With her head still down, “Al, ”she hears her name called and she looks up. When she does she sees all of her friends circled around her table. With crocodile tears welding in her eyes she lets them fall, “Hi,” she manages to say.

They all slide in the booth with her with Tina and Shane sitting closes to her.

Wiping the tears from her eyes looking at her friends, “I know I haven’t been a good friend these past few months but I have all of these emotions that I have been feeling since finding out that Tasha is alive I don’t even know where to begin or how to sort them out. I feel so alone and I know I don’t have the right to ask but I came here tonight not only to ask for your forgiveness but to tell you all that I really need and miss you,” she says crying and trembling over her words as she spoke.

“Al, we all wanted to call you but—-.”

“I know Shane I know.”

“How are you holding up Al,” Bette asked.

“Not good not good at all some days I don’t know if I’m coming or going.”

“How’s Clea taking all of this,”Helena asked.

“She’s been really supportive.

At the mention of Clea name both Shane and Max look at one another.

Saying Cleas name Alice begins to cry uncontrollably. Her friends assumed it was because she was an emotional wreck but the truth is the last few months Clea had changed. Similar to the incident that happened before when she came home drunk and sweaty that same aggressiveness she showed towards her had now become a normal occurrence with the last incident resulting in Clea physically slapping Alice when she refused to have sex with her. The slap was so forceful it had knocked Alice off her feet. Instead of blaming Clea she blamed herself as she believed it was her fault. She hadn’t been open with Clea and her fearfulness to open up had pushed Clea to the edge. Her face was bruised which is why she called out for a few days from work knowing that she couldn’t hide the bruising from Max.

“I can only imagine what you must be going through I’m sorry we weren’t there for you,”Tina says.