Chapter 3: Thunderstruck

(Amanda)

"Shit! Johns here," I thought when I saw John Auster's car besides Jack's on the driveway. John had played football with Jack forever and they had a dream of going to the NFL together. That John was there meant my plans to reward Jack would probably be placed on hold. Well a night watching football on TV in Jack's arms would have to do. If I could find a way of getting rid of John it would all work out anyway. I would just have to improvise.

I walked up to the kitchen entrance and rang the doorbell. I waited for a while but there were no no one that answered. I wasn't surprised, the doorbell didn't have a very audible chime and if they were watching the game they would not hear me. It had happened before and I usually just walked right in. I tried the door and it was locked. This was very surprising, that door was never locked if anyone was home and I could have sworn that Jack said he would be home all weekend. A Thousand thoughts passed my mind, could something have happened? No that was silly, they had to be out getting beer or something like that.

Luckily John had showed me where the spare key was hidden so I lifted the flower pot and picked the key up. It looked like it could start raining at anytime so there was no way I was going to wait for them outside. I unlocked the door and let myself in.

"Hello! Anybody home?" I yelled as soon I entered. There was no reply.

As I ventured further into the house I could hear heavy metal music playing from the upstairs. Jack's room was upstairs. They were probably upstairs and had not heard the doorbell because of the music. At least he had been smart enough to lock the door so that nobody would just walk right in. Why they were upstairs listening to music instead of watching the game was beyond me though. Could they have forgotten about the game? Not likely, Jack could forget a lot of things but never a game, but what other explanation could there be? Without pondering on it further I walked up the stairs. The music was really loud and it was probably that CD Jack had bought last week. Not bad, but not my kind of music I thought as I opened the door to Jack's room.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. There on the bed were Jack and John locked in a tight embrace. That in itself was perhaps not so surprising, but the fact that they were both naked and kissing each other were more so. I just stood there for a few seconds watching them. The way Jack kissed John was filled with desire, something I had never felt when he had kissed me. A sudden, stabbing, pain in my chest woke me up from my trance and instinctively I slammed the door to Jack's room shut with all my might. There was a loud bang and the walls vibrated so much that Jack's stereo shut itself off.

My mind was blank like I was simply watching through the tear-filled eyes of someone else. I started running, I just had to get away from there.

"Amanda, wait! It's not what it seems like," Jack screamed from the top of the stairs.

"Let her run Jack. She would have found out sooner or later," John said trying to calm Jack.

Hearing those words only made me run faster. It all made sense now. All the nights Jack had spent with the boys from the football team instead of going out with me. He had probably been shagging his boyfriend instead. The fact that he had wanted to wait with sex was only because he was not interested. I had been used. He had never loved me. He had used me as a showpiece. I was just a prop to keep the image of Jack Anderson spotless. I meant nothing to him. I wanted to hate him but I couldn't, my heart ached too much. Instead I just ran.

I don't know how long I had been running but I had to stop and catch my breath. I looked around and noticed I was in the park. Why I ran to the park I didn't know, perhaps it was pure chance or perhaps it was fate. Either way that decision would have fateful consequences on my life.

Usually, on a Friday night like that, the park would be filled with teenagers making out, but that night it was deserted. The bad weather forecast probably scared them away from the park. I was glad there weren't anyone around. I wanted to be alone. I guess I could have gone home and been alone there, but being home was not something I enjoyed.