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Subject: Jan V. - SISTERS - 15/16 (ff, incest, teen, romance)
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Jan V. - SISTERS - 15/16 (ff, incest, teen, romance)

This is the COMPLETE, REVISED version of "Sisters" and "Sisters-the 
Sequel" plus much more.
Enjoy

Chapter FIFTEEN:  Of the mighty and the weak

Linda entered the imposing room with its paintings by old masters 
hanging on oak paneling, and its bookcases of old law books. Randolph 
West was writing, comparing files and documents, looking left and right 
and then right and left, a caricature of the man of success in his 
field. He looked up at Linda over the top of his glasses, and waved at 
her, "Come... come..." as if she were a dog or a little child. 

"Sit down," he said, with a commanding voice, still busy with his 
papers. A few minutes ticked away before he put the paperwork aside and 
called his secretary over the intercom. "Donna, would you bring Ms 
McDougall's file? Right away?"

There was a quick answer and the file was on his desk in no time. The 
red-haired, fortyish secretary disappeared as fast as she dashed in. 
West let his slanting smile appear for a short moment, as if he was 
pleased by his eloquent display of power.

"Now, then... Here we are... Linda... I'll be honest with you... and I 
hope you will be honest with me. I'll not call this an open-and-shut 
case but the prosecution had to indict you and your dad for the reasons 
we all know. I managed to reschedule the hearings... You will be first, 
and I expect a quick dismissal of the case against you... Everybody 
knows what the Woods are after... and they know what kind of man their 
son was... A quick dismissal of your case will help your dad enormously. 
Are you following me?"

Linda was getting irritated with his patronizing tone of voice. Of 
course she was following him! With her grades she was sure she would 
enter Harvard or Yale or any Ivy League college... She was no dumb 
blonde. The hell with stereotypes!

"Are you following me?" he repeated.

"Yes," she said, controlling herself. No point in making an enemy.

"All right... However, I have to ask you a few questions. I hate 
surprises in the middle of a hearing... where the judge will decide 
between a dismissal or a trial."

He proceeded, asking her about personal information and other 
inconsequential questions about her family, friends, school, grades - 
did she glimpse some surprise in his eyes? Then he went further, dealing 
with how Jeannie had been shot and how the redneck died. Linda noticed 
the slightly confusing questions and how he played her, trying to see if 
she contradicted herself... He eventually gave a satisfied grunt, 
consulting the documents in her file, pushing the glasses up his nose.

"Now let's go back a little further," West suggested. "I talked to your 
dad about this... I've got the testimonies of your sisters... and 
yours... and frankly this is the weakest point of our defense... There 
are a lot of contradictions... Take your sister Zoe, for instance... She 
stated you ran away because she hated school... Jeannie says it was 
because you said so... Nikki, because all of you couldn't stand your 
parents any longer... Your dad tried to explain all this to me but I am 
still not convinced."

The crucial time had arrived, Linda thought. Dad and Linda and her 
sisters had prepared themselves for this... Dad had coached them well... 
Convincing West about the accuracy of their statements was the key to 
the hearings.

"All that's true. Zoe wanted to leave the cheerleader squad and there 
are witnesses to that... All Zoe's and Jeannie's friends know how Zoe 
stormed out of cheerleading practice a couple of days before we ran 
away. You have dozens of witnesses right there... Mom and Dad got mad 
because of that... That's why Nikki says we couldn't stand our parents 
any more... I thought how unfairly Mom and Dad were handling it. If I 
see someone being treated unfairly, I can't just stand there and do 
nothing... I just can't."

"I'm aware of that... I interviewed a few people who know you, friends 
and teachers... They think highly of you... So... Was that the reason 
why you run away?... Because Zoe hated school, your parents became 
unreasonably mad at you and you tried to defend your sisters... Is that 
it?"

"Part of it, yes..."

"Part of it? Is there something else?"

"Yes."

"Come on, let's hear it."

Linda sighed and said, "Mom hit me and I hit her back... That's when I 
decided to run away."

West removed his glasses, rubbed the bridge of his nose, his fingers 
reaching for the corner of his eyes. He stood still for a while in that 
position, as if he was measuring the consequences of Linda's last 
statement.

