Puddle of Tears

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POV: Bible

Bible, oh Bible.It all started as a perfectly fine evening, friends at home, husband out of sight, world at peace. Or so he thought.

Yeah, the boys got drunk. And Bible, stuck on meds, could only sit there and watch them get wasted. And with that came the real danger: drunk talk. No filter. No mercy.

It began so innocently."Where's your husband tonight?"Then:"Whose meeting runs this late...?"

And just like that, jealousy started growing in Bible's chest like a spoiled little brat being fed apple purée.

"You gotta take control of the situation, Bible."That was Mio, smirking like the devil on his shoulder.

At first, Bible stayed cool."I don't care," he said, waving them off.

But when the talk turned to the fact that Jes hadn't even kissed him—or touched him at all in the past two weeks—things got out of hand fast.

"Bro, think about it. You're a man too," JJay chimed in."There's this delicious meat right in front of Jes every day. But he's just staring at it—he's not eating it. So what's gonna happen?"

"...It rots?" Bible blinked, not following.

"It's not about the meat, man. It's about the one staring at it." JJay grinned.

"Then... he starves?"

"Bingo!" Mio jumped in."And what do you do when you can't eat the food at home?"

Bible thought."...I go to a restaurant?"

"Exactly! You go out and order your meal somewhere else." Mio leaned closer, voice dropping."That's what men do."

Bible frowned."And what does that have to do with me?"

"You ARE the meat." JJay said flatly."And Jes? He's at the damn restaurant tonight. Eating someone else's."

JJay's words echoed in Bible's head like a damn alarm siren.

WHAT?Nope. Not tonight. Not his man. Not in some shady-ass motel bed with some cheap perfume-wearing—

"I— I'm gonna call him." Bible blurted, grabbing his phone.

Mio and JJay leaned in."Ouuuh, we got movement. GO King."

Bible called.No answer.Again.No answer."WHY IS HE NOT PICKING UP?!" Bible half-yelled, already swinging his good leg off the couch.

"Busy EATING." JJay said, smirking."Busy EATING SOMEONE ELSE." Mio chimed in.

Bible saw pure red.His whole chest burned.

"Where's a f*cking taxi number?" He was already punching it in.

"Yo, Bible, you serious?""DO I LOOK LIKE I'M JOKING?!"He hopped over, grabbed his jacket.

Two minutes later, Bible was out front on the sidewalk like a damn warrior, black top, black pants, crutches, phone in one hand, pure rage in the other.

Taxi pulled up.Driver rolled the window down."Uh... sir? You need a ride?""Yeah. Drive. Fast. I'll give you double."

"Uh, where to?"Bible snapped out the address. The whole ride, the driver kept glancing nervously in the mirror, cause Bible looked like a mob boss out for blood.

Bible, meanwhile, sat fuming, tapping one crutch on the floor."I swear if I find perfume in that room... if his hair smells like anything else..."He was already picturing it.

"You okay back there, sir?" the driver asked carefully.

Bible didn't even blink."No. Keep driving."One hour later, they screeched up to the motel.

Bible threw money in the front seat."Keep the change."Then he grabbed his crutches, slammed the door, and stormed toward the building.Straight to the reception desk.

"Room number." he barked."...Sorry sir, I can't give out—"

"I'M HIS HUSBAND. TILAPORNPUTT. GIVE. ME. THE. ROOM."The lady blinked, froze.Bible's eyes? Death.

She handed over the number without another word.Bible stomped toward the elevator.Breath shaky, adrenaline at max.

"Jes... Jes... you better be alone—"

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POV: Jes

"Bible... calm down. There's no one here. No one was here before. I just got back from the meeting like ten minutes ago."Jes held both hands up, voice low, trying to calm the lion in front of him.

But oh, Bible looked pissed. Terrifyingly pissed.Jes had never seen him like that, neither before the accident, nor after.It honestly left him a little speechless. Hot, but terrifying.

"And whose meeting goes that long, huh?!"Bible's voice shot sharp as a blade, one crutch thudding on the carpet.

Jes exhaled."We ended the meeting and went to a bar..." he started.

"...to celebrate the deal." he added, slowly, watching Bible's eyes narrow even more.

"Ah, so you drink with clients now? Because she looked hot, right? And now because you gave her those puppy eyes, her libido is basically watering and she tried to get you drunk to take you up here?!"

Jes had to bite his damn lip not to laugh.Where the hell did this even come from?Bible on jealousy juice was something else entirely.

"They were fifty years upwards." Jes said, deadpan. He rubbed his neck. "I was tired as hell. I came in, started undressing, got halfway through, then saw your missed calls. I wanted to call you back, was about to head home because I was worried."

Jes spoke calm, steady.

"Are you by the way... jealous?" he asked quietly, his voice barely carrying through the charged space between them. His cheeks were warm, his gaze flickering nervously over Bible's face.

Bible froze for a moment, as if Jes's words had landed somewhere deep beneath his skin. Then he looked away, swallowing hard, his jaw tightening as his cheeks flushed dark red.

