R.e.d. Tiger

Before we start I want to give a shout out to literotica author double_entendre. I've read a lot of his stories and most have to do with forgiving people who have betrayed you or done you wrong.

Luckily for us Alan isn't the forgiving type.

____

When I woke back up I was instantly grateful that Demetria had paid for another day because it was already going on three o'clock. After taking a shower and redressing in last night's clothes I made my way out of the hotel. One thing that I had forgot about last night was that I hadn't drove which meant that I'd need to catch a cab back home.

As I stepped out of the cab I was thinking about what I wanted to do today. With all the mystery surrounding my parents lately I had decided to move into my dad's room and hopefully while I was moving his stuff I could learn a little bit more about him.

Those plans were put on hold however because when I walked up my driveway I saw someone sitting on my porch. As I got a little closer I recognized the figure as Daphne, my ex best friend Daniel's older sister. A couple of years ago she had gotten into a really bad car wreck with a drunk driver. The insurance settlement was just enough to maybe pay all of the medical bills but she would forever be scarred. Since she was Dan's sister I didn't hesitate to foot the larger medical bills which allowed them to use the settlement money on her reconstructive surgery and cosmetic work. Daphne was really grateful to me after that and we had hung out a couple of times over the years as a group, but that still didn't explain why she was waiting on my doorstep.

"Hey Daph, long time no see."I said as I finally reached the stoop. When she heard me she looked up and gave me a half hearted smile. I could tell something was on her mind but she wasn't saying anything just yet.

"How're you doing Alan? I know this is kind of sudden but I heard you were back in town so I decided I should stop over and get something off of my chest. Do you mind if I come in?"

After letting her know that it was okay to come in we made our way over to the living room. She took up a seat on the sofa while I sat in a recliner chair across from her. When she sat down she took a deep breathe before addressing me.

"I know you're probably wondering what I'm doing here huh?" she started." To tell you the truth I don't really know why I'm here myself. On one hand what I'm about to say will probably cause me a lot of pain down the road but I feel it's the right thing to do."

"What're you talking about Daph?"I questioned her.

"Well it's really no easy way to say this so I'll just come out and say it," and then she paused and took a breathe as if to steel herself before continuing with," your girlfriend is cheating on you with my brother." she blurted out really fast. Not getting any response from me she continued to talk.

"I know this is hard for you to hear but I caught them in bed together one night about four months ago. I told my brother that I thought it was wrong to do something like that behind your back. He told me that it was just a one-time thing and that he never meant for it to happen so I left him alone about it"

"Then I started hearing all these stories from friends about how they saw him and Jessica out together all the time and on dates. When I confronted him about it he told me to mind my own business, I couldn't believe the way he was acting after all you've done for him and our family and I made sure he knew I was appalled by the way he was acting."

"As for Jessica I made sure she also knew that I thought what she was doing was despicable, I mean you treat her like a queen and she has the nerve to cheat on you while your overseas fighting for our country, and with your best friend at that. I had wanted to write you and tell you about it but I figured it would be too depressing to hear something like this through a letter. When I heard you were back in town I struggled with the decision of if I should tell you or not. I'm pretty sure that now that I've told you this my brother will never talk to me again but I just couldn't stand the thought of you being in a relationship with Jessica and being friends with Dan while they snuck behind your back."she finally finished.

After that Daphne took another deep breathe and sat back in the seat. I could tell that a big weight had been lifted of her shoulders and I couldn't help but be grateful that she had decided to tell me this. The stress and strain it must have been to decide whether or not to tell on her own brother or not must have been tremendous. Leaning forward out of my seat I grabbed a hold of her hand.

I waited for her to make eye contact before I began to talk. "Don't worry about it Daphne,"I told her in a soothing voice," To be honest I already knew about their infidelities so there's no need to beat yourself up over it. Hell if it'll make you feel better I won't even mention this conversation to Dan and Jessica." I said trying to ease her mind. I really had no intention of letting Dan or Jessica know how I learned about there infidelity so if Daphne still wanted to maintain a relationship with her brother who was I to try and ruin that.

"Oh thank you Alan. God bless you."she said as she broke into tears. I left from my seat to go around and comfort her with a gentle hug. After a couple minutes she pulled herself together enough to continue talking.

"So what're you going to do Alan?"she asked me once I sat back in my seat. To tell the truth her timing was quite fortuitous because I had already decided that this would be the day I confronted the two cheaters and I let Daphne know that. I could tell she wanted to say more but was hesitant to speak.

"What is it Daphne?"

"It's just..."she said before she let out an exasperated sigh,"well you just got home from the military and already this drama shows up. I hope that after this you can move on with your life. I know many people never get over being betrayed and cheated on." After expressing some more sorrow, and me and her exchanging small talk, mostly me just catching up with what she'd been up to since we last talked, Daphne got up to leave. I walked her out to the front door and before I opened the door she turned around to talk once again.

