signs of betrayal

Later that night on the double shift, Josephine, Chimney, and Bobby responded to a dispatch call at a house of a man who has fallen and presuming to have broken his back. The trio exited out of the firetruck and started to approach the walkway of the home. "Is the caller the only one in the house?" Chimney asked, carrying the medical bag. 

"As far as I know, but if not, he could be laid up- we might have to bust the door open." Bobby informed the two firefighters. "Check in there too."

Both Josephine and Chimney peeked through the window of the possibility to see the injured civilian while Bobby knocked on the front door. "LAFD, anybody home?" He called out to receive no answer, so, he proceeded to pound his fist against the door again. "Los Angeles fire department, anybody home?"

With no answer once again, Bobby peered over his shoulder gesturing the latter to bust down the door. Josephine offered, "Go ahead, Chim. I think you should the honor back on your first shift." 

Chimney grinned, "Thanks, Josie." He traveled towards the door ready to knock down the door when it opened, unveiling a blond haired woman in a silk robe. 

"Hi, can I help you?" She frantically greeted. 

Josephine nodded with a smile, "Uh, yes, man called 911 gave us this address. Said that he had fallen in some kind of distress." She explained not without noticing a man coming up behind the woman. 

He looked at her with a bewildering expression, "Man in distress?" He pressed the switch to the light in the hallway. "No, I'm the only man here. And pretty sure, I'm not distress." He affirmed to the trio. 

"And, the two of you have been home all night?" Bobby inquired. 

The woman began explaining, "I-I was. Alex-"

"I told her that I had to work on Valentine's day." The brunette haired man chuckled out. "You should've seen how pissed off she was of me. But it was all part of the plan." He endearingly narrowed at the blond.

"He came home and surprised me with flowers, and takeout from Mr. Chow's." She elaborated while Josephine shared an intriguing expression with Bobby and Chimney.

The man cut in, "Yeah, her favorite. I'm a serious romantic."

"So, you weren't expecting him home till later?" Bobby interrogated the blond woman. 

She shook her head, "Not for hours." From that emphasis, Josephine already had a gut feeling of what transpired. 

Chimney chimed in, "Uh, would you guys mind if we took a quick peek around the perimeter? It's procedure." 

"Yeah, of course. Do you want me to show you around?" The brunette man proposed. 

Bobby interjected, "No, we got it. You get back to your romance." They watched the blond posing a forceful smile with her boyfriend pressing a loving kiss onto her temple before pivoting down the steps. 

"So, the plot thickens." Josephine formed a mischievous grin as she and Bobby and Chimney stepped into the backyard. "What would make this Casanova fracture story interesting is that this man is this woman's old lover. Giving us the pure daytime drama television or one of the telenovelas my abuelita made me watch when I was seven years old." She rambled on much to the latter's amusement.

"I'll give you 20 bucks for that." Chimney entertained the idea.

A smirk crept upon her lips, "Deal."

"Josie, Chim over here." Their captain called them over where he located the injured civilian, directing the flashlight. The duo followed his steps down the staircase to discover a half naked man winced at the lights beaming at him. "Don't move. Do not move, sir." Bobby instructed. "You came down from there, didn't ya?"

The man nodded in pain as Josephine looked at him briefly then diverting to the high balcony. She crouched in front of him, propping her flashlight at him. "How many fingers am I holding up?" She held up two fingers to his face.

He squinted, "Uh, two."

"What day is it?" She questioned, moving forward with procedure to see if he didn't gain a concussion from the fall.

"Uh, Valentine's day." 

Bobby flickered at Chimney who stood at the end of the injured civilian's feet. "Hey Chim, are they broken?" He referred to the ankles.

After taking an short examination, the man hissed again in discomfort from Chimney's hold. He confirmed to his captain they were indeed broken. Bobby nodded then passed the neck brace to Josephine. "Sir, we're going to stabilize your neck." He pronounced while the brunette carefully wrapped the neck brace around the man. 

"You sustained what we call a Casanova fracture." Josephine mentioned. 

She saw him furrowing at the name, "Wh-Why is it called a Casanova fracture?"

"Well, woman is having an affair. Husband comes home early. Guy jumps off, Casanova." Chimney thoroughly defined to the man's dismay. 

Bobby squatted down, "Alright, Chim, Josie. You ready?" He placed his hands on either side of the man's head while the duo situated themselves to slide the man onto the stretcher. "Sir, take it easy we're going to roll you over. Okay, on three. One, two, three." He counted down, as the trio rolled the injured man screaming in agony onto the stretcher. 

