Break In The Clouds

I.....wow....that was the nicest thing my sister has ever said to me. I almost lost myself right there while we were parked off the side of the road. It took a lot of energy but I was able to keep the tears at bay.

I felt myself calm down after a couple of minutes. I grabbed Chloe's wrists gently as she still had a death grip on my face. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You're the best you know that?"

She gave a pert smile. "I know."

"Okay." I sighed heavily. Then took a few extra enormous breaths. "Okay-okay-okay. Let's go."

We walked the quarter mile to her house after parking the truck in a safe spot a few streets away. As we approached, I felt Chloe's hands clutching my right forearm. Her grip was comforting. I think she could tell I was rapidly unraveling inside and losing my nerve.

I wanted this to go perfectly. I looked down to my right to see her smiling, yet again, at me. She must've known that there was great calming power within her. I mentally set a reminder to thank her for being such a good sister. She was always there for me.

When I tried to take each step up Rachel's front walkway to approach the front door, I felt like my feet were encased in cinder blocks. It was so hard to move forward.

I stopped halfway in order to catch my breath in an attempt to slow my heart rate. The remaining twenty feet to the door felt like a couple of football fields long.

I thought of Rachel. I thought of how much my love for her grows every day. I thought of how beautiful she is.

Her long, wavy, fire red hair. Her ultra smooth skin. Her bright crystal blue eyes that would seam blinding in the right light. Her wide smile that shined bright white. She was drop dead gorgeous, like model status. She was tall and lithe with slight muscle tone, like a career dancer. Her breasts were just mere handfuls with a small perky upturn to her pale nipples.

I envisioned Rachel before me, standing with her hands on her hips, with a bent knee. She gave me a sultry look that suggested I hurry the fuck up and pop the question before she storms out the door and asks me herself. Part of me was wishing for that.

Why was this so hard? Why was I so troubled by moving my damn feet? Why was I battling myself? I wanted this more than anything in the world. I wanted her. I needed her. I had to man up.

I looked up in the sky slowly. I closed my eyes and let the sun white out my vision behind my eyelids. I felt the cool breeze on my face mix with the warmth of the radiating sun. The serene beauty of the moment was fueling my building storm of courage that felt desperate for energy.

I clenched my fists a couple of times and took one more enormous breath. I set my sights on the door only twenty feet away. With Chloe still holding my forearm, we marched forward.

Chloe took the moment, right as we stopped on the porch ledge, to get her phone ready to record the scene.

"Okay, Adam. We're rolling." She whispered with a fierce smile of determination.

"Here goes." I whispered back.

I raised my hand up to knock on the hard wood of the door and froze. What the fuck....what's happening? What am I hearing in my ears? I took one step back. I glanced at Chloe who had a look of confusion and horror on her face.

I listened more closely. I could hear a voice. It was a woman's voice. It sounded like Rachel. And she was moaning.

My vision blurred for a brief second. There's no fucking way. This isn't right.

I tried the door handle. It wasn't locked. I opened the door slowly, not really wanting to confront this monster of an accusation I was creating.

As the door swung away from me. The moaning grew louder. It's like it was ringing in my ears. I grew deaf to everything around me, except for that sound...the sound of Rachel. The sound I grew to love more than anything. The sound that showed how much pleasure I would give to her.

...The sound that is now fueling a firestorm of rage in my gut.

I felt like I sprinted down the hall as fast as my feet could. I stopped at the edge of her bedroom's open doorway. Here, My ear drums were pounding with the sound. I heard the deeper tones of another voice, a male voice.

Fuck.

I walked forward to face it all.

There she was. My love. My joy. My future. My reason for living. My Rachel...

I saw her on the bed, lying on her back with another man on top of her, pounding her into oblivion. I saw her pale legs wrapped around his tan torso with her ankles locked together. She had her hands wrapped around this dude's neck and she was morning in his ear as he made her his woman.

I stood there and watched. And watched. And watched. I couldn't look away. I couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. I heard her climax and practically scream to the heavens just as this imposter unloaded his seed deep inside her.

I was frozen in the doorway when they finished, standing there like an idiot. They let go of each other and opened their eyes.

