How to break a heart

Chapter three

Garth and Eileen got home only after midnight. Quietly, he follows his wife into the house, still reflecting on Rachel's actions. This is a wild side of her he never met, and it scares him. He closes the door behind him, then looks at Eileen, who turns around and throws her arms around him.
"Tonight was fun," Eileen whispers and gives him a peck on his lips. Somehow, her lips tasted like Rachel's tonight. Even though it's been more than twenty years, he can never forget what she used to be like or how sweet her lips used to taste. Perhaps it's the thought that her lips were on his wife's that made him press her lips deeply on hers. He deepens every kiss as if he's begging to get everything that reminds him of Rachel.

With one bottle in the hand, Rose walks down the empty road. She's still in her wedding dress, her make-up is heavily smudged, and the tears are streaming down her face.

"Oh, we'll have two boys and a girl. Call them Milton, Ron, Martha. We'll have a big house with a pool and your own open-plan kitchen. We will dance barefoot in the kitchen to our favorite love songs," she cries, talking to herself as she reflects on the plans they made and promises. "We'll grow old together, spoiling our grandkids as we take them to Disneyland and show them all the amazing things we never showed our kids because we didn't have enough money back then."

She walks unto the bridge, almost tripping when she drinks up the last bit in the bottle. She throws the bottle down and goes to the guardrail. With a heavy heart, she looks down.

"Well, what's there worth living for, right?" She asks and tries to get up on the railing, falling to the ground. Obviously, she's too drunk to even commit suicide.

"Hey!" A male voice shouts, running towards her. A tall, dark-haired man arrives at the scene and takes her arm, helping her up. "My goodness, look at you."

"Oh, look at you," she laughs and throws her arms around him. "Finally, a handsome man rescuing me. What are you gonna do? Ride me to your palace or help me kill myself and hide my body? I like the second one more."

"Okay, let's just get you to safety," Gerald says and picks her up in his arms. "Obviously, your husband must be waiting for you. You must've had a great party."

"I didn't get married," she mutters and throws her head back, reaching to the bridge as he carries her away. "The bridge is that way."

"Oh, you're a runaway bride?" He asks.

"You are so funny," she laughs. He opens his back door and puts her down on the seat. She lies down and cuddles up with herself. Gerald locks the door and gets in the front seat. He spends a while looking at the bridge before he finally gets going.

Shirley helps Rachel into the house. Rachel is so drunk that she can barely walk. Shirley helps her up to her room and puts her on the bed. Exhausted, she falls down next to her and starts laughing.

"Tonight was awesome," Shirley giggles and gasps. "Oh my... Rose."

"Rose is with her rebound," Rachel mutters and grabs Shirley's hand. "I hooked her up with a guy. There's nothing better than a rebound."

"Okay," Shirley whispers. She gives Rachel an odd look when she starts crying. The drunken grief is finally kicking in. "Rachel?"

"I always thought my daughter would do better than me. Why does she have to go through the same shit I had to go through," Rachel cries and puts her hand on her forehead. "Garth is the best fucking thing that ever happened to me. I love him, and I miss him like hell. When I found out Nate was cheating on me with someone who claimed to be his cousin, I left him right there at the altar and ran away. Three weeks down the line, I meet Garth. He was supposed to be one of my rebounds, but I didn't mean to fall in love with him. His sex is so amazing, darling. I bet Eileen is screaming his name every night."

"Wait, you were going to get married before you met Rose's dad?" Shirley asks, horrified and turning to her side to look at her. "Does Rose know?"

"No," Rachel whispers, half asleep and swallowing the spit in her mouth. "No one knows, honey. Keep it between us, okay?"

"Rachel, you can help Rose get through this," Shirley whispers, but Rachel is out like a candle. She shakes her head with a chuckle and lies down again. "This was one good night."

Gerald carries Rose up to his room, which passed out on their way to his house.. He gently let her down on his bed and took a seat looking at her. He smiles and touches her cheek softly.

"Maddy, I could never save you, but thank you for letting me save her," he whispers and starts taking the clips out of her hair. Once he got everything out, he put them on the bedside and turned her to her side. He pulls the zip down her back and pulls the blankets up to her shoulder so that he can undress her without violating her. Once he got that off, he moved down to remove her shoes. He got her into one of his shirts and left the wedding dress on the chair nearby. He took a damp little clothe and wiped off her face, which didn't even wake her a little. Once he was done, he left to go sleep in the living room.