The Fallen Star Lovers: A Short Story Romance (Part 3) by Kitty the Dreamer

The memories of her last moments with Ryan continued to overflow Cici's mind with vibrant visions of past lost love and heartbreak, as the brilliant stars continued to twinkle brightly above, threatening to lure a stream of tears from her desert, hazel eyes...

Mentally and emotionally preparing herself to leave all that she had known in her eighteen years of life, Cici began cleaning out the house of her childhood years. Her mom was gone and she had to accept that fact, she had to move out and move on or she would spend the rest of her life living in a state of misery, remembering her mother in every corner of the house and destined to live a miserable existence just as her mother had.

Though Cici was delighted to have an opportunity to move to another state and start a new life, she was also very worried and deeply saddened to have to leave the love of her life...the man who was keeping her happy, Ryan Michelson. They'd spent two and a half years together, loving one another and growing in love. They were becoming adults and teaching each other how to deal with the harsh realities of the real world. Ryan was there for Cici when her mother died, Cici had been there for Ryan with his family complications, and they had both confided and trusted in one another like no one else in their lives. Did they fight? Of course they did, as all young lovers do; however, they would always make up and fall even further in love with one another.

Cici's love for Ryan was almost maddening at times. He would run off to do his young man things with his friends and she would sit at her empty house, wondering what he was up to. But no matter what crazy thoughts crossed her immature mind, she always trusted Ryan with her entire being. She had faith that Ryan loved her as much as she loved him and that he would do everything in his power to keep their love special, to keep it sacred. Their love was like a sacred river that only the two of them could bathe in. If someone else was to even step foot in their river, the waters would be inevitably contaminated forever.

One night while Ryan and Cici were working a shift at the Diner, Cici took immediate notice that Ryan was acting oddly. She asked him if he was feeling well and he just shrugged it off like everything was normal and went about his daily work duties.

"Are you coming over tonight, Ry?"

"Yeah, I'll come over for a little bit," Ryan responded quietly and somewhat reluctantly.

Cici could feel him mentally pulling away from her. It was an intense feeling but very difficult to put into words or make any sense of at the moment. She knew something was plaguing him though, but she didn't want to force him into telling her as she was confident that he would confide in her eventually.

Ryan followed Cici to her house that night and was still acting strangely quiet and seemed to be in constant deep thought. His eerily silent mouth tormented Cici, ripping at her senses inside. But she fought away the feeling that something was terribly wrong. Ryan was a good man and loved her dearly, so if he had something important to tell her or share, he would. They were still best friends, after all.

No more than an hour or two after Ryan had come by Cici's house, he left. This was very unusual for Ryan. He usually spent at least four or five hours with her, before going home, if not staying all night. The worry and doubt began to rise in Cici's mind and heart like a strengthening volcano. She had to let it go, though. There was no reason to build such anxiety over nothing...at least not yet.

Thirty minutes after Ryan had pulled out of Cici's dirt driveway, the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, can you meet me outside? I'm pulling up in a minute and I need to talk to you," his voice sounded hesitant and shaken.

"Okay, no problem. I'll be on the front porch, waiting."

Then a mocking dial tone.

Cici threw on a hoodie and walked out onto the front porch to sit on the steps and wait for Ryan. An impending feeling of doom crept up in her gut. The feeling was more overwhelming than the moment when she learned of her mother's untimely death. She watched as cars passed by on the road in front of her house. Their headlights streamed by like steady streams of falling stars. The stars were out that night. To calm or comfort herself, Cici gazed upwards to the clear country night sky. She looked at the Northern Star, their star. Cici and Ryan had agreed long ago that the Northern Star was "theirs" and that they need only to look at it when apart and feel as though they were together again. But the Northern Star didn't seem to comfort her much...her heart was twisting and writhing into knots as she awaited Ryan's news.