"WOAH WHAT THE FUCK!" The man shouted. He was young and tan with a chiseled physique. He honestly looked like a cliche from a movie, the kind that gets hired as a pool boy and fucks the wife of the household.

Rachel screamed out of shock. "Adam! Oh!...uh, oh my god! What the fuck are you...wait....Adam oh my god..." she stammered.

I just stared stupidly. I couldn't speak. I couldn't move. I could only feel my heart being ripped into bloody shards, ready to be discarded as dog food.

"Adam...baby...please just wait a second. Oh my god I'm so sorry! Please..."

Every syllable she uttered felt like a new set of jaws biting down into my soul...then the teeth of the ferocious beasts ruthlessly played tug-a-war with my very being, until I was splayed out in tiny pieces.

I just stared at her mouth as it moved, not hearing what she was saying any more. I felt a soft grip in my right hand and across my waist. I looked down and met Chloe's eyes as she turned me away from the world's end before me. I didn't even feel the tears pouring down my cheeks until I felt her fingers reach up wipe them away.

She just looked up at me. Her eyes were red and glassy. She was crying too. Chloe just looked into my eyes and gave a sad smile as she pulled me from the doorway and led me out of the house.

With a firm grip of my hand, Chloe and I walked back to the truck. She opened the passenger door and motioned for me to get in. I sat down with a thud and just stared at my hands in my lap.

"Adam." She spoke so softly. "Wait here. I'll be right back." With that she was gone. I didn't know how long she was away but then I felt motion next to me.

I looked over and saw Chloe getting into the driver seat. I glanced up and saw rage, absolute unfiltered fury in her eyes. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly, I thought her knuckles were going to burst through their own skin. Speaking of knuckles, the bones of her right hand were bright red.

I reached for her hand. And gave them a soft rub.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a mumble.

She chuckled with what looked like sarcasm. "Yes. My dear brother. I'm okay. She'll be soar for a while though."

"You hit her?"

"You expected me not to?"

I didn't have a response to that.

"Let's go home okay?" She asked gently.

I simply nodded. And with that we drove back to Chloe's house.

———————————————————————

I was an absolute zombie for the next few months. I didn't feel like eating. I didn't want to shower. I didn't want to even be breathing anymore. My whole world was turned upside down. I just felt like slipping under the waves of nothingness, and drowning in my apathy.

I was so confused with myself. What happened? Why was this happening to me?

Chloe knew how invested I was into Rachel, so she took it upon herself to move me and some of my things into her house. She wanted me to stay close to keep an eye on me I guess. Either way, it was better than being alone.

That's the last thing I needed, was to be alone. But it was also the one thing I actually wanted. I wanted to forget everyone and everything.

The morning sun was just peaking through the curtains and beaming into my vision. I guess I wasn't sleeping anymore today. Fuck it. I pulled the covers back to sit up, and I saw the black velvet jewelry box sitting on the bedside table.

I picked up the box and peered inside. The ring sat there, just waiting for its proper owner to wear it with pride. It desired to be seen. To show the world how that perfect woman was mine.

"Annnnnnd now I'm trying to personify the god damn thing...." I said with a rough morning voice.

Chloe walked in the room.

"Hey sleepy head. I made coffee. And I have breakfast prepared in the kitchen." She said with a lovely smile.

Chloe leaned back against the door frame. She crossed her arms and kicked a foot back to brace against the frame.

"Thank you." I said flatly. I placed the ring back on the table and stared at it a moment. "I'll be right there. Okay?"

She hesitated to leave. "Sure. Don't wait too long. I don't want it to get cold. Annnnnnnd I'm not eating until you join me."

She's trying. For her, I'll get up.

She turned and walked around the corner.

"Fuck..." I groaned as I stood up.

I walked into the kitchen and saw the huge spread of food on the table. There was bacon that wasn't too crispy, scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, and maple sausage. Chloe slaved over this breakfast.

"Wow. Chloe, you didn't have to do thi..."

"Nope. Nuh uh. None of that. Sit down with me, Adam. You can thank me by joining me okay?" She smirked up at me.

I didn't have much choice in the matter. She was absolutely fierce when she wanted to be. And it didn't help that I felt guilty for taking up space in her house.

On the other hand, my stomach decided at that moment to announce to the world that it hasn't consumed actual food in what seemed like a hundred years.

