Heartbreak Warfare: Chapter One
"I've been seeing someone."
Her words rang loudly in Bo's ears, even though her voice was barely above the octave of a whisper. Her words hung in the air like dense smog. Heavy. His throat constricted as his mouth went dry. He stared at her lips; lips he'd been so eager to kiss. He touched his bottom lip, feeling burnt instead of aroused. He could hear his heart pounding wildly in his chest. Words were lost on his tongue. His thoughts should be racing, but instead he found his mind blank. He felt numb from the blow. She had to be joking.
"Bo, I am so sorry," Hope whispered. Unshed tears of guilt and empathy evident in her eyes.
His ears were still ringing. He felt like everything was moving in slow motion. She sounded far away instead of right in front of him. His chest tightened. He wanted to wake up. He was sure this conversation couldn't be real. He'd dreamt of this day for years and everything he'd wished for was crashing down around him like dry wall in a tornado.
"Bo…." Hope reached out to him, but Bo took a step back to keep his distance from her.
"Uh, who is it?" Bo finally managed to croak out.
"His name is Aiden Jennings. He's the District Attorney. You don't know him. He moved to Salem after you left." Hope replied promptly, factual, "Bo… I'll end it. I don't want to see him anymore."
Bo stared at her. She was so beautiful. She was all he could ever dream of and more. She held his heart in her hands and she was crushing it. She was crushing it in a way she'd never done before. He searched for anger, rage, fury. He wanted anything except the utter pain and disappointment she was giving him instead.
"I don't know what to say." Bo whispered, unable to focus on anything but her betrayal.
"Do you want me to leave?" Hope asked quietly.
'No,' Bo's mind screamed in agony. He wanted her to stay. He wanted her to clean up this mess. He wanted her to fix what was broken; to hold him and tell him it would be okay. He wanted to touch her and feel her warmth consume his untouched body. He craved her, but he couldn't bring himself to do any of those things. All he could do was hurt.
"How did this happen?" Bo asked. He was terrified of the answer.
Hope shrugged slowly, "I don't know Brady. I was lonely. I missed you. I thought you abandoned us. I couldn't even talk to you…. it was… it was terrible…. I…."
"I would NEVER do that to you Hope," Bo yelled, cutting her off. There it was. Rage. It bubbled deep in the pit of his stomach. Heat radiated up his chest cavity, "You know that."
Hope nodded, "I know that. I have no excuses for what I've done. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know why I didn't come looking for you. I should have known something was wrong, and I'm sorry. There were letters… and fewer and fewer phone calls until there were none! Aiden was a distraction. He kept my mind off of you… off of us. He was good for Ciara. I've never had eyes for another man, Bo. He was flattering and charming. We worked together on a couple of cases. I don't know… I just let it happen."
"Was he good?" Bo asked clenching his fists at his sides, "Was he good at being me?"
"Bo, he's nothing like you." Hope shook her head, "I didn't want him to be you."
"But he took my spot…" Bo argued quietly. He sounded distant and then he yelled, "You let him father my daughter… you let him in your bed…. inside of you…. into our lives."
His entire body ached. He felt a burning sensation from the inside out. He felt wounded, but he couldn't find the blood. His muscles were tense. Tears finally freed themselves from the corners of his dark eyes. They trickled hot, and slow down his flushed cheeks. He looked at his wife, wounded and hungry for her. Two opposing forces warred inside of him. Throwing caution to the wind, he lunged for her. He gripped her chin, pulling her lips to his. His opposite hand went around her back, pulling her desperately to his chest. He kissed her forcefully, their lips warring with unspoken, heated words. He forced his tongue inside her mouth. She tasted so good. He needed her. He wanted her to be his and only his. The fury bubbled inside of him again and he pushed her up against the wall. She whimpered lightly into his lips as she roughly made impact, but she didn't pull away. Bo tore his lips from hers. He couldn't breathe. He liked the look of her flushed cheeks, her tousled hair, and the evidence of assault around her perfect lips. He longed to erase Aiden's touch from her skin.
"I never wanted to hurt you Brady," Hope whispered. She gently caressed his cheek, staring sincerely into his eyes, "I still love you. I could never stop."
Bo turned his back to her. He couldn't think straight with her that close to him. There was a part of him that wanted to tear up the entire living room and then fuck her into oblivion. Another part of him wanted to get raging drunk and go beat the shit out of Aiden Jennings. He really just wanted to cry.
"I think… I… uh…" Bo stuttered for words that made sense, "I need some time… I need… to be alone."
"Whatever you need." Hope nodded in agreement, "Bo, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I know what you are feeling right now…. and I'm sorry."
She was right. She did know. Bo sighed in defeat. Why did they do this to each other?
"You can see Ciara whenever you'd like." Hope offered, "Just let me know."
He turned to watch her walk out the door. He'd watched her do it a million times for a million different reasons, but this one hurt the most. When she was gone, he sank slowly down to the couch defeated by emotion.
