Forever My Love Ch. 06

***

Present day...

*

Ben got up from the bench and started pacing about, staring at the red light. The sound of the gunshot kept on repeating. The air was thick with fear, and a sense of impending doom hang in the stillness. As he was pacing in fear, his eyes caught something that got his attention. It was a small statue of Jesus that was placed on the wall with candles placed on a small table.

He slowly walked to it, his hands clasped tightly together. His voice quivered as he began to utter a prayer, his eyes never leaving the statue.

"Oh, merciful and protective God, in this hour of darkness, I come to you with a heart heavy with fear." He said softly, tears trickling down his face. "So many years ago, I lost my mother and I had no say in it. I didn't even get the chance to plead for more time. Same thing happened to my daughter six years ago. I lost them without a clue I would lose them.

Today it is my father and I am scared of losing him. I know I said I didn't want to do anything with him but I didn't want him to die." He sniveled, shaking his head. "I was in so much pain and I just wanted him to suffer the way I did but not like this.

I cannot lose him." He said, feeling a lamp in his throat. "I cannot lose the only person that I have left, my blood. I beg you..." He said in between sobs. "I beg you to save him from this and I promise I will forever be indebted to you. Save him from the hands of death because I still need more time with him. I cannot lose him."

As he uttered each word, Ben's desperation deepened. He closed his eyes, clasped his hands tighter and prayed even more. He didn't know how many minutes passed but all he wanted to do was pray until his father got out of the E.R. Suddenly, before he finished his prayer, he felt someone grip his arm painfully and pull him.

Opening his eyes, he just looked into the eyes of the angry woman that stared at him like she wanted to kill him. The air was suddenly thick with tension, palpable like an electric charge. Elena's eyes, cold and mad, met Ben's with unwavering intensity. A moment of charged silence hung between them before Elena finally spoke, her voice loud and angry.

"What are you doing here? You came to make sure that Jerome died? Making a prayer that he doesn't make it out of that room?" She snapped. "What the fuck? Get the hell out of here and..."

"I don't owe you an explanation as to why I am here, Elena." Ben said, his voice a low growl. He furiously released his arm from her grip.

"Oh, you don't." Elena chuckled bitterly, glancing at her son. "First of all, you get my husband shot and you're here playing a saint? You won't go away until you hurt each and every one of us, will you?"

Ben chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "Hurt? That bullet was meant for me and dad took it for me. If I had wanted to hurt him, I wouldn't have brought him here."

"Ooooh!" Jim visibly shook, chirping at Ben. "We're supposed to thank you? The only reason dad got hurt is because of you. You think you can waltz in here, playing the hero, and save the day? I can see through your little bitchy self."

To say Ben was surprised would be an understatement. He looked at Jim with his mouth open and failed to say a word to him.

"There are times when we can argue and right now is not the time." He said simply, taking a deep breath. "Right now, dad is in there fighting for his life and we can put our differences aside and pray for..."

"My father is in there." Jim argued, furiously pointing at the E.R. "I am the one that is supposed to be praying for his health and not the one who wants to harm him."

He furiously gripped Ben's arm and started dragging him out of there. Ben angrily released his arm from Jim's grip and stood a distance, staring at him. He couldn't believe that the both of them had chosen such a moment to cause trouble.

Before he could say a thing, the red light switched off, getting their attention. They all rushed there just as the doctor was coming out.

"How's my husband, doctor?" Elena asked, her voice cutting. "Please, tell me that he is alright because I cannot afford to lose him."

The doctor sighed, staring at all of them. "Let's just say your husband is a fighter. There were moments when we thought we were gonna lose him but eventually, we managed to remove the bullet and save his life."

The relief that everyone felt when they heard that. Ben's heart was still pounding deep into his chest but he couldn't have been happier than he was at that time. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he smiled.

"The bullet didn't hit any vital organs but he's gonna need some assistance walking for some time." He added.

"No problem." Elena enthused, rubbing her tears of joy. "I will be by his side always."

"Alright." The doctor smiled. "The nurses are just cleaning him up. We should transfer him to a room where you can see him."

With those words, the doctor left. Ben stood there, smiling and lost deep in thought. He was gotten out when he heard Elena's voice.

"Even your evil plans are running away from you." She said with an evil grin on her face. "Now you can get out of here and stop pretending. And I don't ever wanna see you anywhere near my husband or my family again."

Ben chuckled softly and without saying a word, he simply turned and left. God knows he wanted to see his father and talk to him. But he knew that after undergoing such a long operation, he didn't need any more drama. He had to go away.

Jim and Elena looked at each other and worry registered on their faces. What were they up to?

***

David paced the living room, thoughts racing through his mind like a tempest, and a lot of scenarios played at the back of his mind. He was having a terrible headache but could care less about it. As he was busy pacing about, he saw his friend entering the living room and didn't waste time rushing to him.

"Isaac!" He gripped his shirt, pulling him closer. "You're my friend, aren't you? Why do you want me to suffer so much?"

Isaac frowned, wondering what David was talking about.

"David, are you feeling alright?"

