Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell

This one is kinda dark. I was originally gonna split it up into a LW part and a Romance part, but it didn't feel right so I present the story in its entirety.

Enjoy-BH.

********

Manny Ortiz pulled into his driveway at his normal time on a sunny Friday night. He was surprised to see his friend Will sitting on his steps with a suitcase.

He saw that his wife's car wasn't in the garage and he knew what that meant—she was keeping her promise. The one she made the night before.

Will walked up, fist-bumped him, and said, "I've left her Manny."

Manny was shocked. He knew things weren't quite right with them, but they made those choices. Manny and his wife, Shannon, didn't judge them. If they wanted to have an open marriage, that was their choice. They didn't push it on him and Shannon, so they left it alone.

"What happened, Will?"

"Got my results from my monthly STD test today. The bitch gave me HIV."

"What?" Manny grabbed for his phone to call Shannon, thought about it for a moment and then stopped.

"I get tested for STDs every month because of my slut wife, Manny. I guess this month I hit the fucking jackpot."

Manny stood there with his mouth open as Will turned to go to the the house.

"How about some whiskey?" Will asked walking towards the door.

Manny couldn't believe Will was so calm. He just told him that he had HIV and he was as cool as if he were out for a walk.

Manny thought about Shannon and what she was probably doing at that moment. He couldn't believe he had no desire to call her and tell her about Will's news. He wondered if that made him a bad person.

Manny grabbed the bottle of his good whiskey and two glasses and followed Will into the living room.

"Where's Shan and Maddie?" Will asked taking the glass from him.

"Well, that's complicated. It seems she decided that I wasn't enough for her and she wanted to open up our marriage like yours."

Will was shocked. Shannon wasn't like Vanessa, she didn't have a mean bone in her body. He wondered if at all of those lunches Vanessa had with her, she was seduced by her stories.

"I told her no and you know what, Will? She said that she promised it was going to happen whether I liked it or not and I'd just have to put up with it. She told me she was doing it today and I should wait for her so I can reclaim her. She fucking said 'I promise you, it's happening'."

Will shook his head and said, "That sucks, brother and I'm sorry, but I don't have an open marriage. She's been cuckolding me and blackmailing me."

"What?" Manny shouted.

"I got greedy and took some money from work and invested it on my own. I made a hundred grand and put the company money back. I manage the books so I'd never have gotten caught. The problem was, Vanessa found out. She used that to blackmail me into letting her fuck other guys. Then she got mean."

"Mean?" Manny asked. He couldn't believe his wife would do that to him.

"What could be more mean than what she already did?" He wondered.

"One of her 'studs,' as she called them, turned her dark. He had her make me watch, they ridiculed me, and then, he had her make me eat his cum out of her pussy."

"Jesus Christ!" Manny shrieked. That was the most disgusting thing he'd ever heard.

"She hasn't let me fuck her since the first time she cheated on me. I guess I got the HIV eating the fucker's cum."

"Why didn't you say no? Beat the fuck out of the guy?"

"I didn't want to go to jail. It's funny I guess. I was afraid of a little jail time, and now I'm going to die."

Manny didn't want to say it was really because Will was a pussy who let his wife get away with what she was doing to him. He just commiserated with his friend.

"So Shan is out banging some thick dick right now, huh?"

Manny nodded and said, "Yep. I assume she dropped Maddie off at her mom's. It seems your loving wife convinced her that she needed to try out some guy named Harrison's cock."

He looked at Manny with wide eyes and jumped up.

"She's with Harrison Walker? He's the fucker that..."

Manny smirked and lifted his glass in a mock toast. Will sat down smiling.

"Well," he said, "here's to our cheating wives and the gifts that keep on giving."

***

"Oh fuck! Yeah! Fuck me! Harder! Fuck me!" Shannon screamed as Harrison pounded her dripping pussy.

"Fuck yeah," Vanessa, Will's wife, shrieked as she sat on Shannon's face and watched her stud punish her friend's pussy.

"I told you he was the best, Shan. Now eat me!"

Shannon licked and slurped anything she could find as Vanessa squirmed on her face. She could taste Harrison's salty first load flowing out of Vanessa's pussy into her mouth.

She would have never believed how much she would enjoy eating pussy. She never considered doing it before and wouldn't have until Vanessa sat on her face and made her do it.

