Obviously things start to get WAY more complicated from this point on, lol! I just want to say to everyone, thank you very much for reading. I'm horrible at steady replies/thank you's, but I truly do appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Thanks again. (I'll try to do better with the one-on-one) :)

Inevitable pt. 14

knock...knock...knock...

He opened his eyes, trying to blink off his disoriented state while holding his breath and listening.

bang...bang...

Yep! That was the door. Slowly sitting up, he made his way across the tiny apartment, rubbing his eyes and walking as though he were in a trance. He unlocked the deadbolt and swung open the wood. "John?" he croaked, feeling his brain jump to attention. Something was wrong with his brother? He was a mess.

"Hey...I'm sorry, you were sleeping."

Michael felt clear as a bell. "You're soaking wet, man. What's going on?" He had a nervous pit in his stomach, and watched anxiously as he stepped out of the hallway and joined him.

"Yeah, it's raining."

Mike closed the door, frowning. "John, what's going on? Is everything okay?" His eyes widened. "Is it Caitlyn?" He saw him shaking his head vehemently, in obvious discomfort, before following him further into the room. "Why don't we start with why you're all wet?"

For the first time, John looked up at his baby brother. What the hell was he doing here? He shouldn't have come but he couldn't go home, and he...he didn't know what to do? He knew what he wanted to do - to find her and grab her and tell her that he was sorry, and then kiss her and touch her - but he couldn't do that because she was married to someone else...and so was he.

"Damn it, John!" Michael shouted in frustration.

He snapped his head up, remembering his brother was waiting for answers. "I told you it's raining."

"Well obviously, but why are you wet? Where is your car?"

He had forgotten about his car. "It's at the station. I walked here."

Michael licked his lips and studied the man across from him closely. He was shaky at best, which was not like him at all. It's almost as though he was in shock or something, but he was never one to rattle easily. "You came here for a reason, so why don't you tell me what it is?" He paused, still worried. "Talk to me."

John stared blankly, hesitating for only a moment. He needed to say the words. "I think I just ended my marriage?" Then he sank onto the couch and stared at his hands, playing with the ring that was back on his finger. It felt a lot heavier now.

The silence in the room was deafening, but Michael didn't know what to say? He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle, and then joined his broken brother. "Here." He watched him take it from his hands and drink a long swig, and he knew. He knew what was going on, but he didn't have a clue as to how to fix it? John slept with Natalie. He knew it was coming before they did, and he reclaimed the bottle and swallowed some of the dark liquid himself.

John's eyes widened suddenly. "Marcie's not here is she?"

"No man, it's just you and me."

John took the bottle again. "Shouldn't you be lecturing me or yelling or something?"

Mike grinned. "Probably." He stared into the blue eyes that were watching him. "Do you love her?"

His stomach clenched and his throat felt dry. "Who you talking about Mike?" He stood and walked toward the door. "Listen, get some sleep."

"John, where are you going?" He didn't want him to leave like this, not in the mood he was in. "I'll go with you."

He shook his head and smiled softly. "Don't worry about me, brother." He opened the door. "I'll call you tomorrow." Then he left the apartment and the building, heading for the only place he could think of that could offer refuge.

Michael stood stiffly, staring at the open door. He wanted to stop him or chase him or just hug him, but he knew John and there would be none of that right now. He was determined to be alone. Maybe that was a good thing? Maybe he could finally get the perspective he needs to salvage his life? He walked over and shut the wood, sitting on the couch with the bottle. They would talk tomorrow. He would make sure that they talked tomorrow.

Jessica opened her bedroom door and froze at the sight of her sister. She was soaked to the bone, and she was crying. Then she was being pushed backwards, and Natalie was shutting the door quickly behind them.

"I'm sorry," Nat said, wide-eyed, "but I don't want to see mom and dad. I don't want to see anyone." She watched her sleepy sister gather a blanket from the bed. She walked forward slowly, wrapping it around securely, forcibly sitting her down in a nearby chair.

"Tell me what's wrong?"

Natalie curled into the warmth of the dry threads. She felt another cold tear. How could she answer that? So many things were wrong? She slept with her boss, cheated on her husband, and now she was waking up her sister and dumping her burdens onto her. "Can we start with an easier question?" she joked, trying to avoid the conversation that they were going to have.

Jessica stared. She already knew what was coming? "You slept with him." She saw her nod slowly, opting not to speak the words. She stretched out, taking her hands and squeezing them tightly. "Natalie honey, were you careful?"

She stood abruptly, furious for some reason. "Oh Jess. If I were careful then I wouldn't be in this mess at all, would I?" She let the blanket fall to the chair and began to pace the space nervously. "I wouldn't be an adulteress, and I wouldn't be an awful, horrible person!"

"Stop that crap right now!" Jess shouted, angry now too. "You're none of those things. You made a mistake, and..."

"A mistake?" She stopped moving, staring hard. "That's just it, Jess. It was a mistake, yes. Logically I know that, but.."

"But what?"

Nat swallowed and sat on the end of the bed. "It didn't feel like a mistake. It felt...like everything."

Jess joined her on the bed. "Are you in love with him?"

Natalie thought about that question long and hard. She didn't know? She only knew that she had a husband, and now a lover, and she didn't want to be that person. She didn't want to hate herself. She knew that she loved Christian, she did, but did she love John or was it just sex? Finally, she looked at her sister's beseeching eyes. "Who are you talking about, Jess?" Natalie got up and left the room, needing to be alone. Needing to think clearly.