The Lady's Everyman

-CH 1-

Zach's body was slick with sweat, but he still shivered. The frigid water had not been his idea. He didn't like being naked in front of anyone except his girlfriend, and even that was a rare occasion these days. His friend Joe had invited him to go swimming at his house after work. It sounded great, Joe always had the best buddies around when they got together for beers on friday nights and Zach really needed some time away from all this paperwork stuff he'd been doing since starting out at an advertising agency just six months earlier.

He had entered into the world of business casual as part of the new job, which meant jeans every day until 5 p.m, then a polo shirt paired with slacks or khakis. A jacket only came along if it looked too chilly outside, usually right before the sun set over the horizon each night. A look that complimented his lover far more than it did himself. Zach had always been more accustomed to T-shirts and bargain barrel jeans. Anything that he could afford with his own money, anyway.

But with the introduction of his girlfriend's family, more was expected from him. He was given an amazing opportunity to turn his poultry lifestyle into something much better; no longer would he be scrounging through trash bins looking for discarded food products left by others. No longer would he have to wear ill-fitting hand me down shoes from his siblings, brothers who were both in their thirties now, with wives and children of their own. He would be better. At least, that's what he had once thought.

Now, things were looking quite bleak. The great friend that he assumed would always have his back was now looking down on him from above with his own lover in hand. It wasn't just the physicality of it that hurt, but the betrayal by the two people that he loved most: his lover, Natalie, and his best pal Joe. In truth, he hadn't felt so alone in years. And it was because of them!

Natalie stood with Joe's hands wrapped firmly around her waist, staring dismissively at me as he placed a kiss upon her lips. She seemed happy for the first time since they married, happier than she'd ever been. And it was all in the embrace of another man. How dare she?

The sound of splashing water within the freezing pool made Zach jolt out of his trance. His eyes opened wide, searching frantically across the room for someone who could rescue him from this nightmare that he must have fallen asleep inside of.

"Natalie?" he called to the one person he thought could trust. "Please just tell me that this is just some kind of fucked up dream. Some manic hallucination manifested from my lack of sleep." But even then, he knew deep down inside that this was no dream.

She didn't respond. Instead, she giggled quietly beside his best friend and took his arm in hers, drawing it behind her neck. The touch of Joe's warm skin against Natalie's cheek caused her whole body to shiver in delight, which only further saddened Zach. He could only watch from the frozen pool as his lover was embraced by another man as if she had never been his.

Despite the sharp pain stabbing at the pit of his stomach, he had known all along that this day would come eventually. Her family was one of great wealth and prestige. Even though she had assured him over and over again that their love would last forever, he still couldn't help but question how much longer he would be allowed to remain a part of her life.

And unlike himself, Joe was a wealthy man with plenty to offer in terms of financial stability and a house full of potential mates. There was no doubt that he was a better man than Zach could ever hope to be. Not that it mattered anymore. He had already lost the one thing that truly made him happy.

"Do you see now how utterly pitiful your situation really is?" Joe's voice boomed across the backyard as he turned his attention away from Natalie's lips to look directly at Zach. "Did you truly think that you were worthy of a beauty like her?" His hands remained wrapped tightly around Natalie's waist while his other hand moved from her shoulder to rub playfully along the back of her neck. She seemed entranced by the gesture, nodding repeatedly without protest or complaint.

"Please just stop." Zach whispered desperately into the air, unsure if anyone else besides him could hear him.

"You should be happy to have been given that pathetic job in my company," Joe continued on loudly for everyone within earshot. "Even that is far more than you are deserving of right now, isn't it? You have nothing but debt and no way out. Your entire future has become hopelessly intertwined with another man's wife." He laughed mockingly as he shook his head from side to side.

"I took pity on you and allowed you to play house with my woman for a while, but now I find myself having second thoughts about what an absolute mistake that was. Nothing about you deserves anything, not even the chance at being lucky enough to lay a single finger on my woman's body. To think that you didn't even have the balls to lay your hands on this beauty for 6 months. Not that I would have let you get close enough anyway. She belongs to me." Joe leaned forward slightly, putting himself in closer range of Zach who stood frozen against the wall of the pool, tears forming in his eyes.

"You're just some kind of parasite clinging to life by feeding off of those above you," Joe spat venomously as he raised his arm above his head. "But now, your free ride ends. I've become bored of your presence. Watching you believe that you had a future was entertaining for a while, but it is time to end it now before I grow too tired of the amusement it brings." His hand raised as he looked at me with pure disgust. "Men throw this pathetic excuse for a human being away like the piece of trash that they are."

Before Zach could comprehend what was happening, a group of men in expensive looking suits had entered into the pool and dragged him by his ankles through the water and onto the shore. There were so many people around him yet no one seemed concerned about helping him or listening to him scream out for help. In fact, the people nearby seemed only interested in laughing at his situation instead of aiding him.

Helplessly, Zach was driven from their home and thrown out into the streets of New York City. The cold wind burned at his naked skin as he crawled across the ground desperately searching for any sign of safety from harm. with his clothes robbed from him, he felt completely exposed; helpless without protection.

Everything was gone. His job, his lover, his friends, and even his home. All were taken from him within one single night. What was he to do? What could he do? With his pathetic existence all laid bare to the world now, what future did he have left to look forward to? Who would want a man who was so worthless that even a dog would be better than him in their eyes? A bitter laugh escaped his lips as the realization of his fate became clear in Zach's mind.

He was alone once more—once again, unwanted and forgotten by his fellow man. How many times must this happen before he learned his lesson and finally turned his back on this wretched life? These thoughts were all that filled his mind as he was left to wander the nighttime city streets with nothing but the skin on his back. After all his hard work and efforts, he had finally reached rock bottom.