"Hmm," he grumbled, his glasses back on his nose but sliding down. He 
went through his papers, read a couple of them, and then asked, "Hmm... 
Why did she hit you?"

"She was complaining we never do what she says... And I told her it was 
because she didn't care about us... She never did... Then she hit me."

"Hmm..." The lawyer reclined in his comfortable leather swivel chair, 
thinking, scratching his ear and the hair above it. "Hmm..."

A few "hmms" later, he dismissed her. Dad was waiting in the lobby for 
his turn with Randolph T. West. Linda was supposed to wait for her 
father right there, on that huge leather couch, being ogled at by the 
secretaries and the lawyers and other clients of the firm.

Linda had become a celebrity. She had been asked for talk shows and 
offered acting parts. Even Zoe and Jeannie hadn't escaped the media 
turmoil. A casting director called and asked whether the twins would 
consider showing up at a popular sitcom. Mom and Dad declined all 
offers, however. It was inappropriate. Fortunately the twins were 
sensible enough to see through it - how casting directors and the TV and 
the media in general can manipulate and trick and deceive just to make a 
few extra bucks. If the twins were ugly, would anyone care about them? 
Maybe, but not for acting parts... To be pitied and held up to ridicule 
in a talk show then? Almost certainly.

"Hi, there!" a male voice greeted. Linda looked up and saw an attractive 
young "suit", dimples in his cheeks, and a Tom Cruise-look-alike look. 
'Is this becoming the reality version of The Firm movie?' Linda asked 
herself. Tom Cruise was cute, everybody knew that... and this guy was 
definitely cute.

"Hi..."

"I'm Andrew Thomas," he said, shaking her hand. "Just call me Andy... 
Everybody does... I work here... and... I was passing by... and... I was 
wondering if you wanted some coffee..."

Linda smiled, stopping short of laughing. A pick-up line she knew too 
well... But he was cute... and she would rather be speaking to someone 
than sitting alone and feeling she was being ogled at by everybody who 
happened to be in the lobby or who was passing through. 

"I'd appreciate it," she said. 

Expeditiously he left and came with their cups of coffee and sat down 
next to her, initiating small talk. Linda learned he was an associate of 
the firm, dealing with boring stuff like accountancy and wills... 
Suddenly, he stopped and said, "May I say something ?"

"What?"

"It may sound odd... or that I'm being too forward... but I think you're 
the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Linda's eyes blinked, then laughed, "Yeah, right... I guess you say that 
to every girl you meet."

"That's not true... Ask anyone in the firm... I'm a serious person..." 

He got to his feet and raised his voice, asking Verna and Paula whether 
he was a seriour person or not. The secretaries giggled. He was trying 
to impress her, to show her how well he could handle people, how popular 
he was in that firm. That same loud display of his popularity was not 
being appreciated by Linda, though. He could be cute... but his attitude 
stank.

Dad came to her rescue. Andy Thomas sprang to his feet, shook Dad's hand 
and complimented him on having such a beautiful daughter. West glared at 
him. Andy Thomas swiftly retreated down the hall on the left, casting a 
last glance at Linda.

Linda was relieved when Dad brought her downstairs to the parking lot. 
In the car, Dad said, "West was impressed with you... and most 
important, he believed you."

"He did?"

"Yes. Good job, Linda."

Her first reaction was to thank him... But no, she owed him nothing.

"We're going to win this case... You'll see."

Linda didn't reply. Dad was cocksure about their chances... Another ace 
up his sleeve? 

* * *

To Linda's surprise, things worked out as her father predicted. The 
cases against both of them were dropped. The Woods were bought off with 
a financial settlement. They grumbled and squirmed but in the end they 
took the deal - on their lawyer's advice. The witnesses against Dad 
mysteriously changed their minds, saying there had simply been a 
misunderstanding. The Liberty county's assistant DA was reluctant to 
drop the case but her superiors ordered her to do just that. And that 
was the end of it - The People vs. Fred McDougall case.

Despite Fred McDougall having successfully gotten rid of his accusers, 
he didn't get his job back. His reputation was tainted and he was no 
longer CEO material, the Servenet directors explained. So he decided to 
move to the East Coast and start his own software company. They moved to 
Florida and bought a new house a few minutes' drive from the beach. They 
would start all over as a family.

