M1911A1 - Aftermath Pt. 01

"I... read your note," I stammered, trying desperately to change the subject. "Why didn't you say all of that on Thursday when I told you about Ray?"

"Would it have done any good?" Terry asked nastily like he already knew the answer.

"Probably not. I don't know. I guess we'll never know now, will we?" I spit back faintly, hating to be on the defensive, but I had no explanations, no excuses... nowhere to hide.

"I think we both know the answer to that," Terry snarled sarcastically.

"What did you do with our money?" I asked, desperate to change the subject. And at the thought of being deprived of my rightful money, my anger started to rise. "The bills still have to be paid."

"You're a smart woman. You figure it out," he replied contemptuously with a shrug of his gore-spattered shoulders.

"I already know you gave it all to children's charities. Why?" I asked, my anger growing faster than my fear.

"What do you care? You denied me children, even though you knew how much I wanted a child when we got married. I figured it should go someplace where it could get put to good use. If I couldn't pass it down to a child of my own, I decided other children should benefit from my years of hard work; at least what you hadn't already spent."

"But what about ME? You know how I felt about having kids," I protested, incensed.

"Yes, I know. After we'd been married for years. You made it quite clear you didn't want to be burdened with a career AND a child. You didn't want to lose your FIGURE. Always felt having a child would interfere with your work and your rise to the top. And you got your way, as always. Just like you got your way with Ray. How's that working out for you, by the way?"

"At least I'm still alive. I didn't take the coward's way out," I hissed.

His eyes blazed red, and I suddenly, frantically hoped this was some kind of sick, guilty dream. If this was reality I was more than screwed. "The coward's way out, huh? Do you think it was easy for me to blow my own head off? Hardly. It was the second hardest thing I ever did. Do you know what the hardest thing was?" he growled. His growl was like a wolf before it buried its fangs in something's throat.

"No. What?" I blurted out in response, startled by the change in subject.

"Watching you walk out that door to be with Ray," Terry snarled again. "After twenty-four years of DEVOTION." The tone of his voice was far scarier than the sight of his mangled body.

"I told you it was just one weekend. I told you I love you. You knew I would be back," I said, exasperated and desperate.

"Yes, that's what you said Thursday. Do you remember what you did right before you left?"

"No, not really," I said. "What?"

"You... patted... me... on... the... head. Like a fucking dog. You obviously thought I'd be okay with being your willing cuckold."

"All right. I don't remember that, but I'm sure I meant it in love," I protested.

Terry choked out a blood-chilling chuckle before continuing. "Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that shit?"

"It's true. I didn't want to hurt you. It would have just been one weekend, and then we'd have the rest of our lives together. We could have gotten through it," I insisted.

"Did you honestly think I would have WANTED to touch you again after that weekend? Knowing what you did? And would probably do it again when the itch came back? You're fucking delusional. I told you, I would rather be dead than be your willing cuckold. And don't lie to me. I know that's exactly what you had in mind."

"How do you know that?" I asked.

"Remember, your thoughts are transparent here. Look," he added, pointing to something on his right side.

I couldn't help it. My eyes followed his gesture. A cloud of churning silvery mist appeared from nowhere and then morphed into a large silvery disk. I felt a frigid, terrifying ripple run through my mind... my SOUL... and I whimpered. An image formed on the disk, like a window into some other reality.

For a moment I thought I was watching some crude Internet porn movie, but in a flash of horror, I recognized my naked self on all fours with Ray plowing me lustily from behind. And I could hear myself cruelly taunting Terry... who stood gawking helplessly at us with a forlorn puppy dog expression and tears running down his cheeks. Good God! Was THAT how I really saw Terry when I thought that?

There was a gurgle of agonized disgust from right behind my left ear, and I didn't dare turn to look as I realized, like icy claws disemboweling me, that what was left of my husband was standing right behind me. I gave a little yelp of pure, distilled, petrifying fear and desperately tried to deny what I had planned, pushing it away in my mind. Unfortunately, the next revelation was worse.

I was the undisputed star of this particular porn episode. I stared in disbelief at my limp, naked body lying on a huge bed, covered in long sticky streamers of cum, with Ray and three other men standing, naked, around me, obviously spent.

Half of me was revolted, and completely horrified that the other half was aroused by the sight. The 'me' in the image called out some barely heard curse of Terry's inadequate prowess compared to my stable of studs, and then basically snarled at the facelessly obscene forms to 'Have at me, again!'

"That never happened," I protested hoarsely as I watched the orgy resume on the disk.

"No, but you and Ray talked about it, planned it," Terry said. "You might as well have done it. What excuse were you going to give me for that? Hmm? Were you going to say it would be just a one-time thing? That you need more than one cock to validate yourself as a woman?"

I looked at Terry, shocked. How could he have found out about this? Yes, Ray and I had discussed it, but we never formed any hard plans. Really.

"But none of it happened," I insisted.

"Doesn't matter. Here, where I am, thinking and talking about something is the same as doing it," Terry replied.

"And what is this? Heaven?" I asked with a contentious smirk.

"This?" Terry asked as he looked around where we stood. "Hardly. And before you ask, it's not the other place, either. This is just a meeting area between your reality and mine," Terry explained.

Just then, I heard a loud "ding" and a red light began flashing through the mist.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Our time is about up. I need to get back," Terry said. "Don't worry, we'll talk again, I'm sure."

"Wait! I have a question," I pleaded.

"Only one?" Terry shot back sarcastically.

"For now. Why did you leave $24 in the account?"

"You're a smart woman, counselor. You figure it out," Terry hissed. "See ya," he added before turning his back on me.

...

I sat up in bed, my body drenched in sweat. Sunlight filtered into the hotel room and I looked at the clock. 8:30 am. Damn. I knew I had fallen asleep last night, but felt like I had just finished a marathon.

Exhausted, I stumbled into the small bathroom and did my business, then looked at myself in the mirror. Dark bags hung under my bloodshot eyes, and my face looked more wrinkled than ever. I'm only 46 years old, but the face in the mirror looked at least 10 years older. I recalled Terry telling me many times I looked 10 years younger than my age and sighed heavily.

I had a full day ahead of me, so I showered and then dressed in a casual pair of jeans and a plain blouse. After checking myself one last time, I went downstairs to grab some breakfast and a much-needed cup of coffee.

Today was the first day of the rest of my fucked-up life. I just didn't know at the time how fucked up it would be.

...

To be continued...