Scandal in the House of Titan

We finally fall asleep around 4AM, our torsos sticky with sweat. We sleep restlessly thanks to the heat and adrenaline. I wake up around nine, my eyelids sticking together, begging me not to open them. I can hear Molly gradually coming back to consciousness. I bury my face in her neck and inhale deeply. The sickly sweet mixture of day-old cologne and sweat is weirdly pleasing. I hum my approval.

“You smell like—“

“Sex?”

Molly chuckles quietly. I shake my head.

“Home.”

Everything goes still for a few long seconds. Molly shifts onto her side to face me, inhaling, cutting the morning silence. I lean back and look at her. Our tired eyes struggle to hold each other.

“I think I’m in love with you, Gracie… or should I say David?” Molly’s eyes crinkle up in the corners, but she is too tired to smile completely. It’s okay, though. I can hear the smile in her groggy voice.

“I think I love you too… Jack,” I reply, not entirely confident in my response, but it seems appropriate given the hours of insane sex we just had. In this moment, I’m in love and I’m not concerned whether that feeling will last beyond breakfast.

“It’s weird hearing you say my boy name,” Molly laughs, pulling my head back into the crook of her neck.

“Well, I just had your dick in my mouth so…the illusion is totally dead at this point.”

We giggle and nod back off to sleep again until nearly two in the afternoon. Molly is stretched out on her stomach. She yawns and dramatically flips over, landing on me, forcing me to hold her. I don’t object despite her shoulder blade digging into my diaphragm. Love is pain.

I suggest we go shower. We hold each other under the water, leaving little kisses on shoulders and ears. I feel so relaxed and at peace. When the last bubbles spiral down the drain, Molly turns off the water. I’m reaching for a towel when my phone buzzes on the countertop. It’s Alex.

Hey, just left the airport! Be home soon!

“FUCK!” I scream, yanking the towel down and vigorously rubbing it all over my body.

“What?” Molly pulls the shower curtain back. I throw the towel at her.

“You have to go. Alex is on his way back. He’ll be here in like five minutes.”

“Shit, shit, shit!”

Molly jumps out and turns through the towel a few times before dropping it and scrambling out into my bedroom. I lunge for the bed and rip the sheets off, sprinting to the closet where my washing machine is and shoving them inside. Molly is still naked, searching for her clothes. I throw her shirt and jeans at her from the hallway. She dresses and shoves her feet in her shoes. I pull on a pair of sweatpants and help her gather her things and get her moving towards the door.

“Text me later if you can,” she whispers, out of breath. I reach up and kiss her one more time then push her out the door. I shut it and lean against it, my heart racing. This all became very real in only a matter of minutes. Just seconds after I hear Molly’s car pull away, I hear another take its place. It has to be Alex. I lock the front door and run over to the washer, starting the water and pouring some detergent in. The lock turns as I am shutting the lid. I try to formulate an alibi, but the apartment is a wreck.

Alex enters the apartment. He sees me and smiles. My heart shatters. I put on my happy face.

“Hey, babe,” he chirps, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, how was your flight?” I reply, taking his duffle bag from him.

“Long and boring. I saw Jack drive passed me on my way into the complex. Was he over?”

“Uh, yeah, he came to help me clean the apartment, but you can see that didn’t go well…ha, we ended up working on some choreography instead.”

I scratch the back of my head. Alex makes his way towards the bathroom.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you two. I gotta pee.”

He shuts the door. My phone buzzes from my room. It’s Molly.

Stephen got home before me :/

If he asks, we were cleaning and working on numbers

Got it

I slip my phone in my pocket and go out into the living room to pick up all the cartons and wrappers from dinner the night before. A cold sweat starts to break out on the back of my neck when I hear the bathroom door open again. A loud, exhausted sigh comes from the hallway. I see Alex stretch and turn towards my room. My hands begin to shake as I’m shoving the plastic Chinese takeout bag into the trash, the yellow smiley face staring up at me, making me feel guiltier by the second.

“These aren’t yours are they?” Alex walks back into the living room holding Jack’s bright blue boxer briefs. He inspects them closer. “When did you start wearing a medium?”

I know I’m giving myself away, but I am frozen. No comebacks are coming to mind. Alex’s face turns bright red and I know he is figuring everything out. “These are Jack’s, aren’t they?” He says in the quietest, coldest tone of voice I have ever heard. My stomach turns over and I feel tears stinging the backs of my eyes.

“Why the fuck was his underwear laying on our bedroom floor?” Alex continues, squeezing the briefs until his knuckles turns bright white. I crack. My legs begin to tremble and tears stream down my face. “I’m so sorry,” I whimper, struggling to keep myself upright.

“You’re fucking kidding me! YOU’RE FUCKING KIDDING ME, DAVID” Alex screams and takes two huge steps towards me, slapping me hard across the face and throwing me back against the wall, screaming every obscenity I’ve ever heard. I can’t stop crying and I can’t speak either. My breaths are short, gasping, cutting through the curses being spat at me. Alex kicks me and shoves my shoulders back into the wall. I slide over and curl into a ball, trying to protect my face from anymore blows.

“Have a nice life, you piece of shit!” Alex shouts, grabbing the suitcase he had just returned with and charging towards the door. “I’m done”. Once the door slams shut I release my arms, lying face down on the kitchen floor continuing to sob for an unfathomable amount of time. Once I start to tire myself out, I reach for my phone in my pocket. Five new messages from Jack.

Stephen figured it out. I’m so sorry. I couldn’t hide it from him.
We talked and he’s weirdly calm…
Grace… everything okay?
David???
Are we okay? I’m sure you’re mad at me, but please tell me.

A new batch of tears breaches my eyelids and I shakily type back: Help me

I stay on the floor and pray to every higher being I can think of that I get a response.