Bad Life

When I opened my eyes it was late afternoon The heat had finally broken
I immediately sensed something was wrong I lifted my drooping head and stretched my stiff neck then looked around My limbs were bound to a chair My legs were spread wide and secured and I was completely naked
I hadn’t expected today to end peacefully but still I turned my aching neck to loosen the muscles and surveyed the room
The first thing I saw was Mat He sat on a paint can by the window his face full of fear Following his gaze I saw a man I didn’t recognize in another corner of the living room He wore a tank top and shorts and his exposed skin was covered in mottled tattoos From erotic blossoms to tigers sharks lines of Latin script and even tiny Mickey and Minnie Mouse figures
He was connecting electrical wires to a large machine that looked like a car battery I stared at him in a daze then turned back to Mat He met my eyes hesitated as if to speak then fell silent I had no idea what was going to happen next
My question was answered when George entered the room with Noose I smiled at that familiar face My naked bound state no longer mattered to me My very existence must be his humiliation and mockery
George froze at my smile His silicone mask hid all expression of course He stared for a long moment then walked over and dropped onto an empty paint can beside me Noose silently went to the stranger and helped with his work Finally we faced each other with no interruption
George had once been a fair fragile boy I remembered him as the one Hue had struck leaving bruises on his pale skin obedient and sweet under Hue’s care
Now he was a cruel man His shoulders were as broad as ours his arms thick and muscular his chest imposing his gloved hands large and repulsive The beautiful cold blue eyes that once caught the light were gone replaced by anger burning behind that unshaking silicone mask His neat blond hair had vanished replaced by a coarse straw-colored wig This George was entirely my creation
“Growing handsome aren’t you George”
I greeted him in a rough voice my throat still sore His mask stayed still of course
“You’ve grown a pretty face Must be popular Hue’s gone now have you found a new lover”
George said nothing He glared at me through the mask his blue eyes darkening But the madness of last night seemed left behind His hatred burned but his gaze was steady as silicone
If he meant to ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) kill me now I had no chance Bound naked before him he could have killed me ages ago That he left me alive meant he still had something to do
My trembling voice broke the silence
“…You killed Hue”
“I know I saw the news”
I spoke lightly
“I also noticed you kept his memento like a quaint little performance just like Bluebell George did you really think I wouldn’t notice”
“I didn’t expect you to remember Hue’s cigarette tin”
George’s voice rasped coldly
“I’d meant to tell you when I killed you Unexpected really”
I laughed low and nodded to him
“Plans derailed Acacia-ssi”
“Doesn’t matter I’ll just fast-track another plan”
George stared at me then pointed to the tattooist sitting on a paint can The stranger had finished and now leaned against the wall smoking with Noose I realized he was a tattoo artist the battery-looking machine powered his electric needle and ink
What was he about to tattoo on me George didn’t take his eyes off me I couldn’t imagine his intent some shameful mark childish as that sounded
We stared until George suddenly opened his mask’s mouth in a grotesque grin The silicone wrinkled like flesh

He sat cross-legged hands folded in his lap calmer than before
“Being called handsome by a handsome fellow like you I’m embarrassed”
George smiled behind the mask
“Maternal or paternal inheritance”
Julia (줄리아, Julia) again He always brought her up Last time Jerome did it this time George I couldn’t understand why
I had once confided in Simon about my mother The top-floor boys must know I’d been chained by her But that past was unrelated not a weakness After Bluebell I’d lived abandoned Being her son no longer burdened me I had no clue why they dug it up
George’s mask gave nothing away
“…They do share likeness”
I answered at last
“Both parents had refined looks”
“Indeed they did”
George said softly He pulled the paint can closer and sat nearer His gloved hand brushed my cheek The strange feel on my skin sent shivers through me It felt vile my flesh crawled
“Your hazel eyes Raymond”
George met my gaze with those dark-blue eyes
“They’re beautiful Rarely do I see such lovely eyes soft yet so arrogant Someone might want to taxidermy them”
“….”
“Not just the eyes Your healthy cheeks they’ve thinned now but that too is beautiful Your sturdy neck Raymond you’re a very rare beauty”
George’s voice was disturbingly gentle
“They say the basest blood often births the most beauty”
“…Yes my mother was indeed base”
My reply seemed to please him Behind the mask his eyes widened then he burst into grotesque laughter
“Ha ha base you say Oh how base indeed”
His laughter echoed a foul uncanny presence dominating the room Noose and the tattooist fell silent Mat stared wide-eyed at George I frowned as the lunatic laughed outright before me
Abruptly the laughter stopped George fixed me with a narrow-eyed stare The sudden hush made my ears ring Every hair on my overheated skin stood as he whispered
“You’re right Your parents were base beyond measure But you Raymond you’re base by birth”
“….”
“Have you ever wondered why your mother hated you so”
“What are you talking about”
I blurted the question urgency plain in my tone A mistake I betrayed everything
They’d trailed me for years my enlistment deployments discharge injury move to Labraham They even knew my past with my mother more than I did
George lounged casually savoring my panic He retrieved Hue’s cigarette tin and lit one I clenched my teeth to keep from challenging him After a moment he spoke
“Not only did your mother hate you she hated your father too He never came to your funeral Didn’t turn up until two months later like a slug If he hated you that much why did he take you He could’ve left you in an orphanage”
“….”
“He didn’t treat you gently He abused a fifteen-year-old boy who’d just lost his father That’s unconscionable cruelty Why did your mother do it Why lock you up What was she hiding”
I couldn’t hold back
“She couldn’t let her fine reputation be marred by a bastard like me”
Even as I spoke I felt it wasn’t the right answer George cocked his head in doubt
“If so why didn’t she keep it hidden Why send you to Bluebell Why the sudden change”
“….”
“Why Answer me”
“….”
“I know why Raymond”
“….”
I swallowed thickly
“Your mother had no choice sending you to Bluebell As you grew you looked more like your brother and that must have horrified her She couldn’t bear it so she removed you”
I didn’t fully grasp his words
“I don’t know what you’re babbling about”
My voice shook nonetheless
“My father—my father was”
A face I’d long forgotten swam vividly into view I’d left all our photos at Julia’s mansion I hadn’t seen him since my twenties I’d almost erased his image I recalled our time playing football bathing eating dinner but not his looks or voice
And now as George spoke my father’s face emerged as if seen yesterday his eyes nose hair voice
“Your father is a filthy base man who bedded and impregnated your own sister”
George exhaled cigarette smoke calmly
“Your mother carried her brother’s child not to abort but to birth that filthy spawn”
“…Do you even realize what you’re saying”
“I know perfectly well Raymond What do you think I did these past five years after Bluebell”
George continued calmly
“I know everything about you Raymond I may know you better than myself Your Army service in Iraq in Afghanistan think I didn’t know I even know the names of all those foolish filthy men you’ve slept with the ones you promptly forgot I know them all”
He stubbed out his cigarette and lit another
“Think it was coincidence meeting that ex-Mimis hunter as a forest ranger Why do you think those hunters landed you the job in rural Labraham Do you really believe Simon’s drama set and your job overlap was random Do you think the workers just happened to join in your rape Was any of it mere chance”
His cold silicone hand stroked my cheek
“If you don’t believe me fine I don’t need to convince you You’ll die here and until then you’ll writhe in that doubt That’s enough for me you filthy child of incest”