"Am I feeling alright?" He snapped, breathing like a warrior heading to war. "You have been there with me ever since we were young. You know exactly what I know and there's no way you can tell me you don't know what happened in the years I have lost my memories."

"Calm down!" Isaac raised his hands like he was surrendering. "You don't seem to be doing fine. Let's just settle down and talk about what's wrong."

"What's wrong is that I am going crazy." He let go of Isaac, breathing harshly. He gripped his own hair furiously and started pacing about. "I keep having these vivid flashbacks that don't make sense and they all involve Ben. Now you tell me, Isaac, how can I have such vivid flashbacks if I didn't even know who he was? There is something everyone of you is not telling me."

Isaac remained quiet and stared at David without uttering a single word.

"Who is Ben?" David asked in frustration, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. "How is he connected to me because I can't deal with this anymore."

"David like we..."

"Bullshit!" He snapped, stamping his foot on the floor angrily. "You cannot tell me that because I believe my flashbacks ain't nothing."

He moved closer, staring into Isaac's eyes.

"Today there was a song playing while I was at the mall with Michael." He said angrily. He began narrating what had happened to Isaac and the man knew that event very well.

"So, tell me, how could I not know him." He asked. "His kisses... his touch... the way we made love... the way he hugged me. It felt too real to be a fantasy and I know I am not crazy. It's too much of a coincidence not to be true."

"David..."

"Who is Ben to me? How is he connected to my past?"

There was a silence between them. It was so quiet one would have heard a pin drop.

"Isaac..."

"I'll tell you." A voice spoke.

David felt a shiver run down his spine when he looked in the direction of the voice and saw Jim standing there looking vulnerable. David's pulse throbbed in his ears when he saw Jim and his breath came in jagged, uneven gasps, as if his lungs struggled to draw in air amidst the suffocating grip of fear.

"Jim, I..."

"No, David!" A tear went down Jim's cheek which he furiously rubbed. "You're right, we need to tell you the truth. We owe that to you."

He slowly walked towards his husband, each step feeling like he was gonna die. Jim had so much emotion inside him that he felt he was burst. Anger... resentment... pain... evil... it all wanted to come out at that point. He went and stood in front of David, staring into his eyes. Jim's eyes were red and David could tell he had been crying.

"I am so sorry." Jim apologized, putting his hands together. "I thought I could protect you from the truth and spare you from the pain, knowing how much it made you suffer."

David was so confused. He frowned. "What-what are you talking about?"

Jim took a deep breath and slowly rubbed his tears. "Ben... Ben is my... my step-brother." He stuttered.

The room fell into a stunned silence as the truth unfolded before David's eyes. His hands trembled, his eyes widening with disbelief.

"What?" David's voice was barely above a whisper. "H-how?"

Jim nodded, sniveling softly. "Yes! We have the same father, although he was born out of an unfair my father had with his mother. We were living together ever since he was 7 until 6 years ago when... when...." He couldn't even complete the sentence as he burst into tears.

He took a deep breath, staring into David's eyes.

"6 years ago, you cheated on me with him."

David's eyes widened, pupils dilating at Jim's words. A gasp escaped his lips, a sharp intake of air as if the revelation had stolen the very breath from his lungs. The room seemed to spin, and he staggered backward, desperately seeking something to steady himself against. His fingers found the edge of a table, gripping it with a white-knuckled intensity.

"W-what?" He stammered.

"Yes!" Jim sobbed softly. "We met 7 years ago and we were so much in love, so, so much, David. We were very happy... we had so many plans for the future. We planned how we were gonna get married and where we were gonna get married." He chuckled in his tears. "We were happy until..." He paused and his face got stern. "...until you met him during an event when our families met for the first time."

He furiously rubbed his tears but David could see just how much pain he was in.

"He became so obsessed with you and at first, I thought he was only joking but behind my back, he was stalking you, following you everywhere and trying to get you to leave me."

He paused and got nearer, his breaths sharp.

"You started acting strange towards me. You became cold and stopped doing the things we used to do as a couple." He said softly. He was in pain and David could see that. "I found out that you had... had..." He paused and took another deep breath. "...that you had been sleeping with him. You said... said you were leaving me for him." He sobbed uncontrollably. "You said you didn't wanna do anything with me anymore."

The shock manifested in the way David's heart pounded against his chest, a chaotic drumbeat echoing the tumult in his mind. Tears welled up in his eyes and a lump formed in his throat, making it almost impossible to articulate the questions swirling in his mind.

"My parents ... when they found out were shocked. They tried to reason with him but to no avail. I was so hurt because... because this was someone I loved and accepted as my brother." He cried softly. "I couldn't eat or talk. It was so bad that my father had to disown him. We all thought it was over but even when he was leaving, you... left with him and we didn't hear from you for several months."

"I did... that?" His voice was so low.

"Yes! I didn't give up on us... I kept on looking for you and praying you come back to me." He nodded. "There wasn't a day when I didn't look for you. I never gave up until one day, you returned to us. We were so happy that you had come back. You felt so bad until you told us what you found out. Ben had cancer... and it was during that time you found out that he was using black magic on you. He was in the hospital and couldn't keep up with it.

