A Lifelong Promise

Clare stood in front of her husbands hotel room door in pure and utter disbelief. Her heart was racing, her body felt numb and she had to actively remind herself to breathe. Her head shook as what she just witnessed sunk in. She wanted to cling to the hope that it was just all a misunderstanding-- that it wasn't really his room, that there'd been a mix up downstairs somehow. However, when she saw the whore that was banging her husband bending over to grab whatever she needed off the floor, Clare also couldn't help but notice the personalized luggage tag that she'd gotten for him when they first got married hanging off his bag.

Clare wanted to turn around, open the door and catch them both red-handed--make her presence known. She wanted to call him out and just tell James off for lying to her for God only knew how long. She wanted to hold on to a morsel of her dignity and right when she was about to slide that key card back in the lock she realized going in there and making a scene would do nothing but make it harder for her. She didn't want to look that girl in the eyes and most of all, she didn't' want to look at him. She felt the tears finally breakthrough and roll down her cheek as she realized her marriage was over. One minute ago, literally, she thought she would be celebrating her five year mark with the man of her dreams in a jubilant, romantic surprise. Instead, she'd be spending it alone going over in her mind the fact that it was finished.

Clare shook her head again and turned away from the door to make her way back down the hallway to the elevator. She just wanted to leave, she wanted to go home. She felt sick and she knew she looked devastated to any by-passer that she walked by, the last thing she wanted was to have a meltdown in public. There wasn't anyone else in the hall when Clare stepped on the elevator and pressed the button that would take her down to the main floor. The tears were flowing more freely now despite the fact that she tried her damnedest to keep it together. When the elevator stopped and the doors were about to open Clare wiped her face and tried to look as normal as possible so that she wouldn't have to walk through the hallway and into the main lobby looking like a train wreck. Spending another minute in the building her husband was actively cheating on her in made her skin crawl and when the doors opened she ran out and didn't even realize she ran into someone-- until she heard her name from behind her.

"Clare?" It didn't process in her mind that she knew the voice and she knew that she heard her name but it didn't phase her with everything that was going on.

"Clare!" she heard again, only this time she was abruptly spun around by the hand that gripped her wrist. When she finally realized what was going on she realized she was looking up into Paul's eyes.

He could tell immediately something had gone very, very wrong. "What happened?" he asked her as he swallowed, slightly afraid of what she might say.

Clare didn't say anything to him, she just closed her eyes and shook her head.

"What happened?" he asked again, more gently this time.

Clare's head was hanging down towards the ground and she still hadn't looked up at him. After a few seconds she slowly lifted her head and looked into his eyes. When he saw the look on her face and the fresh tears in her eyes that had begun to stream again he knew exactly what caused it. "Oh Clare," sighed out as he felt his body deflate seeing her so devastated. "Come here," he said softly as he slowly shook his head and pulled her into him. The second her face fell into his chest she finally let go and started to sob uncontrollably.

Paul didn't say anything as he stood there holding her in front of the elevator, he just rubbed her back and let her cry.

After a few minutes Clare calmed down from heaping sobs and pulled back wiping her face, still sniffling as she noticed how wet she had made his shirt. "I'm sorry..."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Paul instantly said, comforting her. "Where are you even going?"

"I don't even know," she answered bewildered and frazzled. "I walked in his room to surprise him and I got surprised instead. When I opened that door he was in the shower and there was a barely dressed girl in the room. She didn't see me, I just snuck right back out and left. I don't want to go in the room, I don't want to see him. I don't want to see him ever again."

"Wow," Paul breathed out as he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. "I'm sorry Clare....wow."

"Yeah," she said sadly as she slowly nodded her head. "Imagine that. I thought I was coming to celebrate my marriage and now I'm mourning the end of it."

"Where are you going now? It's not exactly early..."

"I don't know Paul. I don't know. I didn't even get the chance to think, it's been maybe five minutes since I came face-to-face with my husband cheating. I was obviously going to spend the night here but now I guess I'll just go wait at the airport until I can get a flight home."

Paul pursed his lips and gave a small head bob before answering, "No."