I didn't realize how hungry I actually was. I almost started drooling at the wonderful smells wafting in my face.

I gave Chloe a brief smile. "Thank you. Seriously."

"Here. Eat up. It's all home made. Kinda." She chuckled while spooning food over to my plate and filled completely.

We sat in silence as we devoured our food, just enjoying each other's company. It was really serene.

Chloe was a pillar of support for me after the incident of seeing the love of my life in the arms of another man. Rachel was getting her pussy obliterated and looked like she had not a care in the world for another man, other than that fuck stick that was between her legs in that moment.

I was broken. Completely and utterly broken. And there was only one person in this world I cared to be around after that...Chloe.

I helped her do the dishes and put away the leftovers in the fridge. We decided to lay on the couch and watch a movie, which turned into five movies.

That's how spent the next few days, just lounging around and enjoying doing nothing.

Chloe took it upon herself to make a few calls and update Apollo Automotive that I wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be around the shop for a while.

Xander, our head mechanic, said he'd take over things as head of the shop and keep things in working order. Mia, our receptionist and secretary, also said she'd handle Chloe's duties and would call us if any issues arise.

While Chloe and I were watching the third installment of Iron Man, she leaned her head into my right shoulder a bit. "Hey..."

"Hey..." I said back.

I felt Chloe's left hand rest on my thigh and her right softly grasping my right bicep, just underneath where she rested her cheek.

"How are you doin, big guy?" She said as she looked up at me. She had her chin tucked into the meat of my shoulder.

"I wish I knew what to do. I can't even put it into words. I...I hate her. I hate her so much. But I can't fucking get rid of my love for her. It's like the two emotions are grinding my will to live down to a fine powder and simply tossing the remains into the wind. I hate myself for this...should I have seen this coming? What were the fucking signs? I'm so god damned confused."

"Adam. Listen to me. Rache...ugh...that BITCH has no remorse for the human soul. SHE was the one who fucked up. SHE was the one who threw away an opportunity of a lifetime to be with the most kind, caring, loving, beautiful soul of a man that you are. You are the BEST kind of man. If she couldn't see that, FUCK her.

There is absolutely no way I'm going to let you believe this is, in any way, your fault. You did everything right. If anything, you dodged a bullet in the long run."

I was crying now, listening to her. My sister was the perfect person to put me at ease and to get me to focus on positives rather than negatives. I was so thankful for her throughout all of this.

"I love you, Chloe. You're the best. Now hand me a fucking tissue." I laughed.

"Holy shit!" She laughed aloud. "He lives! My brother lives!"

"Hush it." I smiled at her.

———————————————————————

The next day I found myself unwilling to move from my bed. It was already one in the afternoon and I had no desire to pretend I didn't want to fade away from the world. So I decided to lay in bed like a hermit, literally all day.

I only got away with it because I forced Chloe out of the house to actually spend some time with her two best friends, Kayla and Evelyn. They were twins, whom we've known since grade school.

I managed to make a call to the shop and see how things were going, and was reassured projects were moving along smoothly on their way to completion.

With that out of the way and the house empty, I felt like I could finally resort to taking care of some pent up frustration. I pulled out my phone and searched for some porn to help my creeping need for release.

I searched for natural redheads, as that was my go-to, but with every video I skimmed through, I felt my inner rage boiling up from the depths. After my ears started ringing from my seething anger, I threw my phone across the room.

"FUUUUUUUUUCK!" I yelled at the top of my lungs, expelling all my air.

I was panting heavily. I couldn't even jack off without automatically searching for shit that reminded me of Rachel.

I was brooding at this point. But after my outburst, I actually felt a slow surge of energy grow within me. I wanted to take advantage of it. It was the first time I really wanted to do anything since my life fell apart that fateful day.

I decided to head home, and workout in my garage gym. I quickly sent a text to Chloe, telling her where I was going to be.

It took me only ten minutes to get there from Chloe's house, seeing as we only lived a few neighborhoods away.

There's something to be said about lifting weights and how it seems to mend a lot of heartaches, even if temporarily. After warming up I found myself under the barbell for some bench pressing.

I eventually worked the weight up after each set to perform six sets of ten reps at four hundred five pounds. I felt strong. I felt alive. I was going to take advantage of it.

