Twisted Turns (standard:romance, 16544 words)
Author: kathy	Added: Oct 08 2004	Views/Reads: 3465/2421	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
When Chanade's relationship grows stale she goes out looking for excitement. She finds it in Chris, a dashing, charming stranger. Playing a dangerous game of deceit and betrayal she plays the two men off against each other. But when aquaintances don't see

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bare branches all around them. He seemed so gentle and sweet, but what 
was she doing with him when she was with Joe? Cause she was bored of 
course, she wanted some excitement in her life and boy did she get 
that... 

The pair reached the front door of Chanade's house giggling and
laughing. As she put her key in the lock she felt Chris's kisses on her 
neck, soft nimble kisses like a rabbit's. Finally she got the door 
open, stumbling through the doorway she listened for any sounds to say 
someone was home... There was none, the house was silent, too silent. 
Thinking that Joe was at work she banged the door shut and walked into 
the living room, ignoring the peculiar pair of black work shoes on the 
mat... "Nice place. Hey, I'm sure I know this living room." "Not unless 
you've been here in a past life." She laughed. "Yeah..." "So erm what 
do you wanna do? We can talk or we can..." He started. "Come here." She 
laughed, pulling him towards her. He moved towards her, his icy blue 
eyes staring into hers, the tension grew solidly between them... Their 
eyes locked, the sparkle of his eyes attracting her more and more, they 
moved closer and closer... Finally the space between their faces was no 
more then an inch, they could both see clearly into each other's eyes. 
Unable to resist anymore Chanade leaned forward and kissed him, a kiss 
full of hunger, of lust. Meanwhile upstairs in their bedroom Joe sat 
quietly staring at the picture of the engagement ring in the catalogue, 
he'd taken so long to save all this money up to get her this one ring, 
but she deserved it. He knew he'd been neglecting her lately, always 
doing overtime at work and always wanting to stay in, but when she saw 
that ring she'd be delighted. A couple more weeks and he'd have all the 
money he needed. Shutting the catalogue he stuffed it into the drawer 
next to his bed leaving a yellow post it note on the ring that he 
wanted to buy. Creeping softly down the stairs Joe walked on towards 
the living room... Chanade and Chris sat together on the sofa kissing 
passionately unaware of anything going on around them. He whispered 
sweet nothings in her ear, making her laugh at his suggestions. Her 
chocolate brown eyes darted lazily around the room; then suddenly out 
of the corner of her eye she spotted something that she hadn't before, 
the pair of work shoes on the mat. Joe was home! She started to feel 
off-colour and pulled away quickly from Chris, he stared back her, his 
face confused. "What's wrong?" "Joe," She hissed. "Is home..." "What?" 
He murmured, looking around the room. Their Joe stood in the doorway, 
staring at the two of them, his face pale and emotionless. 

"Joe, I can ex..." Chanade started. The words trailed off as she noticed
that Joe seemed so happy to see Chris, did he know him or something? 
"Chris! Is it really you?" Joe asked, his eyes lighting up. "Joe! I 
haven't seen you for ages man, how've you been?" Chris replied. 
Chanade's mouth dropped open as she stared at the two guys chatting and 
reminiscing of the good times, they knew each other? What was the 
chance of that, almost 100 to 1? She couldn't believe it, she really 
couldn't. "This is my girlfriend Chanade, we met last year at a club." 
"Yes we've met." Chris murmured, giving Chanade a look. "So how did you 
meet Chanade, Chris?" Joe started. "Oh you know; can we talk in 
private? There's so much I have to tell you..." Chris replied. "Chanade 
are you okay with that?" Joe asked. "Erm, yeah, sure." She said 
uncertainly, her eyes flicking from Joe to Chris. She watched the two 
of them go with worry, if Chris breathed a single word of what happened 
that night her and Joe would be over, forever. Trying to put it out of 
her mind she decided to watch a video. She didn't look to see what 
video she was putting on and picked up the first one on the pile. 
Slotting it into the machine she switched the TV on and sat back on the 
settee. As soon as the image came on the screen her eyes filled with 
tears, it was the video of her and Joe on holiday in the Bahamas, just 
a few months back. She could remember every detail of that holiday; the 
memories were so fresh it seemed like it was only yesterday. Swamped by 
the memories her mind cast back to the golden beaches, the hot sun 
bearing down on her and Joe, them going skinny-dipping with just the 
moon for company. Everything seemed so real like she could just reach 
out her hand and she was there, back in paradise. But all she had to do 
was blink, and paradise? It was gone. Staring sadly at the screen she 
wondered why he'd changed, he was so romantic then always buying her 
little treats like flowers and chocolates. Always whisking her off to 
romantic dinners at restaurants, day trips to France. He didn't do that 
now, why? Why had he changed, he still loved her didn't he? All she 
wanted was a bit of excitement in her life and she felt Chris was the 
only one who could give her that... 

The two guys headed down the street towards the local pub, the Kings
Hens. It wasn't that late so they'd still get some quality time to chat 
before closing. As soon as they entered the pub the smoky, dull smell 
of the atmosphere hit them. "What drink do you want mate?" Joe asked. 
"Just a pint of lager, thanks." Chris replied. Taking a seat in the 
corner booth, the pair used to sit in, in their college days. Chris 
remembered the good times fondly, he liked Chanade and what a way to 
meet his old best friend! "So what did you get up to after college?" 
Joe asked, placing the drinks on the table. "Oh you know just looking 
for a job and that." "So where you working now?" "At Rosins Garage, I'm 
a mechanic." "That's great mate, it's what you always wanted to be, 
isn't it?" "No." Chris laughed. "I wanted to be a fireman, me." "I 
guess that was every little boys dream, however I didn't want to be a 
fireman, I wanted to be a policeman!" Joe smiled. "Always wanting to be 
different weren't you." "Everyone always did the same as each other, 
I'm not different; I just didn't want to be the same as everyone else." 
"I guess you're right Joe, you're a good man." "Thanks mate." Joe 
smiled. "So have you found yourself a girl yet?" Joe asked. "Err... yes 
I have." Chris stuttered. "I'm happy for you. I mean with looks like 
you've got you were bound to get a girl." "Yeah, guess so. Erm, what 
about you?" "Me? Oh I met Chanade last year at a club." "Cool." "So how 
comes you were with my girl, Chris?" "Err...we were just talking. You 
see I'm seeing her best mate, you know Ellie? Anyway Ellie went home 
about ten minutes before you came in, and I was just having a quick 
chat with Chanade." Chris said, lying through his teeth. "That's 
funny... I never heard the door go." "Oh yeah, erm she was quiet, you 
know." "Yeah, sure mate." Taking a sip of his drink, the pair carried 
on talking all through the night. 

Back in the flat Chanade sat at the kitchen table, a glass of hot
chocolate next to her. She'd already tried to sleep several times but 
as soon as she'd put her head down on the pillow, she would see Joe's 
hurt face flashing at her, what if Chris let something out? She 
couldn't sleep it was just going over and over in her head, driving her 
mad. Feeling her eyes growing heavy she picked up the hot chocolate and 
dragged herself up the stairs to bed. She fell asleep as soon as her 
head hit the pillow. After a while Joe staggered home and tucked 
himself into bed beside Chanade. She could hear muffled sounds around 
her, realising that Joe was going to bed made her feel a bit better, 
Chris hadn't said anything. But it was still sitting there, in the back 
of her mind. Making her feel worried. 

As Chanade was dozing lightly in the morning the loud 'Beep Beep' of her
mobile phone woke her. Blinking sleepily she lifted her head up and 
looked next to her, that side of the bed was empty. Joe must've already 
gone to work. Picking up the phone she clicked on inbox, as she scanned 
through the message her eyebrows rose in surprise. It was from Chris. 
Meet me in an hour by the leisure centre and maybe later we could 
finish where we left off last night... Chris xxx Putting the phone on 
the bed, she quickly got changed into some smart black trousers and a 
beige top with one sleeve, and a dangly bit, down the side. Grabbing 
her door keys she ran to the leisure centre and waited for Chris. What 
she didn't notice was that he was already there waiting, in the 
shadows. "Hey Chanade." He smiled, appearing in front of her. "Oh I 
didn't see you then," she laughed. "How's about a game of squash?" "Why 
not..." she replied. He took her hand in hers and they walked into the 
leisure centre, like any boyfriend and girlfriend would. As they passed 
the reception to get their rackets, Mrs Rickets looked up from her 
work. "Chanade?" Mrs Rickets asked. "Hi Mrs Rickets, we'd like a game 
for two." "Where's Joe?" "Joe? Err he's at work, I'm just having a 
simple game with my friend Chris." She stuttered. "Okay, that'd be 
£5.00 please." "Yeah, here." Mrs Rickets handed over the tennis rackets 
and watched the two leave, both their hands swinging by their sides. If 
she didn't know better, she'd reckon that girl was up to something. As 
they walked out onto the court their tennis shoes squeaked loudly on 
the flooring. "You're quite good at this, do you play often?" Chris 
asked. "Thanks me and Joe play all the time." "Oh right." He murmured. 
Suddenly Chris wasn't up to playing anymore. He annoyingly batted the 
ball up and down on the spot. "What's up? Aint you going to pass the 
ball to me?" "Sorry Chanade, I just can't be bothered to play anymore." 
"Oh right, okay." Chanade replied, confused. "But didn't you want to 
come here and play a game?" She shouted. "You could say that." He 
muttered slyly. "What's that supposed to mean?" she wondered. Ignoring 
her curiosity Chris walked towards the exit, the absent comment left 
his playability faltered. "I'm hitting the showers." He said, as he 
left. "Well that was fun." She said to herself. As the hot water washed 
over Chris, he wished that it would wash away his frustration as well 
as the dirt. They were having a good game of squash and she had to ruin 
it by mentioning Joe. Sure she's going out with him but come on, she 
was with me for god's sake! Deep in thought he didn't take any notice 
of anything around him till he heard the far off sound of a girls 
voice. "Oh Chris, I'm sorry." The voice said. It was Chanade. "Go 
away." He said to himself. His sharp thinking interrupted his 
irritation, what was she doing in the shower room...it was men's only! 
Alerted by this he turned around sharply, almost slipping on the soap. 
"Hello Chris." She smiled. "What are you doing? ..." He almost ate his 
words as he stared, fascinated, as Chanade stood in front of him, just 
a towel covering her modesty. "Mind if I join you?" She asked, the 
towel slipping to the floor. "N...no, I don't mind." He stuttered. 
"Great." She said seductively. He couldn't take his eyes off hers as 
she stepped into the shower, then with a swift movement he pressed his 
lips on hers... 

