50. Sister Talk
fifty
Sister Talk
Onyx: 2024
S uddenly, everything turns batshit crazy. My belly clashes with my eyes, and I’m not sure if I’m going to hurl or lose my eyeballs. I watch Mr. Brickman scoop Nolan’s blood-soaked body off the floor like a fucking rag doll.
Then, this creepy bitch claiming to be my sister starts drawing damn bloody hearts on the wall like it’s art time at the asylum.
I’ve been sucked into the psycho-fucking-circus! Did someone yell popcorn?!
“I did you a favor. He’s been creaming his tighty whites for years. Waiting to get his hands on you so he could steal everything once you graduate,” she tells me, side-eyeing me as though she’s waiting on something to happen. “Besides, he talked too much.” She shrugs, drawing another heart.
“You’re off the damn chain,” I huff, blinking at her mood swings.
“Amy! I know you’re here,” A voice I don’t expect to hear, especially yelling her name, floats into the room surrounding us.
Amethyst turns and smiles evilly at me and winks. “In here,” she sing-songs.
Zoey charges through the door, glaring, mouth open, ready to yell, until she sees me in the corner. Quickly, she tries to fix her face, searching Amethyst questioningly.
“You two know each other?” I ask Zoey, tipping my chin at the psycho finger painting.
“Ya, tell her how you know me,” Amethyst chuckles evilly, continuing her fun.
Zoey’s mouth falls open completely in shock. Finally, she finds her voice. “She told me to watch you, and be your friend,” Zoey answers hesitantly.
“Why?” I ask, glaring at her, trying to figure out what she’s not saying.
“Cause she wants your boy's dick,” Amethyst answers the question I was trying to figure out. Silently, she stands observing her nails in boredom, as though she didn’t just drop a brick.
After what she said tunnels its way into my brain. “Really?” I hiss, swinging my head to take in my fake-dick-stealing friend's face. “You’re seriously after Vex?”
Zoey’s face morphs into a scowling mess. “He should’ve been paired with me. Gage is a cheating moron. Besides, you threw him away years ago. He was doing fine without you. Now, your entitled ass saunters back to town, claiming him like he doesn’t have a choice,” she seethes, glaring across the room at me finally letting her true ugly colors show.
“Obviously, you should do some research,” I rasp, gliding from the corner I’ve been standing in. “You made a deal with a psycho-whack-job who probably wants to paint on you with your own blood,” I rasp louder, gaining my voice back. “When I get out of this fucking jacket, I’m going to beat your conniving ass for ever thinking about Vex,” I threaten angrily, meaning every syllable.
This bitch has me confused! Vex is mine!
Zoey has the nerve to laugh at me. “He was fine without you. He doesn’t need someone like you ruining his life,” she throws out hatefully.
“I’m bored with the girly gossip,” Amethyst groans, pretending to yawn. “How bout you tell us why you’re really here,” she orders Zoey’s red face, drawing her attention from me.
I notice Zoey has enough sense to look worried. She clears her throat. “I told Hendrix everything before he left town. He’ll be here any minute,” she tries to announce confidently but is unable to hide the nerves from her voice.
Amethyst charges towards her as a thought strikes me. “Wait!” I try to shout, but it sounds more like a croak. “I want that bitch alive when I confront Vex. Strap her in that awful chair.”
I think Amethyst almost laughs. “I don’t take orders. We’re not a team. But, it might be fun to watch,” she agrees. Zoey turns and runs right into Mr. B’s chest. “Take her to the chair, please,” Amethyst purrs nicely, fluttering her lashes at Mr. B.
Mr. Brickman nods, then we’re forced to listen to Zoey yelling and screaming the entire way down the hall. The bitch is getting what she deserves. At least I saved her stupid ass.
“Of course, Daddy’s rushing to save his Dark Queen,” she mocks, angrily rolling her eyes.
“Why were you sent here?” I ask, hoping to get the answer and distract her at the same time.
“Because life was great until you showed up. Everyone was happy. Everyone got along. Mommy didn’t lock herself in her room.” Her blue eyes slowly rake over my face, and I get the feeling she’s methodically planning how she’s going to remove my skin.
“Not an answer,” I challenge simply, wishing I wasn’t stuffed in this horrible jacket.
She shakes her head. “You never listened to anything I said.”
“I don’t even remember you,” I argue, digging into every nook and cranny hidden in my brain. Searching for the tiniest detail to prove what she’s saying is real.
