Wrong Girl (43 page)

“I
did.”

My
head jerks at the sound of her voice and my mouth falls open in shock when I
notice my mother standing outside the bedroom in the hallway.

“Why?”

“Because
my daughter had a right to know. She has a right to know what a conniving,
deceitful, manipulative little bitch she has for a sister.” She concludes
vindictively.

“Mum
overheard our phone conversation when I was begging you to come over and see me
after Zack left. She had come home early and heard me pouring my heart out to
you, making a complete and utter fool out of myself for believing that you were
going to be there for me.”

“And
that’s when I decided to tell her the truth.” My mum interjects, glowering at
me in complete and utter abhorrence and detestation.

“She
told me that you and Zack have been having an affair.” Rachel states coldly,
continuing to stare at me with her lifeless eyes. “Is that true?”

“It’s
not like that… I mean, it’s not as simple as that.” I stutter, unable to look
her in the eyes, choosing to gaze at the floor beneath my feet instead.

“Is
it true?!” She screams, slamming me back against the wall behind me again.

The
pain in my back is excruciating, the blow winding me as I’m left feeling
breathless.

“Yes!”
I cry, finally raising my eyes up to meet with her own.

“And
how long has it been going on for?” She demands, purposefully invading my
personal space to scare me.

“A
while.” I reply vaguely.

“How
fucking long? If you don’t tell me, I swear to God I will kill you with my bare
hands.” She threatens, completely certain that she will follow through on her
actions.

“It
was just over three weeks ago.” I admit, speaking quietly.

My
mum is still in the doorway, observing her two daughters destroy one another.
No doubt she has a malicious smirk on her face, triumphant when it comes to
watching my annihilation.

“That’s
when you first slept together?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“At
a hotel.”

“What
day? What time? And where the hell was I?” She yells, pressing me for
information.

“A
Friday.” I murmur softly. “We met at eight pm and I think you were just at home
that night.”

“Was
that the night you told me you were staying at the hotel with Jason?”

“Yes.”
I say, nodding my head.

“The
same night he told me that he was going away with some friends from work?”

I
nod my head one more, turning red from the absolute shame and humiliation that
I feel for my sinful behaviour. It’s unforgivable and despicable. I will never
forgive myself. Ever.

“How
many times?” She demands once again, her voice breaking with emotion for the
first time since I stepped into her bedroom.

“What?”

“How
many times did he fuck you?”

“Rachel,
please.” I beg her, helpless against her relentless inquisition.

“Tell
me!” She screeches, sinking her long nails into my shoulders.

“I
don’t know!” I sob, attempting to hide my disgrace by concealing my face with
my hands.

“Five?
Fifteen? Fifty?!” She roars, violently shaking my neck feels like it’s going to
break.

“No,
I don’t know! Rachel, please.
Please
don’t do this.”

“Sweetheart,
do try and calm down. She’s really not worth it and you have the baby to think
of now.
Zack’s
baby.”

My
mother’s acidic words, especially the emphasis she put on the part about Rachel
carrying Zack’s baby did not go unnoticed. She knows exactly how to wound me,
how to inflict her poison and decimate her youngest daughter.

She
gives me a venomous little smirk before she turns and leaves, making her way
down the stairs. I only realise that she has gone and chosen to leave the house
completely when I hear the front door slam behind her.

“That’s
right...” Rachel continues, ignoring the absence of our mother. “There is a little
baby inside of me.
His
baby.”

“I
know.” I mumble, refusing to wipe away the lone tear which has fallen and
glides down my face.

“Do
you remember that feeling, Sam?” She taunts me, slicing my heart open with her deliberate
choosing of words. “Do you remember what it feels like to have an innocent baby
inside of you?”

“You
don’t have to do this, Rachel. I’m begging you, please don’t do this. I’ll get
down on my knees if I have to but please don’t bring the past into this.”

“Why
the hell shouldn’t I? You have taken what I love the most in this world and
destroyed it. Why shouldn’t I do the exact same thing to you?” She cries,
furiously wiping away her own tears that have now started to fall.

“I
didn’t mean it to happen, neither of us did!”

“So
what exactly happened?” She challenges me. “Because neither of you were drunk,
you can’t even blame it on the alcohol and not thinking clearly. You actually
planned it beforehand, you arranged to spend the night at the hotel and sleep
together behind my back.”

“We…
we both felt something for one another but couldn’t understand it. It made no
sense to either of us and that’s why we thought that the night at the hotel would
help. We thought it was the only way of making what we felt for each other disappear.
We never wanted it to go any further than that one night. It was supposed to be
a one time thing.”

“But
it wasn’t?”

“No.”
I admit, shaking my head.

“So
when was the second time you slept together?”

I
realise that she needs answers. She will not find any peace until she uncovers
the truth and as shameful as it is for me to confess everything to her, I at
least owe her that.

“The
following day.”

“The
Saturday?”

“Yes.”

“But
that was the night we all went out, the evening we met up with you and Jason,
right?” She asks, piecing it all together.

“I
know.”

“So
you had already slept together before you turned up at the restaurant?”

“No,
it was afterwards. When he took me home.” I tell her, remembering the
undeniable passion that existed between us that night.

“Wow…
so you two were laughing at me the whole time, huh?” She chuckles softly,
tugging her fingers through her long brown hair.

“I
swear to you we weren’t. Not once.”