Later that night Chris and Joe met up for another drink. "So how's your
day been?" Chris asked. "Me? Oh it's been a right bore, work from 6am 
to 9pm at night." "Why are you working so late?" "I'm working 
overtime." He stated. Chris's forehead rose in surprise. "Why!?" "Well 
I wasn't going to tell this to anyone but seeing as you're my mate I 
can tell you. I'm saving up." "Oh yeah? Saving up for what?" "A ring." 
Alarm bells rang in Chris's head, gave a premonition of what was to 
come. He knew what sort of ring it was all right; he just had to be 
certain. "What type of ring?" Chris pried. "A engagement ring." Joe 
smiled. Chris's smile faded, an engagement ring? "That's great mate, 
I'm happy for you." Chris said dryly. "Thanks, oh she's going to be so 
happy." "Isn't she just?" "Oh please don't tell her about this, I'm 
going to have all the money I need in just a few more weeks, and I'd 
rather you don't breathe a word of this to anyone." "Oh don't worry," 
"I wont." Chris sneered. Rubbing his finger on the smoothly polished 
table, Chris tried not to let his displeasure show. "You okay mate?" 
Joe asked concerned. A fake smile rose on Chris's lips. "Oh yeah, 
wicked." "So what did you get up to today, Chris?" "I had a lot of fun, 
a hell of a lot." He laughed. Joe raised an eyebrow. "You seemed to 
have enjoyed it." A devious expression engaged itself on his face. 
"Enjoyed it! It was the most fun I've ever had, it's good getting 
something you can't usually have." Chris grinned. "What's that?" "Oh it 
was nothing. Another drink?" "Why not." 

The next afternoon, Ellie stood looking over the pier to the rough waves
below. The wind blew strongly, almost knocking over Chanade as she 
fought her way to join Ellie at the side of the pier. "You sure it's 
okay to come out here in this wind?" Chanade shouted. "What?!" "Didn't 
you hear me?" Chanade shouted. "No?" Even when she shouted, Chanade's 
voice was drained out by the strong wind. "So what were you doing with 
that guy then Chanade?" Ellie shouted. Eventually Chanade managed to 
reach the edge of the pier, and was able to hear what her friend was 
saying. "I just took him home, that's all." "I don't believe you." 
"Don't believe me? Why not?" "Because you're lying and you know it." "I 
am not lying!" Chanade murmured. Ellie stared back at her friend, her 
eyes sussing her out. Nothing hid the lying tone alive on Chanade's 
face. "Sure you're not. Look all I'm saying is don't do this." "Do 
what?" "Play them off against each other, you'll only get hurt in the 
long run!" "Don't ever tell me what to do Ellie, you don't know 
anything!" Chanade muttered, her defences rising. "Well don't say I 
didn't warn you." Ellie hissed, turning around and going in the 
opposite direction. "Crap." Chanade murmured. Brushing the stray hairs 
out of her eyes, she stared out at the horizon. The dark grey sky 
loomed above her. Reining the land like an eagle would hunt its prey. 
The rain clouds huddled closely together, it looked like rain. 
"Chanade!" A voice shouted. Turning around she saw Chris heading her 
way, remembering what happened in the showers yesterday left her with a 
smile on her face. "Hi Chris." "How are you?" He asked. "I'm alright, 
you?" "Same." Walking closer to her, he stood so she was looking into 
his eyes. Rubbing a warm finger over her cold cheek, he gave her a 
quick kiss. "I missed you." He smiled. "Yeah, me too." "So you're 
telling me that when you were lying in bed with Joe all you could think 
of was me?" "Yeah, I guess." "If you say so." "Honest!" She laughed. 
"Okay, come on." He said, grabbing her hand. As they walked down the 
pier, they started to talk. "I swear Ellie was here just a minute ago? 
You were speaking to her right?" "Yeah, but then we kind of had a 
argument and she went away in a mood!" "What was it about?" "Oh don't 
worry about it. As I said it was a really little argument." "Oh okay, 
just as long as you're alright?" "Thanks, I'm glad you're not prying," 
"You know what it's really good how I can speak to you in a way I can't 
to Joe." She continued. Chris was taken aback. "Really? You think 
that?" "Yeah, I don't know what is it but me and Joe, we don't seem to 
communicate anymore. He's just never there, and when he is all he wants 
to do is sit in front of the TV and then go to bed!" "And that's bad?" 
"Yeah, we always used to talk, nothing's exciting anymore. I mean we 
haven't slept together for about a month now, he always says he's too 
tired from work, but I don't know. I sometimes think he's having a 
affair!" Chris rolled his eyes, and laughed - it was a throaty laugh. 
"You know you can be pretty stupid sometimes. I think you're the one 
who's having a affair." "I know but as I said, he's never there 
anymore. He bores me." "Awww, you're probably feeling depressed, here 
come with me, maybe I can cheer you up?" Chris took hold of Chanade's 
hand and led her along the pier Boardwalk. "Chris, where are we going?" 
"Just follow me." He said mysteriously. The sandy surroundings soon 
gave way to fields then eventually the local woods. "Chris what's 
here?" "I'm going to show you somewhere that's special to me, I used to 
come here all the time when I felt depressed." Chris carried on leading 
her through the run down woods, over dead twigs, leafy banks and the 
moss that grew thickly from the damp ground. Finally he came to a stop 
at the end of the woods. Chanade took a look at the place; it was 
clearer then the rest of the woods but still quite a mess. It was used 
as a dump ground now, a resting place for burnt out cars and bike 
parts, dead tree stumps stuck out like sore thumbs from the flat ground 
around them. "The place is ruined now, it was a perfect little camp for 
all us boys. Now look at it it's a dump." He sighed. "You know people 
Chris, they never think about the magical places woods used to be for 
little kids, they don't care about that." "Anyway what do you think of 
it Chanade?" "It's really cool, must've been quite a place when you 
were young. I can imagine it." "And look over here Chanade. I came down 
here when I was just 10 years old, Joe and me, best buddies we were. We 
carved our names in this tree. Come on, come and see!" He led Chanade 
over to the only tree left standing at the edge of the woods. "Look 
there." He said, pointing at the bark of the tree. She looked and she 
could just about make it out. In the bark of the tree was the childish 
scratching of a name, Chris it read. Next to his name was a fainter 
scratching, worn down by erosion and the constant showers of rain over 
the years, but you could still see it if you squinted your eyes. "Joe." 
She said aloud. "Yeah, I told you I was with him!" Chanade smiled. 
"That's real sweet Chris." "Thanks for showing me this place Chris, 
it's really special." Suddenly the air grew cold, making Chanade 
shiver. "Oh Chanade you must be cold, come let's go to my place." "Are 
you sure you don't want to stay here?" Chris shook his head; he had far 
more important agendas active on his mind... "No, we can come here 
another time, you know that's if you want to? And right now I don't 
want you catching a cold!" "Awe that's so sweet!" "Thanks. Lets go." He 
grinned, taking her hand in his. 

Chris walked Chanade quickly to his house. Shivering as he tried to turn
the key in the door. When they got inside they could feel the warmth, 
it hit them like an oven. "That's much warmer." Chris took Chanade's 
coat and hung it up on the hanger. "Real nice place you got here 
Chris." Chanade called. "Thanks, Upstairs is much nicer I reckon. Wanna 
come and see?" Chris took Chanade's hand and led her upstairs. "Oh 
yeah..." Chanade tried to say but Chris cut her off. Placing a warm 
finger on her lips, he silenced her, just like that. They stared into 
each other's eyes for a moment, the tension gradually growing more 
intense. Unable to bear it anymore Chanade pressed her lips onto his. 
The kiss lingered, and pumped with passion Chris pulled Chanade into 
the bedroom... Everything all started to happen so quickly... Entranced 
by those icy blue eyes, as he laid her down gently on the bed. His 
kisses were so deep, she really couldn't resist. Although she knew it 
was wrong sex with Chris was different to how it was with Joe. With 
Chris it was different, she got a feeling she'd never felt before. The 
feeling she felt was more excitement then anything else, the thrill of 
something you shouldn't do. Like she'd taken a forbidden fruit. Later 
on Chanade was lying in Chris's bed when she started to hear a small 
voice in the back of her head. It was quiet at first but gradually grew 
louder, so loud that the niggling voice was almost shouting in her 
head. Joe, Joe, Joe, the voice repeated, racking her with guilt. She 
sat up in the bed and looked at the clock next to her, 9pm. Looking to 
the left of her she saw Chris, still asleep, fast asleep by the looks 
of it. "I'm sorry Chris but I've got to go, bye." She whispered. 

