Chapter 3
.

And that’s when Frankie decided to confess her fears to her mom. “Mother, I worry that I’ve made a mistake in marrying Mathew. I love how Mathew showers me with gifts and gives me everything I could want. But, I worry if that’s all there is to our relationship. I feel like I’m a bad person taking advantage of his kind and loving spirit.”

Her mom handed her some tissues from her bag. “You’ve done nothing wrong and Mathew adores you.”

“But, I feel so horrible. My thoughts about him are changing and I’m afraid of becoming a terrible person.”

“No, baby, you’re just young. You’re not even twenty years old. After everything that happened to you at school, I think you’re still recovering. I think Matthew has helped you heal. You’re feeling so comfortable that you’re ready to try again at dating. Mathew’s sweet, non-threatening manner has been so encouraging. Maybe you should talk to him and ask for an open marriage.”

“I don’t know. I’m afraid of hurting him.”

“Well, life’s not perfect. If you’re afraid of saying something, just hold off for a month. Just try to keep yourself busy while I think about this. Can you do that?”

“Of course, mother. You know what’s best.”

So Frankie filled her time with tennis and golf. She spent hours each day in the gym working out. Frankie really enjoyed the attention the big guys gave her when they were in the weight room. Mathew encouraged her workouts and paid for a personal trainer. And Butch showed her how she could still feel feminine and that having muscles was beautiful.

Frankie started to fantasize about Butch. He was tall and muscular and physically the opposite of her husband. She couldn’t look at Mathew in his tailored suits and stylishly long hair without thinking about Butch, in his tight tee shirts and spandex workout shorts.

And at night, when the married couple made love, Frankie would close her eyes and try to imagine what it would be like with Butch. And when she’d completely immersed herself in her fantasies, everything became even more wonderful.

Mathew thought it was his ministrations that were taking her to another level. He was innocent of her fantasies until one day Frankie called him from the gym to tell him her car wouldn’t start. When Mathew drove over to the gym, he met Butch for the first time.

Frankie was standing there in her sweats. She was smiling and gave him a big hug. “Oh, honey. Thank you for rescuing me. You are my prince.”

Mathew smiled and looked over at the big man standing behind her. “I’m Mathew. My guess is that you’re Butch, Frankie’s trainer, right?” He reached over to shake and watched his whole hand disappear in the man’s large paw. He had to look up at this tall, well-constructed man. For the first time in their relationship, Mathew felt inadequate.

On the way home, Mathew had trouble listening to his wife’s voice. He wondered if he was selfish by keeping Frankie to himself. He started thinking that she needed to enjoy what was out there and not be chained to him.

When they got home, Frankie started walking into their bedroom suite. As she was taking off her sweaty workout clothes, she realized that Mathew had followed her. She turned and saw the sadness in his eyes. “What? What’s the matter?”

Before he could answer her question, he was overwhelmed with dizziness. He tried to talk but couldn’t get his breath. He moaned as he collapsed to the floor.

Frankie thought he’d died. She rushed to his side and heard his labored breathing. She grabbed her phone and called 9-1-1.

The EMTs had him on oxygen almost immediately. They warned her to put on a mask. “Has your husband had the Covid vaccines?”

“Oh, yes. We’ve both had two vaccines and two boosters. Why is he so sick?”

As they wheeled him out to their ambulance, the second man was fitting him with an IV. “The virus mutates. We’ll start him on an infusion on the way to the hospital. Hopefully, it will save his life.”

And that’s when everything changed. Frankie got special permission to be by Mathew’s side while they waited for the anti-viral drugs to work. But, just as he was rounding the corner back to good health, Mathew caught pneumonia. It took almost four weeks before he recovered enough to go home.

After Frankie got him settled in, the doorbell rang. It was her mother. She was bringing a large box of medical supplies. “Oh, mother. Thank you. You were the best thing that Mathew could have asked for. I think you saved his life by treating him.”

“Where’s he now?”

“Asleep. The ride home took all he had.”

“Well, baby. I think I saved both your lives.”

Frankie was puzzled. “How?”

Her mother smiled. “First, I need to tell you a little more about me. I’m very protective about my little girl.”

“Mother. I’m not very little.”

“Well, you will always be my baby. And sometimes a mother has to be bold to keep her daughter healthy and happy”

“Mom, where are you going with this?”

“It was my fault you were raped. I failed to keep you safe.”

“No, mother. The only fault was with those fraternity men.”

“I took care of them. They will never hurt anyone again. I killed all of them.”

“What!”

Frankie’s mother approached her and whispered in her ear. “The boy who planned all of that. I gave him a much stronger version of what he dosed you with. Then I drove him out to the National Forest. I tied him down, and when he woke, I used hedge clippers to cut his genitals off. I documented it. The video shows all the blood and the audio captured all his screaming.

“When he awoke, he tried to drag himself to safety, but the blood loss had left him weak and helpless. I recorded another twenty minutes while wolves feasted on his body. I scared them away before the corpse was unrecognizable. I wanted him to be found.

“Two of the boys died in a Saturday night car crash when they were drag racing. Everyone who witnessed their fiery death thought it was because their brakes locked up at high speed, and as the car flipped, it exploded. No one knew about the drugs I added to their case of beer. They never suspected that someone dosed their bottled beer with LSD and Angel Dust. And it was so easy to buy a bottle capper. You can pick them up at any home brewing shop.

“Two more died from alcohol poisoning. The police thought it was another case of too much drinking on a quiet weekend when their parents were away. It was easy to overdose them with grain alcohol and enough barbiturates to stop their hearts.

“And the final boy confessed to everything. While the police will never read his suicide note, I wanted it for you. He gladly used his father’s revolver on himself after I showed him what I did to Dan.”

“And finally, I’ve helped you solve your problem with Mathew.”

Frankie put her fist in her mouth to keep from screaming.