Virgin

14. That's What Monsters Do

Kristie got home later and I shhhh -ed her when she came in yelling at me.

"Baby what happened, I was worried" She says and hugs me.

Itch itch

"Aidan called me, he needed me" I say.

She stops and looks at me for a second with disbelief.

"You left to go help Aidan"

"Yes"

"I love you" She says and kisses me. I watch her look around for him and immediately spot him on our couch.
She checks to make sure he's okay and I head back to our room.

Cough cough

I touch my head, feeling heat rise all around my face. My vision gets a little blurry as I walk but I make it to the bed.

Cough cough

I kick my shoes off and get underneath the covers but things start fuzzing out into black spots. I rub my eyes but I start feeling woozy and dizzy even though I'm laying down.

Cough cough

Kristie walks in a few minutes later.

Cough cough
Cough cough
Cough cough

"Are you okay?" she asks.

"Ye-"
Cough cough
Cough cough
Cough cough

"Babe?"

Itch itch

I watch myself fall out of bed on the floor but I can't feel it. My head is spinning and my vision is fuzzy. She rushes to my side like I'm having a heart attack. Parts of my body start to feel itchy and sore. My skin is red with patches of where I've been scratching all night. Big red sores everywhere. I close my eyes and listen to my heart beat fade.

                          ~~~~~~~~~

I woke to a hospital bed. Fucking great.

"Hi baby" Kristie says to me as I open my eyes.

"What happened" I ask.

I see a doctor walk in, talking to some nurse and then smiles at me. He's an older guy but perky as hell.

"Good morning James" He says.

"What's going on Doc?" I ask.

He looks at Kristie and then back at me.

"I think you would rather have me to talk to you in private James" The doctor explains but I wave him off.

"Tell me what's going on"

"Blood results haven't come back yet but your showing signs of the HIV virus" 

He pauses.

"What?" Kristie says to him.

"I'll give you two a minute" He says and leaves the room. She doesn't move, just stands there like a deer caught in the headlights.

"You" I hear her say.

I look at her.

"You killed me" She says with tears in her eyes.

"You killed yourself and you killed me" she begins.

"Babe we don't even know if this is the case yet" I try to say but she continues.

"It's all so clear. You break people James, you take things that aren't yours and I'm not willing to live with this monster anymore"

"Monster? We've been doing fine!" I yell.

"Fine? We have nothing. You have nothing but a wallet and a knife you use to stab anyone that ever tries to care about you. Who do you think you are?"

"I thought-"

"You thought what? That all I wanted in life was a big house and a lying husband who sleeps around? I've seen your messages, the girls who call the house, and now you've killed us both"

"No, just me"

"Whether I'm infected or not, you killed me. You've taken everything I had left. And now I'm finished. Goodbye James" She says and whips the tears from her eyes. I try to call her back in the room but I hear her heals smack against the floor and then the sound of the hospital doors slammed.

I started to piece together what I've been doing to make her so unhappy.
I did assume that money was what she wanted and what I could give. But I never surprised her with anything. I didn't work. She always worked hard. I never wanted to meet her family. All she wanted was to spend time with me and my family and I always had an excuse why not. I never learned about what bugs her and what she doesn't like. I lied to her about my past with all the women. I tried to hide all the girls that would message me and call our house. I got her pregnant and killed our baby with a pill. I cheated on her because I was drunk. I was never around unless it was nighttime and I knew we would have sex. I got lazy. I never saw any of these things because I was too busy thinking about how much better I've been to her then the other women.

I decided to close my eyes and wait for the doctor but he rushes in the minute my eyes close.

"James, it's Syphilis" He says and frowns.

"It's not HIV" I say.

"No but you need to be treated and won't be leaving for awhile, we also need to check your girlfriend. You've had Syphilis for a long time James"

"How long"

"Three months probably undetected, your very sick, your life is in a critical position"

I stop and pull the hospital blanket off my legs to revel my skin. Patches of itchy, sore skin are everywhere.

Cough cough

"Will your girlfriend be back later?" He asked but I stare down at my legs. My chest. I feel my face itch too. I've had Syphilis for 3 months. Kristie was right, I killed us both. And it's too late to try and fix this. I killed us both because that's what monsters do, we frighten and kill.