It started raining pretty hard while I was driving back. It was the middle of fall now, and the rain made the cold night wet and gloomy as well. The windshield wipers flicked back and forth in front of my eyes as I waited impatiently for the traffic light to change.

This whole trip was a waste of time. I hope Amanda isn’t mad at me for leaving dinner early. It turns out Tyler, another buddy at work, had stepped in to do the proofreading. I actually didn’t need to go at all. I sighed and ran a hand over my hair. The bad weather isn’t doing anything great for my mood. I was still a bit hungry though. Maybe I can warm up some pasta in the microwave when I get back.

By the time I finally turned into the driveway, it was pretty late. There were no cars in our driveway, so everyone probably left already. And all the lights are off except for the one in our bedroom, so Amanda must be asleep by now.

Well cold pasta it is.

I opened the door as quiet as I can, even taking care to turn the key slowly in the lock. Amanda was a pretty light sleeper, and she usually got grumpy when her sleep gets interrupted. I shoved the key back into my coat pocket and snuck into my own house like a burglar. Thank god the front door doesn’t creak, the last thing I need is to add another offense on top of spoiling dinner.

I was about to take off my coat when the lights flooded on. I froze. Oh no. Did I wake her up after all? 

The frantic rhythm of feet thudding on the floor came from above. It didn't sound like there was only one person up there.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and my heart constricted violently in my chest. Fear thrummed its way through my body. Who was up there with my wife?

I ran up the stairs. “Honey?” I called out as I reached the final step.

The sound of a door slamming against the wall, and then a crash! as something fell to the floor and broke.

“Amanda! What’s going —” The words died in my throat as I saw the scene in our bedroom.

Standing right in front of the open bedroom door and facing me, was my wife. Naked except for the blanket wrapped around her. Behind her was Scotty, who was busy struggling with the leg of his pants. He was shirtless and missing a shoe. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on. From where I stood at the top of the stairs, I could even see the whites of her eyes as she stared at me in shock.

All of a sudden, the floor felt like it was tilting beneath my feet. Anger burned through my veins and turned my organs to stone. I felt the weight of my lungs as I struggled to breath. What's going on?!! I was screaming internally, but on the outside it was as if my body had been turned into a plaster shell of myself. The only thing I could do was stand there and stare. You knew exactly what was going on. A nasty little voice cut through the din in my mind. You had it coming. It's your fault for ignoring the signs. And oh god it was right. The late night text messages that she wouldn't let me read, how differently she acts around Scotty, and the amount of time she spends getting ready every time he came over. The gifts 'from her coworkers' that seem too fancy and too intimate for workplace friendships. The image of her in her new dress and that new bracelet surfaced, a mocking caricature in my mind taunting me with the truth I couldn't bring myself to admit. I should've connected to dots a long, long time ago. 

But I didn't.

"Amanda?" My voice shook. It came out smaller than I would've liked it. I wanted to scream, get violent, or even break something, anything was better than this meek little voice that cracked at the end of her name. "What's going on?"

I forced my legs to move, to walk towards our bedroom.

Amanda attempted to slam the door shut but I caught it, throwing it wide open as I stepped into the room.

Scotty was finally looking up at me. He opened his mouth and struggled for words, looking like a fish as his eyes darted back and forth between Amanda and me.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING WITH MY WIFE?!" I roared.

Amanda took a step towards Scotty, putting herself between the two of us. And that seemed to do it. Something in my brain snapped like a rubber band pulled too taut.

I shoved her to the side and swung. My first punch clipped Scotty in the jaw, my knuckles met Scotty’s face with a loud thwack! His head snapped back as he stumbled, tripping over the garbage can and cursing. The second on crunched against his nose, and to my satisfaction blood began to flow, dribbling down his chin. This pathetic bastard. Another punch and he went down, curled up on the floor and coughing. I drew my leg back and kicked, my foot planted itself into his flabby stomach. This. This was the son of a bitch that my wife cheated on me with.

"Stop it stop it stop it!!" Amanda's shrill voice cut through the noise of our scuffle. She grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed.

Instead of stumbling back, I went flying, slamming into the door. The door knocked against the wall with a bang, and the doorknob jammed into my side, winding me. I also hit my head pretty hard, but I barely registered the pain stabbing into the back of my skull. Black dots swam in my vision and threatened to swallow my consciousness.

I crumpled to the ground and could only watch as Amanda crouched down besides Scotty. The blanket had slipped, but she didn't even care.

She shook him frantically. "Scotty, Scotty, sit up, are you okay?"

He didn't look okay, he was jerking about on the floor, his eyes were rolling in their sockets like a frightened animal, and he was making horrendous retching noises as if he was going to puke his guts out. He looked half-possessed.

What the fuck is wrong with him? 

At this point I must've passed out, because the next thing I knew, Amanda was crying out “Hold on!”. And then she screamed. Then the sound of someone being violently ill followed. It was so loud that it seemed like a comical exaggeration. The garbled sound of vomiting, followed by wet coughs and the noise that cats make when they’re retching out a hairball. Then more screaming from Amanda

I struggled to open my eyelids. It felt as if my face wasn't my own. When I finally managed to open my eyelids, the sight that greeted my eyes had me wondering it this was all just a bad dream.

Half of Amanda's face was gone.