"Um one more thing Alan, my mom and dad really like you and well I consider you a friend as well, so please don't let what Dan did stop you from visiting. You know you've always been welcomed at both my and my parent's house." I was really glad that Daphne had stopped by because before her visit I hadn't even taken into account that I might be cutting of her family as a whole. Daphne's parents had always been like family to me and they even offered to let me stay with them instead of joining the military. I dreaded to think that they would no longer be in my life and I made the decision to go and visit them soon.

"Sure thing Daph, and hey you know you guys are always welcomed over here."I replied before I got an idea,"As a matter of fact I've been thinking about throwing a little get together, not this weekend but the following. It's still in the works because I'm not sure of Rose's schedule and I don't want to throw a big party if she needs to be studying or something. But anyway you still have my number right? Just call me around next Tuesday and I'll let you know if the party is on or not."

After Daphne promised to call me she bid me a final goodbye before walking to her car and driving off. When she left I went upstairs to my room. I decided that it was best to get this confrontation thing out of the way before it got too late but first I needed another shower and a fresh set of clean clothes. After showering I changed into a fresh set of clothes and was out the door.

My initial plan was to get the both of them together at the same time to break the news but I realized that would require me playing nice with them over the phone and pretending to be glad to see them and while I was fine putting up fake emotions on missions I refused to do so for something as insignificant as this. I decided I would confront Jessica first because I was more hurt by what Daniel did than what she did and I wouldn't want her to get the leftover anger I would have if I confronted Dan first.

Driving to her apartment I didn't even bother to confirm if she were home or not. Let's face it I had broken in once before and I was relishing the opportunity to be waiting in her living room when she got home from work. After parking and making my way to her door I checked the perimeter for witnesses before letting myself in.

It's times like these that I really start to believe in God. Even with all the things Felix told me about angels and the things I learned from past host there had been no definitive answer on if there was a God or not. I took it as a resounding check in the yes column when I walked into Jessica's apartment and heard the same noises and voices I did last time.

Here I was trying to figure out how to let her know I knew she was cheating, because I didn't want to say I caught them three months ago or implicate Daphne by saying I found out when I returned home and the chance to catch them in the act falls right into my lap. So once again I snuck to her bedroom door and peeked in. It was almost comical that they were in the same position as last time. It was amazing to feel the difference three months had wrought, last time I caught them I was furious but now I could hardly suppress my amusement. Slipping in the room unnoticed I took a seat at Jessica's computer desk before making my presence known.

"WELL THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT THE WELCOME HOME I HAD ENVISIONED WHEN I LEFT THE MILITARY." I boomed with fake anger in my voice. I almost lost it for a second when they jumped apart and Jessica scrambled for the covers while Dan slipped off the side of the bed, but I was able to keep my laughter in check.

"OH MY GOD ALAN!!! What're you doing in here!!?"asked a scared Jessica from behind the sheets. By now they had both managed to get a good look at me and their faces had both gone ashen with fear. I don't know what they expected because I had no intention on causing either one of them harm, well maybe not physically. Jessica's bills were paid automatically by my accounts so she would take a huge blow financially when I cut her off but besides that they'd be fine. It's not like it would leave an emotional scar because obviously neither one cared enough about the personal facets of our relationships. But getting back to the matter at hand I answered Jessica's question.

"Well I came over today with the hopes of taking my girlfriend out on a romantic dinner but it's clear you had other plans for the evening."I replied, recycling the circumstances that allowed me to catch them the first time. I had played this whole conversation out in my head. I had intended on plenty of yelling and cursing and even some crying from Jessica but I now realized I only wanted to know one thing.

"I only have one question Jessica,"I said to the pale faced woman who I might've loved one day,"How could you two do this to me?" Jessica didn't seem to appreciate that question very much because she went into a fury.

"HOW COULD I!!!?"she yelled,"You're gone for three or four months at a time and I'm left sitting here alone and you ask me how could I? A women has needs Alan!! We like to feel wanted and secure and be able to hold onto our boyfriends a night and as much as some women try to deny it we also want sex on a regular bases. I had needs you just couldn't take care of while you were away."she spat at me.

I found it remarkable that she tried to make this seem like it was my fault. Here we were sitting across from each other with her naked in bed next to my best friend, her hair a mess and chest heaving after her outburst and somehow this was all my fault.

"Sex Jessica that's what this is about? I was away from you just as often as you were away from me and guess what? I FUCKING MANAGED!! That's what you do in a relationship. I didn't cheat even once though I could've, I just comforted myself with the thought that in three or four months I'd get to see you again and everything would be fine."I yelled as my anger became real. How dare she try and blame me for this. How dare she act as if my absence gave her a justified reason to do what she did.

"It's complicated.You just don't understand Alan. I–"

"No you don't understand Jessica." I interrupted as I regained my calm,"These last eight years I've seen things that are horribly complicated. I've seen deserving people passed over for promotions simply because "they didn't have the right connections". I've seen parents, and children cry over loved ones who died in a random meaningless attack. Those matters are complicated but relationships have always been supremely simple. If you don't want to be in a relationship any more, you leave. It's as simple as that."

"But you stayed. You stayed for the vacations when I was home. You never missed a single cross country shopping spree. Even when I wanted nothing more than to sit at home and enjoy your company after a seventeen hour flight back to the states I boarded another plain the next morning for ten hours because you wanted to spend a week in Hawaii."

