Dread Part Two

This story is continued from my opening story - DREAD

David stroked Melinda's hair as he stared at her yet closed eyes. She stirred a little and snuggled into his side offering only a slight smile. The strength and love he had shown her over the last two years were overwhelming. Melinda fully understood what had drawn Karen to David. The long caresses of silence were broken when she spoke of last evening.

"Are you sure she is alright? I mean you made it easy for her didn't you?"

"Oh, yes it was a clean break. She won't be nagging me but she may turn to you," said David, once again stroking Melinda's hair.

"David, you were supposed to tell Karen about us... I don't want to be the one to tell." Melinda and Karen were high school friends. Guy talk was always a topic. The David topic was no different now that both girls were pushing age thirty.

"I couldn't get to that. Karen flew out like the house was on fire." David said.

"Didn't you two talk this over? Wasn't there any discussion?"

David thought. Here he had to choose his words carefully; knowing he should have done that last night, he continued. "Well, fact is, I trashed her. I wanted the clean break. No lingering. No long phone calls, no begging for months. So I accused her of a bunch of crap."

Melinda blew. "You trashed her for what? Damn it Dave, she was my best friend for over fifteen years."

"Right some best friend." He grumbled.

"What happened?" Melinda pleaded; she wanted details.

"I dunno. After I blasted her I called her a bitch then basically said she was a whore. So she ran, bawling her eyes out. In fact she sat crying in her car for like an hour."

Melinda leapt from the bed grabbed his clothes and threw them at him. "Get out. I thought I knew you. I thought you could do this and let her down easy. Get out. You bastard!"

As David dressed, he muttered a bunch of things, but the words weren't being heard in Melinda's mind. David stood up, cursed her but with less ferocity than he had dished out to Karen. Then he left shaking his head in disbelief.

Melinda stood naked staring at the wall. How could she have started this whole dreadful thing?