She opened the front door slowly and quickly closed the door to shut out
the wind. Kicking off her shoes and chucking her coat on the pile she 
tiptoed carefully into the living room. Joe was sitting there watching 
TV with blank eyes, he looked pretty miserable. "Joe?" She said 
quietly. "Where've you been Chanade?" He asked, jumping up. "Just out, 
you know with the girls." Joe laughed slightly. "I phoned the girls you 
weren't with them! I was worried sick Chanade. Where the hell were 
you?" "I... I... went to Jen's house. She used to be my best friend 
from high school, you wouldn't know her 'cos I never speak about her." 
"Sure, whatever. I came home early just to be with you and I found the 
flat empty! It's not good enough!" He shouted angrily. "Oh yeah? What 
about you then, huh? Are you ever here? Are you? No you're bloody not 
so you can't lecture me on being at home on time!" "I'm sorry I was so 
much bother to you." He said sadly. "Oh don't be like that Joe, I 
didn't mean it." "No, I'm sure you didn't." Knowing she'd hurt him 
Chanade felt like kicking herself. The only day he came home early and 
she was liasing with his best mate! "Awww man, why are you home early 
anyway when you never have been before?" "I didn't have to work 
overtime tonight, that's all. I thought that maybe I could've taken you 
out for dinner or something. I know I've been neglecting you lately." 
"Awww, Joe. That's really sweet. Are we going then?" "It's too late 
now, I booked the table for 7. Maybe another day, hey?" "Yeah..." She 
said slowly. "Well goodnight." "Night Joe." She whispered. Giving her a 
quick kiss on the cheek he left the room, closing the door behind him. 
Sitting down on the settee she sank slowly into the soft cushions, 
recalling over the days events. It was fun, of course it was but she'd 
hurt Joe by not being there, and on one of the only days he came home 
early! She felt so bad for that. Biting her fingernail she glanced over 
at the coffee table, there was a catalogue lying idly on it. Picking it 
up she looked through the glossy pages not noticing the yellow post it 
note floating softly to the floor. Flicking to the page where the 
engagement rings were she stared dreamily at the ring she'd wanted 
since she was young, it was a gold band with three diamonds centred in 
the middle. But at that price she'd never get a ring like that... 
Running her finger over the ring she took it away quickly when she felt 
the stickiness of the page. "Someone must've spilt drink on it." She 
murmured to herself, placing the catalogue back on the table. Switching 
off the TV, she took a quick glance around the living room before going 
to bed. 

As the sun rose slowly over the clouds, Joe woke up to the ringing of
his alarm clock. He got out of bed and opened the bedroom cupboard by 
the window, and counted the money he'd saved. There was £800, he only 
needed £200 more and he'd be getting that in his next wage packet. This 
time next week, he'll have the ring; his head felt dreamy just thinking 
about it. Locking the cupboard, he went to get ready for work. Hour's 
later Chanade's eyes slowly opened, the other side of the bed was 
empty, as usual. Sighing she padded down the hall to the bathroom. 
Opening the bathroom cabinet she took out the toothpaste. Putting her 
toothbrush under the tap, she quickly spread the toothpaste over it. As 
she started to brush her teeth she casually looked into the mirror, an 
unfamiliar reflection stared back... Dropping the toothbrush she turned 
around in fright. There stood Chris, a big grin on his face. "Oh my 
god, you scared me!" She cried. "Sorry Chanade. I just had to see you." 
"See me! Like this! I'm a mess, I've got no make up on or anything." "I 
don't care, I think you're beautiful, make up or not." "Why are you 
really here Chris? It's so early." "It's 11am!" "Yeah, well it's early 
for me." Suddenly Chris's face melted into a sense of emotion. "I can't 
stop thinking about you." He whispered. "You can't?" "No." "Oh... Chris 
I'm really not in the mood." "Do you think sex is all I think about? 
Come on Chanade we'll just talk." "Okay." She said reluctantly. They 
went into Joe and Chanade's bedroom and sat on the bed. There was an 
awkward silence, bizarrely they didn't know what topics of conversation 
to talk about; the only resolve was small talk-and god was that 
painful. "So how've you been lately Chanade?" "Fine, thanks. You?" 
"Same." "Did you have fun last night??" He asked. "Yeah, it was good." 
"Cool." Shuffling himself over Chris moved so he was nearer Chanade. He 
tried to kiss her but she didn't respond. "What's wrong?" He asked. 
"Nothing, I don't know. I'm a bit tired." "Fair enough." Neither of 
them moved for a while, and Chanade stared up at the clock, the room 
was so quiet that you could hear the ticking of the minutes going by. 
Suddenly Chanade felt a tickling on her skin, she looked down and saw 
Chris's fingers trailing slowly over her arm. "This little piggy went 
to market, this little piggy stayed at home, this little piggy had 
roast beef..." "And this little piggy went wee, wee, wee all the way 
home!" Chris laughed. His hand ended at the top of her arm and as he 
tickled her, she started to laugh uncontrollably. "Chris, stop it. I'm 
too ticklish." "I know." He grinned, tickling her more. "Please, stop." 
She laughed. "Be nice?" "Okay, I'll be nice." She smiled. Grinning that 
sexy smile of his, Chris placed his finger gently on Chanade's nose; 
she watched his finger with hushed breath as it trailed down her skin, 
coming to a rest on her lips. The urge rippling inside her was 
uncontrollable; no matter how much she tried to hold back, no matter 
how much she tried to think of Joe; she always gave in. Gave in to 
lust. 

Lying back in the bed Chanade couldn't help but feel ashamed of what
she'd done. Her and Chris in the bed that Joe and her usually slept in, 
what would he, do if he found out? His heart would probably break she 
knew how delicate he was, and that's why she loved him. She liked Chris 
but she could never love him in the way she loved Joe. Joe was the only 
one for her so she couldn't understand why she kept sleeping with 
Chris. Maybe it was because he was so gentle, but there again so was 
Joe, maybe it was because he was good looking, but so was Joe... The 
real reason was that Joe just didn't excite her anymore; he was never 
there. Didn't seem to care. How wrong she was... "You okay babe?" Chris 
asked. "Yeah, sure." "You sure? You don't look too happy." "Just 
thinking about Joe, he would be devastated." She said sadly. Anger 
swirled in Chris's system. Just the mention of Joe's name sent him into 
a fury, it was like they were competitors in a love war and Chanade was 
the star prize. Who would get her was anyone's business but he hated 
playing so dirty. "Oh that's it, go think about him again." "What?" 
"Whenever I sleep with you, you always end up with a guilty conscience. 
It's like you don't care!" "But this is his bed, do you understand what 
this would do to him if he found out!" She shouted. "What about me 
Chanade?" "What about you?" "Don't you ever think about me? My 
feelings?" "Yeah, course I do." She murmured. "Well if you did you 
wouldn't go on about him ALL the time!" "Okay, I wont mention him 
again, will I?" She sniffed. "No!" He shouted, turning to the other 
side of the bed. "I'm gonna make some coffee, do you want any?" She 
asked softly. There was no answer. "Fine, ignore me." Getting out of 
the bed she slung her pink dressing gown on and padded down to the 
kitchen. She'd just filtered the coffee when the phone rang, dropping 
what she was doing she ran to answer it. "Hello?" She answered. "Hi, 
it's Ellie." "Hey Ellie, how are you?" "I'm okay. Look I'm going to get 
straight to the point..." "Which is?" "Stay away from Chris, please. I 
know you've been sleeping with him. Look you've got Joe for gods sake 
just think about that!" "Who told you I was sleeping with Chris?" "So 
you admit it then?" Chanade had been caught out. "Oh you did this on 
purpose, you stupid cow." "I needed to know." Ellie said duly. "Please 
don't say a word of this to Joe." Chanade begged. "I won't, but 
remember I warned you." With that, the line went dead. "Why can't she 
just keep her big nose out of it?" Chanade muttered. She put the phone 
back on the hook and made her cup of coffee. As she walked into the 
bedroom she casually looked out the window, it was then that she saw 
Joe's car drawing up the drive. With just seconds to spare before Joe 
would arrive, Chanade burst into action. "Chris, Chris, Get up! He's 
home, Joe's home." She shouted. "What?" Chris groaned. "He's going to 
be in here any minute, get up, hide in the cupboard or something. I'm 
going to try and stall him." "This would happen wouldn't it?" He 
grumbled. "Sorry, I didn't know he'd be home early again!" She ran down 
the stairs and got to the door just as Joe appeared, he greeted Chanade 
with a big hug. "Erm, hi Joe." She stuttered. "Hi honey, everything 
okay?" "Yeah, fine." "You sure? You're a bit red." "Do you want to go 
in the living room and watch the TV or something love?" Chanade asked. 
"I can do that in a minute, I've got to change my shirt." "No! You 
can't go up there!" Joe stared strangely at his girlfriend; she was 
acting rather peculiarly. "Why?" "Oh, I didn't mean you can't go up 
there I mean, why change now when you can change later." She stuttered. 
"You're hiding something." He said suspiciously. "I'm not hiding 
anything." "Sure you're not." He muttered. He stormed up the stairs 
with Chanade hot on his tail. As he reached the bedroom, the door was 
shut, he put his hand on the handle and it slowly creaked open... 

As Joe burst into the room he noticed the window was open, the net
curtains blowing in the wind, but other then that the room was empty. 
Watching in the sidelines Chanade blew a sigh of relief. "Told you no 
one was up here." "Okay," He murmured. "I swear you were hiding 
something." He continued. "I wasn't, I just opened the window to get 
some fresh air." "If you say so." "Why are you home early again 
anyway?" "I was going to take you out." "Where?" "I said I'd take you 
out yesterday didn't I, well I am now." "But where are we going to go?" 
"For a drink first down the local, then to a posh restaurant." "Oh 
thanks Joe." She smiled. "It's okay." "I better get ready then." "Yeah, 
guess you better." Chanade slowly closed the door as Joe walked 
downstairs. She slowly opened the cupboard hoping with all her heart 
that Joe wouldn't walk into the room. "Chris you better get out of 
here, he'll be coming up soon." "How am I supposed to get out?" Chanade 
looked around and then pointed to the window. "I can't believe I have 
to do this." He groaned. "Well you've got two choices, you either climb 
out that window or you walk out the front door and let Joe catch you?" 
"Looks like I'm going out the window then." Chris grabbed his coat and 
started out the window, hanging onto the drainpipe he slowly slid down 
to the porch and jumped off. After a few minutes Joe came running up to 
the room. "Chanade who were you talking to? I just heard talking?" "I 
wasn't talking to anyone. You probably just heard people walking past 
because I have the window open." "Oh right that must have been it." "I 
think you're getting too paranoid Joe." Chanade replied. She brushed 
past him lightly as she left the room. 

