"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Des screamed, not hiding his anger at Othello for doubting his word.
"How about the damn truth?" Othello exploded.
The tension between them was so hot that Des was sure his apartment was going to burn down.
"Why bother fighting when you don't believe me?" Des growled. "Is there so little trust between us that you can't even tell when I'm telling the truth?" Des shook his head, taking ragged breaths, trying not to cry that the illusion he had built of him and Othello was a mirage.
"Othello, please believe me. I'm not like Phillip or any other man who has trampled on your heart. What I feel for you is real. What happened yesterday wasn't my fault. I didn't ask to be kissed. He simply did it on his own. In fact, I told Ricci to go to hell, and then Iago threatened me..."
"Leave my brother out of this," Othello said furiously. "He warned me you would break my heart, and I refused to listen. I kept telling him you're not like Phillip."
Hearing that, tears slid down Des's cheeks, unable to stop them.
"Othello." He went to touch the other man, but Othello backed away, cutting Des deep. "Fine, if you don't believe me, ask Iago yourself."
"I will," Othello said. "But until then, I don't want to see you. I can't trust you right now, Des."
"Othello, don't do this, please. We need each other. I need you," he cried, wanting to hug his lover and feel his comforting arms around him, but Othello simply walked by him and out the door. Des let out a howling cry, falling to his knees as he felt his heart shatter into pieces.
Othello stoodoutside Des's apartment, listening to him cry. It broke his heart even more. Part of him wanted to return inside, and the other refused to let him cave in. Othello couldn't believe Des lied to him.
Shaking his head, Othello walked away. He stopped by the Romanos' home to get an extra phone he had stashed away,before heading to Iago and Emilia's place. With so many things happening, he needed to contact his men, but he wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone.
No more than one hour later, Othello pulled up to Iago's home, still burning with anger. He could have had one of his guys get the phone for him, but he didn't want to deal with the hassle of explaining things. Getting out of his car, he noticed Roderigo's car sitting in the driveway and shook his head. Lately, it seemed that Roderigo was everywhere. Iago was like his little puppy, begging for scraps.
Othello thought he should turn around and leave because Roderigo was another person on his hit list, but he needed answers. Clenching his fists, he ignored the slight pain he felt as he took a deep breath. Othello had forgotten how hard Cassio's face was. He walked up to the house and knocked on the door, waiting for Emilia or Iago to open it. But he had to hold on to all his anger when Roderigo opened the door.
"Moor, what the fuck do you want?"
Othello grunted and pushed Roderigo out of the way, not saying a word, and entered the house just as Iago came out to meet him.
"I need to talk to you," Othello said.
Iago furrowed his brows. "You look upset. What's wrong?"
"Get rid of your friend so we can talk," Othello told him. He went to the living room, sat on the couch, and waited for Iago to get rid of his annoying guest. Othello looked around, seeing pictures of the twins spread out around the room. He smiled for the first time in hours. They were getting bigger, and it had only been a couple of months since they were born.
"Alright, talk to me," Iago said, walking into the room.
"Where's Emilia?" Othello asked, not answering immediately. It was unusual for him to be in Iago's home for more than five minutes, and Emilia hadn't come to greet him.
"She went to meet one of her friends." He smiled. "She said she wanted to show off the twins."
"Oh. Things getting better between you two?"
"Not even close," Iago tsked. "She keeps pulling away from me."
"I don't know how to help you."
Iago shook his head. "I'll get her back. I need to give her time to get over her anger. So," Iago said, sitting down and staring at Othello.
"Did you see Des yesterday before you came to my place?" Othello asked, getting right to the point.
"No," Iago told him. "I haven't seen him since the night the twins were born." He leaned forward. "Why, did something happen?"
"He lied to me," Othello whispered, his voice cracking. "He said you told him to break it off with me."
"What?" Iago said, his eyes widening in shock, sitting on the edge of his chair. "I know I have problems with him because he doesn't understand our world, but I've never even talked with him. Why would he say that? Is he trying to come between us?"