I moved to incline dumbbell bench press. I was pushing hard with one hundred pound dumbbells. After performing six sets of ten reps, I continued on to shoulder press, tricep cable push downs, and then finally skull crushers.

Choosing to obliterate my body with a scary amount of heavy repetitions, the blood surging into my tightly inflated muscles felt euphoric and was making me crave more. So I started doing push-ups until failure. And then did them again, and again, and again.

My muscles were so hard to move but the pump felt damn near orgasmic. My veins were bulging and I was drenched in sweat. I grabbed my shirt off the nearby rack to wipe my face dry.

When I looked up, I saw Chloe walking up the driveway with Kayla and Evelyn in tow. As they approached I started to get self conscious, being shirtless in front of them.

"Hey, Adam!" Chloe cheered

"Hey!" I found myself actually not feeling miserable when she flashed me her brilliant smile...weird. "Hey Kayla, hey Evelyn. What're y'all up to?"

"Hi Adam." The twins said in unison while adorning identical smiles.

They had a habit of making me blush a little bit, especially now. I don't think they noticed seeing as how flushed I was from my workout.

I caught all three sets of eyes trapped in a daze, looking at my abs as we just stood there. I coughed slightly to get their attention.

Chloe jumped a little and looked back up to my eyes. The twins didn't give much of a reaction as they normally seemed to like trying to make me nervous.

"Uhhh so....we were just coming back from the movies and we wanted to see if you'd like to order food in tonight." Chloe asked.

"If you don't mind, yeah. That sounds awesome."

"Of course. Just don't take too long here. Kapeesh?" Chloe put on a reassuring smile.

"Okay...hey what movie did y'all see? You didn't watch the new Spider-Man without me did you?" I faked outrage.

"No way. I'm not risking my life by watching that without you!" Chloe gasped.

I gave her a low growl of mock anger.

"Oooooo so scary." Kayla chimed in with horrendous sarcasm.

"Oh my god! Please don't let the big sweaty ape man eat me!" Evelyn cried.

"Alriiiiight shut up. I swear I hate you guys." I smiled.

"Hate us...but we thought you loved us." The twins said in perfect unison.

They would have sounded so demonic and evil if they weren't also incredibly sexy. I had to admit I was extremely attracted to them.

Kayla and Evelyn were identical twins. They had natural bright blonde hair, worn with long natural curls. Their eyes were a greenish hazel that faded to pure blue around the outer edges of the iris. A heavy amount of light colored freckles were covering their noses and high cheekbones, and continued down to their cleavage and shoulders.

Their faces being truly angelic looking, shined bright with welcoming kindness. Yet when they gave the sultry look they were currently staring me down with, they looked dangerously sexy and formidable.

They both wore thin builds but were adorned with muscle from their active lifestyle. Kayla and Evelyn were both avid snowboarders and surfers, but also spent many hours in the gym. They even joined me in my garage gym frequently, where they were able to break me out of my routine of "boring" strength training.

I caught myself looking between both of their drool worthy bodies, only to look up into their knowing eyes. I was obviously caught. They just stared at me with predatory gazes.

"Well. I'm done here. Are you guys going to head back over to your place, now?"

"Yup! Are you hungry now?" Chloe asked

"I'm starving. Haven't had a single crumb all day. I'll meet you there. I'm also in desperate need of a shower."

With that, we locked up my garage and all left to meet back at Chloe's house.

I excused myself to take a shower while they ordered food. I made my way into the guest bathroom suite and removed all my clothes. I cranked the water to damn near boiling. The extreme heat felt like it was scrubbing away, not only my filth from my sweaty workout, but also the grime of depression I was sinking in to.

The pain was among the very first few things that I could actually remember feeling since the cheating bitch incident.

There was a mirror on the wall of the shower I used for shaving. I caught a glimpse of myself. As I stared longer, I couldn't escape my own gaze. I didn't like the man I was seeing.

My green eyes were brimmed with tears and the white edges were red from constant exhaustion. I looked disheveled and unkempt. My normally clean cut dark brown hair was unruly and made me look homeless. My beard was growing to become a catastrophe. All in all, I looked like a broken, battered shell of a man.