The Book of David Ch. 13

It wasn't right. She didn't belong to me. She belonged to my sister. And so right then and there, I asked myself, did I love Cherys enough to take her away?

And right there, I had my answer. I still saw it as STEALING Cherys away from who she truly belonged with: Danielle. I loved Cherys. I loved her as a person, and I would have been perfectly happy with her as my wife. But in a way, I still loved the dream more than whatever reality may have been. Cherys had always been my fantasy, and the idea of growing old with her held a lot of appeal. But as happy as we were together, I didn't feel in my gut that she was my soul mate. She was Danielle's.

But now, even if I wanted to let go of her, did I even have the choice anymore?

While my morals demanded that I let go of Cherys, some bridges cannot be uncrossed. We'd touched each other's hearts and I'd already changed her relationship with Danielle forever. They could never go back to being exactly the same way as before. And it wasn't entirely up to me where Cherys and I would go from here.

As if on cue, Cherys looked up at me, her eyes a stormy violet that peered through the thin, black veil of her bangs, hanging in her face. "What should I do?"

It hurt, but it was the right thing to do. "Go to her. You belong with her, Cherys."

Her voice cracked, "What about us?" There was a deep longing in her voice, deeper than just the love we shared. If she gave me up, she would be giving up her dreams of an ideal family.

"I'll always be there to take care of you and our baby. I promised, and I love you." I closed my eyes, fighting back my own tears. Cherys could still have the children and the picket fence, but there would be no husband. There would be no wedding. There would be no Cherys and David. Very soon, I would be alone once again.

Suddenly, she was beside me, holding my head in her hands. "Oh, no," I pleaded. My emotions were too fragile right now, my sanity hanging by a thread. But Cherys didn't stop, she tilted my head back and our mouths met in a kiss of passion and fire and all the beautiful things that we could have been but would never be.

And just as soon as it started, it was over. Cherys sniffled and then stood up, turning away and walking down the hall towards Danielle, and away from me. Our decisions had been made.

***

It seemed like I sat there for hours, oblivious to the world. We wouldn't ever be able to go back to the way things were, but the love Cherys, Danielle, and I shared would endure in some form or another. I still had my family, my friends, and my work. Life would go on. But for right now, I really just wanted to sit there and cry.

All around me were the shattered pieces of my heart, and with slow deep breaths, I reached around me and picked them back up. It would take time to piece them together again. It would take time before I was whole. But I didn't have any other choice but to try. After all, it wasn't the first time my heart had been broken.

And for a brief moment, I looked out the window to see the morning sunshine and white clouds amidst a clear blue sky. I wondered where Amber was right now.

But then I was back to my depression, focusing on the simple task of breathing. 'Keep breathing,' I told myself. 'In... out... breathe... and your life will go on...'

It was in this state of mind that I awoke to hear the doorbell ringing. I closed my eyes and willed it to go away. But when the bell rang again, I let out a long sigh and like a zombie, rose and headed for the door. If nothing else, Cherys and Danielle were sure to have a very intense conversation and I didn't want them being disturbed.

I went to the peephole and looked out.

Oh, *HELL*...

What I saw threatened to shatter what little sanity I had left, fragile as it was. I really wasn't in any state to deal with this right now, and yet my body moved automatically to flip the lock and then pull down on the door handle.

As I swung the door open, I gazed down at the tall blonde, an exceedingly beautiful woman with sky blue eyes and a Barbie doll body. A hopeful smile crossed her face as she looked at me. I hadn't seen or heard from her in three years.

Amber took a deep breath and giggled with a nervous smile, "What the hell are YOU looking at?"

***

NEXT: CHAPTER 14