So now they’re going to play a game.

The brainslug explains that Jared, Ian and Kyle are all the bestest soccer players. You may think the inclusion of Kyle there makes it slightly better than just that her boyfriends are the best and only important people, but Kyle’s just there to further show how great Ian is.

When the game was called, Kyle had raised his hand for a high five, but Ian had stalked past him without acknowledging the gesture. Then Kyle caught his brother’s shoulder and spun him around. Ian knocked Kyle’s hand away. I tensed for a fight–and it seemed like one at first. Kyle threw a punch toward Ian’s stomach. Ian dodged it easily, though, and I saw that there was no force behind it. Kyle laughed and used his superior reach to rub his fist into Ian’s scalp. Ian smacked that hand away, but this time he halfway smiled.
“Good game, bro,” I heard Kyle say. “You’ve still got it.”
“You’re such an idiot, Kyle,” Ian answered.
“You got the brains; I got the looks. Seems fair.”
Kyle threw another half-strength punch. This time, Ian caught it and twisted his brother into a headlock. Now he was really smiling, and Kyle was cussing and laughing at the same time. It all looked very violent to me; my eyes narrowed, tight with the stress of watching. But at the same time, it brought to mind one of Melanie’s memories: three puppies rolling on the grass, yapping furiously and baring their teeth as if their only desire was to rip out their brothers’ throats.
Yes, they’re playing, Melanie confirmed. The bonds of brotherhood go deep.

Wow, the book is really hammering in that all is well again. I guess it got tired of him taking away precious time that could be used for demonizing women.

No, seriously. I think that’s what’s going on.

The female cast are the ones getting the hatred – the brainslug has been afraid of many of the men and tolerated abuse from some others. The women never actually do anything, but they’re where the narration aims its bile and death threats.

It’s her answer to the question of how you have a plot when you hate women, but you hate them too much to believe they can accomplish anything either. When something’s actually a threat, she needs to bring in a male character to do the job. When that part of the plot is concluded, she then makes it clear that actually they’re not that bad so we won’t mistakenly hate them. Like the brainslug disliking the doctor because she was foolishly concerned he would hurt her (he was the one who would hurt her) followed by the repeated statements that the doctor is such a good guy and she’s sorry she was so mean. Meanwhile, her aunt and cousin continue to be jerks who don’t like her around and do jerk stuff like pretend she’s not there, as if that should even be registering next to the multiple men who’ve threatened to kill her.

Speaking of such. Jared comes over to help her up and he’s awkward about it, keeping her at arm’s length. Then Ian comes over and a strong arm was under my arms, supporting my weight. because Ian isn’t conflicted and creeped out by this mess the way Jared is.

I will admit the book is sort of getting my interest in the love triangle. Ian seems the clear winner in personality, but generally first love wins out because soulmating means first love is the only love. Also abusive boyfriends win over non. But Jared isn’t paying much attention to her either.

Perhaps that’s why they have a quick dickery-off.

“Why don’t you get lunch?” Jared suggested to Ian. “You look hungry. I’ll take her wherever you had planned… ?”
Ian chuckled, a low, dark sound. “I’m fine. And honestly, Jared, Wanda needs a bit more help than a hand. I don’t know if you’re… comfortable enough with the situation to give her that. You see –”
Ian paused to lean down and pull me quickly up into his arms. I gasped as the movement tugged at my side. Jared didn’t free my hand. My fingertips were turning red.
“–she’s actually had enough exercise for one day, I think. You go on ahead to the kitchen.”
They stared at each other while my fingertips turned purple.
“I can carry her,” Jared finally said in a low voice.
“Can you?” Ian challenged. He held me out, away from his body.
An offer.
Jared stared at my face for a long minute. Then he sighed and dropped my hand.

They are literally tugging her in two different directions like kids fighting over a toy. Neither just asks her if she wants to go with one or the other.

Ow, that hurts! Melanie complained. She was referring to the sudden lance of pain that shot through my chest, not the return of blood to my fingers.

And by sudden lance of pain, she is referring to her husbando not wanting to touch her and not that she’s realizing everyone involved is terrible.

The brainslug attempts to actually discuss the problem, but Melanie’s only input is that JARED IS MINE NOT YOURS which does at least clarify why she sees nothing weird about Jared’s possessiveness but does nothing constructive about dealing with it.

Jared says that he’ll come along anyway.

We learn from Ian that usually Kyle is very honest and keeps to his word, but he doesn’t believe it this time. Okay, little as I want the subplot to continue, at this point it’ll be more annoying for it to turn out they’re wrong.

He brings the brainslug to his former room, prompting yet more dick waving from Jared.

“Ian, this is –” I started to say.
“Oh,” he interrupted, as if just remembering me… as if my weight was so insignificant that he’d forgotten I was here.

The author may not be able to write well, but she’s certainly good at being sure to remind the reader constantly how manly and great the men are.

Considering her feelings about violence, you’d think physical strength, particularly in the hands of a human, would be more of a flaw to the brainslug.

She then offers to let Ian stay in his room with her rather than find somewhere else. After he agrees and leaves for the moment, Melanie explains that this will make him think she like-likes him. Why she didn’t speak up right at the time about this is beyond me – it’s another expression of how no one in this book actually discusses anything, I guess.