"Yeah! Here it comes," Harrison said as he shot his death sentence into her willing tunnel.

She came shortly after and Vanessa came a few moments later.

As Harrison pulled up his pants, he said, "Where's the wimp?"

"I have no idea," Vanessa said. "He wasn't here when I got home."

"Damn! He would've enjoyed eating my load from new meat."

An angry look came over Vanessa's face and then she smirked an evil grin.

"There is no way I would let his face go near another woman's pussy. He's mine and I don't share."

That made everyone laugh.

Harrison watched the ladies as they rolled into a sixty-nine. He felt his large member stiffen watching the two beautiful women devour his cum out of each other.

"Damn, girls, it's too bad I have to run along. I'd love to dump another load into you two."

He laughed as Vanessa waved goodbye without looking up from her best friend's pussy.

***

Manny sat on the deck watching the sunset. He marveled at the different shades of red, orange, and purple.

He thought that his family was once as beautiful as that sunset, but like the sunset would fade so did the beauty of his marriage.

"Fucking Vanessa!" He thought as rage flowed over him. He knew his wife had been talked into it by her and she would pay the price.

He knew he wouldn't divorce her until her STD test came back HIV positive. That turn of events was exactly what he needed—leverage. It wasn't just proof she cheated on him that he needed.

It probably wouldn't do any good in court for asset splits and alimony, but he would need it to get custody of Maddie. He hoped that her HIV would show her poor lifestyle choices and allow him to not be a weekend dad and get full custody

A lone tear slid down his cheek as he felt the guilt of not trying to warn her. He wiped it away with his thumb and smiled at the karma gods who delivered his revenge on Shannon for him.

A few minutes later, Shannon walked onto the deck wearing a mini-skirt and heels. Before that day, she wouldn't have made it back into the house before Manny made love to her. There was no desire left in him for her. All there was, was disgust.

"Hey, baby," she purred. "Come inside and make me yours again."

"No."

She was shocked. She had hoped he'd accept it right away like Vanessa said Will did. She knew then that it would take longer, but she figured he would come around for his daughter's sake.

"Manny, we talked about this. I will always be your wife, I just want a little more."

Manny snorted and said, "A little more? Like Vanessa?"

"Exactly. Will loves her more than ever and he participates in her extra excitement."

"Not willingly."

She looked at him like he was crazy.

"What do you mean, not willingly? Vanessa told me..."

"Vanessa lied to you." He snapped cutting her off.

"They lied about having an open marriage so people wouldn't start rumors. Will isn't a willing participant. She blackmailed him. He's miserable and now because of her, he's dying."

She gasped. "What do you mean, he's dying?"

"He hasn't had sex since she started with those other men. She won't let him."

Shannon was shocked, that's not what Vanessa told her. She was about to correct him, but asked, "You said he was dying?"

"Yep. It turns out that they gave him HIV."

Shannon fainted.

***

When she woke, it was dark. She stood up and got her bearings noticing Marty was gone. She tried to remember what happened and then like a bolt from the sky she remembered what Manny said and she vomited over the deck's railing into her flower bed.

She ran into the house and rinsed her mouth in the sink. No lights were on.

She looked for Manny and she couldn't find him in any room. She checked the garage and his truck was gone.

She broke down, sat on the garage floor, and wailed for Manny.

She had no idea how much time went by, but it was a half-hour. Her throat was raw from screaming his name.

Suddenly the garage door started opening and she was blinded by the headlights of Manny's truck.

Fortunately, he saw her and stopped in the driveway. As much as he'd have liked to run her down, it wouldn't be good for Maddie to witness it and then lose both parents when he went to jail.

Manny opened the door for his five-year-old daughter and she jumped out and ran to Shannon.

Shannon panicked and screamed, "No, baby! Don't touch me. I...I...I need to take a shower."

She jumped up and ran into the house.

Maddie looked at Manny and asked, "Is Mommy okay, Daddy?"

"Mommy's fine sweetie. She just needs a shower. Just like you do, stinky."

Maddie giggled and said, "I'm not stinky."

"Okay, you're not stinky. Let's go inside and eat our pizza before it gets cold, hm?"

She ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. Manny shook his head knowing that it was only the beginning of their dark times.