Little by little that dream seemed to be within reach. Mom and Dad tried 
to spend more time with them. Nikki mused, however that their parents' 
newly found love for family life was sometimes a nuisance. Their freedom 
of movement was curtailed and their social life was scrutinized more 
closely. Luckily, Mom started working again, as Dad's secretary. That 
gave them many hours of precious freedom.

One day after school Nikki hurriedly slipped on her bikini, and jeans 
and blouse. She and Linda were to meet at the beach. Linda had turned 
eighteen two weeks before and Nikki was seventeen now, and proud of it. 
She would soon be able to decide about her life - her life with Linda... 
Today was the last day before Linda left for college. Now that all their 
boyfriends were out of the picture, Nikki was sure Linda would be her 
life companion - for better or for worse, and to hell with what people 
might think.

Nikki jumped on her mountain bike and accelerated down the hill that led 
to the beach. She wore shades, a sort of military cap and an unending 
smile. Her hair tied in a ponytail trailed freely behind her, blown by 
the breeze in her face that came inland off the ocean. She couldn't 
cycle fast enough, passing through red lights and taking short cuts down  
stairs and across lawns. When Nikki arrived, Linda was already there, 
waiting for her at Ruby's, the beach's coolest hangout. Ruby's was a 
sort of café that catered to young people, mostly teenagers. Linda sat 
at a table, looking "cool" with her shades on and drinking her favorite 
- freshly pressed orange juice. Nikki was jealous when she realized 
Linda wasn't alone. A guy sat at her table with a can of beer in his 
hand.

"Hi, Linda," she greeted, dismounting from her bike. "Ready?"

"Yup... Bye... Gotta go," said Linda, turning to the young man at her 
table.

When they were out of earshot Nikki asked, "Who's that guy?"

Linda smiled, chuckling. "Jealous?"

"No... I just want to know who he is."

Linda kept smiling, staring at her sister, who shied away from eye 
contact with her. "You want to know who he is...? And if I tell you I 
don't know him, would you believe me?"

This time Nikki looked up, facing her sister. "Don't you know him?"

"No, silly... He was just trying to hit on me... You should know better 
than that."

"Really?"

"You start sounding like Jeannie... Come on, let's go home."

 Looking back, Linda saw that the guy had returned to his red MG 
sportscar. She noticed him staring, and the way he looked away when 
their eyes met. 

"Don't look now but the guy's gonna follow us," said Linda, getting on 
her mountain bike, pulling up her black shorts and checking how she 
looked in her sister's shades. 

She looked back once more and then, turning to her sister, said, "Let's 
go." 

The sisters accelerated down the avenue that ran alongside the beach. As 
Linda predicted, the red MG promptly moved into the middle lane from its 
spot at the curb and rolled leisurely behind them. Suddenly Linda 
pointed to the left, warning Nikki she was going to turn into a side 
street. "Follow me," she said.

Nikki nodded and cycled behind Big Sis, avoiding two honking cars. The 
drivers screamed obscenities, furious with the girls' sudden maneuver to 
the left. 'We're cycling dangerously,' Nikki thought. It was the only 
way to shake off Linda's stalker, though. They looked back from time to 
time, making sure the red convertible was not behind them any more. 
Linda smiled at Nikki when the red MG was no more to be seen.

They stopped by a cafe. The owner's family spoke a strange language - 
Portuguese - but they served a helluva good espresso. That's what they'd 
go for. As they sat down, the owner, Mr. Pontes, came over to their 
table. A chunky man with a mustache, he displayed his usual welcoming 
smile and carried a small notebook and a pen behind his right ear..

Linda and Nikki liked the funny way Mr. Pontes spoke English, the way he 
talked about his country, the nostalgia he felt for the green hills 
around his home town. He had given them his mother's address when they 
showed an interest in visiting his country.

 "She's very happy to invite you," he said. 

Linda and Nikki curbed their smiles but they loved him for his 
generosity and openness.