Josephine and Chimney tried to soothe him through the pain that struck in his back and legs. The night couldn't have gotten more dramatic when the homeowner emerged into the balcony after hearing those painful screams outside. "Mickey?" He contorted a confused expression. "What the hell is going on?" He maneuvered his eyes to the blond coming up next to him. "Was he in here when I got home?"

"You said you were going to be at work." She proclaimed. 

Bobby decided to intervene before anything could get drastic. "Alright, take a breath. This man has been severely injured and you could work this out with your wife, once he gets medical attention and get him out of here." 

"She's not my wife." The brunette man corrected. 

The injured man, named Mickey interjected. "She's my wife." 

Josephine paused strapping the man on the stretcher along with Bobby and Chimney who looked at each other. "Well, this is riveting." She murmured. 

"We're separated." The blond woman clarified.

Her boyfriend confronted her, "You said it was done between the two of you. You asked me to move in here." He spoke in an infuriating tone, which was valid under the circumstances. 

"I'm sorry. I-I'm really am." She averted from her boyfriend to her husband. "It's just so much history between us. "So many memories." She trailed off, keeping her eyes intact onto Mickey crying in pain then carried off by the first responders. 

"Baby, I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

"No, I'm okay. I love you."

"I love you!"

Upon rolling Mickey into the back of the ambulance, the blond woman rushed up to the trio. "Can I ride with him to the hospital?" She asked. 

"So long the divorce papers aren't signed yet." Bobby mused. The blond smiled from ear to ear in joining her husband on the ride in the ambulance, grasping onto his hand. 

Once closing the back doors shut, Chimney pondered to his colleagues breaking the ice. "So, was that creepy or romantic?"

A chuckle released from Bobby's mouth, "A little of both." 

"Gotta love Valentine's day and 20 bucks." Josephine posed a sly smirk at Chimney, who rolled his eyes and promised he'll pay up after their shift as they retreated to the truck. 

Towards the end of their shift, Bobby drove himself and Josephine to the hospital when they received word about Buck in the hospital. Apparently, he almost choked to death on a piece of bread during his date. Fortunately, Abby managed to save him by slicing his neck open for air. On their way inside of the building, Josephine felt her phone vibrated in her pocket. She slipped it out to see a text sent by Alexis. 

A hitch in her throat caused to stop her tracks opening the message. It didn't go unnoticed by Bobby, realizing the young brunette wasn't following him. "Josie, are you alright?"

She shook it off, glancing up at the worrisome man. "Uh yeah, I-I have to take this call. I'll meet you at the room." She assured him. Bobby proceeded to locate the room Buck had been situated in, leaving Josephine registering a picture sent by Alexis of Bryan at a restaurant with a mystery woman. 

Josephine rolled a shopping cart in the grocery store the next morning. Upon surveying the aisles for products to check off the list, she urged for bottles of alcohol to drown after receiving a text from Alexis at the hospital. She didn't want to pile quick assumptions by one picture. However, she couldn't stop thinking about it nor analyze it over and over again. Josephine trusted Bryan, clinging on to some belief that Bryan had dinner with the unnamed woman over a business deal. 

On Valentine's day? Out of all the nights to hold a business dinner, some bullshit she thought. Perhaps, chugging down the sixth shot will make her believe it. 

"Josie?" 

She turned in responding to her name called out by the familiar voice belonging to Whitney. The blond-haired woman beamed in delight, taking rapid strides towards the brunette. Josephine had known Whitney since college, and now Lucas' wife. Whitney was the perfect match for Lucas, someone he needed to uplift his spirits sometimes. Although, the perky blond intended to light up every room she enters. 

"Hey, Whit. How are you?" Josephine embraced her friend. 

Whitney smiled, "I'm good. Just picking up a few things after soul cycle." She gestured the basket in her hand. "What about you? It's been a while since we've hung out, although it's understandable with our jobs." 

Josephine nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I got off from a double shift. Thankfully, today is my day off." She sported a wary smile. 

"You worked a double shift?" Whitney tilted her head. "You and Bryan didn't celebrate Valentine's day last night?" She questioned with a perplexed expression.

"We're celebrating a little late because his business trip in New York got extended. It's no big deal when Valentine's day shouldn't be the only day to feel obligated to treat your partner." She uttered a small laugh. 