“And
you really think I’m going to trust a dirty little liar like you?” She fiercely
spits out.

“I’m
not lying!”

“I
know that’s what you are…” She whispers, pushing me back into the wall behind
me. “You’re a slut, a liar and a messed up little freak who spends more time in
therapy than she does in the real fucking world! I know you lied to mum about
Harry. She told me about all the disgusting things you told her when we were
kids.”

I
inhale sharply, unable to breathe and catch my breath.

“She
told you?”

“Yeah,
she did. Before you arrived. She didn’t want you to be able to feed me anymore
of your lies.”

“Rachel,
I swear… I swear to God it’s the truth. He did do those things to me. I would
never, ever lie about something like that. You know I that!”

“My
father would not touch you. I know he wouldn’t.” She claims boldly, unflinching
in her disbelief of what really happened.

“Your
father?” I question her in astonishment. “How long have you known?”

“Mum
just told me. She told me everything before you got here, just in case you
tried to twist things and distort the truth for your own selfish reasons.” She
pauses, her eyes casting over me in disgust. “You might have been able to fool
Zack with your tragic little sob story but you can’t fool me. I presume you
told him about what Harry supposedly did to you? That has to be the only reason
he screwed you. He felt sorry for you. It was pity.”

I
flinch from the sharpness of her words, battling against the desire I have to
tell her otherwise. Part of me wants her to know just how much Zack loves me
but then I remind myself just how much she must be hurting right now. I cannot
even imagine what is going on inside her head right now. She’s found out so
much, it’s far too much devastation and heartache to take in one day.

“I
thought I knew you. I thought you were my sister.” She weeps uncontrollably, suddenly
springing into action by tearing about the bedroom in a state of turmoil and
chaos.

She
rips the cover off her bed, upturning the wooden chest of drawers beside it and
throwing the solid wardrobe upside down. It’s like a violent scene from a
movie, one I can do nothing to prevent. I can’t even bring myself to look away,
it’s so horrific.

“Rachel,
stop! You’re going to hurt yourself! I sob, covering my mouth with my hands in
disbelief as I watch her destroy everything in front of her.

“You
think I care? You think I care about anything anymore? I have lost the two
people in the world who mattered to me the most. My life is over!”

“It’s
not! Please don’t say that.”

“I
can’t stand this! The pain… I could kill you with my own hands!” She screams,
almost deafening me with the volume of her voice.

She
flies across the room towards me, tangling her fingers in my hair before she
attempts to yank it from my scalp. I choke back the tears, fighting every
instinct that I have to protect myself. I deserve this. I deserve her fury and
her wrath. I deserve everything.

Her
nails scratch my face as her hands twist and pull at my hair. Her violent
shrieking fills the entire house, eliminating the silence I walked into when I
first arrived. Her slaps sting and her legs kick out at me. She’s frantic in
her attempt to wound me, to hurt me as much as my actions have destroyed her.

An
astonishingly loud noise interrupts her brutal attack, startling us both when
Zack bursts into the bedroom. His eyes takes in the destruction before him, the
state of the bedroom and the state of my appearance. He leaps across the
upturned furniture, wrapping one strong arm around Rachel’s waist as he physically
drags her across the other side of the room.

“Get
the fuck away from her!” He growls menacingly, dumping her in a heap by the
corner of the room.

“How
can you protect her after what she’s done to me? She’s ruined my life!” She
moans, breaking down completely.

Zack
ignores her, striding across the room towards me.

“Are
you ok?” He asks softly, stroking his fingers through my hair as he gently
turns my face to examine the deep cut on my cheek.

“I-I’m
fine.” I stammer, unable to gain control over body’s violent trembling.

“Baby,
you’re not fine… what has she done to you?” He cradles my tear-stained face,
gazing down at me in concern and adoration.

“Don’t
touch her.” Rachel shouts, scrambling across the room in my direction.

“Stop
it!” Zack yells at her, placing himself in front of me so he can take the brunt
of my sister’s second attack.

“Don’t
tell me what to do, I have the right to claw her eyes out if I want to.”

“You’re
going to have to get through me first.”

The
piercing sound of the slap she gives him reverberates off every single wall. It
must have hurt him but he doesn’t make a sound, refusing to back away from her and
the protective barrier he has placed between us.

“How
could you do this to me? How could you sleep with my sister? How could you
choose her over me?”

She
breaks down once again whilst her fists reign down on him, pummelling against
his chest until he eventually reaches out to restrain her.

“Rachel,
stop it! You’re going to hurt the baby and I won’t allow you to do that.” Zack
warns her, seizing hold of her wrists in an attempt to calm her.

“That’s
all you care about, isn’t it?” She snarls bitterly. “All you care about is this
thing inside me. You don’t want me at all.”

The
realisation of this and the fact that Zack failed to contradict her is enough
to tip her over the edge. She collapses to the floor beneath his feet, hugging
her knees to her chest as she sobs uncontrollably.

I
long to help her. I long to ease just a fraction of the pain she is going
through but know that any help or comfort from me would make it worse.

“I
think I should go. You two still need to talk and there are things you both
need to work out.” I whisper, lightly touching Zack on the shoulder.

“No,
I don’t want you to go. I don’t want you to be by yourself right now.” He says
decidedly, turning his back on Rachel to look at me.

“I’ll
be fine.” I assure him, trying my best to sound somewhat convincing. “She really
needs some answers right now and you owe her that.”