But…Oh God.
There was something else she’d seen. Ariel opened her eyes back up and looked over Ryan’s shoulder. No sooner had she identified the woman standing there as Melanie, Ryan’s wife, when Melanie finally announced her presence.
“What the fuck is this?” She sounded pissed but she wasn’t screaming. Probably didn’t want to alert the others in the house. Ariel adored her for that, even though she expected this woman to tear her life apart at any second.
Ryan jumped back and turned around, fumbling to form words and not able to take his eyes off his wife’s accusing glare. Not that words would have helped. Though Ryan was tall and well built, and Melanie was only a couple inches taller and a few pounds heavier than tiny Ariel, Melanie was suddenly the most imposing woman either of them had ever seen. Ryan cowered like a dog with its tail between its legs. Ariel simply felt awful, guilty, and wished herself dead. She hadn’t even considered what would happen when her parents found out. Being caught with another woman’s man was terrible enough. She couldn’t believe she’d let herself do this. She’d never forgive herself.
Ryan was still trying to get out his first word when Ariel started crying out apologies. The tears were there so fast it was as if her eyes had burst open like water balloons.
“I’m so sorry! Oh God, I’m so sorry!”
Melanie ignored Ariel and fixed her eyes on Ryan. She chewed him out, saying she knew he was scum but she never thought he was so bad that he had to go after children.
Stupidly, Ryan’s first words to come out were to correct Melanie and tell her that Ariel wasn’t a child; she was nineteen.
That only set off Melanie again, and she attacked him with a barrage of insults and threats. Ryan learned his lesson, shut up, and lowered his head, just taking it. Ariel covered her face with her hands, still crying but too overwhelmed to move. Her cum-covered body was still splayed out on the hood of the Charger. If she hadn’t felt so terrible, she might have thought to cover herself.
Melanie sent Ryan away, throwing his pants at him as he left the garage and into the house. Ryan closed the door behind him. Ariel couldn’t hear what they’d said as they’d parted because her own sobs were too loud. Yet as soon as Ryan was gone, Ariel managed to stop herself from crying. She knew that it was her turn to face what was coming to her, and it was only fair that she give Melanie her undivided attention.
But when Ariel’s eyes focused through her tears, she saw Melanie come at her not with a fist or an insult but a box of Kleenex.
“Don’t let him make you feel this way,” she said. She took a wad of Kleenex and wiped at Ariel’s eyes with them. “I know this wasn’t your fault, Ariel.”
Being recognized almost made Ariel feel worse. She had met Melanie briefly a few times before, but had hoped the connection wouldn’t be made. Yet Melanie wasn’t diminishing her, and odd as that was, it helped.
“I’m sorry I called you a child. I know you’re not.”
Ariel pleaded apologies again.