Hobbling into the office on crutches, Amelia drew attention the moment she arrived at work. The large cast was massively inconvenient, but she both couldn't afford to take too much PTO and didn't want to.

"Oh my God, Amelia!" coworkers surrounded her immediately, eyeing her leg with concern as she moved toward her desk from the elevator, "What happened?"

"Got jumped by some thugs outside my ex's place," Amelia shrugged, dropping into her chair with a hiss, "Could have been much worse."

"Ex?"

"Jumped?!"

"Thugs?!"

Questions exploded around her, and she just chuckled with a shake of her head.

"Everything is fine," Amelia sighed, sitting back and looking at the people of her team warmly.

She looked at Brandon first, "yes, ex. I caught Ryan cheating, and I dumped him, obviously."

Then she turned to Shirley and Eric before Brandon could respond, "Yes, jumped. I took a back alley when I shouldn't have, and there were a bunch of thugs already there. They didn't want to take no for an answer. We fought, I was losing. A passing stranger helped me, then got me to the hospital. The police are involved, and it's all done now."

"Ryan cheated?" Eric gasped, making a pearl-clutching motion - as was his way.

"Yep," Amelia said, chuckling drying and looking away, "Went to his place to surprise him, and caught him mid-act."

"He doesn't deserve you," Brandon growled, wrapping his arm around Eric's waist and tugging his husband into his chest as if to emphasize his distaste.

"Nope," Amelia agreed immediately, smiling at the men she considered friends, "and I told him as much. He's been harassing me ever since, though, so I might end up getting a restraining order."

"He has NOT!" Shirley scowled, smacking her hand on the desk beside mine, "The nerve!"

"This is why I will never get married," Amelia scoffed, "He just proved me right."

"Oh, don't think that way, Amy," Eric cooed, leaning into Brandon, "you never know who's right around the corner."

"Don't let him have that kind of power over your future," Brandon agreed with a nod, tightening his hold on Eric, "If you don't want to get married, don't, but don't let the reason be a man that didn't deserve to call you his in the first place."

Amelia smiled softly, nodding and indulging them in conversation for a bit longer before finally shooing them to their desks. They had a project to execute, and as much as she loved to chat with them - they had to get to it.

The days bled together as she worked, the exhaustion of healing while trying to roll out their new product launch not helped by the constant calls, texts, and attempts to visit from Ryan - first at the office, then later at her apartment.

The third time he'd been waiting for her at her house with a bouquet, she had just asked the taxi to take her to her friend's place. The first time she'd been lucky - she'd gone home early because she'd been exhausted, and so she'd just called the cops when he'd refused to stop banging on the door. The second time, though, he caught her hobbling toward the elevator, and she'd had to cry out for help from her neighbors when he tried to drag her to his car 'to talk.'

At least when he'd dropped by the office she'd already warned her boss and the building security to make sure he didn't make it in.

"Rach," Amelia sighed when her friend, Rachel, answered her call, "can I crash at your place tonight?"

"Sure girl, what's going on?" Rachel asked, worry clear in her voice.

Amelia and Rachel weren't best friends, exactly, but they had this 'even if we don't talk for 2 years, it's like no time has passed when we get together again' kind of friendship - Amelia's favorite kind.

"My ex, Ryan, keeps harassing me at my place. I might have to move. He was waiting outside my place and I just had the taxi head your way instead."

"Taxi? What happened to your car?"

"It's at the apartment complex," Amelia shrugged, knowing Rachel couldn't see her, "broke my leg and a taxi is easier for getting to and from work right now."

"Oh shit girl," Rachel breathed, "Well come on by. I'll order Thai and kick the boys out for the night while we figure out what you're going to do."

"You don't have to kick them out," Amelia laughed, knowing Rachel's partners would leave without a fuss but not feeling like being the home crasher, "Hell, maybe they'll have a good perspective."

"I doubt it, but sure," Rachel laughed, "but we might downgrade to Chinese then. Four people going for Thai is expensive!"

Amelia chuckled, chatting casually right up until the taxi stopped outside Rachel's condo. After paying the cabby and thanking him profusely, she hobbled herself right up to the door.

She barely managed to avoid toppling right back down the stairs when Rachel tackled her as a form of greeting.

"Sounds like you've got a hell of a lot to catch us up on," Roger said from behind her with a smirk, "Come on in. We already ordered your favorite - assuming it hasn't changed."

Amelia nodded appreciatively, and the second she was sitting on the couch with chopsticks in her hand she dove straight into catching them up. Not just on the breakup, either, since it had been nearly half a year since they'd chatted last. By the time she'd finished telling them everything that had happened, the sun was already set.

"Restraining order," David said seriously the second she paused long enough for him to get a word in, "Definitely start with a restraining order."

"You should also send the pictures and story to his mom now too," Roger added with a smirk, "You've given him plenty of chances."

"I dunno," Rachel said with a frown, "You ever see what desperate men do when someone goes on the offense? Getting him cut out of the will could get her killed."

Roger's smirk fell away and he nodded grimly, not disagreeing with her assessment.

Pettiness is always fun in theory, but definitely not worth pissing someone off that might get violent.

"I'll take you to get the restraining order tomorrow," Roger said seriously, "I've got the day off. It's great timing."

"I'll ask around about comparable apartments," Rachel piped up, "You crash here until we find something else, yeah?"

"I didn't even pack a bag," Amelia admitted, slouching back, "I can't stay forever, I've got to go home and get my clothes and stuff."

"We'll swing by in the morning," Roger offered, "Call in. He won't be there when he thinks you're at work. We'll go, grab your stuff, head to the station and file, then come back here. Stay here until the restraining order is served, at least."

It was hard to argue with their logic, so Amelia eventually agreed - texting her boss and team that she'd be off the next day but available for calls or emails if they needed her.

They insisted they wouldn't.

The four of them spent the night catching up, and by the time Amelia crashed in the guest room she was genuinely thankful for the friends she had.

Who needs a man when you've got good friends, she thought sleepily before drifting off with the hopes that a restraining order would be enough to make Ryan leave her alone.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. Even after filing and being approved for the restraining order, Ryan continued to harass Amelia - just from a distance. When she blocked his number, he tried again from a friend's phone. When she refused his deliveries, he had someone leave them outside her door. Letters asking for a second chance, roses and chocolates, and even sending mutual friends to beg for her to hear him out - he seemed incapable of accepting that it was over.

Thankfully Rachel pulled through, and just before she had a big presentation at the office Amelia was able to find another apartment. Roger, David, and Rachel all came over to help her pack and load up a moving truck, then unload and get the basics unpacked all in the same weekend she got her cast off.

The landlord had even gone easy on her when she broke her lease given the issues she knew she was having with Ryan.

After two months, Amelia finally felt like she could breathe.

--

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