Chapter 1

The pain medication wasn't working anymore.

My leg throbbed from the research accident, a constant, dull ache.

The hospital released me early, said I'd heal better at home.

I unlocked the front door, expecting quiet.

Instead, sounds came from the bedroom.

Brenda, my wife, was laughing. A man's voice too.

Billy Ray. Her adoptive brother.

He was supposed to be sick, always sick. A rare condition, he claimed.

I pushed the bedroom door open.

They were tangled in our sheets.

Brenda screamed, pulling the covers up.

Billy Ray just smirked, his eyes cold.

"Mike," Brenda stammered, her face flushed. "You're home early."

"What is this?" My voice was rough.

"It's not what it looks like, Mike. I'm helping Billy Ray."

She got out of bed, wrapping a silk robe around herself.

"He needs to feel like a man, Mike. Before his surgery. It's experimental, very risky."

Her words were a torrent, nonsensical.

"He needs to experience normalcy. I'm giving that to him."

Billy Ray lay back on the pillows, watching me. He looked perfectly healthy.

"Normalcy?" I repeated. My head spun. "With my wife?"

"Don't be like that, Mike," Brenda said, her tone turning sharp. "It's for Billy Ray. He deserves some happiness."

Anger surged, hot and sickening. I took a step, and a sharp pain shot through my leg.

I stumbled, grabbing the doorframe.

"You're hurting yourself," Brenda said, but she didn't move toward me.

"We need to talk about this, Brenda. This is insane."

"There's nothing to talk about," Billy Ray said from the bed, his voice smooth. "She's chosen to help me. You should be understanding."

"Understanding?" I felt the stitches in my leg pull. A warm wetness spread down my pants.

I looked down. Blood. A lot of it.

"Brenda, I'm bleeding."

She glanced at my leg, then back at Billy Ray.

"Oh, for goodness sake, Mike. You're always so dramatic."

But her eyes widened a little at the sight of the blood.

"We need to get you to the hospital," she said, but her voice lacked urgency.

Billy Ray coughed then, a theatrical, weak sound. "Brenda, honey, my chest feels tight."

She rushed to his side. "Oh, Billy. Are you okay?"

"I think the stress... Mike upsetting you... it's not good for my condition."

He looked at me, a flicker of triumph in his eyes.

Brenda turned back to me, her face hard.

"You need to go, Mike. You're upsetting Billy Ray."

"I'm bleeding out, Brenda!"

"Don't exaggerate. Call an ambulance if it's that bad."

She stroked Billy Ray's hair. "We'll get a divorce. It's better this way, for now. Once Billy Ray is cured, after his successful surgery, we can remarry. It'll be fine."

Her words hit me harder than the fall.

"You can't be serious."

"I am. Billy Ray needs me. You're strong, Mike. You'll manage."

She didn't even look at my leg again. She just focused on Billy Ray, cooing at him.

I clutched my leg, the floorboards feeling cold beneath me.

I pulled out my phone, my fingers slick with my own blood.

I dialed 911.

As the paramedics carried me out, Billy Ray propped himself up in the bed.

He held up his phone, a cruel smile on his face.

My phone buzzed in my pocket on the way to the ER.

Message after message.

Photos. Videos.

Brenda and Billy Ray. Intimate. Vile.

Each image was a fresh stab of pain.

In the ER, a nurse handed me a clipboard. Divorce papers. Brenda had sent them over.

My hand shook as I signed my name.

There was nothing left.