Chapter 7
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The day before Steven's birthday, the heavens opened in a torrential downpour.
Rain soaked through her collar, streaming down her neck.
When she returned home, Robert sat in the living room, eyes fixed grimly on the television.
"Where have you been?" he asked coldly, gaze never leaving the screen.
Linda explained she was just shopping as Steven had asked, but noticed Robert's eyes drift to her neck.
"What the hell is that?" Robert suddenly stood, jabbing a finger at a dark red mark on her neck.
Linda's hand flew to her neck, claiming it was just foundation smeared by the rain.
Robert seized her arm, dragging her roughly to the mirror.
"Do you think I'm a goddamn idiot?" he roared. "What is this? A fucking hickey?"
Linda struggled to break free, but Robert pinned her before the mirror, forcing her to face her reflection.
In the mirror, rain had washed away the foundation on her neck, exposing an unnaturally dark red mark.
"You're cheating on my son, admit it!" Robert bellowed, eyes blazing with rage and twisted jealousy.
That night, Robert got blind drunk, bound Linda tightly, and shoved her into his car, driving toward the depths of the forest.
"If you're giving it away to others, why not me?" Robert snarled, ripping at her clothes.
His hand touched her skin but recoiled at the unnatural dampness and looseness.
Robert flicked on the interior light and saw that beneath his fingers wasn't skin but rotting human hide.
Linda's face contorted, her mouth splitting impossibly wide to her ears, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth.
"Want to know my secret, darling?" Her voice rasped, distorted beyond humanity.
Linda's head rotated at an impossible angle, bones cracking with sickening pops.
Her eyes became bottomless black pits as her body twisted and contorted unnaturally.
Robert screamed and lunged for the door, but an impossibly elongated arm snatched his ankle.