The brainslug is sure that’s not going on, but then there’s discussion between the two potential boyfriends beyond the door.

“The girl in there…” Jared said slowly.
“Yes?”
“That body doesn’t belong to her.”
“Your point?”
Jared’s voice was hard when he answered. “Keep your hands off it.”
A low chuckle from Ian. “Jealous, Howe?”
“That’s not really the issue.”
“Really.” Ian was sarcastic now.
“Wanda seems to be, more or less, cooperating with Melanie. It sounds like they’re almost… on friendly terms. But obviously Wanda’s making the decisions. What if it were you? How would you feel if you were Melanie? What if you were the one… invaded that way? What if you were trapped, and someone else was telling your body what to do? If you couldn’t speak for yourself? Wouldn’t you want your wishes–as much as they could be known–respected? At the very least by other humans?”
“Okay, okay. Point taken. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“What do you mean, you’ll keep that in mind? ” Jared demanded.
“I mean that I’ll think about it.”

Christ. Ian grabs the asshole ball with both hands.

Note, of course, there’s still no interest in talking to the brainslug. We’ve established she’s a horrible liar and is in communication with Melanie. They don’t need to speculate about Melanie’s wishes, they can ask.

Jared insists that no seriously, hands off his property.

“You’re sure that Melanie still feels the –”

Holy shit Ian. You’re saying it’s okay to ignore the fact she was in a relationship with this guy last we heard but to just assume she’s probably fine with you because she’s unable to say anything one way or the other, and apparently sex with strangers is just one of those assumed consent things.

Incidentally, Jared, don’t think you’re much better with your objection being because she’s your property and not BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE RAPE.

Christ.

Look. All that had to be done to give wiggle room is to say that Melanie is more of a ghost than just someone still perfectly there but unable to move. Say she doesn’t actually feel anything going on and generally hangs out in limbo.

You now have the issue of if it’s right to interact with her body while it’s in someone else’s control, which is, I think, legally still rape (it’s sex with the body’s owner effectively unconscious) but is far enough off our normal experiences to have moral wiggle room in fiction.

It’s all moot, as Melanie’s only registered opinion about the whole conversation is that omigod mai husbando still thinks I’m his~~~~~~~~~~~~<3

“But what if it were you?” Ian asked in little more than a whisper. “What if you were stuffed in a human body and let loose on this planet, only to find yourself lost among your own kind? What if you were such a good… person that you tried to save the life you’d taken, that you almost died trying to get her back to her family? What if you then found yourself surrounded by violent aliens who hated you and hurt you and tried to murder you, over and over again?”

You mean, what if you requested to take over a human body, only to find it was fighting back until you got confused about whose feelings were whose and it made you so miserable you had to go find the rest of her family because you missed them, accidentally saving your own host’s life in the process, and then the people rightly hated you as a brainslug?

“What if you just kept doing whatever you could to save and heal these people despite that? Wouldn’t you deserve a life, too? Wouldn’t you have earned that much?”

No.

Everything she could do would involve GETTING THE FUCK OUT. Coincidentally, that would also be actually “saving the life she’d taken”. Furthermore, a life and a life fucking another guy using a stranger’s body are not synonymous – even agreeing that she deserves a life doesn’t mean she’s justified in committing rape. I thought this was covered by it being rape for guys to knock someone out and rape them even if they’re virgins and really insistent that they deserve to have sex for being so great.

The brainslug thinks he makes a great case, though.

“Point taken?” Ian pressed.
“I–I’ll have to think about that one.”

WHY IS EVERYONE SO TERRIBLE

Anyway, Ian then adds that it doesn’t matter.

Wanda isn’t exactly human, despite the body. She doesn’t seem to respond to… physical contact the same way a human would.”

Christ! So that entire bit was pointless evil. He could have just brushed Jared off by saying that there’s no need to worry because the brainslug isn’t interested in doing anything, so there’s no chance of her using Melanie’s body to cheat on Jared.

Now Jared laughed. “Is that your theory?”

You’d think it’d eventually hit bottom but it just doesn’t. It doesn’t.

“She is quite capable of responding to physical contact,” Jared informed him, his tone suddenly sober again. “She’s human enough for that. Or her body is, anyway.”
My face went hot.
Ian was silent.
“Jealous, O’Shea?”
“Actually… I am. Surprisingly so.” Ian’s voice was strained. “How would you know that?”
Now Jared hesitated. “It was… sort of an experiment.”
“Anexperiment? ”
“It didn’t go the way I thought it would. Mel punched me.” I could hear that he was grinning at
the memory, and I could see, in my head, the little lines fanning out around his eyes.
“Melanie… punched… you?”
“It sure wasn’t Wanda. You should have seen her face… What? Hey, Ian, easy, man!”
“Did you think for one moment what that must have done to her?” Ian hissed.
“Mel?”
“No, you fool, Wanda!”

Just…what the fuck.

Seconds ago, he was defending his right to kiss his Wanda-chan regardless of how Melanie might feel. And it’s not like the brainslug even objects to Jared kissing her and that seems understood by Ian, so Ian’s enraged by leading the brainslug on while willing to excuse groping someone unable to react at all.

Also, Jared also tried to beat her to death! Really, if you’re going to be furious and order him to leave, you have so many, many other things to be furious about.