Shannon, meanwhile, scrubbed herself raw in the shower. She couldn't get the water hot enough, she couldn't get her body clean enough. The heat from the water scalded her sensitive pussy as she tried in vain to get as much of Harrison out of her as she could.

Then she had a revelation—he was lying. She remembered the date, April 1st. Manny made it up just to make her feel guilty. She steeled herself and turned the water off.

"I'll make him pay for this!" She thought, as she dried herself. She decided that she would force Manny to watch the next time she fucked Harrison. She'd make him clean the cum from her pussy as Vanessa did to Will.

She put on pajamas and walked downstairs. Maddie, covered in pizza sauce, ran up and hugged her. Shannon was on the verge of tears as her daughter let her go and sat back down to continue her assault on the defenseless pizza squares.

"Manny?"

He looked up at her sadly and she almost wavered.

"Manny, what you said to me was cruel and not funny. Just because you're upset and it's April..."

"You think that was an April fools joke?"

She nodded.

He laughed and said, "Then Will played it on me. Personally, I don't think he was joking."

She pulled her phone from her purse on the table and turned it on. She had four voicemails and a text from Vanessa. A chill ran through her as she walked into the living room to listen to her messages.

They all said the same thing. Vanessa was panicked and desperate to talk to her. Suddenly the phone rang in her hand—it was Vanessa.

"Hello"

"Oh, thank God! Will called and told me he was leaving me. He says he's HIV positive, Shannon."

"Yeah, that's what Manny said Will told him. I think it's just an April fool's joke though."

"I'm not taking any chances. I'm at an all-night clinic right now. Fuck, Shan! What am I going to do?"

"Wait for the results, and Vanessa?"

"Yes?"

"If you have HIV and have given it to me, I will kill you."

"Shan, wait!"

"Did you blackmail Will? Was everything you told me a lie?"

"Shannon, I swear..."

"Yes or fucking no, Bitch!" She screamed.

Shannon heard nothing but silence.

"Yes or no, Vanessa?"

"Yes, alright! Yes, I lied to you. You and your perfect fucking family. You made me sick. Gushing on and on about how great Manny is. How perfect Maddie is. I wanted to bring you down a notch and get at your pussy at the same time. Are you happy now, Miss Perfect?"

"You'd better run, Vanessa. You filled my head with lies and manipulated me for months. I was stupid to believe you and I was stupid to follow your descent. The next time I see you I will beat the shit out of you and I promise you, you will die if you've given me HIV."

She hung up and dropped the phone onto the table.

"That went well," Manny said, startling her.

She stared blankly as he said, "You need to move your things into the guest bedroom. I won't share a bed with you any longer."

"Manny, please. We can work this out. It was only one time and like a fool I let myself get pulled into it by Vanessa's lies. Please, don't break our family up."

Manny frowned and said, "I'm not breaking anything up. You did that. I won't sleep next to your diseased body anymore. I expect you to get regular STD tests. HIV doesn't show up right away if what I read on the internet is true."

She broke down in uncontrollable sobs as Manny walked back into the kitchen.

***

A week later, Shannon collapsed onto her bed when she saw an envelope from the board of health waiting for her.

Her hands shook as she tore open the envelope and read the worst news of her life—she was exposed to HIV.

She knocked on her former bedroom door, only to be ignored by Manny. He was weeping into his pillow knowing that she wouldn't get a letter telling her that Vanessa was clean. He knew what the letter meant as soon as he saw it. It could only be her notification as a partner of someone infected.

"Manny?" He heard through the door. "Please talk to me."

He didn't answer. She locked herself in her room and stayed there through the night.

Manny struggled, not with her cheating, he was over that. He struggled with his guilt from not calling her the moment Will told him about his HIV. He bounced back and forth from believing it was already too late to stop her to being able to stop her with just a call.

After a few more days of feeling the worst he'd ever felt, he decided to ask her about it.

He walked into the kitchen and saw her drunk off of the wine she hadn't stopped drinking since the letter came.

She looked at him with blurred vision and forced a smile.

"If I would have called you to stop you, would you have?" He asked almost silently.

"Manny, my love—I am ashamed to say my phone was turned off before I walked into her house. It wouldn't have done any good."

He nodded and left the room. She cried again, not for her mistake, but for the realization that he didn't even try to warn her. She realized how badly she hurt him with her promise.