After exchanging the usual greetings and compliments, Linda and Nikki 
ordered their espressos and two delicious Portuguese pastries called 
pastéis de nata. When he left with the order, Linda smiled at Nikki, 
lifting her shades up on her hair. Nikki smiled back at her. Linda 
wanted to reach out over the table for her sister's hand, to intertwine 
her fingers with Nikki's, to say how much she loved her. Instead, she 
laid her hand on the table, a couple of inches away from Nikki's, and 
whispered, "What would he say if now I held your hand and we kissed?"

Nikki laughed, her quiet gaze turning into an intense, loving stare. "I 
don't know... But I'd love to..." Their eyes locked onto each other. It 
was impossible to break that spell. So much so that they didn't even 
notice how close her faces were.

"You don't mean that," Linda said, exerting herself to articulate the 
words properly in spite of her heavy breathing.

"Yes, I do. I don't give a damn about what people say. I'm beyond that 
now... I love you and I want everybody to know it."

"We can't," Linda said, her face pulling away from her sister's. "Even 
if we could, that'd be extremely risky to me, you, Dad, Mom, the 
twins... They could re-open the case against me or even Dad."

"I'm sorry," Nikki muttered, looking down. "I didn't think about that."

"Don't be sad," Linda said, holding her sister's hand, forgetting her 
earlier qualms about  public displays of affection. "I just don't want 
you to get hurt..."

Nikki shrugged, still sad. Linda was about to scold herself over her 
inane proposal when Mr. Pontes came back with their order. As always, he 
chatted with them for a while before he left. Nikki faked a smile, 
sliding her shades back on. Linda and Mr. Pontes did most of the talking 
while Nikki kept her head down. Linda heaved a sigh of relief when he 
left.

"Nikki, look at me... Look at me... What happened?"

Nikki shrugged again. "Nothing... I don't want to talk about it... 
here..."

This time they downed their espressos and pastéis de nata with little 
enthusiasm. They soon left the cafe, waving good-bye to Mr. Pontes and 
his wife, and hurried over to their bikes.

"Let's go home," Linda said, unlocking her bike.

"No, I don't want to. Let's go to the beach."

"No, I think we're gonna fight... You're sad because I'm leaving, aren't 
you? We've been through this before... I've gotta go... This my 
future... our future."

"I know, Linda... I know... but I can't help feeling sad. I can't."

"You'll join me in no time. We'll be one year apart, Nikki... Surely you 
can survive without me that long."

"My grades aren't as good as yours. Suppose I don't get the grant. 
Suppose I don't get in."

"You WILL get in, Nikki. Think positive and work hard for it. It's the 
only way..."

"But SUPPOSE I don't get in. Then what?"

Linda stayed quiet for a moment. With a seemingly serious look, she 
said, "Then you'll get married to an old fat man and have lots of kids."

"This's serious, dammit. Don't make jokes about it."

"I'm sorry... I didn't want to hurt you. I just-" Linda interrupted 
herself, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter. Let's go or we'll have the 
whole street staring at us."

Linda and Nikki cycled off together without speaking. The joy Nikki felt 
earlier  vanished into thin air. Nikki gazed at the people on the 
sidewalk, keeping her anger in check. She saw a couple and their 
children walking by, laughing. Two well-dressed women came out of a 
store, talking loudly and praising each other for their purchases. 
'People without a care in the world,' Nikki thought with bitterness.

Suddenly someone called, "Nikki... What are you doing here?" 

Nikki stopped and looked back, recognizing Jeff Steinberg, a guy she'd 
met at school who had the hots for her. He was attractive but guys 
weren't her major priority at the moment. Jeff kept asking her out. He 
was persistent as hell... Under other circumstances, she would consider 
him as dating material... No, guys were out of the picture, she decided. 
She loved Linda. Her sister was all that mattered.

Jeff introduced his two friends. Without paying much attention to their 
names, Nikki became aware of their style of clothing - grunge all over. 
Grunge was dead, the media said... Not to these guys, Nikki thought, 
almost smiling in spite of herself. Nikki introduced Linda to them, 
observing the gaping expression of the redhead wearing a black Nike cap. 
His friends laughed and made fun of the way he wore it. The redhead got 
mad but he bit his tongue, keeping his eyes away from Linda.