As Chanade glanced into the mirror putting the final touches to her make
up, Chris sat on the bed waiting for her. "I'm really glad we're going 
out again Chanade, it's going to be just like the old times." "Yeah!" 
She smiled. "I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately but I'll make 
it up to you, you'll see." Chanade smiled. Finally they left the house 
and went arm in arm to the pub. "I'm really excited about tonight, it's 
going to be great." Entering their local they looked around the crowded 
pub for a free seat, there was just one booth empty at the end of the 
row. "What would you like love?" "Vodka and orange please babes." Joe 
went to the counter to buy the drinks. As he was at the counter Chris 
walked in and spotted Chanade. He walked over to her and started to 
talk. "Chanade, I really didn't expect to see you here?" Chanade got a 
fright. "Yeah Joes taking me out." She mumbled. "Oh..." He muttered. 
Suddenly Chris felt unbearably used. How could she stay with him one 
minute, kissing him, hugging him, serenading him then as soon as Joe 
comes back she was all over him like a rash, leaving Chris out in the 
rain.  He couldn't bear to compete with Joe any longer, the pain hurt 
too much. If vindictive, two-way comments drove a void between Chanade 
and Joe it would be a victory...even if it were short lived. "I thought 
he was never there anymore?" He sneered. "Yeah, he's not, usually." She 
said uncomfortably. Joe came over with the drinks. "Oh Chris I didn't 
see you come in, why don't you join us?" "Yeah sure. I think I'd like 
that." He said, giving Chanade a dirty look. "Let me get you a drink, 
what would you like?" "Pint of Lager mate." "Right." Joe returned to 
the counter to buy the drinks. "Chris remember not to say anything 
okay? I'm counting on you." "Oh don't worry I won't..." he replied 
sarcastically. Joe returned with Chris's lager. "So how have you been 
lately Chris?" Joe started. "Oh great, all thanks to Chanade." "What?" 
Joe asked confused. Chanade's heart skipped a beat. "Oh no not Chanade, 
silly me I'm getting my names mixed up now. I meant Ellie!" Chanade 
breathed a sigh of relief. She kicked Chris under the table and then 
coughed. "Oh Chanade, you must have caught that cough from the other 
night in the woods?" Nearly spilling his orange juice Joe screamed, 
"Excuse me!" "Oh no wait a minute that was a film I watched last night, 
silly me." Chris laughed. Chanade started to get angry. Why was Chris 
doing this! "Oh..." Joe replied. "Oh by the way Joe I think you might 
have to fix the guttering in your drainpipe. I think I broke a bit 
sliding down it this morning." "WHAT!" Joe shouted. "Oh sorry mate I 
keep getting confused, that was Tim's house." Joe looked up at the 
clock. "Chanade we better go now or we'll miss our table," he said 
avoiding eye contact. "Okay Chanade I'll see you tomorrow, oh wait a 
minute no I won't." he laughed hoarsely as the duo dashed from the 
table. A devilish grin resided on Chris's face as he thought back over 
the scene he'd caused, now if that didn't drive them apart, nothing 
would. 

Joe walked ahead of Chanade as they left the pub. He didn't say a word
as they walked up to the restaurant. "Reservation for Smith please, 
table for two." Joe told the man at the door. "Right this way sir." The 
waiter said leading them through. Chanade looked around the restaurant 
in wonder; it was certainly a top restaurant. Chandeliers hung from the 
ceiling, rich red carpet covered the floor and everyone there was 
dressed in their best. The waiter led them to a table out in the view 
of everyone. "Someone will be over shortly to take your order." The 
waiter smiled. "Thanks." There was a short silence. Chanade looked 
around smiling, trying to break the silence. "Well isn't this lovely 
Joe?" "Whatever..." Chanade frowned. Joe was still avoiding eye 
contact. She couldn't believe he wouldn't even look her in the eyes. 
"Today in the pub was mad wasn't it Joe. Chris's head was totally 
messed up tonight don't you think?" Finally Joe looked up at Chanade, 
as he stared at her she tried to look away. His eyes were so angry, so 
angry that she felt fire would roar out of them any minute now. "Yeah 
his head was really messed up! Or was it really Chanade? Or was it just 
YOU! You're having an affair aren't you?" "What? No, why would I do 
that Joe I wouldn't want to hurt you! Why do you think that?" She 
gulped. "I came home early yesterday you weren't there. Took you a 
while to remember where you were didn't it? And today you were hiding 
something I know you were. Then Chris tells me he slid down the 
drainpipe of our house! Do you think I was born yesterday or 
something!" Joe yelled. Prying diners gawped at the unfolding event. 
"Joe be quiet people are staring, and you've got it all wrong because 
like Chris said it was Tim's house!" "Chanade stop lying to me! God 
damn it." "I'm not, honest!" "Chanade! I know you're having an affair! 
If you didn't want to be with me why didn't you just say?" "Joe, I do 
want to be with you! Don't you trust me or something??" She said 
desperately. "No Chanade, I don't think I can trust you anymore." "I 
can't believe you're even saying this!" "Why would I want to trust a 
dirty whore like you?" He sneered. With the volume raised, the amount 
of onlookers increased. All eyes were on them as the quiet atmosphere 
went up in smoke. "I can't believe you just called me that! Look you 
can shove your dinner! You can run outside and get hit by a bus for all 
I care!" She screamed. Chanade stood up and grabbed a drink from 
someone else's table, ignoring the dirty stare they gave her, and 
chucked it all over Joe's face. Grabbing her bag she stormed out, 
everyone around her staring in shock. This was one of the most posh 
restaurants in London, and behaviour like Chanade's had never been seen 
before. When Chanade got outside the impact of what had just happened 
hit her like a speeding bullet, everything was ruined now, just 
everything! She started to cry as she slowly walked home through the 
dark, dark night. Joe sat quietly in the restaurant all enquiring eyes 
on him watching for the next piece of action, but there was nothing. 
Joe stared on into nothingness the Red Wine slowly dripping down his 
face onto his shirt. "Sir here's your menu... My what has happened 
here?" The waiter gasped. "I don't want any dinner now. Thanks anyway." 
Joe said slowly. 

At home she waited anxiously for Joe's return, what was he going to do?
Would he want to split up with her? She hoped that, that wasn't what he 
was going to do. Finally she heard his key in the door. "Joe! Are you 
okay?" A bitter, incriminating expression engulfed his face. "Just get 
away from me." "Please Joe! I don't know what was wrong with Chris 
today. Please believe me!" She pleaded. "Whatever Chanade." "I swear 
I'm telling the truth." "You swear? With all your heart, you swear?" 
"Yes! I'm not having an affair." She lied. "Okay, you better not be 
lying to me." "I'm not." Within his hearts of hearts Joe knew he had to 
forgive her, she was his girlfriend, she loved him. Why would she cheat 
on him with Chris? She had no reason to. "I know Chris can become a bit 
funny sometimes so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." "Oh thank 
you!" She smiled. "Yeah, well I'm off to bed now, night." "Night." 

