missus Right is out there, and she's closer than you think. I'm calling it right now."

"I'm glad somebody has some optimism," Michael answers. "'Cause I certainly don't."

"You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Credit for what, huh?" Michael shakes his head, disappointed in himself. "My son is asleep upstairs having prayed for his mom to come back before he starts elementary school in September. I'm down here knowing that'll never happen, and yet I don't have the heart to tell 'em. What kind of father am I to not tell my own son the truth like that?"

Sean snaps back, determined to talk sense into him. "The kind of father that has been brainwashed to believe he has to pick up all the pieces the so-called "mother" left behind."

"Well maybe if I'd have done something different, she wouldn't have left all those pieces for me to pick up."

"You didn't do anything wrong, MJ. She did. She threw everything away for her own selfish needs, after agreeing to start a family with you. You gave her everything she coulda wanted, and she chose not to accept it. That's on her, not you."

The words burn Michael's heart, leading him to tears. "Then why is it so hard to heal?"

"Come here, man." Sean brings his friend into his arms, allowing him to cry on his shoulder with no judgement. Through Michael's muffled sobbing, Sean continues to talk. "It hurts bad right now because you won't forgive yourself for what happened. You're holding this unnecessary grudge against yourself for the actions somebody else chose to commit. You're trying your best for you and for your son, and that's more than Valerie can ever say she did. You gotta give yourself a little more grace, Mike. You gotta give yourself a break."

Michael lifts his head up to look at his best friend, with eyes full of sadness. "I don't know why I still let her get to me. She probably forgot I even exist. I ... I know what she did was bad. But I loved her, Sean. I loved her so, so much, and I've been trying so hard to learn how to stop loving her. She means less to me than she did before, but it's gonna take a lotta work for me to move on." His eyes avert down to his lap, to avoid eye contact with Sean. "And what happened yesterday with Joanne ... it just reminded me how much people are willing to hurt others for their own desires; their own agenda. How will I ever trust another girl ever again?"

"There's plenty of girls out there who you can trust, man. You just gotta find 'em." Sean pats his hand against Michael upper arm to comfort him. "You can trust Laurie, for starters. I know, I know — you don't like her like that. I'm just saying, trustworthy women don't gotta be the ones you date or marry. It can be family, or a friend. You've always got people around you, man. Always."

Michael looks to him and nods, a little more reassured. "I know. It's just a whole ordeal, isn't it? A whole learning curve. I know I'll get there eventually, but ... it's just the process of getting there that's feeling kinda rough, I guess. I just want to fast-forward to the part where I feel ... complete, again. I know I have Casey, and I'm very fortunate to have him. And I know I have you and Laurie, and Avery too. But I'm thousands of miles away from my family, so I feel like I have to rely a lot on you guys here in England."

"Well, you can rely on us all you want to. That's what we're here for." Sean smiles. "And you already know you can stay here as long as you need. I know you wouldn't take advantage of my friendship. You're not like that."

"And when I'm back on my feet, I'll find a way to repay you for everything you've done for me," Michael answers. "I promise."

"Well, there's no need to do that." He nudges Michael's arm playfully. "But I wouldn't mind comin' on over to your new place for pizza when you do find somewhere to go."

Michael chuckles, feeling a small weight lift from his shoulders. "Of course. Casey would love that, too."

Their conversation is interrupted by the sound of Casey calling for his father from his room upstairs. Michael sighs knowingly, rising from his comfortable position on the sofa.

"I guess that's my cue to go settle him again," he comments, trudging towards the living room door. "But thank you again. Not just for the pep talk, but ... just for everything."

Sean winks, a smirk touching upon his lips. "It's nothin', man."

Michael smiles at Sean's words, before disappearing out of the room to go and see to his son.

• • •

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Happy Mother's Day to all those celebrating today! xx