"Let's face it Jessica I indulged your every whim and that's why you stayed. You weren't happy with me, you were happy with my bank account. And you want to know what the funny thing is Jessica?"I asked,"You HAD me. Even after all I learned in the military you had me completely fooled. If you had told me that you needed out of our relationship we would've still been friends. If you would have said that you and Dan were in love, I would've been happy for you two. Vacations for two would have turned into vacations for three, and you would still enjoy shopping sprees whenever you asked. You know why? Because you would've been my friend and I would have been happy to do so."

"But no, you destroyed all of that when you decided to cheat on me. You know what Jessica? I sincerely hope you've been saving all your paychecks from these last couple of years because I'm through with you. I can no longer be friends with someone who easily stomps on another person's feelings and kindness. I don't know who created the forgive and forget sentiment but I can neither forgive nor will I ever forget what you've done to me." And with that I was through talking to Jessica. I turned my attention over to Daniel who had been surprisingly quiet while I spoke to Jessica.

"Daniel...(sigh)...why man?"I asked him. I was way madder at Dan than I ever could be at Jessica. I mean yeah Jessica was my girlfriend for nearly ten years but Dan was my best friend. If there was one person who could say they knew everything about me before I went to the military that person was Daniel.

"I'm sorry."Daniel said,"I truly don't know how it happened. One day I came over to visit her and she started giving me the same speech about her needs that she just gave you. Next thing I knew we were sleeping together and... my god I tried to stop her but she just kept coming on to me! A man can only take so much."

You know I was never a person who did very well with being lied to. I don't know how their relationship started and quite frankly I couldn't care less but what I do know is that Daphne had made it clear that Dan didn't even attempt to end it. So I sat there looking at him square in his eyes as he continued to lie to me. He told me how multiple times he had tried to break it off and how she wouldn't take no for an answer. By now Jessica had taken to crying but I didn't care, she'd chosen Dan and he was trying to throw her under the bus, but she would get no sympathy from me. I decided to stop Dan before he dug himself to deep a hole and I really lost my patience.

"You know what Dan, I really don't care. You chose your path and now I have to choose mine. I want the both of you out of my life. Jessica I'll never have to deal with you again but Dan since our families are so close, me and you will probably bump into each other every once in a while. So I'll leave now before you say something that'll make this situation even worse." I got up to leave but Daniel stopped me.

"Wait Alan!!,"he yelled," When is your leave up? I know we can still be friends man, just give me a chance before you go back."

"I'm not going back, I've been out of the military for nearly half a year now. And apparently you don't know anything because we will NEVER be friends again."

"But I'm your best friend!!!"he yelled once again.

"Let me tell you something Daniel, in my twenty-four years of life I've had five close friends. I'm currently living with one, three others are dead and as for the last one...," I said as I turned to look at Daniel with fury in my eyes,"I'm leaving before that number goes up to four." After that he left me leave unmolested. I was tempted to stay to hear how the conversation between he and Jessica, whom he had tried to throw under the bus, went. But then again why should I care about the personal lives of random people.

______

When I returned to my home I was glad to have finally gotten that over with. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I actually felt really good with it off my mind. I grabbed the mail from the box without looking at it and went inside.

Once inside I made my way up to my room. I changed into some old clothes so I could prepare to move my things to my dad's old room. Seeing how good I felt when I moved on from Dan and Jessica prompted me to go ahead and move on from my dad's death. When you have the memories of hundreds of people in your head you start to realize things, and I realized that I was holding on to the delusion of my father coming back. I could never move forward with my life if I kept all his things like he left them and was constantly being reminded of him. I would never forget my dad but it was time I moved on.

The easiest part about this move was that I didn't have to pack anything up. I decided that I would leave a majority of my things over in my room but take my essentials to my dad's room. We had been about the same size so I decided I would probably keep a lot of his closet content the same and was glad that Rose routinely washed the clothes in there as well as kept the room clean.

First I decided to check the room out. It had been a while since I went in there but everything was how Lynn had left it after she moved out. The room had one of those huge memory foam beds that you see on t.v. and I was anxious to try it out. One thing about the military is that the beds aren't exactly the most comfortable. The bed had nice navy blue satin sheets and large pillows with satin pillow cases on them.

I made my way to the dresser and on it was a bunch of random things. An old lighter, some spare change, and even my dad's old key ring. The only key I had took off of it were the keys to his car, an old charger, that I'd put into storage. I could never find out what the other keys were for besides the house key. Smiling I picked the keys up, sat them in my pocket and put my keys in there place.

My dad was a little utilitarian when it came to entertainment in his room. He had died eight years ago so obviously some things were missing that I'd have to bring over from my room. I replaced his 32" tv with my 50" plasma and also brought over my game console and computer. I didn't use the video game console that often, only when I was home on leave but I made sure it always had the latest games via Rose. She loved to play with it anyway, though I suspected she just liked being in my room more than any actual love for video games. Don't get me wrong she was a monster at "Street Fighter" but besides that her gaming skills were only about average.