The Cripple's Wanton Wife - Chapter 13: Chapter 13

The world stopped when Lawrence realized the man beneath her was her own son. A white-hot shockwave tore through her body, her mind going completely numb. Oh sweet Jesus, what have I done? Her limbs turned to jelly as the horrifying truth crashed over her - she'd just committed incest with her flesh and blood. The ground seemed to tilt beneath her as her knees buckled.
"Mom! Jesus, Mom, what's wrong?" Ethan's panicked voice cut through the ringing in her ears as he caught her collapsing form.
When her vision cleared and she saw his face - that familiar face she'd kissed goodnight for eighteen years - something primal snapped inside her. Her palm connected with his cheek in a stinging slap. "You disgusting... Oh God..." Her voice broke as violent tremors wracked her body.
The color drained from Ethan's face as realization dawned. "Mom, just... just kill me. I'm a monster." His voice cracked like a teenager's, despite the man's body that had just...
's sobs came in ragged gasps. "How do I live with this? I should die."
"Don't say that!" Ethan clutched at her work-roughened hands. "The kids need you. Dad needs you. The whole damn family falls apart without you!"
His words were a bucket of ice water. She pictured little Lily's asthma attacks, her husband's wheelchair. The crushing weight of responsibility dragged her back from the edge.
Swallowing the bile in her throat, she forced out the question burning through her: "Ethan... what were you doing in these woods?" Her voice sounded alien to her own ears.
The confession poured out of him like pus from a lanced wound - his secret trysts with Aunt Victoria, Daniel Evans' older brother's neglected wife. How the 49-year-old woman had preyed on her quiet nephew, their woodland meetings under cover of darkness. Last night's horrific mistake.
"You're just a boy!" 's nails dug into her palms. "She's your aunt, for Christ's sake!"
Ethan stared at the leaf-strewn ground, shoulders hunched like a beaten dog. It wasn't fair - she'd initiated things last night. But the words died in his throat when he saw the storm in his mother's eyes.
The walk home was silent except for crunching leaves. Ethan trailed behind, unable to stop remembering the sounds she'd made, the way her hips had moved. His face burned with shame... and something else.
Next morning at the box factory, Jacob Kemnis leaned against her workstation with a cocky grin. "Sleep in, Ev?"
"Just... family stuff." 's fingers moved automatically, folding cardboard into neat squares.
Jacob's calloused hand covered hers, stopping her movements. "You okay? You seem..." His thumb brushed her knuckles.
She jerked her hand away. "I'm fine."
The young man flushed crimson. "Listen, I was wondering..." He fumbled in his pocket, producing a wad of crumpled bills. "I know about Roland and Felix. I could... you know... help out too?"
's stomach twisted. Five hundred dollars. Henry Ashcroft's loan was due tomorrow. Her children needed shoes. The electric bill was past due.
When her fingers closed around the money, Jacob's hopeful smile made her want to vomit. "I'll pay you back," she whispered.
"Don't worry about it." His eyes said otherwise.
The weight of the bills in her apron pocket felt like a death sentence. She studied Jacob's sunburned neck, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. With a resigned sigh, she leaned close enough to smell his cheap aftershave. "You really want this, don't you?"
His breath hitched. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."
closed her eyes, already hating herself for what came next.