Once again Jeff tried to win Nikki over. He was a smooth talker. He knew 
the rights words to say. But no, this is not what she wanted... Nikki 
wanted to leave but she didn't know how. She looked at Linda but her 
sister ignored them, leaning on the handlebars of her bicycle, watching 
the traffic.

"OK. If you say no, I'll ask your sister then."

"Be my guest," Nikki replied.

Jeff stepped off the sidewalk and went over to Linda. Nikki watched them 
talk. She didn't pay attention to the words, only to the small nervous 
twitches on Jeff's face and Linda's smile, the smile of an All-American 
girl who knows exactly what she wants. All Nikki could see was how Linda 
shook her head. She was saying no, obviously. Knowing Jeff, though, his 
acceptance of the no could take hours. 

Nikki had a slight start when she heard Linda say, "Nikki, let's go." 

Nikki followed Linda, ignoring Jeff's promise he would call. The girls 
were on their way again, leaving the guys behind. They sure would talk 
about them, Nikki realized - how good Linda looked... what a babe she 
was... Nikki breathed out deeply... She was going to lose Linda... She 
knew that. They couldn't even hold hands in public... Her sister 
wouldn't allow it. How could she compete with a guy? Or even another 
girl? Surely Linda would allow them to hold hands and kiss her in front 
of her friends...

Nikki swallowed... There was no hope for them... Who were they trying to 
fool? With this cruel question rumbling in her head, Nikki realized they 
had cycled to the beach, and not home. She saw Linda get off her bike 
and lock it. Without a word or a lookback, Linda strolled onto the 
beach, her head down, brushing her hair back over her right ear. Nikki 
followed behind. Linda chose a spot on the warm, inviting sand and let 
herself flop down. Nikki slumped down next to Linda, gazing at the 
beachgoers enjoying the late afternoon sunshine. After the longest time 
Nikki said, "Linda?"

Linda's eyes faced Nikki. "Yes?"

"I've been thinking... about us..."

"Yes?" Linda asked, showing her impatience.

"It's no use going on."

"What do you mean?"

Nikki shook her head, looking at the waterline. "I mean, we should stop 
everything between us. It's no use... We're just fooling ourselves with 
something that can't be."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm gonna lose you sooner or later... It's better now than later."

"Why?"

"Because it'll hurt less..."

"But why do you think you're going to lose me?"

Nikki stared at Linda. There was a strange glitter in those green eyes. 
Was it despair or the pain of being dumped?

"We can't kiss... We can't do anything... We can't even hold hands... 
What's the use of that? I want everybody to know that I love you, that 
we belong to each other but we can't, you say..."

"Oh come on, Nikki... Don't you blackmail me."

"I'm not blackmailing you. I'm just telling you how I feel."

"Yes, but you're trying to make me feel guilty. You know I am thinking 
about our future... The world's cruel, Nikki. "They" maim and kill 
people for less... Look at the gay bashing and the racism..." Linda  
paused, sighing, staring at the breakers, facing the breeze. After a 
short moment of silence, Linda turned her face to Nikki. "People are 
killed for being different, Nikki... and that happens every day."

"One more reason for us to break up."

"Is that what you really want?"

Nikki swallowed, feeling a knot in her throat. Her heart said no but 
head said yes. She nodded.

"OK," Linda said, getting up and looking away, "I understand. We're 
through."

Nikki watched Linda ambling away. Big Sis didn't look back. Linda kept 
staring down at the sand as she shuffled off. Nikki saw her sister 
walking out of her life - literally.

Nikki stood up and returned to her bike. It surprised her that neither 
of them cried, as they both knew sooner or later they both would. 
'Whatever,' she thought, trying to shrug off the breakup. 'We're getting 
older... Crying is for babies...' She mounted her bike, glancing at the 
sunset and deciding against wearing her shades. She cycled home 
furiously, strongly exerting herself, sweat streaming under her arms She 
went in through the back door, going around Zoe. Her sister was in the 
way, babbling with someone over the kitchen phone. Nikki raced up to her 
room. She locked the door and threw herself down on her bed, her back to 
Linda's. 'Wrong move,' she thought. 'This place stinks of Linda...' She 
was mad... mad at herself and at the world which didn't let them be. It 
hurt inside... It HURT... Nikki closed her eyes, sitting up on the bed, 
embracing her drawn up legs... Tears flowed in spite of herself. Crying 
is for babies, she recalled... And "Baby" was what Linda called her... 
Her baby... No... Nikki shook her head... Not any more... and not 
ever...