"No?" She looked at him and let out a little laugh.

"No," he said again. "No way in hell are you running around by yourself this late without anywhere to sleep. You clearly aren't in the right state of mind to be pulling all nighters alone. You'll stay in my room tonight and we'll get you a flight back home in the morning."

"No--" she went to object but he didn't give her the chance.

"C'mon," he said as he grabbed her hand and pressed the elevator button. "You're not going anywhere alone. If something happened to you I wouldn't be able to live with myself. I know you don't want to be here but I'll try and make it as fun as possible. You and I both know it's the best option."

Clare nodded her head and took in a deep breath. "You're right. Are you sure, though? I don't want to put you out."

"You're not," he said confidently as the elevator pinged and the doors opened. "Let's get you inside. You need to sit down-- and don't worry," he added before Clare could even go there. "I"ll sleep on the floor, you can have the bed."

"What if he sees me?" she looked at Paul and asked timidly.

"He won't," he said believing that was mostly true. "Besides, I won't let anything happen to you," he added knowing without a shadow of a doubt that that was true.

Clare stuck close to him as they got off the elevator and she followed him to his room. When they got inside and she shut the door behind them Paul turned around and went back to her. "Give me that," he said as he took the bag off her shoulder and put it down on the floor. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her deeper into the room where she took off her shoes and placed down her purse. "Well," he said as he let out a sigh. "Sit down on the bed, let's get some room service."

"I don't know if I can stomach eating." She closed her eyes and relived what she walked in on before shaking her head again.

"You need to eat something," he insisted as he grabbed the room-service menu and began to look through it. "Hell I can order you something from the bar. You seem like you could use it," he gave her a slight smile.

"If you're getting something then I will too."

"Apple martini, right?"

Clare gave a half smile and nodded her head. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

Paul could feel his cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink. "I'm observant," he shot back as he picked up the phone and dialed down to place their order. Clare didn't expect him, or even know if she really wanted him to, but it didn't stop him from ordering food for the both of them along with their drinks.

"You didn't have to do that," she said softly as he hung up the phone.

"I know that," he said with a shrug. "But you need it. I know you're heartbroken and I know you're just gonna be thinking about him being down the hall with whatever ugly-ass whore he's with...and we're gonna do everything we can to put a smile on your face tonight."

When Clare heard him say those words she couldn't help but smile. "Thank you," she practically whispered. "I still can't believe this is happening. I can't believe he'd do this to me, Paul. You know how many times I asked him if he cheated? You know how many times he told me no, that he never would? And not only that but for him to be so different lately, and so sweet, and on the eve of our five year wedding anniversary he's got the nerve to cheat on me." Clare kept shaking her head completely disgusted.

"I really don't know what to say that will make it okay because I know that there isn't anything that can fix this. I just won't let you go through it alone. I promise you that."

"You're his friend, you're his teammate. He's gonna flip when he finds out you helped me...and I'm sure--"

"No, Clare," Paul said cutting her off. "I'm on your team here. There aren't enough words for me to tell you how much I hate what he's doing to you. You want me to go down there, bang on the door, and kick his ass? Because I'll do it."

Clare looked at him and mustered up a smile. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

"I'm really tempted to let you go do that."

"Just give the word."

"Word," she said playfully.

"Alright," he shrugged. "You asked for it," he said as he got up and went to make his way to the door.

"No!" she screamed with laughter as she ran to go after him. "Paul," she said again as she grabbed his arm right before he got to the door.

He spun around and looked at her, her hands wrapped around his arm and his free hand on her waist. He felt his heart racing a bit and swallowed when he realized how close they were. "Well," he said as he let out some air. "I told you I would kick his ass and I meant it. So if you change your mind..."

"I appreciate the offer," she said with her beautiful smile. "But I think I have my own plan."

"Well, it's not the best plan. Truthfully I don't know how to even go about executing it."

"Why's that?" He asked as she began to walk back over to the bed and he followed her.

"Well it's not a plan it's more a declaration. I don't want to see him. I want to go home and leave and I don't wanna be there when he gets home tomorrow night. I just can't get home, pack, find a place, and move in less than a day. So I don't know what I'm gonna do. Maybe find a hotel for me and the dog until I can find something more permanent."