“I wish I could forget you. They loved me before you,” she whispers, grimacing at the thought.
“Why does this place remind me of Edge?” I ask, trying to shift the mood.
“Because Rowland was a stuffy asshole,” Mr. Brickman answers, both of us shocked to see he’s reappeared silently.
“He owned both?” Thinking back to something Zoey said to me when I arrived.
Mr. Brickman laughs. “Ollie told me all about the deal. I know she signed everything over to you on your fifth birthday.”
“Why did she do it? I asked Nolan, but he said he didn’t know,” I question them both.
“She tried to cut a worthless deal,” Hendrix’s voice surprises all of us. “Who are you?” he asks Mr. B.
“The teacher,” he answers, eyeing Hendrix, sizing him up.
“How? All the hiring is approved by me.”
Mr. B shrugs. “Guess you were distracted that day,” he jokes as though he knows something.
“I want answers. Tell me about the deal,” I demand, trying to keep the tension I feel building to a minimum.
Hendrix glares at Amethyst. “Tell her why you were sent here,” he urges. “I heard you avoid the question,” he accuses hatefully.
“Fuck you, Hendrix. I’m an adult. I don’t have to listen to anything you say,” she grits evilly.
“Fine, I’ll tell her.”
“Mommy told you it was an accident. But you wouldn’t listen and drove me here anyway,” she argues quickly.
He shakes his head in disbelief. “Onyx, you have a scar on your back shaped like an upside-down L,” Hendrix says, staring at me, waiting on me to confirm what he’s said.
I nod slowly, remembering Vex tracing it with his finger when we were kids. “Yes.”
His eyes slide to her, giving her one last chance to defend herself. But she chooses to stay silent. “Opal didn’t want to be bothered, so she told your sister to take you outside until I got home. When I got to the house, I couldn’t find anyone. On my way to check the pool, I noticed your sister by the edge of the cliff. I heard you start to cry.”
“She always cried! That’s why Mommy hated her. We used to hide her when you left the house.”
My jaw drops at what she’s said. “I was a baby, right?” I ask Hendrix.
“You were one when she was sent away,” he answers me simply, glaring at Amethyst.
“She wouldn’t shut up!” Amethyst blurts, shoving both hands in the bun on her head. “Mommy was screaming because you were screaming. I told you to shut up, but you never listened. I warned you. I told you if you didn’t shut up, I was throwing you to the fish.”
“What!” I shout. “You threw me in the river?”
“She wasn’t strong enough. So she kicked you over the side of the cliff,” Hendrix interjects, and I can tell the memory upsets him.
Amethyst starts to pace, mumbling under her breath. I notice Hendrix watching every step she takes as he inches in the door, slowly migrating toward me. Mr. B must notice, too, and stalks him like his prey.
“It was an accident!” Amethyst shouts, startling us, her eyes bouncing wildly, completely oblivious to what’s going on around her.
None of us move for a second. My breath sticks in my lungs, waiting for what, I’ve got no clue.
“Stop lying,” Hendrix growls.
She sucks in a deep breath, then exhales slowly. Cautiously, I back towards the corner again, removing myself from the explosion I feel brewing in the air. One spark is all it’s going to take. She plasters on a smile before strolling casually toward him. From the corner of my eye, I notice Mr. Brickman stepping in front of the doorway on his way toward Hendrix. Then, a hand wraps around his mouth and chest, and he disappears silently through the door.
Who the hell grabbed him?
Hendrix positions himself between us, preparing to take the brunt of whatever she’s about to throw out.
“It was an accident. I can’t help that she followed me to the edge of the cliff. I told her to go away. I never kicked her,” she finishes calmly with a shrug.
“Right. You stabbed her. I watched you. Then you thought you threw the evidence in the river. But, it landed on the cliffs,” Hendrix enlightens her. “You used Opal’s monogram letter opener. V, for Violet. It isn’t an upside-down L, Onyx. It’s a V —”
“Shut up! You’re a liar! I don’t know what you’re talking about. Brock —” she whines, tugging at her hair as she spins around to search for him when he doesn’t answer. “Where is he?”
Hendrix steps towards her. “The doctor said she was lucky. Half an inch and her lung would have been punctured. Before you kicked her over the side.”
Before she can freak out, Vex’s dad appears in the doorway. Hendrix walks me to him, then steps out and locks the door, leaving Amethyst alone inside.