The week passed by quickly, and soon it was two weeks since Joe and
Chanade's big argument. Chanade hadn't heard anything from Chris, and 
to be honest she was glad, he'd almost ruined her relationship with 
Joe. Unfortunately Joe had started doing overtime at work again, even 
though it annoyed her she tried to forget about it. Later that day 
Chanade was shopping in town when her phone beeped. She frowned when 
she saw who the sender was. Hey Chanade, I'm sorry about the way I 
acted last week it was really childish. I'm shopping in the town centre 
at the moment, how about we meet up? Chris xxx What a nerve he's got 
she thought angrily, shoving her phone back in her pocket. Later on, 
laid down by all the shopping bags she had to carry she sank down 
gratefully on a bench. "You look laid down, how about I help you with 
those bags." A voice asked. "Oh no, not that damsel in distress act 
again." She groaned. Glancing up she saw those sparkling eyes again, 
bearing into hers. What was it with those eyes that were so attractive? 
She didn't understand it. "Miss me?" He laughed. "No! Me and Joe are 
getting on a bit better now, I'd rather not ruin it." "Is he working 
overtime again Chanade?" "Erm, no." "Liar." "Well we need the money." 
"Sure, like he doesn't earn enough in the daytime. Why does he need to 
work overtime as well?" Chris was probing deep and it was irritating 
her. Why did he have to jump back into her life when her and Chris had 
worked things out? "I don't know, maybe he's planning something." 
"Maybe." He said mysteriously, knowing exactly why Joe was working 
overtime. "Well I guess we met up after all." She sighed. "Yeah. 
Brilliant huh." He grinned. "Want a sweet?" He asked. "My mum always 
told me never to accept sweets from strangers." "Oh but I'm not a 
stranger, I mean if I was you wouldn't have..." "Okay, okay. I get the 
picture." She interrupted. "That is good." "So can I help?" He smiled. 
She hesitated for a minute, thinking of Joe, she said she wasn't having 
an affair. She lied... if she carried it on, would he find out? But one 
look of those eyes and the decision was made. "Sure..." She smiled. So 
being the gentleman he is Chris took all her bags and carried them as 
they walked. "Why did you make all those sarcastic comments when we 
were at the pub?" She asked. "I don't know I just felt used. One minute 
you were with me, and the next you go straight back to Joe." "So if you 
felt used, why would it be any different now?" "I don't know, the fact 
that you're walking with me I guess." "Okay then." "I shouldn't have 
said anything though. I'm sorry." "Don't worry about it." They'd 
carried on walking till they'd reached the beach. It was deserted, 
miles of sand stretched out beyond them. "You thinking what I'm 
thinking?" Chris asked. Chanade nodded her head. They ran down to the 
shoreline and pulled off their socks and shoes, then grabbing each 
other's hand they made a beeline for the water. She waded out into the 
sea, the warm water lapping against her bare legs. "Try and catch, me." 
She laughed. He watched her walk backwards through the water, wading 
further and further out. "Hey don't go out so far!" He cried. "I'll be 
okay." "Watch out!" He screamed. "What?" A large wave rippled through 
the water knocking Chanade's legs out from beneath her and Chris 
watched in anguish as she disappeared from the water, hidden underneath 
the wave. "Chanade!" He shouted. He took a deep breath and then dived 
into the murky water. He could hardly see anything because it was so 
cloudy. Chris knew time was running out and kicked his legs desperately 
to push himself further out, all the time his eyes were searching the 
water for her. Then he saw Chanade's body descending slowly to the sea 
floor; she'd given up! Swimming as fast as his legs would take him he 
grabbed her, lifted her head up and headed for the beach. He laid her 
out gently on the soft sand and tried to resuscitate her, the first 
time he tried there was nothing. "Come on!" He cried. As he went to try 
again, her face caught his attention. She was ghostly white, and her 
lips were starting to go blue. Putting his all into it he pressed her 
chest one more time, sitting back he waited to see if anything had 
happened. There was nothing... "NO!" He cried. As he turned away 
Chanade's eyes shot open, and she quickly spat out all the water. 
"Chris?" She coughed. "Oh my god, you're okay!" "Yeah, what happened?" 
"You were swept under the waves, I thought you were dead!" he shrieked, 
his eyes wide. "I'm not though. That's all that counts." "Thank 
goodness!" He murmured. With real oxygen back in her lungs, she felt 
the full realisation of what'd just happened settle profoundly on her. 
The feeling of her chest caving in, her lungs struggling for breath, it 
was so real, so dire... just a few seconds more and she would've been 
dead. "I could've died." She whispered. "I'm real glad you didn't." He 
smiled. "Me too." She shivered as the tainted memories of the event 
swamped through her minds eye, surging her body with fear as the 
feeling of breathlessness overcame her. The water had been powerful, 
vicious; it could've easily taken her to a watery grave. But Chris had 
acted as her saviour, her knight in shining armour, rescuing her from 
the depths of despair. "Are you cold?" "Just a bit." She mumbled. 
"Okay." He replied. Then leaning down he kissed her, his warm body 
pressing against hers. She hadn't expected that but responded, kissing 
him in such a way to say thank you, thank you for saving my life. 
"You're so beautiful, you know that." He whispered. "I am?" "Yeah, I've 
never met anyone like you before. I know I was funny in the pub but I'm 
really sorry about that." "It's okay." "No it's not okay, I think I 
love you." Chanade froze; he loved her? It was only then she realised 
she couldn't say it back because she didn't feel it. She didn't love 
him. "Me too." She whimpered, wishing she didn't have to lie. She 
closed her eyes as he kissed her again, his hands lingering on her 
body. She felt a batch of lust explode inside of her as his lips met 
hers again. His fingers moving expertly across her skin, she felt her 
whole body light up. It was an unexplainable feeling but one that set 
every nerve ending in her body on edge, aroused every possible 
sensation encased inside her. All it took was his touch and every part 
of her body was seduced. As the sunset sunk slowly over the horizon, it 
cast a dying shadow over the two lying together on the sand. 

Chanade pushed the front door open and snuck into her house. It was
pretty late now so Joe might be home. She stopped in thought for a 
second thinking about what Chris had said to her, 'I love you', why did 
he have to say that, she didn't love him! She'd really done it now 
hadn't she? "Chanade?" Joe shouted. "Erm, yeah. I'm home Joe." "I'm in 
the kitchen." "Alright." She walked into the kitchen and smiled as Joe 
looked up from washing the dishes. "So where've you been?" "Shopping." 
She smiled. "Get anything nice?" "Just a top and a skirt. Nothing much 
else." "So where are your bags?" "My bags?" She'd left them on the 
beach! "Oh god, I'm so absent minded I must've left them while I was 
having a rest." "Well I hope you didn't waste too much money on them." 
"Of course not." "Good. Can you do me a favour?" "Sure, what is it?" 
"Can you check if Jason's birthday is on the 22nd this month or next 
month?" "Okay." She pulled the calendar out of her cupboard and glanced 
over the dates. She found what she needed to know and was just about to 
put the calendar back, when the bold headline caught her eye. Her last 
period was six weeks ago; she was two weeks late... Her heart started 
to race as she realised that she could be pregnant. What made it so 
much worse, was she knew deep down it wasn't Joe's... They hadn't slept 
together for a long time now. She couldn't believe this was happening, 
she was probably pregnant, with Chris's baby. This would kill Joe; she 
just knew it.  She could've sworn they'd always used protection; they 
had, hadn't they? Then she remembered that day in the showers, how 
could she have been so absent minded? This might spoil her whole life, 
one foolish moment of passion and a lifetime of regret.  Picking up her 
cell phone, she phoned her local doctor and booked an appointment for 
the next day. She had to check if she was really pregnant. 

Walking into the waiting room of the local doctor's surgery Chanade
signed in at the reception and took a seat. Looking around nervously 
she saw all the other people waiting to be seen, what could be wrong 
with all these people, did they have a disease? Illness? Or were they 
in the same situation as she was in? A large pregnancy poster stared at 
her from the wall, as she stared at it, it seemed to come alive, 
jeering, and laughing at the mess she'd got herself in. Turning away 
she stared down at her hands, while deep in thought. "Chanade, is that 
you?" A voice asked. Chanade turned to see where the voice was coming 
from and saw her old friend Jenny standing in front of her, a smile 
plastered on her face. She looked so much older since Chanade had last 
seen her, Chanade's mind sprung back to the fresh-faced teenager she'd 
waved goodbye to when she was sixteen years old. She relished in the 
memories of her school days, even though they were so many years ago. 
Jenny's face had aged, but the prettiness she'd always had was still 
there. She was dressed in slacks that hung low beneath her stomach, and 
a baby blue top. She was heavily pregnant. "I haven't seen you in like 
forever!" Jenny gasped. "Same here." "So why are you here, Chanade?" 
"Erm, I think I might be pregnant." "Oh my god! Really?" "Yeah, 
really." Chanade sighed. "You don't seem too happy about it." "I'm 
not." Chanade stated. "Why?" "Well let's just say everything is kind of 
mixed up right now." Jenny looked tongue-tied. "Oh okay, sounds bad." 
"Yeah it is. Well how about you, how far along are you?" "Seven months, 
oh Chanade I can't wait!" Jenny chirped. "Great." Chanade smiled. "What 
did you get up to after high school, Chanade?" "Nothing much. I went to 
college and did a course in child care but I gave up halfway." "Why?" 
"I don't know, I just had other things on I guess." "Oh okay. So who's 
the daddy of your kid?" "The dad, erm, Joe." She stuttered. "Okay." "So 
what happened to you after you left school?" "I always wanted to be a 
vet didn't I. Well I took the course in university, and after five 
years I passed! I'm now a fully qualified vet." "Oh. Cool." Chanade 
sighed. Jenny had been the same as her in high school, yet now she was 
different, in so many ways... In a good relationship, happy and highly 
educated, it was everything Chanade had wanted but never got, partly 
due to her own faults. Sighing she looked away. "Chanade Roberts, the 
doctor is ready to see you now." A nurse said. "Bye Jen." "Bye Chanade, 
talk again some other time." "Yeah." I've been letting you down, down 
Boy I know I've been such a fool Giving in to temptation I should have 
played it cool The situation got out of hand I hope you understand It 
can happen to anyone of us Anyone you think of Anyone can fall Anyone 
can hurt someone they love Hearts will break 'Cos I made a stupid 
mistake It can happen to anyone of us Say you will forgive me Anyone 
can fail Say you will believe me I can't take, my heart will break 'Cos 
I made a stupid mistake A stupid mistake The pitch-black night filled 
the sky above, setting darkness upon all the shoppers buying late night 
Christmas presents. It was getting even colder now, the chilly breezes 
shrilling through the air. Decorations and Christmas lights blinked 
colourfully on banners high in the sky, and the jolly mood was 
reflected all around. Joe pushed his way through the busy crowds of 
London, patting the money in his pocket happily. He'd got the money to 
buy the ring now, she was going to love it; he knew she would. Finally 
he was there, outside the exterior of the jewellers shop, J-J 
Jewellers. Through the glass window he stared at the engagement ring, 
it was centred in the middle of the other jewellery and was on a small 
stand. The light shone through the glass, making the ring seem more 
attractive then it already was. Taking a deep breath he stepped into 
the shop... He was kind of exciting A little crazy I should've known He 
must have altered my senses 'Cos I offered to walk him home The 
situation got out of hand I hope you understand It can happen to anyone 
of us Anyone you think of Anyone can fall Anyone can hurt someone they 
love Hearts will break 'Cos I made a stupid mistake It can happen to 
anyone of us Say you will forgive me Anyone can fail Say you will 
believe me I can't take, my heart will break 'Cos I made a stupid 
mistake A stupid mistake "So Chanade what can I do for you?" "I've come 
to see you because I... I... think I'm pregnant." "Okay, have you taken 
a home pregnancy test?" "No." "Okay then, if you'd like to get 
undressed, I'll test you now." "Okay." Chanade did as she was told and 
finally the doctor had the results. She sat on the bed, unaware of what 
was to come, hoping with all her heart that the test was negative. "So 
what's the answer doctor?" Chanade asked urgently. The doctor's face 
broke into a smile. "Congratulations, you're pregnant." Chanade's face 
fell, it seemed like her whole world had dropped out beneath her, and 
she was falling, falling so fast she felt she'd never stop. She tried 
to think but her head was so cloudy, no thoughts could get through. 
"No! I can't be; do a retest!" She shouted. "Chanade, what's wrong? 
Don't you want this baby?" "No it's not that. Everything is so mixed up 
I couldn't stand being pregnant, it would ruin absolutely EVERYTHING!" 
"Calm down you don't want to get yourself worked up, your blood 
pressure may rise." "Don't you see? I don't care! I don't want this 
stupid baby anyway!" she shrieked. The doctor sat calmly trying to 
think of a resolve to the situation. "There is more options then 
keeping the baby, you can think about adoption, even abortion..." "No! 
I don't want that." She interrupted. "Well I think you should go home 
and think this over Chanade. Talk with your partner and see what you 
think together." "Yeah. I'll do that. Thanks for your help." "I'm a 
doctor, helping is what I do." Chanade smiled weakly. "Bye." "Always 
remember you can come back if you need help." "I'll remember that. 
Thanks." "Good." Brushing the stray tear from her cheek Chanade stepped 
back into the doctor's waiting room. Stupid mistake He means nothing to 
me Nothing to me I swear every word is true don't wanna lose you The 
situation got out of hand I hope you understand Stepping into the shop 
Joe walked over to the counter, he waited for a while before grabbing 
the attention of the shop assistant. "Hello Sir, how can I help you?" 
"I would like to buy the ring that's in the shop window." "What ring is 
that sir?" "The £1000, real gold engagement ring." "That's a good 
choice sir, I'll just get it for you." "Thanks." He returned a few 
seconds later. "Is this the one?" "Oh yes, that's it." Joe smiled. 
"Okay, I'll put it in a box for you," "Here you are." He said, handing 
over the engagement ring. "That'll be £1000 please." "Here you are." He 
handed over the money. As Joe went to leave the brightly lit shop, the 
shop assistant called Joe back. "Remember mate, this girl must be very 
special for you to spend this much money on a engagement ring. Hold on 
to her." "Oh don't worry, I will..." It can happen to anyone of us 
Anyone you think of Anyone can fall Anyone can hurt someone they love 
Oh yeah hearts will break 'Cos I made a stupid mistake It can happen to 
anyone of us Say you will forgive me Anyone can fail Say you will 
believe me I can't take, my heart will break 'Cos I made a stupid 
mistake Anyone can fall anyone can hurt someone they love Oh yeah 
hearts will break 'Cos I made a stupid mistake A stupid mistake 

