2: 2
After Marina and her friends left, I slipped under again.
I don't know how long it lasted, but the pain in every part of me dragged me back awake.
Then the door creaked open, and footsteps crossed to my bed.
"Bryan..."
"I came to see you, my dear brother. You've been out cold for three days and three nights now."
It was Peter, my foster brother.
Only then did I learn how long I'd been under.
"Thank Marina, and thank your mother, for handing me the championship I've dreamed of."
"Brother, that brake job? I'm the one who begged Marina to do it!"
"I took home fifty million in prize money from this race."
"Didn't you always want to start a racing youth training academy? I'll build it for you!"
"And since I'm still single, Marina promised me a sweet little romance."
"Bryan, all those years of grinding, and you did it all so someone else could wear the wedding dress! Hahaha!"
He burst out laughing, not caring who heard.
Peter had taken my mother's love and my wife, and now he wanted my dream too.
He'd done everything he could to become me.
"Bryan, I hear you're in great physical shape?"
I heard water boiling, then the sound of it being poured.
A second later my blanket was flipped back.
Scalding liquid poured over my legs, hissing where it hit, the smell of burning rising up, and my thighs blazed as if they'd been set on fire. It hurt.
"Brother, you know how much I hate you? My dad got sick and died, and my mom ran off with some man and dumped me."
"But you had both your parents, and they treated you well. Your dad worked away from home and sent you money all the time."
"Your childhood sweetheart, Marina, was always fussing over your studies and your life. She even washed your clothes for you back in high school!"
"I had no one. I had to live off other people's charity!"
He kept talking as he poured the boiling water over my legs.
Blisters swelled up all over the skin.
My mother had been good to him, and he called it living off charity?
"Heh, your wounds are all wet now. If they get infected, those legs are done for."
Peter kept giving that low chuckle.
Both my legs had snapped in the crash. The doctors had set the bones, but the wounds hadn't healed yet and couldn't get wet.
"Bryan, you may be a vegetable now, but one look at this face of yours and I'm furious."
"How about I wash your face for you? With boiling water?"
Hissss...
I heard the boiling water steaming right above my head.
"Peter, what are you doing?"
Just then the door to the room was pushed open, and I heard Marina's voice.
Peter quickly set the kettle down on the table.
"Marina, I just boiled some water and wanted to cool it down for Bryan to drink. I didn't mean to, a little of it dripped onto his legs."
The wounds on my legs couldn't get wet. Marina glanced over and said to Peter, "Peter, you're so thoughtful! If Bryan knew, he'd be grateful. But the doctor said he can't take anything by mouth right now."
"Oh, right, Peter, didn't you say you'd take me to a movie tonight? Let's go."
"Marina..."
"What is it?"
"I, I... I want to kiss you..."
Marina gave a shy little smile. "Didn't you already kiss me last time?"
She walked right over to Peter, and the two of them started kissing, right there at the foot of my bed.
"All right, let's go to the movie... Oh, Peter, you're terrible, still kissing..."
I heard the faint sound of clothing being pulled aside.
"Marina, you've got such a great body..."
Marina spoke in a voice like she was half dreaming. "Peter, don't, don't do this, Bryan's lying right here..."
Peter was breathing hard. "He can't see anything. What's there to be afraid of?"
My eyelids twitched hard.
After a moment, my right eye actually opened a tiny crack.
That was all the strength I had, enough to hold open that thin sliver.
A yard from my bed, I could see them, wrapped around each other, kissing.
Peter's right hand had even slid up inside Marina's top.
Marina's face flushed red.
Rage burned through me at the sight.
"Peter, don't do this..."