* * *

Jeannie glanced at the kitchen clock. Mom and Dad were due back any 
minute now. It was 8 PM, almost dinnertime and Linda hadn't yet come 
back. Jeannie learned from Zoe that Nikki was locked up in her room and 
refusing to talk to anyone. It was obvious her older sisters had a 
quarreled.

Zoe watched Jeannie pacing the kitchen. Her twin fretted about where Big 
Sis's was and the reason for the spat.

"Jeannie, stop pacing like that... It's getting on my nerves."

Jeannie opened her mouth to utter an angry reply when she heard Dad 
parking his Buick in the driveway. Jeannie ran out of the back door to 
meet them. "Mom," she screamed. "Mom..."

"What, Jeannie?" her mother said, getting out of the car and looking 
with concern at her youngest daughter. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Jeannie breathed out, stopping in front of her mother, 
"but Nikki and Linda had a fight and Linda hasn't come back home... I-"

"Wait," Mom interrupted her. "Not so fast. Tell me what happened, 
slowly." Jeannie breathed in and out once. She slowed down and started 
again, telling her parents all she knew and how worried she was.

"Probably she's at a friend's," Dad suggested.

"No, she isn't, Dad... I don't think Linda would go to see a friend if 
she's upset."

"Maybe I should go and talk to Nikki," Mom said thoughtfully, walking in 
the back door. "Maybe she can tell us where Linda is."

* * *

Nikki heard a knock on the door. 'It must be Mom... or Dad,' she 
thought. She'd heard their car pull up in the driveway and Jeannie's 
short confab with the folks in the back yard.

"Nikki, it's me..." Mom's muffled voice called out from the hall. "Let 
me in."

Reluctantly Nikki jumped out of her bed and unlocked the door. Before 
her mother had time to come in, Nikki jumped back onto her bed, lying on 
her stomach, her hands making an attempt to fluff up the pillow.

"Nikki, are you all right?"

Nikki shrugged, her eyes shut and her face turned away from her mother's 
stare.

"D'you know where Linda is?" Nikki heard. Her mother drew closer and sat 
on the edge of her bed. When Mom touched her, Nikki moved away, removing 
her mother's hand from her hair. "Nikki, look at me... I'm talking to 
you."

"What?" Nikki said, rolling over and facing her mother for the first 
time.

"I want to know where your sister is. It's 8 PM and your sister isn't 
home. You know very well  your sister never comes home this late without 
a calling in... I know you two went cycling together... So please tell 
me where she is."

Nikki shrugged again, looking away. She made an all-out effort not to 
cry but she was unable to stop the tears. Mom hugged her, hushing her. 
Mom's hug lasted longer than Nikki would have cared for in other 
circumstances. The unbearable pain she felt inside was still very much 
alive. She needed that closeness.

"Nikki... Tell me what happened. Did you two fight?"

Nikki nodded, removing herself from her mother's embrace, wiping the 
tears away from her eyes and cheeks.

"Why?"

"You wouldn't understand," Nikki answered with a troubled voice.

"Why not?"

"Because."

"Nikki, your sister's out there and it's dark. Maybe she's in trouble 
and you're not helping..."

"You wouldn't understand... And besides I don't know where she is. All I 
know is that we cycled to the beach, we argued, and I came back home."

"Alone?"

"Yes..."

"Why? What were you fighting about?"

"Please, don't ask..." Nikki pleaded, sniffing and averting her mother's 
eyes.

"Because Linda's leaving?"

Nikki looked at her mother, surprised by her insight. "How did you 
know?" Her mother shut her eyes, becoming sad. Seeing her mother's 
reaction, Nikki added, "I warned you... You wouldn't understand..."

"No, you wrong, Nikki," Marge replied, looking into her daughter's eyes 
which grew noticeably wider. "I do understand... That's the problem."

