plot question about "bruises"

[handysr]

Borrowing from an argument I was entirely too close to with some of my friends, I have a question for you Lit-sters.

In this real-life argument between some married friends of mine, my SO and I were dragged into their drama. I was not happy about it, but ten minutes into listening to the fight, I had to fight back a smile because I thought of my dirty writing habit. It was getting close to the TMI area, but as fairly normal and rational adults, I didn't think what they shared was over-the-top.

Long story short, the wife said that she was taking a very hot shower and was scratching an itch. There were a few marks on her breasts that looked suspiciously like hickies, and she said that with the hot water bringing her blood vessels closer to the surface of her skin, it was apparently easy to make the marks, but she didn't know it until she was getting dressed.

The first thing that I thought of was that another man had been sucking on her boobs, and that is what her husband thought as well - and that's what triggered the fight. The fact that she brought it up to him before he noticed anything, as well as how forward she was being about it, kind of made me think that she was telling the truth. I honestly don't know.

However... This happened like three times within the span of a few months, and this is where my SO and I came into the picture. I've never experienced anything like that myself, and I love me some hot showers. I've also been in hot tubs and saunas where I would scratch myself randomly, but I've never given myself a hickey by scratching my ass.

While these people are my friends and I don't want the to have marital problems, this argument gave me the idea that I should write about it. In a completely way not associated with them, of course. That being said, I'm having a hard time with trying to incorporate whether or not the wife in my story is actually cheating or not.

To you Lit-sters:
Have you ever marked your skin like this? Have you seen it happen or made it happen?
Is this husband right to be suspicious of his wife being too careless with her "I love him like a brother" friend?
As far as my friend's real life is concerned, I do hope the best for them, but I'd love to hear what y'all think about her excuse so I can hopefully wrap a story around this random occurrance.

thanks!

 

[CyranoJ]

If she bruises or acquires marks easily just generally, the explanation might be plausible. If it's something that just so happens to periodically happen only on her breasts... then my bet would be no. I wouldn't set much stock in her bringing it up first if it was something he was bound to notice anyway, some kinds of liar will try to aggressively "get ahead" of the topic to present the false appearance of candor.

 

[shescurious11]

cynical

So, here's my cynical opinion:

I have very sensitive skin and have NEVER given myself marks with either hot water or scratching my skin to look like anything resembling hickies. (not saying that it couldn't happen for someone else). If my husband sucks on me hard I get hickies, or if he grabs my boobs hard during sex I bruise pretty easily as well. Given my experience, I would decide in my story that she has a lover making those marks.

Good luck with your story!

 

[geronimo_appleby]

i once got some dodgy bruises on my chest from a parachute harness. musta nipped on the shock of deployment. they came up like love-bites! bit awkward.

not had the same thing with hot water, though.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

She got caught.

 

[geronimo_appleby]

She got caught.

mebbe she wanted to?

 

[handysr]

Thanks y'all for your answers, it was kind of as I expected. I feel bad for the guy, but there's not much I can do.
I'm hoping that the story characters work this out better than the RL people are sure to.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

mebbe she wanted to?

Looks like it. Prolly got him enrolled in her cuck school.

 

[Carnal_Flower]

I have definitely gotten marks like that. Yes, it happens. You scratch like normal and for some reason, a few days later there are red marks and/or bruises.

The problem here is that they "look like hickeys". Scratching, yes, a mouth mark, no.

 

[OliviaM]

I've definitely done that to myself - scratching and making a bruise. Not sure if hot water has anything to do with it. It looks like a bruise or a welt and there's usually only one. I doubt it could be mistaken for a hickey. I've also gotten marks on my shoulders from heavy backpacks but they clearly look like they were made by a strap.

If the marks are only appearing in erogenous zones and they look like they were made by a mouth, that's probably not good. :/

 

[lovecraft68]

My wife is the typical fair skinned(I have to say fair, she gets mad if I say pale) redhead.

She bruises like a damn peach, to the point I have to be very careful because she once had a friend point out the finger tip sized bruises around both her ankles a couple years ago.

She's never done that to herself with hot water. As carnal flower said, scratching yes, but it looks....like a scratch. Not a bruise or hickey.

And anytime that topic comes up I think, how old are these people? 14? Hickies as adults?

And on the breasts she obviously knew they were going to be seen, the guy is a step away from cuckdom with her fucking the guy in front of him. He needs to grow a pair and walk away.

 

[Bramblethorn]

I've done that while scratching in the shower. Looks a bit like a mild hickey.

That said, if a relationship's at the point where people are accusing one another of cheating, that relationship is in trouble regardless of the truth.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

This is probably the wrong place to ask this question. We're writers, not dermatologists.

That said, refer them to counseling and stay out. This is an area where helpful friends rarely end up helping.

 

[Hypoxia]

If they look like hickeys then they most likely ARE hickeys.

If hubby didn't apply them then a lover probably did.

Have divorce papers been filed yet?

 

[J_R_Ashunwhy]

That being said, I'm having a hard time with trying to incorporate whether or not the wife in my story is actually cheating or not.

I think that instead of focusing on the relationship problems of your friends, your focus should be more on whether or not you want the wife in you story to be cheating, and then if she was caught or wrongly accused. Once you answer those questions for yourself, then you can start to flesh out your story.

To you Lit-sters:
Have you ever marked your skin like this? Have you seen it happen or made it happen?
Is this husband right to be suspicious of his wife being too careless with her "I love him like a brother" friend?
As far as my friend's real life is concerned, I do hope the best for them, but I'd love to hear what y'all think about her excuse so I can hopefully wrap a story around this random occurrance.
thanks!

Being one of those über fair skinned people myself, yes bruises can happen in an instant, and for nothing more than a feather hit your skin the wrong way. But, if that is going to be the cause of the bruises in your story, then either your couple would not have been together very long, or the bedmate is very unobservant. Trust me that the bruising is a regular occurrence, not one of those 'all of a sudden' things, and is regularly noticed by the spouse.

To make your story more interesting, there are certain medications, like blood thinners, that make bruising easier and could explain a sudden bruising event. The SO would probably know about the medication, but might not know about the side effects, and so that could lead to a wrongful accusation for your story.

There are also a variety of diseases that weaken blood vessels and cause for sudden/spontaneous bruising events. This too could lead to a wrongful accusation plot point, but then the story should go into the character either revealing that disease to their spouse, or a doctors visit revealing it to both of the characters at once. That option could give you one hell of an emotional story.