Chanade still didn't know what she was going to do as she paid the taxi
driver. Walking up the front path she felt that the sad, droopy trees 
that were all around her, matched how she felt. As Chanade entered the 
house she noticed it was completely in darkness apart from a small, dim 
light coming from the living room. "Joe?" she called. She entered the 
living room and looked around the room in utter surprise, the whole 
room was lit up with candles; they were everywhere. She could hear soft 
music in the background and noticed it was 'Whitney Houston's, I Will 
Always Love You.' "Wow!" She gasped. "You like it?" Joe smiled, 
appearing out of the blue. "Joe, what's going on?" "Come on sit down 
I've got a special dinner ready for you." He led her over to their 
normal dining table, it was now draped in a red cloth and several 
plates were on the top. He pulled the chair out for her and she sat 
down quickly. "Okay, what's up?" "I have something to tell you 
Chanade," He said quietly. Chanade sat stiffly on the seat; she was 
almost dreading his news. His face seemed so solemn, like he was mad 
with her... Please let the news, be good, she thought silently. "Hey, 
what are you doing?" She asked, as Joe got off his chair. She couldn't 
believe her eyes as he bent down on one knee, taking a box out of his 
pocket while doing so. "Oh my god!" She cried. Her heart started 
beating rapidly as he slowly opened the box. He looked up and smiled at 
her, then started to talk in a serious, but sweet voice. "Call it a 
early Christmas present if you must but listen to what I've got to 
say," "Chanade Roberts, I love you, will you marry me?" She stared in 
amazement at the sparkling ring in front of her; she couldn't believe 
it was finally there, right in front of her own eyes. The ring was what 
she had wanted for so long! And the words that he spoke, she'd never 
expected to hear. Suddenly Chanade felt a flood of guilt wash over her. 
She looked at Joe's smiling, expectant face and couldn't believe what 
she'd done to him. All this time he was scrimping and saving just so he 
could buy her the one and only ring she'd ever wanted, and she was 
running off with his best friend because he wasn't there anymore! She'd 
been such a fool, and now she was pregnant with another man's baby, 
what was she going to do? She couldn't say no, she couldn't because she 
actually loved him. She loved Joe. Joe looked up with his puppy dog 
eyes waiting anxiously for a reply. "Yes Joe, I'll marry you!" Chanade 
finally replied. Joe smiled and he stood up and put the ring onto 
Chanade's finger. As he looked back up at her Chanade just leant 
forward and kissed him. Their lips locked in seconds; his kiss was so 
soft and tender, she could almost hear fireworks going off behind her. 
Finally they pulled apart, both taking a deep breath of air. Chanade 
knew then that she had to tell him about the baby, she really didn't 
have much of a choice. It was basically now or never. "Joe I have 
something to tell you too." She mumbled. "Yes honey?" He smiled. 
"I'm... pregnant." She whispered. She closed her eyes tightly hoping he 
wouldn't catch on that they hadn't slept together in ages. Joe smiled 
and started to scream and jump up and down in joy. "Chanade this is 
great! I'm going to be a husband and A DAD!" "Yeah it's really great!" 
Chanade said smiling, trying to pretend she was excited as he was. Her 
smile was just pretence, a façade she had to put up so she could hide 
the bitter truth. How would Joe feel if he knew he was raising another 
man's baby, let alone his best friends? Worse still it would torture 
him to no ends just to know his fiancée and best mate had been sleeping 
together. It was a twisted secret but she had no choice but to keep it 
quiet. "Please don't tell anyone but close family okay?" "Okay if you 
don't want me to. So it's just going to be a secret at the moment. 
Yeah?" "Yeah that's it." She sighed. "If the baby's a boy I'm going to 
buy him a car! A motorbike! Everything! And if it's a girl I'll buy her 
a pony and a big dolls house!" Chanade sighed. "Okay Joe, I think 
you're getting too excited now!" "Well aren't you? This is great news 
Chanade! What shall we call the baby? If it's a boy let's call him Tony 
or if it's a girl Kelly? Hey what do you think Chanade?" "Yeah great." 
Chanade replied, pretending she cared. "Oh I'm so excited Chanade! I 
can't wait! Oh I'm going to call my parents and tell them everything!" 
Joe ran to the phone. Chanade sat down in the couch and looked around 
the room, all the candles flickered violently from every part of the 
room. She really couldn't believe tonight, it seemed so surreal. After 
everything she'd done he never actually thought she was having an 
affair! When she was! Her actions plagued her with guilt, all that time 
he wasn't there, didn't take her out to places was only because he was 
saving up for that engagement ring! And all that time what was she 
doing? ... Sleeping with his mate. 

The next morning when Joe had gone to work Chanade woke up and the first
thing she noticed was the ring. It felt weird on her finger like it 
didn't really belong there; after all she certainly didn't deserve it. 
She stared at the ring for a while and then got out of bed. Putting on 
her dressing gown she went downstairs to get some coffee. Chanade sat 
laden with coffee, her mind absorbed in thought. Her mind ticked over, 
recurring on the liaisons with Chris and the vision of her forthcoming 
wedding. Chris had been the excitement in her life, thrilled her, 
seduced her, aroused her body till it was screaming out for more...but 
they'd never actually spoken, connected on a mental level. It was all, 
physical and that wasn't stability; Joe was stability.  It was time to 
end things with Chris-and quick. She didn't want him finding out about 
the baby, putting two and two together and getting four... She quickly 
got dressed and went to Chris's house. She knocked on the door and 
waited for a reply. "Chanade! I didn't expect to see you here." Chris 
smiled. "Chris, we need to talk." She sighed. "Sure honey, come in." 
Chris said, whilst opening the door wider. Chris stood and looked at 
Chanade waiting for the news. "Chris, sit down okay?" "Okay..." Chris 
felt confused. "I don't think we can be together anymore, I'm calling 
the affair off before it gets too serious." "Chanade you can't! I told 
you I love you, doesn't that mean anything to you?" "Course it does and 
that's what I mean about getting too serious." Chris put his head down; 
all he could feel was misery. He couldn't believe she was saying this, 
he couldn't think of any reason that would make her want to break it 
off. Then he remembered what Joe had said about buying Chanade an 
engagement ring. Chris looked up and was blinded by the crystals in 
Chanade's ring. "Oh I see, Joe proposed to you and now you don't want 
me anymore that's it, isn't it?" "How... how do you know he proposed?" 
Chanade said stuttering. "Chanade I'm not stupid! I can see your hand." 
"Oh..." "So I guess that's it then Chanade, we're over." He whispered. 
"...Yeah." Chanade said, whilst biting her lip. "I won't ever love 
anyone like I loved you Chanade." Chanade bit her lip and tried to hold 
back any tears. His hurt tormented her as recollections of their bitty 
passion engulfed her minds eye, flooded her with images of their 
kisses, his heroic hour, that magic touch. He'd been her saviour in her 
time of need but it was over, it had to be. He'd excited her but that 
was all, she just couldn't love him. "I better go then." She said 
finally. Tears of inevitability filled his sparkly eyes. "Well Chanade 
we can still be friends can't we?" "Yeah sure." Chanade walked out of 
Chris's house into the coldness outside. "Hey Chanade, good luck with 
you and Joe." "Thanks." Chanade walked on home, the traffic whizzing 
past her in a blur. She didn't take any notice of anything, she was in 
her own mixed up world; a world that she felt she'd never escape. Still 
biting her lip she walked on, hoping that everything would turn out all 
right. 

