When You Read Between the Lines

A car horn from outside caused Faith to sit up abruptly. The bed sheet slid down her torso and she felt the cool breeze coming in from the open window and pulled it back up over her naked body. Her eyes were heavy lidded and groggy. She tried to rub the sleep from her eyes and looked around.

Clothes were strewn throughout the room. The red lights of the clock on the bed-side table glowed 10:15. Joe’s body next to her moved up and down with his breathing. Quickly she stood up, letting the sheet fall and picked up all her clothes. She quietly ran to the bathroom and pulled them on, tears forming in her eyes. She found her purse with ease; it was right where she left it, on the floor next to the couch. She peeked in the bedroom to make sure Joe was still asleep before leaving his apartment and taking the elevator down to ground level.

After climbing into her car she drove a few blocks before pulling into a gas station. She set the car in park and rested her forehead on the steering wheel, her body shaking from her sobs. The past twenty-four hours flew through her mind. The most vivid part was having sex with Joe and she didn’t even regret it. She was crying because she had royally fucked up and she didn’t know how to explain this. She couldn’t go home and one idea came to mind. Digging around in her purse she found her cell phone and called Danielle.

“Hello?” Dani asked.

“Dani, it’s me,” Faith sobbed.

“What’s wrong?” she asked automatically.

“I screwed up,” she said, shaking her head. “I really need to talk to you.”

“Do you want me to go there?”

“No, I’m not home. I’ll come to your place on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“Is Kevin there too?”

“Yes.”

“Can you put me on speaker so I can talk to both of you?”

“Okay, we’re both here.”

“What’s up Faith?” Kevin asked concerned.

“When I get there what I tell you has to be kept between the three of us. I’d feel more comfortable telling only Dani but since you’re married and I know Dani, you’d find out anyway Kevin. But seriously just the three of us until I say otherwise. Agreed?”

“Yes,” Dani said.

“Of course,” was Kevin’s response. “Do you need me to pick you up, Faith?”

“No, I have my car. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” she said, hanging up the phone. She took a few deep breaths before pulling out of the gas station and heading to their house.

****

When she got there Dani opened the door before Faith had the car in park. She walked inside and right into Danielle’s arms as Kevin closed the door behind them. He stood there silently as Faith cried onto Dani’s shoulder, not daring to touch her until she was ready to move. After a few silent minutes Faith stepped away from Dani and turned to Kevin who rubbed her back and tried to calm her. Once Faith’s breathing was back to normal they moved to the living room.

Faith sat in the chair while Kevin and Danielle sat on the couch next to her. They waited for Faith to speak first. She was mentally preparing herself, trying to figure out the best way to tell them what had happened. She figured she should just up and say it.

“So, last night Nick had reservations for us at Rosewood Mansion. A car came to the house to get me and I was all dressed up and everything,” she said, looking down at the outfit she was talking about still on her body. “I sat in that restaurant for an hour waiting for him. He didn’t call, he didn’t text… he didn’t fucking show up.”

“Jesus,” Kevin muttered, shaking his head.

“Then what happened?” Dani asked, her eyes never leaving Faith’s timid frame.

“The hostess called for a cab for me. I paid him to drive me from Dallas to my home where I broke down. Then… I grabbed my car keys and went to Joe’s,” she said, the tears coming again. “I slept with Joe,” she whispered.

“Oh my,” Dani whispered. Just then the phone rang and Kevin stood up to get it.

“Wait!” Faith cried causing Kevin to turn around. “If that’s Nick, tell him I’m not here. Please.”

“I will,” he said quietly, walking into the kitchen to answer the phone.

“Come here,” Dani whispered, patting the couch cushion next to her. Faith stood up and stumbled her way over, collapsing into Dani, resting her head on her lap and curling her legs up on the couch. Dani slowly stroked Faith’s hair and made soothing sounds.

“What am I going to do, Dani?”

“What do you want to do honey?”

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I’ll be able to be Nick’s wife anymore. Being married to him has brought me so much pain. Not physical of course but emotionally and I never dreamt he would do anything like this to me. But sleeping with Joe… I feel so guilty.”

“Do you regret it? Sleeping with Joe?” Danielle asked and her movements stilled, waiting for Faith’s answer.

“No,” she whispered as Kevin returned.

“So, that was Nick. I told him you weren’t here and I also told him not to call Joe because he’d probably still be sleeping and wouldn’t hear the phone anyway. Only problem is I don’t know what will happen when he calls Mom and Dad because it will probably worry them,” he said, running a hand through his curls.

“Can you call them?” Faith asked. “Just tell them that Nick and I had a fight and that I’m with you two but that they shouldn’t tell Nick. Would Mom agree to that?”

“I’m sure she will,” Dani said, glancing up at Kevin. He nodded his head and returned to the kitchen. “Come on Faith, you need to take a nice long shower and I’ll find you something comfortable to wear and then we’ll talk some more about what to do about all of this.”

“Thank you, Dani,” Faith said, sitting up and wrapping her arms around her sister-in-law.

****

After cleaning herself up and putting on some of Danielle’s clothes, Faith headed to the stairs to rejoin Kevin and Danielle. She stopped when she heard them talking and listened in.

“What do you think is going to happen from all of this?” Kevin asked.

“I don’t know, Kev,” Dani sighed.

“Well I’m sure she’ll divorce Nick but if she and Joe get together… what will that mean for the rest of us? It’s not like we can take sides.”

“I know.”

“Do you think they were safe?” he asked.

“Kevin!”

“What? It’s not a stupid question,” he said.

“Faith’s smart, Kevin. And Joe’s not a box of rocks all the time. I’m sure we’ll have nothing to worry about as far as that goes,” she said calmly.

“Shit,” Faith whispered, smacking her forehead, remembering the previous evening.

“Do you have a condom?” she asked with panting breath as Joe laid her down on the bed.

“No but you’re on birth control aren’t you?”

“I was but I stopped taking it for awhile because Nick and I were fighting.”

“But Halloween you seemed fine,” he said, attacking her neck with his lips.

“But we hadn’t been a few days before. Are you sure you don’t have a condom?”

“It’s fine, Faith. I’ll just pull out,” he said, running his hands up her sides and her body shivered at the touch.

“There you are,” Dani said, pulling Faith from her memories. “Come on down, I made tea.”

“Okay,” Faith said, following Dani down the stairs and into the kitchen, her hands shaking.

She was unsure if he had pulled out or not. Now she had to worry about hiding this whole situation from everyone else, worry about what would happen with her marriage to Nick, and worry about whether or not she could possibly be pregnant. Her life as she knew it was unraveling before her very eyes.