2 - Heartbroken

They turned their heads at the sound of her voice and Fred quickly jumped off her with a shocked expression mixed with guilt and fear. Without taking his eyes off Sarah, he reached beside him, and with one hand, he quickly loosened the cord around Helen's wrists, setting her free.

Helen, however, did not look the slightest bit remorseful; instead, she looked more pissed at the unexpected disruption of the wonderful moment she was having. Now free from the cords that bound her to the bedpost, she sat up with her back propped against a pile of two pillows.

Covering her breasts with her arms, she averted her gaze. Sarah felt like she had been sucker-punched. How had she not recognized Helen's voice? Perhaps because of the music.

"Huh, babe..." Fred began with a nervous smile, wetting his lip. He was obviously distressed and trying not to panic. "I didn't know you were coming today... huh…I…thought...your trip was um... canceled?" he visibly gulped.

"You deceitful son-of-a-bitch!" A tear rolled down Sarah's cheek. "How could you?!" She was deeply hurt and couldn't hide it as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Sarah, Sarah... hold on.... I assure you, it's definitely not what it seems; we were doing nothing... I can explain…" He stammered out pathetically, looking so sheepish. "What you see here is really not---" He trailed off, unable to find the perfect excuse that would be convincing enough.

Helen leaned away from the pillows, suddenly mad at Fred. "It's not what!?" She hissed then turned to Sarah and snapped, "Go on, tell her! Don't be such a pathetic coward, Fred! There is no need pretending anymore when she has already seen it all!" Turning to Sarah, she boldly said, "Hello best friend, it is actually what it seems, Sarah! Yes!" she was completely unapologetic. "As a matter-of-fact, I think it is high time you knew that Fred and I have been fucking for the past three months now!" She glanced at Fred now, "Is that what you can't even tell her to her face?! You fucking coward!" She scowled at him.

"You backstabbing cunt!" Sarah hissed at Helen. "Of all people, you are the last person I ever expected to betray me! Why would you do this to me? What wrong have I ever done to you! After all these years together, this is how you choose to repay me, Helen?! Despite all that I've done for you?! You are my best friend for God's sake! You were more like a sister I never had! But this?! How could you do this to me?!" She cried out in disbelief, completely devastated.

"Don't you dare call me a slut not don't fucking make such a big deal out of this!" Helen fired back. "You had this coming! Yes, you did! I am sick and tired of the fact that everything has to be you, you, and you! You have always had all the boys and fame because of your daddy's affluence while I had to live in your shadow to get noticed! Do you know how long I felt unwanted and not good enough all because of you?! You were like always the star of the show! You were always in the spotlight! Did you ever care how I felt?! Of course, no! You even had no clue that I was battling with my self-esteem just from being around you! Every single day, I always had to wear a false smile and pretend that I was happy when I was slowly dying inside! You practically stole my life from me! You are way delusional if you think that because you were so nice to me and met all my needs that that is supposed to fix everything! And now that I have found a man who is interested in me, you call me a two-timing bitch?! Really?!" She scoffed. "Oh, grow up!" she snapped. "This is not high school or college anymore, Sarah! The world does not revolve around you!"

Sarah was breathing hard now. Anger and disappointment consumed her all at once. "How could I have known all these?! I stole nothing from you! You came to me for friendship and I accepted you! I thought we bonded! I tried my best to be there for you in the stuff you lacked! Jeez, I practically treated you like a twin! And out of all men to choose from, you had to hit on my fiancé to prove a point?!" she asked coolly. "Just how much of a bitch are you that you'd go so low, Helen?!"

Helen gave a wicked smile. "As a matter-of-fact, darling, I didn't have to try too much; he hit on me and I didn't have to do anything other than to oblige his ass! And trust me, girl, it feels very satisfying knowing that I can actually take something back from you!"

 Feeling that Helen was worsening the situation, Fred tried to prevent her from speaking any further by gesturing to her to stop and trying to put a hand over her mouth, but she slapped his hands away and brusquely continued, "Oh, and guess what, he had always wanted a woman who could be wild and spontaneous, and that woman is definitely not you, Sarah! You, are weak!" She spoke the last word with a haughty emphasis, wearing a smirk.

Sarah felt as if the walls were closing in on her. She suddenly felt claustrophobic; she felt the world move from underneath her; she felt she was at the brink of hyperventilating; she felt like her very heart had been weighed down with rocks. She needed to leave, leave fast, run away from here as far as possible. She didn't know where she would go, but she just needed to get out of here. Her heart was literally bleeding now.

Slowly, she started to back away unable to bear the half-naked sight of her fiancé and best friend anymore. Tears were freely flowing down her cheeks now and before Fred could leap off the bed and come to her, she turned and fled. She hurried down the stairs, flinging her expensive shoes over the banister as she descended.

She left the house, slamming the door in her wake and running outside barefooted. She got into her car, turned on the ignition, jammed it into reverse, drove into the street, and sped off into the night. Fred came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the street in front of his house and all he could see were her fast-disappearing red taillights. He had been unable to catch up with her on time and that meant he definitely screwed!

Raking his fingers through his hair, he cussed loudly, "Shit!" He knew what this meant and he began to pace a bit still clad in nothing but his briefs. He knew that if Sarah's father was to find out what had happened, he was done for.

Sarah watched him through the rearview mirror as she drove and his image grew smaller and smaller with the more distance she put between them. She had been so keen on giving him a surprise, but now who got the shock of her life instead?

                                                                              * * *

Sarah kept wiping the tears off her face with her hands as she drove, sniffling. The tears seemed to never want to end and of their own volition, they kept spilling and blurring her vision of the road. The night breeze had always been refreshing to her but definitely not tonight. She was devastated. How could they do this to her? How could they betray her so? She thought Fred had always loved her but she had been wrong. He had only been using her because of her father.

He was nothing but a gold-digger and a big phony and he had played his cards right and had gotten her to fall in love with him. Thinking of how she had met him at a gala and how sweet and charming he had been that night, one would never have suspected a thing that he could be this despicable.

She had ignored all his advances but he had kept showing up in places she was, making it look like a coincidence, and with much persistence and more of his charms, within a month, she couldn't say no anymore and she had fallen flat in love with him.

Helen who was her best friend had been the first to know, and now that she thought of Helen, her hold on the steering tightened into a grip. Helen, the backstabbing bitch! Her damn slut of a friend had always envied her in everything, but Sarah had never suspected she would go this far to hurt her.

When they were in high school and college, Sarah was always the girl everyone wanted in their parties, and wherever she went, she made sure Helen tagged along so she wouldn't feel left out. She had always treated Helen like the sister she never had and now this? No one could be trusted after all, no one!

Sarah was the one all the boys and men wanted. It wasn't her fault that she was beautiful and was from a wealthy home! In high school, she had been the head cheerleader, while Helen played softball but she had never made Helen feel she was in any way inferior to her. Never!