***

The next morning, Manny announced that he was taking Maddie to the Zoo.

She kissed her daughter goodbye and said, "Maddie, no matter what, always remember that mommy loved you."

Maddie hugged her and bounced off to the living room.

Manny looked at Shannon askance and she said, "Manny, my love, I've said it a hundred times but this will be the last. I'm so sorry. I will love you forever."

A tear fell down his cheek as he said, "Please don't."

She shook her head and said, "I have to. I could've killed you with my stupidity. I can't live with that guilt."

She hugged him and for the first time since her betrayal, he hugged her back. She felt his love warm her soul.

"I love you too, Shannon. Forever."

She broke the hug and walked to Manny's bedroom. She watched his truck leave and opened the lockbox that held Manny's handgun.

***

Vanessa was sitting in her living room looking once again at the newspaper clipping that reported the murder of local businessman Harrison Walker. He was killed outside of a local nightclub. She cried again when she read that he was suspected of giving HIV to several women and due to his philandering the suspect list was long.

She knew without knowing it, that Will had killed him and she was flooded with regret. She hadn't seen nor heard from Will in weeks and hoped he didnt hurt himself as well.

Her marriage wasn't as perfect as Shannon claimed hers was, but she loved Will. It was too bad that her love for him wasn't stronger than her lust for others.

She remembered back to her first affair, when one of her co-workers pressed his erection against her ass in the supply room. Even through their clothes she felt the size of his bulge and something snapped in her.

What had begun as a short affair, became addiction. She needed more and more, but she was afraid of being caught.

When she saw Will's account statement and the large transfers of money, she had her way out of the shadows. She had been given control and she no longer had to worry about being caught.

If only she never would have let Harrison have her. He was her downfall. She had no idea she would love to be dominated and used like a whore.

She was snapped out of her reverie by the doorbell. She had been waiting for it, resigned to her fate, and she would accept her punishment.

She took a deep breath, said a silent prayer, and opened the door. She never had a chance to tell Shannon that she was sorry before the bullet pierced her chest.

Shannon watched her fall and closed the door behind her. She called 911 and warned them that the two victims were HIV positive before ending the call and taking one last deep breath.

Her final thought was of her perfect family.

********

Manny was sitting at a child's desk for his first parent-teacher conference. Maddie's teacher hadn't come in yet, and that didn't help ease his tension.

He knew Maddie was struggling in First Grade, and in general since his wife Shannon's death over a year prior. He just didn't know how to help her beyond the weekly counseling sessions she was in.

The door opened and Manny was shocked by the beauty that walked into the room. He hadn't been aroused since Shannon's betrayal and that changed instantly.

"Mr. Ortiz, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Taylor Winters."

He shook her hand and said, "Hello, Mrs. Winters. Glad to meet you."

She smiled and said, "It's Miss, there's no Mister."

She sat on her desk and Manny wished she was wearing a skirt instead of her slacks. His erection threatened to rip his jeans when she started dangling her high heel shoe. He was surprised she didn't wear more sensible shoes, being on her feet all day.

"Mr. Ortiz..."

"Manny, please. My dad was Mr. Ortiz."

She smiled and said, "Okay. Manny, I'm fully aware of Maddie's personal issues and her counselor coordinates some things with me. He doesn't break the confidentiality of course, but he looks for my feedback on her school time."

"Yes, I know. I gave him and the school permission to do that."

"Good. Thank you. Here at school, we're concerned with her social interactions. She does all of her homework and classwork, but she doesn't seem to make friends nor does she participate in the lessons."

"I know she's shy, Miss Winters, but I think she's much improved. She had a rough few months after her mother's passing but she's getting better."

"Manny, does she have any cousins? Any neighbor kids her age?"

"No, we have a very small family and our neighbor kids are older."

She frowned and said, "I was afraid of that. Manny, my daughter is in kindergarten and only a few months younger than Maddie. What I'd like to do, and I have the counselor's blessing, is to have Maddie over for a play date. We can start small, say for an hour or two, and hopefully build up to a sleepover eventually."

Manny smiled and said, "That would be great. I think that would really help her out of her shell."

"Good," Taylor said. "I am, however, concerned about her rejecting the idea. How about if you take Maddie to Chuck E Cheese on Saturday and I meet you there. We can stage it like a coincidence and see if they hit it off."