A few nights later Chris sat drowning his sorrows in the local. "Chris
mate! How've you been?" "Err? Oh, I've been superb." He sighed. "That's 
cool. Do you want another drink?" "That would be a good idea." "Alright 
mate, what do you want?" "A strong one." "Okay, I'll get you a vodka." 
He returned a few minutes later. "God that queue was bad. You okay? You 
look half drunk already." "I probably am." "Come on drink up." Chris 
mumbled. "Okay then." The drinks flowed readily for hours and soon 
thousands of empty beer glasses and bottles of spirits were scattered 
all over the booth's table. "Do ya remember when we were in the cubs 
Joe and we put itching powder down that Sarah Shaghead's pants?" "Oh my 
god, yeah man! Wow, what a scream." "What a name, I mean shaghead! Come 
on, that is ruuuuuuuuudeee. She was always the choice for the bullies." 
"Shame, it's really sad isn't it." Joe laughed. "Yeah, never mind hey, 
she was always a bit you know, cuckoo." Chris smiled, demonstrating a 
loopy sign with his fingers. Something caught Joe's eye and he gulped 
slowly, nudging Chris he tried to get him to stop talking. "What's 
wrong with you, you never liked her either." "She's behind you." 
"You're joking." "No!" Chris slowly turned around and saw Sarah behind 
him; man did she look angry... But what was worse was there was another 
pair of legs standing next to her, a large, muscular pair. Chris looked 
up slowly his eyes moving up the body, coming to a rest on the face. "I 
didn't mean it!" He gulped. "You wanna say stuff about my girlfriend, 
you say it to my face! You got that?" "I said I didn't mean it." "I 
don't care if you did or not, no one talks about my girlfriend like 
that and gets away with it!" "Oh no." Chris sighed. The man pulled him 
up so the two were facing each other. They were total opposites; the 
man was large and muscular, while Chris was small and weak. His legs 
seemed like they were stuck to the floor with superglue as he tried to 
move, but didn't get anywhere. The message obviously never travelled to 
his brain because his legs were stuck on the spot. The sweat beaded on 
his forehead, filling him with cold perspiration. He watched with dread 
as the large man's arm swung back, then forwards, smacking him bang on 
centre in the nose. "Awww!" Chris cried. "You earned it mate!" Joe 
laughed. "Now don't you ever talk about her like that again? You got 
that?" "Loud and clear." Chris squeaked. "Glad that you've got that, 
see ya later, 'mate'." Running back to the booth, Chris breathed a sigh 
of relief. "I thought he was gonna kill me! Man that was scary." "Nah 
it was funny." "Little and large." Joe laughed. "Hardy har, har. I'm 
finding it so funny." "Oh stop wining it could of been worse." "Yeah, 
on what terms?" "Never mind mate." "Another drink?" Joe asked. 
"Please!" A few more hours passed and soon the two of them were totally 
out of it. They were so intoxicated by alcohol they really didn't have 
a clue of what they were doing. "Haaaa, look at this Joe. I can put 
three cigarettes in my mouth!" Chris said. "Oh ya? Go on prove it." Joe 
slurred. He picked up three of the sovereigns on the table and stuffed 
them all in his mouth; butt way in. "Light it then." "Okay then." He 
took the lighter and lit the bit you shouldn't light. "It's not doing 
anything. Eww, this tastes nasty!" "Well you dumbo, you got the butts 
in your mouth. Tupid!" Joe laughed, smacking Chris's hand. "Owwww! 
You're nasty Joe." "No, I'm not. I can do way better then you can." "No 
you can't." Chris murmured. "Can too!" Joe shouted. Chris watched in 
amazement as Joe stuck ten fags up his nose, it was a bit of a tight 
fit but they were all there. "Wooooow." Chris drooled. "Light it, light 
it, LIGHT IT!" Chris shouted. "Okay." He took the lighter and lit all 
ten of the cigarettes. He looked quite a site with all them up his 
nose, the smoke blowing across the table every time Joe took a breath. 
"I'm bored." "I know lets play secrets time!" "Like telling secrets?" 
"Well duh!" "Okay then, Chris you can go first." "Okay. Erm, well when 
I was small I piddled in the dog's basket and blamed it on the dog. He 
got so done!" Chris laughed. Joe's face turned mysterious, a hush-hush 
expression formatted his face. "That's boring. I got a waaaaay better 
secret then you. It's way secret that I shouldn't tell anyone at all." 
"It sounds interesting. Come on spill, I wanna know all the juicy 
details." "Okay, come close." Chris moved closer. "Nearer." He moved so 
he was right next to Joe's mouth. "You smell!" Joe laughed. "Hah! Tell 
me the real secret. I wont tell anyone." "Promise?" "Cross my heart, 
hope to die, put a needle in my eye!" "Okay then. You know Chanade?" 
"The name rings a bell." "Well she's pregnant, with my baby." Joe 
grinned. Chris felt like he'd been hit by a storm cloud on a rainy 
night. Chanade was pregnant? If she was pregnant the baby certainly 
wasn't Joe's, it was his! His face drained of colour as he remembered 
when she'd last come to see him a few days ago. She wanted to break off 
their affair because she was going to get married, that's what she said 
anyway, but it was a lie, a filthy lie! He couldn't believe she had the 
guts to do that, be with Joe one minute acting as the faithful 
girlfriend then go running to him just because she'd got bored of their 
humdrum life. She basically used him for sex, just sex, nothing more. 
He was just an object to her; a live play toy she could get her jollies 
from. He loved her and she didn't care how he felt, just because she 
wanted to get back on line with Joe. Well he wasn't going to stand for 
this. It really was the last straw... He didn't know what he was going 
to do but the way he felt at that moment, he could kill her... 

The next morning Chanade woke bright and early. Yawning she was
surprised to see Joe asleep next to her, shaking him gently he stirred. 
"Joe, aren't you supposed to be at work?" "No, I shouldn't think so." 
"Why?" "Well it's Saturday..." "Oh, okay then." "Well I'm just going to 
cook breakfast, do you want any?" "A full English breakfast would be 
nice." Joe smiled. "I'll get right to it." She started on the breakfast 
with a spring in her step. Everything seemed to be perfect now; she was 
happily engaged and had the best fiancée a girl could wish for. What 
more could she want? What could ever take that away? With the bacon 
sizzling in the pan, fresh glasses of orange juice on the table, and 
eggs frying in the grease, the kitchen seemed warm and cosy. The smell 
that wafted up from the kitchen was a nice smell, a mixture of food 
that was bound to get your taste buds watering, to make you yearn for 
this delicious food. Just as she was flipping the eggs over to fry the 
other side she heard the, Beep, Beep, of her mobile. It sounded close, 
so she fumbled around looking for it. Eventually she found the phone, 
the message was short but stern. Chanade we need to talk about 
something you forgot to tell me about - MY BABY! Chanade dropped the 
phone on fright, he'd found out about the baby, but how? She didn't 
understand it, she never told him; she knew Joe wouldn't. Then she 
remembered Joe went to the pub last night, he came home very drunk; 
he'd probably let it out then! She tried to think of what to do but she 
couldn't think any further then the fact that Chris had found out about 
his baby. She'd had it all planned; everything was all worked out, now 
it was ruined. She decided the best thing to do was to ignore the text; 
then maybe the problem would just disappear, like magic... The toast 
popped out of the toaster and she was halfway through buttering it when 
another beep came from her phone. The next message was from Chris. Come 
round to my house now. We need to talk; you know we do. URGENTLY Now 
Chanade knew she couldn't leave it, he might tell Joe the baby was his 
and about their affair, including all the gory details. She had to sort 
it out between her and Chris before she could do anything else. Leaving 
the food cooking in the pan she left the house, setting out into the 
cold air. Her mobile sat idly on the table... 

Joe came down the stairs a few minutes later; the smell was too strong;
he couldn't resist it anymore. Rushing into the kitchen he was taken 
aback when it was empty, the pan on the stove had started to boil over, 
so he quickly turned the heat down. "Chanade, where are you?" He called 
out. There was no reply. "Oh well." He murmured. Noticing her mobile 
was on the table he picked it up and looked at the logo on the screen, 
it was Winnie The Pooh, how sweet he thought. Deciding that the two of 
them had no secrets between each other he clicked on the inbox and 
glanced at the rows of messages. Oddly they were all from Chris...his 
mind puzzled he wondered what Chris could want with Chanade. Feeling 
nosy he clicked on the first message and started to read, it was dated 
7th July, three weeks back. Meet me in an hour by the leisure centre 
and maybe later we could finish where we left off last night... Chris 
xxx "What?" He whispered. He clicked on another message. Wow was last 
night fun; I've never felt such enjoyment. You sure know how to seduce 
a guy; Joe is so lucky to have you. I wish I could have more then just 
a small piece of you! Chris xxx He couldn't believe what he was 
reading; it was so unbelievable. Chanade we need to talk about 
something you forgot to tell me about - MY BABY! "NOOO!" Joe screamed. 
The baby that Chanade had told him about, the baby that was supposed to 
be his, was actually Chris's! How could she do that to him? His mind 
working overtime he felt the sick realisation that all the date's 
fitted into their jigsaw perfectly. 7th July the date the message had 
been sent, the words 'finish off where we left last night' the night 
before being when he'd found Chris on the sofa with his girlfriend. Oh 
it had all seemed so innocent, Chris the dutiful best mate, Chanade the 
adoring girlfriend, when all this time he'd been duped into believing a 
barrel of lies. His heart felt like it had been ripped into tiny 
shreds, the one and only girl he had ever loved, was going around, 
seducing his best friend! Did she even think about him when she was 
doing her dirty work with Chris, did she even care? Just to think he'd 
wasted all his time and money on that piece of muck, and for what? To 
be betrayed by two of the people he'd always loved, always trusted, the 
people he thought would NEVER do that to him. No words could describe 
the betrayal he felt by the two of them. He'd loved her! He'd cared for 
her and she swore on her heart that she wasn't having an affair, and 
she had lied. She had so little morals that she could look him in the 
eyes and say she wasn't having an affair when she knew she WAS! With 
the tears filling his eyes he read the last message that was on her 
phone, again it was from Chris. Come round to my house now. We need to 
talk; you know we do. URGENTLY. After all that she was going to see him 
again!? She'd left their house in a hurry just to see Chris again! At 
that moment he felt nothing but hatred for the pair of them. "BITCH!" 
He screamed. He threw the phone across the room; it smashed into the 
wall breaking in half from the impact. He was going to find them and he 
was going to sort it out once and for all. Opening the door he set out. 