"I'm not," he muttered, but the words came out too fast, too defensive, too brittle. His mouth tugged down into a stubborn pout, as if trying to hold the rest of him together.

Jes exhaled, slow and uneven. He tilted his head, voice softer now. "Then why did you come all this way, Bible? Why would you show up here, in the middle of the night?"

Bible shifted his weight on his good leg, gripping the crutch a little too tight. For a beat, he didn't answer. Then, quietly, his voice low and rough, he said, "I don't want to waste my time... with someone who says things but doesn't show them."

Jes's brows drew together, heart sinking. "What do you mean?"

Bible glanced at him, frustration flickering beneath the weariness in his eyes. "I mean, how can a man not feel... want? Not once in two weeks? You haven't even tried to kiss me. Not that I—I need it," he stumbled, though his flushed skin betrayed him. "But it made me wonder. If what you say, about wanting me to remember, about caring, if it's just something you say. If you even mean it."

Jes's breath caught. His heart ached so sharply in that moment he could barely stand still.

"I want to kiss you," he said, voice breaking on the words. "God, I want it more than anything. But how can I, Bible? How can I kiss you when you don't remember me, or us? I've been so afraid of screwing it all up again."

Bible's gaze sharpened, something unreadable flickering there. "What did you screw up that you're so afraid now?"

Jes swallowed thickly, his hand trembling as it reached out, fingers wrapping gently around Bible's.

"We're in a fake marriage," he whispered, voice shaking. "And for a while, we made it work. But I lied. I lied about the contract. I wanted your family's legacy, I was selfish... I thought I could make it right later, but later never came. Your brother told you. And then... the accident. You were hurt because of me."

His voice cracked, and the shame weighed heavy on every word. "I thought if I waited... if I could show you how much I really meant it, how much I care now, that I'm not that man anymore..."

He turned away, unable to bear the look in Bible's eyes. Hands shaking, he rummaged through his bag, pulling out a thin stack of papers. He stared at them, as if they'd burn holes in his palms, before turning back and offering them to Bible.

"What is this?" Bible asked, staring down at the papers.

Jes's voice was barely audible. "I prepared them. So you can be free."

Bible's throat worked around the word. "Divorce?" His voice cracked.

Jes nodded, feeling like something inside him was tearing apart, slow and deliberate. "Yes. If you want it, we can sign them now. The doctor told me you might not remember anymore. And maybe that's a sign, that you shouldn't be trapped in this anymore. Maybe you need peace. And this... this marriage with me will only hold you back."

He couldn't look at him anymore. The weight of it was too much.

"I... I can't. I have to go." Jes's voice broke as he grabbed his bag, hands cold on the keys. "I'm sorry, Bible."

He turned and left, stumbling out into the dark, rain falling hard against his skin. The sky was black and unforgiving, the water soaking through his hair, his shirt clinging cold and wet to his body.

It felt almost laughable, in some cruel cinematic way, that the sky would cry now, when he had nothing left inside to cry himself.

Every step toward the car felt heavier than the last. His chest ached so badly he could barely draw a breath. His fingers fumbled at the door handle, shoulders shaking under the rain.

And then—a voice cut through the night. Raw. Desperate. Furious.

"SO IT'S NOT TRUE WHAT YOU SAID IN PARIS?!"

Jes froze, heart lurching so violently it hurt. His hand went slack on the handle. The rain was loud in his ears, but Bible's voice, his voice, rang through everything.

Jes turned back slowly, shoulders soaked through, rain dripping down his jaw. His eyes shimmered with emotion he couldn't contain anymore.

"How do you know about Paris?" he asked, voice raw.

Bible stood there, clutching the divorce papers like they burned. His breath was unsteady, his whole body trembling—but not from the cold. His gaze locked on Jes like he'd drown if he looked away.

"Don't give up on me, Jes," Bible said, voice shaking, uneven. "Don't give up on us."

Jes's chest constricted so tight it hurt. For a long, fractured second, he couldn't move. Couldn't speak. Then, slowly, he stepped forward—one step, then another—until there was barely a breath of air between them. His heart beat painfully loud. His voice came out hoarse.

"Then tell me," he whispered. "Tell me what I said in Paris, Bible."

The world seemed to still, rain falling softer somehow, the motel parking lot vanishing until it was just the two of them, standing alone in that storm.

Bible's lashes flickered. His voice, when it came, was rough, fragile—pulled from somewhere deep, from somewhere Jes hadn't dared hope still existed.

"It was cold," Bible said quietly. "The kind of cold that seeps all the way through your bones. And it was snowing... not really snow. More like rain dressed in white." His mouth twitched into something between a smile and a sob.

„We stood by the Seine... you kept trying to pull your coat around me even though you were freezing too. The Eiffel Tower was glowing. Like it had stolen the stars just for us."

