[ WP ] You 're on your deathbed alone with a loved one . Suddenly , they reveal their true self to you . You ca n't believe what you 're hearing .

`` So you're telling me you've been like this *THE ENTIRE TIME* I've known you?'' I said, my voice rising as I tried to sit up in bed. My wife stood at the end of my bed holding the now newly refilled glass of water in her hand, a mix of concern and nervousness on her face. She walked around the side of the bed and set the glass of water down on the bedside table and tried to take my hands in hers but I pulled away. 
 
 `` Jack please, just listen to me! I'm just trying to explain myself -'' 
 `` There's nothing to explain Jess, you fucking lied to me! No wonder the doctors could n't figure out what was killing me - It was you! It was FUCKING you!'' 
 
 She flinched back as if I had hit her, though in my cancer weakened state I could n't even hurt a fly, and I knew I could never raise my hand to Jess. She blinked slowly, her nictitating membrane sliding slowly across her strikingly blue cats eyes. Her hand pulling her red hair back from her face like she always did when she was nervous, once again revealing her blackened satyr like horns. 
 She took a deep breath through her mouth, filled with vampire like teeth and let it out slowly, pulling her hands back into her lap and wrung them nervously. 
 
 `` You know I never meant to hurt you babe... `` she said softly, `` No one knew that prolonged exposure would do this to you. Not me, not anyone I swear.'' Her eyes watered as her eyes ran along the tubes and monitors all hooked to my withering frame, now more machine than man, the sickness eating me away from the inside out. The monitor closest to me chirping along at a clip as my heart rate slowly began to come down as I tried to steady my breathing. 
 
 Her picture perfect pale, freckled face and her faded Iron Maiden t-shirt both became damp with tears I finally gave in and took one of her hands in mine, careful to avoid the razor sharp fingernails. Then I squeezed her hand as a fit of wracking coughs shook my frail frame and made no effort to hide my own tears. 
 
 `` For better or worse, I said... I am a man of my word.'' This time when she tried to hug me I let her, feeling all her features melting back to where ever they came from and returning the Jessica I knew and loved my whole life back to me. From the doorway there was a soft chorus of'awww's, as the group of nurses had come back after the requested ten minutes to begin my daily rounds of heavy medication.
