Chapter 7

Darren was reeling. He didn't think he could play that God damned song one more time. He wished that he'd never written it. He also didn't belong here. These people were not his friends. They were nothing more than a gang of loosely acquainted drug addicts who liked to play music. No wonder they couldn't write their own songs. All of their brain cells were burnt out.

Then he saw Jessica smiling at him. She was like a star sapphire in a pile of shit. She outshone everything around her. He'd written that song for her, and if she wanted to sing it, that was why he was here playing the song over and over until it was perfect.

"Can we do it one more time?" asked Jessica. "I want to really work the choruses."

Darren just smiled and nodded his head. Taking the day off was a good idea. There was no way he'd have been able to work with thoughts of Melissa's betrayal running through his head.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around what he'd done wrong. He'd loved that woman with all of his heart and soul. Long after his guilt over what Ryan had done to her had faded. Long after he realized that he hadn't been responsible for what happened to her, the love continued. He'd always hoped that sooner or later she'd snap out of her own hurt and love him in return. When it didn't happen he made excuse after excuse for her. Finally he just decided that in her own way she did love him. She just wasn't very demonstrative. But it had been enough for him.

Then she started hanging out with that group of Harpies and things got worse. It almost seemed like he couldn't do anything right. She even started to belittle him in front of them. Once again he put up with it, because he loved her. But her telling him she was going to go out and fuck someone else, and then doing it was the deal breaker. During all of the days of their marriage he had never once thought of being with another woman.

Darren's fingers stroked lightly over the strings muting them to produce the staccato notes to the opening bars. As Jessica sang she came over near him. He listened to her as he played although he knew the words very well.

They weren't Jessica's words or feelings after all, it was only a song to her. No the words and feelings were Darren's. They were what he wished so badly that he could tell Melissa. Jessica was only his voice.

He only wished that there was some way Melissa would hear the song and understand exactly how much pain she'd given him over the years and how much frustration. But it was all over now. He shuddered to think how much more of his life he'd have wasted on her if it hadn't been for her final contemptuous act.

By what she'd done last night Melissa had ended any hope of saving their marriage. The show tonight, this one song would mark the beginning of Darren's future and the end of his marriage.

Darren had intended to have Melissa served at home today. Jess had a much better plan in mind. She said it was more poetic.

Helen had been calling Jessica non-stop since early afternoon. Now as she sat in the waiting room outside of Dr. Harkness' office she tried one last time. Helen had gotten an emergency session with Agatha Harkness, for Melissa. The woman should have been in therapy years ago. Helen hoped that Melissa could come to terms with her problems before she lost Darren for good.

Finally someone answered the phone. "Hi sis," said Jessica.

"Jessie, do you know where Darren is?" asked Helen.

"I'm pretty sure that I could find him, if it was important," said Jessica.

"God damn it Jessie. He's with you right now isn't he? Jessie you promised me that you'd wait..."began Helen.

"It's out of my hands," said Jessica. "Besides I only promised to leave him alone until their marriage was over. And after the way she treated him and what she did to him last night, their marriage is fucking over."

"Please tell me that things haven't gone too far Jessica. You haven't..." asked Helen.

"Of course not, I'm not like his fucking wife. I'm not the kind of woman who goes into clubs and lets strange men rub all over her titties. I don't tell my man I'm going out to have sex with another guy and then expect him to like it," said Jessica.

"Jessica, where is he now? She needs to talk to him," said Helen.

"I don't think he's ever going to talk to her again," said Jessica. But right now he's going out to have some final little touches done to his car. If she wants a chance to talk to him, her best bet might be tonight at your club. The one I sang at last week. I'll be there tonight, to try out the song he wrote me, in front of an audience."

"We'll be there," said Helen.

"Sis, you and the little wife and your gang of sluts had better dress for it, or you won't get in. There are going to be a lot of people there tonight. It's going to be different."

Helen wondered what her sister meant by different. It didn't matter though. They were all attractive women and had never had a problem getting in before.

Inside the office Agatha Harkness looked over her newest patient. Agatha knew that people sometimes thought of her more like a witch than a psychiatrist. She was able to do things in therapy that were almost magical. She was able to save marriages and relationships that had been written off by others.

She would probably have to be a true mistress of the magical arts to pull this one off though. As she listened to the crying, nearly hysterical woman speak she was shocked. For ten years the woman had mentally abused her husband and he put up with it.

If the shoe had been on the other foot, Agatha knew that she'd have told any woman who had put up with such treatment to run and get out of the marriage and never look back.

She felt a bit hypocritical though because here she was listening to the woman talk and trying to find a way for her to come to terms with her problem.

The bad part is that Melissa still doesn't seem to realize that she is the problem. She keeps claiming that she knows that she wasn't very good to Darren but it still didn't give him the grounds to just freak out and divorce her with no warning.

Melissa still believes that her treatment of Darren was justified because some college wolf took her cherry and dumped her.

"Okay Melissa, " said Agatha. "I think I've heard enough of your story to get an idea of where we're going. I need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?" Melissa nodded her head.

"Melissa, was Darren the guy back in college who took your virginity and then humiliated you and dumped you?" asked Agatha.

"No that was Ryan," said Melissa. Her voice showed stress even saying his name.

"So your behavior now is partially a defense mechanism against what happened to you back then. You want to make sure that never happens to you again, correct?"

"I guess so," said Melissa.

"And you also want a bit of revenge for your humiliation, don't you?" asked Agatha.

"Maybe," said Melissa.

"Do you feel that way against all men or only the one who hurt you?" asked Agatha.

"It would be silly to feel that against every man." said Melissa. "I don't hate men. I'm quite comfortable with them."

"Right, you've been letting a few of them become very familiar with you in the clubs, you said. What about your husband? Does he often rub on your body parts in public?" asked Agatha.

"Of course not." said Melissa. "That would be embarrassing. I'd never let him."

"But you let strange men do it." said Agatha.

"It's different. When those men do it. It's because they just want me. They want to use me. All they want is sex and they're never going to get it. But Darren loves me so he should know better. He should respect me," said Melissa.

"So what you do in the club is a way of proving that you won't let the wrong man hurt you again?" asked Agatha.