"So you're, you're definitely done here then?" he asked semi-surprised.

"Of course," she looked at him and wrinkled her brow. "I just walked in on him cheating on me, Paul. He's been nothing short of a royal ass for so long and this is clearly why. He's lied to me, broken my heart more than once. How much can one person, one wife take? I didn't break our vows, he did. I can't forgive him for this. I don't want to even hear his sob-story that I know he'll try and give me when he finds out I know. Nothing he could say will fix this."

"I don't blame you. I think..." he looked away and Clare could see the wheels in his brain spinning. "I think I might be able to help you out. I have some pull with certain people and things and there's a pretty nice place in my building for rent. I could call tomorrow and it could be yours before you even get home."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's up to you, obviously. But the offer is there."

Clare thought about it for a minute and nodded her head. "I'm in. Make the call in the morning, you're sure it'll be okay? It's still available, all that?"

"Yeah," Paul nodded assuredly. "Trust me."

"Okay," Clare answered reaffirming her decision. "I can get home tomorrow and at least pack my clothes up and get some stuff over there. The rest I can get when he's on the road again I guess."

"Alright. Good, I'll call first thing in the morning," Paul said as they heard a knock on the door and Paul walked over to answer it. Clare didn't get up but she smiled politely when room service rolled on in with their food and drinks. He placed them down gently and turned to leave before Paul slipped him some cash. "Thank you Mr. Martin," he looked at Clare, "Mrs. Martin. Good night."

Clare's eyes widened as she tried to contain her smile and pursed her lips. When Paul led the guy out and closed the door, he walked back into the room with cheeks as red as Clare's. "Well that was weird," he said with a laugh.

"Yeah tell me about it," she said still amused by the misunderstanding. "He thought I was your wife."

"Hey, you never know. Maybe he thought you were my mother."

"Hey!" Clare playfully gasped. "You want me to jump off the ledge out there!"

"I'm kidding, of course," he grinned.

"Imagine that, me, your wife," she repeated again. That was the last thing she thought she'd be hearing that night.

"Yeah..." Paul said quietly as he looked away a little more serious this time. "Here," he snapped out of whatever was plaguing his thoughts and walked over to grab Clare's martini. "I know you need this."

"Thanks," she said as he handed it to her and she looked at her drink and raised it up. "Happy anniversary to me."

***

James felt terrible all night, the whole next morning, during the game and the entire way home. He hadn't strayed from Clare since he promised her things would be different and the longer he went not being that guy anymore, the more he realized he didn't want to be. It wasn't part of the plan to have sex with someone else the night before their wedding anniversary, but it was a lapse in judgment and before he knew what happened, it was over. When they finished he immediately realized what he'd done and asked her leave before he got out of the shower. He wanted to scrub her off him, hoped to cleanse himself from his sin.

All he wanted to do was get home and see Clare, and the funny thing was, as shitty as he felt, he was happy he felt that way. He'd been numb to it for so long that he forgot how much he loved his wife. He forgot how to do the right thing, and he didn't want to keep doing the wrong things anymore. He had a wonderful woman and he realized he didn't need anyone but her to fill his voids. He wanted to dedicate as much as he could to making it work, and give her all of him-- which was something he hadn't done in a long time.

James had tried to call Clare and wish her a happy anniversary all day but he had no luck in getting through to her. He was ready to see her and celebrate with her, but when he opened the door he knew something was acutely different. The dog didn't greet him, the house simply felt colder. "Hello?" he yelled as he turned on the lights. "Clare" he yelled again and again got no response.

He couldn't put his finger on what felt odd as he walked to the table where there was something with his name on it. He smiled as he thought it was a sexy picture or instructions to follow with her naked body as the prize. When he saw what it really was, his jaw dropped, his heart sank, and he had to fight the urge to throw up. It was then he realized what felt different. Things were missing from their house that were actually making it empty.

What he was looking at, there under Clare's wedding and engagement rings, were divorce papers.