Jes pressed a trembling hand to his mouth. His breath caught. He remembered. God, he remembered. But hearing Bible say it—

"It twinkled for us," Bible said, his voice breaking softly. His eyes were wet now, shining with tears. "You looked at me... and you said, 'I love you.'"

A sob escaped Jes, sharp and helpless.

Bible's voice grew softer, steadier, carried by something truer than memory—by love itself. „And I said... I think je t'aime aussi."

He drew in a breath, deep and shaking, and stepped even closer, until Jes could feel his warmth through the cold.

"But that wasn't true," Bible whispered.

Jes's breath hitched. He was afraid to blink, afraid to breathe, afraid the moment might vanish.

Bible reached out slowly—achingly slow—and took Jes's hands in his, gripping them like they were the only anchor left in the world.

"Because I know now," Bible said, voice steady, full, stripped bare. His gaze burned straight through Jes.

"Je t'aime. Jes."

Jes trembling hand cupped Bible's cheek before he could stop himself. "How... how is that possible? Do you... remember everything now?"

Bible's breath caught. His gaze flickered for a moment, then locked on Jes with something deeper than guilt. "I... never forgot," he whispered, his teeth catching his bottom lip.

Jes's heart stalled in his chest. His throat grew thick with emotion, the words rough as they forced their way out. "How do you mean... you never forgot?"

Bible looked down, shoulders tense, as if bracing for a blow. "I lied, Jes," he confessed, voice raw. "I... lied to you."

Jes froze. His whole body went rigid, something inside him twisting hard. The wave of relief that had just begun to wash through him crashed against this new truth, sharp, cold, merciless.

"Bible..." His jaw clenched, teeth gritting. The words came low, wounded. "How... how could you lie about something like this?"

Bible shrank under the weight of it. His fingers fidgeted nervously. He looked smaller somehow, stripped of all bravado.

„I— I just thought... a little lie wouldn't hurt. I wanted to punish you back." He swallowed thickly, voice shaking now.

"Okay, okay maybe it got out of hand. I didn't mean to keep pretending this long. I just... you know me, when I fall into a role I can't just stop—" He was rambling now, desperation bleeding through every word. "I didn't know how to pull back anymore, Jes. I... I didn't mean to—"

Jes was silent. Just staring at him. The man he loved. The man who had just burned him to the ground with one sentence.

Inside, everything twisted—anger, heartbreak, disbelief, something close to betrayal—fighting with the part of him that still wanted to take Bible into his arms and never let go.

He looked down at the trembling figure before him. Bible was there, stripped of every shield, every defense, standing in front of him with nothing but his truth.

Jes's hands dropped to his sides like lead."I need... I need a moment," he muttered, pressing his fingers against his temples, massaging them in circles like he could rub the madness out of his brain.

He turned, paced in a daze, muttering under his breath:"Bible... oh Bible... Bible, oh Bible, what the actual hell..."

"Jes? Where are you going??" Bible called behind him, hobbling fast on the crutches, the rubber tips scraping angrily across the ground.

Jes kept pacing. Past his car. Back again. Like a robot glitching in the rain."Jes, PLEASE! Talk to me!" Bible begged, his voice wobbling.

Jes didn't stop. His mind was short-circuiting.

"JES!!!"There was a loud THUD.

Jes whipped around just in time to see Bible FLING himself onto the wet ground, crutches flying in dramatic slow motion like an action scene.

SPLASH. Water everywhere. Bible on his knees in the pouring rain, hands flying up to grab Jes's.

"JES!!! JES!!! OKAY I'M SORRY! I'M A COMPLETE IDIOT! I LIED, I'M DUMB AS HELL, I SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT, JUST TALK TO ME!!" he wailed, full-on crying now.

Jes was on the verge of a heart attack."BIBLE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOUR LEG!! FOR GOD'S SAKE!" He dropped down, trying to lift him up by the arm, but Bible instantly went heavy and floppy like a giant wet noodle.

"NO!" Bible screamed dramatically, "I WON'T STAND UP!"

"Bible, get UP! Your leg is gonna break again!" Jes barked, yanking harder.

"NO!! I WON'T STAND UP UNTIL YOU KISS ME!!" Bible shrieked through sobs, fists clutching Jes's shirt like a dying man in a tragic K-drama.

Jes froze mid-pull, blinking rain out of his eyes, utterly drenched."Are you INSANE?!" he yelled."YES!!!" Bible screamed back without hesitation, face crumpling, "I'M INSANE FOR YOU!! NOW KISS ME OR I'M DYING IN THIS PUDDLE!"

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POV: Author

WAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh, of course not. Drama Bible? He's not going anywhere. Finally—finally—the lies are out, the truth is gasping in the rain, and there he is: Bible. On his knees. Drenched. Ugly crying. In a parking lot puddle. Begging for one thing—ONE—tiny, dramatic, life-altering kiss from Jes.

So go ahead, Jes. Be a good man. Kiss your disaster husband.

Author sipping tea. This is why I write. 💅🏻✨