Pulling into the driveway two minutes later, Ryan had the music down low and invited her into his car passively. The passenger's door clicked shut and Cici looked at Ryan in concern. He had been crying...which was definitely out of the norm for Ryan. She'd only seen him cry once before since they'd been together, so this was really freaking her out.

"What's wrong, babe? Are you okay? What's going on?"

"I can't....I'm so stupid...." he began to sob and pound his heavy fists against his steering wheel.

Cici's heart did a flutter out of fear...she knew exactly what he was getting ready to tell her, but she didn't want to admit it to herself.

"You cheated on me," Cici said with reluctant certainty.

"Yes," he nodded his head, as sorrowful tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Why? And with who?" the questions were flying around in her head like flies trapped in a barrel. Her vision began to blur and her mind was spinning rapidly. She felt as though she was going to be sick.

"Can you pull over? I'm going to be sick, I think."

Ryan quickly pulled behind an abandoned building off the side of the main road in town. He knew it would be quiet there, as they had gone there many times before to talk and to study the stars.

Cici shot out of the passenger's side and let her guts spill out onto the pavement in a fury. Her body was erupting like a volcano. Weirdly enough, she felt better after throwing up. It was like some of her anxiety had spilled out onto the pavement along with the contents that had been tearing at her stomach.

She sat down on a slab of concrete and Ryan joined her. Tears still streaming out of his blue eyes, he looked at her with a miserable look on his beautiful face.

"I'm so sorry, Cici. I'm disgusted with myself but I had to tell you. I couldn't keep it from you any longer."

"How long has it been that you've kept it from me, Ryan?"

"It just happened last night. I was at Frankie's house, drinking with him and his girlfriend. It sort of just happened..."

"There was another girl there? Who was she?"

"No, it was Frankie's girl, Jackie. She came onto me after Frankie had fallen asleep, and I gave into the temptation. I was so drunk...I didn't want it to happen but I just didn't fight it either..." his sad voice trailed off and he bit his bottom lip, with anger in his eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe that you would let something like this happen," Cici answered with her voice barely at a whisper. A sick sort of "knowing" crept over her thoughts and she decided to let it go for just a minute. She stopped talking and so did he. They sat in silence with nothing but the end-of-summer crickets chirping and the momentary whizz of passing cars on the highway filling their weary ears. Hours passed by, and they both just sat in silence. Cici's mind and heart filling with hope and comfort and then the next minute filling with anger and fury. Worry and doubt, followed by understanding and empathy.

"I'd like to go home now, please," she finally broke the night's silence.

"Okay. But what are you thinking? I need to know how you feel."

"I feel angry and disgusted. I'd like to go home and get away from you for awhile, please."

They arrived at her house in a few minutes time and she jumped out of the passenger's seat like a bolt of lightning and ran into the front door, slamming the heavy wooden door behind her. Ryan drove off in regret and denial.

That night, Cici laid in her bed in utter torture. She felt as though her heart was being literally ripped out of her chest, her insides churning and twisting in pain. Maybe she was in hell? Maybe her body was being consumed by the eternal flames...the torture was endless. Punching and screaming into pillows, Cici got no sleep that night. Visions of sugarplums and fairies were the farthest dreams that night...only visions of the beautiful times with Ryan and then the image of his revolting escapade filled her mind.

She felt thoroughly betrayed. He was a traitor, he had broken her trust that she had built for him over the past five years and crushed it within a single night. Tore down their building of love for a ten minute rendezvous with lust. Pure defeat. Someone else had not only dipped her feet into their sacred river of love, she had bathed in it fully...a disgusting, filthy whore had soaked in their pool of trust.

What am I going to do with him? Morning had finally come and Cici was all cried out. No more tears were left in her dark eyes, no more sobs to escape her tightened mouth. She had to figure out how she was going to handle the situation. Should she forgive him? Could she forgive him? Even the thought of speaking to him after such a vile act gave her the shivers and left a nasty taste in her mouth. She didn't even want to see him.

Continued in Part IV of The Fallen Star Lovers