The blond soon laughed along, "Of course, sorry, it's because I ran into Bryan at Victoria's Secret buying lingerie. So, I thought he planned something extravagant for Valentine's day with you. Now I realized that I might've ruined the surprise." She pinched the bridge of her nose in realization of what she entailed. 

Josephine pursed her lips, "Again, no big deal. I'll try to act surprise."

"Good, it makes me feel less of an asshole." Whitney pouted before giggling it off. "Anyways, I should start heading out. I have to get ready for an appointment. See you until your bachelorette party?" She teasingly mentioned then gave Josephine a hug. 

As Whitney left the aisle, Josephine sharply inhaled and drummed her fingers onto the railing of the shopping cart. She remained in that stance in the liquor aisle piecing it all together. The picture at a restaurant to buying lingerie a week prior to his trip. Within that next minute, she pivoted the shopping cart towards checkout- encouraged to solidify the assumption with any more evidence at home.  

Lucky for Bryan, he's capable of managing and producing a start up business except hiding anything from Josephine. For years of friendship and dating, Josephine was able to find the gifts he bought for her. When Josephine discovered the Victoria's Secret bag behind his rack of clothing, a receipt was left behind. She kept digging around the closet and room if the intention to hide the actual present. 

She couldn't find it. 

She sat in the massive mess of the closet with a bottle in one hand, coming to terms that the person she had known for years and loved betrayed her. 

24 hours later

Bryan chased after Josephine as she stormed out of the room from hearing the entire truth. She ignored his calls while attempting to hold it all together for herself. Her mind couldn't wrap this nightmare turned into reality. Bryan had been hot on her trail into their bedroom, where Josephine came out of the closet prepared with a packed bag in her hand. The pit of his stomach churn as she couldn't look at him in the eye. Her head lowered from his gaze and ears blocking off his calls of her name. 

Josephine hurried to the door to slip on her shoes and grab her keys from the bowl, since tears started pooling in her eyes. Everything that bottled inside would soon explode if she opened her mouth. 

She couldn't reach to twist the doorknob when Bryan grasped onto her wrist. "Please, Josie. Don't leave." He cried out. 

The pleading in his voice caused her knees to almost buckle, suppressing from letting out a cry. She clutched her fist and tried to calm herself. The deafening silence in the room had kill the two lovers in the midst of betrayal. All those years of building a friendship to a loving relationship had crumbled within one night. 

Josephine gasped out as if she hadn't taken a breath, lifting her chin up. Looking over her shoulder was a teary eyed Bryan filled with immense regret and guilt. Those very same eyes she met at age 4 when he moved in next door to saying yes when he went down on one knee proposing to her. Her heart crumbled to bear the sight of him anymore. "I-I can't be here. I don't want to be here. Let me go, so I can clear my head." She snatched her wrist from his grip. "We'll talk about it soon." 

With that said, Josephine slammed the door on the supposed husband to be. The love of her life, one who she thought wouldn't make her suffer this kind of heartache.

 Athena continue to spend most nights alone with a glass of wine at the table under the dim light. In the process of moving forward, part of her wondered the future between life and love. The wound is still fairly new- still healing yet torturing to come to terms. She and Michael are trying to save face for their kids and everyone, except it's doing nothing but bring pain. One, that no one wants to confront when the day breaks your happily ever after or picture perfect life. She had been torn from her thoughts as a ripple of knocks sounded upon her front door. 

Athena knitted her brows in confusion at the thought of anyone coming by at this time. She settled the half drank glass of wine to check it out. She didn't hesitate to open the door after lurking through the peephole to see Josephine on the other side. 

Josephine clutched onto the handle of her bag to compose herself, except her body was shaking with overwhelming emotions. She immediately fell into Athena's arms sobbing loudly. "B-Bryan cheated on me." 

The young brunette kept repeating it in hush whispers as Athena cradled the back of her head. She rubbed small circles on her back while trying to calm her. Seeing Josephine in this state broke the older woman- it was like a reflection of Josephine as a child in the aftermath of losing her father. "I-I didn't know where else to go, Athena." 

"It's okay, baby. I'm right here."  

-Poor Josie. She's going to be going through it for a little bit. As it is the opening for Buck and Josie, it'll be a while. Hope you like it! Tell me what you think! Don't forget to comment and vote! Stay tuned!-

WRITTEN: 5/25/21

PUBLISHED:5/25/21