You returned to us and after realizing what you had done, abandoning me and your family, you felt so bad that you didn't know how to look us in the eyes anymore without remembering how bad you had treated us."

"No, no, this can't be real." He shook his head, whispering to himself. He couldn't believe it. "No!" He gripped his hair, shaking his head.

"It's true!" He nodded, staring at his husband. "You didn't know what to do. You asked me to marry you and we got married. But you couldn't forget what happened. You were no longer happy despite having been forgiven. You were filled with so much guilt.

I thought maybe starting a family would be a good idea but... it was too much for you. You always told me how you felt you couldn't be a good father and husband. It was heartbreaking seeing you so devastated and sad. One day... we received some news that you were involved in an accident while on a business trip.

You were in a coma for several months but I never gave up on you. When you eventually woke up, you couldn't remember what had happened the last three years. It was a moment of trial for me because you couldn't remember who I was and when we got married. We tried to get your memory back but after a while, we realized maybe it was for the best. After a while, we saw you smile and we thought it was good if you didn't remember."

The truth hung in the air, a bitter taste that clung to the back of his tongue. The shocked etched across his face was a silent scream, a canvas painted with raw intensity of his shattered reality. In that moment, everything that he thought he knew crumbled, leaving only the harsh reality of the unexpected truth.

"I did... that?" He sobbed. He couldn't even look straight in Jim's eyes. "Oh God... I can't believe this. How could... I couldn't have, please, tell me that it isn't true. I am not that kind of person that would abandon people... especially my family."

"I know, baby."

David's heart missed a beat when he heard his mother's voice. She stood at the staircase, slowly coming down while staring at him. He shook his head when he saw her.

"I know you can't hurt anyone, but Jim is telling the truth." She nodded. "You left this house for several months without a trace of where you went. In fact, before you left this house, you pointed a gun at me and you threatened to shoot. That was how bad it was."

"No!" He wailed, dropping to his knees. "I couldn't have, mom, no... it's a lie. I couldn't have done all those things."

"You couldn't have." She rushed to him, knelt before him and held his hands. "You didn't know what you were doing then because you were not under your control. We didn't know what was going on until we eventually found out. But I am a mother after all, baby..." She held his cheek, smiling brightly at him. "... despite everything, I never stopped loving you or did anything wrong. I was there always, hoping that you would return to me and you did." She rubbed his tears.

"But Jim, it was too much for him." She glanced at Jim who was trying to hide his pain. "I have never seen anyone love someone so much before. He suffered in those months you weren't around and he tried to commit suicide several times. But your love..." She chuckled. "...it kept him going. And that love brought you back to him and broke whatever spell that boy had cast on you. That boy..." She pointed at Jim. "...that boy loves you so much, son."

David looked up at Jim and felt a pain in his heart slowly emerge. For the first time in so long, he couldn't find his voice. He couldn't even imagine the pain that Jim had gone through all those times and what he might have been going through at that time.

He took a deep breath, rising from the floor, summoning the courage to break the silence between them.

"Jim," He began, his voice a gentle whisper, "I was a fool and I know I can't remember what transpired between us, but I was a fool for what I did... for cheating on you. I know I hurt you with my actions and I can't even imagine what you went through... what you've been going through seeing me working with him. I now realize just how much you love me and how much you've been trying to protect me from this pain."

Jim met his gaze, his eyes reflecting a blend of pain and a flicker of hope.

"David, I won't lie, it was so hard for me. I never imagined that would happen to me or that my own brother would betray me like that. Seeing you with him killed me and it still hurts me so much. But what could I have done..." He sobbed. "...I love you too much and the last thing I want is to cause you any pain, even at the expense of mine."

Taking a step closer, David cupped Jim's face in his hands, his touch tender and apologetic. "I want to make things right, Jim. I want to make you happy just as much as you've made me happy. I want to rebuild what we had, erase all those sad memories."

A tear escaped Jim's eyes, trailing down his cheek. Hearing those words, he felt a shiver go down his spine. "I want that too, David, more than anything. But how can we do that when the reminder is still around us? It triggers those memories."

"I will make things right, baby." He nodded, a silent promise in his eyes. "I am willing to do whatever it takes, Jim. I will make you happy, us happy and we'll be together. That is my promise."

"Really?" Jim couldn't contain his tears. "I love you so much, David, and I don't wanna lose you."

"You won't lose me. I love you too."

In that moment, the world around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the two of them. Jim couldn't believe it... everything was falling into place. He had David exactly where he wanted him to be. Nothing was gonna come between them after that moment and he was gonna make sure of it.

Grasping the back of David's head, Jim closed the remaining distance between them. The kiss that followed was a tender reconciliation, a promise to fix all the problems that were in their lives and a promise to be together forever, or at least Jim thought that. The flame had been rekindled and it was gonna stay that way.

'I have you where I want you, David.' Jim thought. 'Now we'll see how you'll stray away from me. The only thing remaining is to get rid of Ben, forever.'

To be continued....