Chanade rapped furiously on the door, Chris was there in seconds. "Oh
good, you came." "I had to!" "Come in." He said, opening the door 
wider. She stepped into his house and went and stood in the middle of 
the living room. "Aren't you going to sit down?" "I'd rather stand." 
"Okay. Well let's make this short and simple hey." "Yeah, I need to get 
back to Joe." "Oh do you?" Chris sneered. "Sorry if I hold you a little 
too long." He added. "Well get on with it." "Were you going to play my 
baby off as Joe's?" He asked softly. "No of course not." "No?" He 
questioned. "No! I said no." "I don't believe you." Trying to keep her 
cool she premeditated her path to get away. "Don't believe me then, 
that's all I've got to say. See ya." She started to walk towards the 
door, her eyes concentrating on the exit; she had to get out of here. 
"No, you're not going anywhere!" He shouted, clamping a hand over her 
mouth. "Get off me!" She screamed. She struggled with Chris trying to 
reach for the exit, but it was almost a hopeless case. His arms were so 
strong he could crush her if he wanted to, getting desperate she 
reached out for the door. She managed to unclip the catch but didn't 
get any further. Chris dragged her back into the living room, kicking 
and screaming. "Now I ask you again, were you going to play my baby off 
as Joe's?" "No, I said no." "You're a frigging liar!" He screamed. "I 
am no liar, you stupid idiot." "Now quit lying to me, and tell me were 
you trying to play my baby off as Joe's????" Chanade felt so angry that 
everything just flew out without her wanting it to. "Yes okay I did. I 
DON'T love you! I never have done. All you were to me was sex; you were 
good in bed but nothing more. Otherwise you're worthless!" She 
screamed. Her ruthless words bit deep, tore him apart. Everything he'd 
thought he was to her was a lie, a dirty lie. "Oh you're going to wish 
you never said that!" He shouted. Then with no warning Chris's arm shot 
out and smacked her with such force that she went flying to the floor. 
She quivered in horror as she stared at him, again those eyes pulled 
her in but they weren't nice anymore, they made a chill inside her, 
that went straight to her soul. She couldn't believe that those eyes 
she had loved so much before, the eyes that had attracted her to him in 
the first place, were now so cold. Cold as ice.  He looked like a 
madman standing in front of her, so cruel yet so cool. "Well Chanade," 
He said coldly. "If a slap scares you?" "What's this gonna do?" He 
whispered. He bent down slowly and delved into a bag, Chanade felt so 
sick when she saw the tip of that gun. It almost sealed her fate then, 
the fate of playing two best friends off against each other. The 
ultimate fate that she knew was lying in wait for her? It was death. "A 
gun?" She cried. "Yes honey, a gun. You've seen them in the movies 
where they have a enemy and boom, gun goes off and everything's okay 
again." "But it's never okay is it, they get arrested." "Not all the 
time love, not all the time." "What makes you think you'll get away 
with it?" She whispered. "What makes me think that? 'Cos I'm Chris." 
"Shouldn't think that, just because you're called Chris doesn't mean 
you'll get away with it." "Oh no honey? And who's going to stop me from 
killing you? You're certainly not going to." "I have a life growing 
inside of me, don't you even care about that?" "Well seeing as it 
wasn't going to be mine anyway, it was going to be Joe's. No not 
really, not my problem is it." "It's your baby!" She pleaded. "No 
Chanade, it's Joe's!" Chris jeered. "That's a lie, I just told him that 
so I didn't lose him." "Yeah, no worries about me though, hey Chanade?" 
"He'd be a brilliant daddy, but so would you Chris!" She said 
desperately. "Nah, don't believe you." He said. She watched as he 
started to come nearer and nearer to her, all the time swinging the gun 
in his hand. Then finally he stopped, right next to her. He bent down 
and placed the cold metal of the gun on her head, he didn't pull the 
trigger, but she knew it was there, pressing into her temple. "Right 
now I could blow your brains out..." "But I don't want to do that." He 
continued. "What?" "No, I want suspense, like in the movies." "They 
just shoot them in the movies." "Yeah well this is MY movie." "Okay." 
She whispered. Taking a deep breath she placed her hand on her stomach, 
the poor thing that was growing inside her would never get a life, 
killed before it had even taken its first breath. She felt so sorry for 
it and herself, she was never going to see the next sunset, the wonder 
of getting married. She knew her fate, and it was all her fault... 
Trying to block out everything Chris was saying she waited for the 
deadly blow; the blow that would send her hurtling into limbo-but the 
blow never came. She was still here, breathing, seeing, and thinking. 
Suddenly she heard a small whimper come from the doorway, looking up 
she saw Joe standing there, his face aghast as his eyes transfixed on 
the gun held to Chanade's head. Finally he spoke, his voice a faint 
whisper. "Why did you do that to me?" Joe whispered. A sense of regret 
blanketed her as she realised the only way he'd know she was here was 
by reading the text messages. How much those words must've tormented 
him, made him wonder what was so wrong about his company that she had 
to sleep with his best friend. Such a bitter, twisted betrayal and she 
was in the centre of it. Now staring down the barrel of a pistol she 
knew what an effect her actions had had on these two men, how 
disastrous her yearning for passion really was. "I'm so sorry!" She 
cried. Turning to face Joe, Chris could see the hurt their affair had 
caused him, the pain he felt... but he knew that if he walked away 
she'd go running straight back into Joe's arms. Resentment clouded his 
judgement; he couldn't go through all this just to let Joe win again. 
"Say your goodbyes." Chris hissed. B A N G 

In less then a second Chris had pulled the trigger and killed her,
Chanade, the only women he'd ever loved. The shot sounded deafening in 
the silent atmosphere, seemed to shatter the sound boundaries. Time 
seemed to slow as Chanade slumped, motionless to the floor, her eyes 
horror-struck, her body and hair stained in blood. What had he done?! 
He was speechless, thoughtless, and just stared, his mouth gaping at 
the body on the floor. Joe stared from the doorway his face sporting a 
haunted expression. He'd seen it all right in front of his eyes his 
best friend, the only man he had ever trusted had killed his fiancée. 
His mind was plagued by the images, it played over and over again, he 
could see nothing more then the gun going off, and her slumping slowly 
to the floor. All his hopes and dreams were shattered in that shot, 
that one shot of the gun and the love of his life; was blown away! "How 
could you do this to me?!" Joe screamed. Anger soared unstoppably 
through Joe's veins; it reigned over sensibility, erupted like a 
volcano. Surging on red-hot fury he lunged towards Chris, his fists 
reaching out for anything he could inflict the pain he felt onto Chris. 
What sort of friend was he if he could kill someone? Have sex with 
someone who he knew was going out with his best friend! Didn't that 
mean anything to him? "You stupid son of a bitch! You were my best 
friend and you go behind my back and start an affair. How could you do 
this to me?" Joe shouted. "I... I... don't know. I'm so sorry, what 
have I done?" "You've just shot my girlfriend at point-blank range, 
THAT'S WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Joe shrieked. His anger controlling him, Joe 
edgily scanned the floor-the tainted pistol lay idly by his side. 
Grinning callously he slipped his fingers through the grip, pulled it 
out in front of him. Chris retreated immediately, his face full of 
panic. Intent on a settling of scores a cold, calculating persona took 
Joe over, held the gun to Chris's forehead. Chris was weak in Joe's 
power; lay defenceless under his weight. It was an easy battle-a 
conflict that would seal the wounds between them-would really pay him 
back for what he'd done. Pay him back for good. "You're not going to 
get away with this, not this time." Joe hissed. "Joe! We're friends, 
you and me since we were babies. We grew up together." Chris pleaded. 
"No," Joe whispered. The two men stared sincerely at each other. 
Chris's face was fearful, his eyes were scared and his soul screamed 
for redemption. The tears poured out of Joe's eyes, running down his 
cheeks, striking his face with red marks. Reminiscences of the past ran 
through Joe, reminded him of moments scraping their knees, first 
crushes, heartbreak right down to sharing the same partner in bed.  
Nothing could repair that unfaithfulness. "I don't even know who you 
are." He alleged. With the nib of the gun pressed tightly into Chris's 
forehead, Joe squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He'd never 
killed anyone before and the thought of it shook his hand like a choppy 
sea. Swallowing the lump in his throat he let his fears drift away and 
his hand became strangely calm. Before he backed out his finger 
tightened on the trigger-the impact was earth shattering, blasted the 
gunfire straight through his ears. Gingerly opening his eyes, he let 
them settle on the bodies. The sight sickened him to the core of his 
soul. Two mutilated bodies and all due to the twisted turns three 
combined lives had taken. Large crimson pools of blood swamped the 
floor, spattered the walls and marked the bodies of those who lay in 
it. It was an unspeakable sight, one that no one should ever have to 
see. But he had. And he knew what had caused it. "Guess there's nothing 
left for me in this world anymore." Joe whispered. So for the second 
time that morning he picked up the gun and pointed it towards him. He 
was scared of course he was, who wouldn't be scared of what was to 
come? But there was nothing left for him here. Whispering his goodbyes 
to everyone who had ever loved him he pulled the trigger back. He was 
dead in a second. Just like that. His body fell quickly to the floor 
coming to a rest on Chanade. Like they were once in life, they were 
together again, in death. 


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