"What do you mean?"

"You have to promise me you won't tell anybody about this... I will 
never forgive you if you do. Not even to your sisters, and certainly not 
to your dad..."

"Not even to Linda?"

"No one," her mother said severely. Mom paused for a moment. Then she 
added, "Maybe to Linda... one day... but to no one else, d'you 
understand?" Nikki nodded, feeling a chill racing up her spine. This 
secrecy and Mom's seriousness was giving her the jitters. "Promise me," 
her mother demanded.

"I promise... Cross my heart and hope to die

"All right then," Marge said, exhaling deeply, as if she was about to 
get rid of a burden she'd carried all her life.

Nikki braced herself for Mom's "darkest secret". What she heard 
horrified her. Mom was an incest survivor. Mom told how her father had 
abused her since her seventh birthday. Mom had tried to protect her 
sister Joan, but her father had no mercy.

"Aunt Joan too?" Nikki asked, almost breathless.

"Yes... He was a drunk... I hated him as much as a little child can hate 
someone... My mother, your grandma, died when I was four and Aunt Joan 
two. We had only each other and..."

"And...?" Nikki asked, swallowing without noticing her heavy breathing. 
She looked into her mother's eyes, taking in their immense sadness. Mom 
had blue eyes... They had all inherited Mom's eyes, their sadness and 
utter melancholy about life... Now she understood.

"Because of the dirty things he taught us," her mother continued. "I 
don't know why we did that... but I guess we wanted some loving... We 
had only each other..."

"You mean, you and Aunt Joan..."

"Yes," her mother confirmed, brushing her face with her hands, as if to 
chase away that nightmare. Minutes elapsed before she could look at her 
daughter again, her eyes slightly bloodshot.

"Do you still-"

"No, honey," her mother denied categorically. "We felt dirty... We 
stopped when I turned fourteen and I met my first boyfriend... There was 
too much pain involved... There was a time Aunt Joan and I weren't on 
speaking terms.. But that's past now."

"And Grandpa?"

"He died a horrible death... He died of cancer. Please, don't ask me 
anything about him... I just want to forget it. Just forget it, honey. I 
don't want you to have nightmares. All I want to say is that I 
understand more than you think. It's just knowing that my daughters- All 
of that opened old wounds, Nikki. You don't know how hard it's been for 
me all these years..."

"Oh Mom, I'm sorry..." Nikki hugged her mother and for the first time 
she felt a real connection with that grownup woman she called Mom. "I 
didn't know."

Mother and daughter went down to the living room and, to their surprise, 
they found that Linda had returned home. Linda leant on the 
refrigerator, drinking a glass of milk and watching the 9 o'clock news 
on the kitchen portable TV.

"Linda, you're back," her mother exclaimed, rushing into the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm back," said Linda, straightening herself up and catching a 
glimpse of Nikki, who apparently didn't dare step into the kitchen. "But 
not for long."

Nikki could hear and see Linda's anger. Linda's green eyes told her 
everything she needed to know about her sister's state of mind. Linda 
banged everything she touched - the refrigerator's door, the chairs 
against the table and then the back door, as she stomped out of the 
kitchen. Mom went after Linda, her shadow disappearing in the half light 
in the back yard. Nikki made a half-turn into the living room. Dad and 
the twins looked at her. Dad asked Nikki how she felt, but a strange 
resentment raged within her. She wondered what she would have done if 
Dad had "touched" her the way Grandpa had with Mom. It wasn't fair, that 
association, because Dad had never done anything improper. But still, 
she couldn't help feeling some revulsion... Reluctantly, hopefully, she 
sat beside Zoe as if the twins could somehow protect her.

They watched TV in the living room, maintaining heavy silence between 
them. Eventually Dad left the living room, puffing at his pipe, reading 
a file he had brought home. As soon as they heard him shut the door of 
the den, the twins grilled her with questions. Nikki refused to answer 
at first, but the twins wouldn't take no for an answer. She told them 
everything in the end, only omitting Mom's "dark secret". 

She would keep her promise...









NEXT: CHAPTER SIXTEEN:  Promises, Promises...

------------------------------------

Comments always welcome



jan123@hotmail.com














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