Chapter 19 Sister, no longer
Hannah
The moment we were out of earshot, Loretta dropped my arm.
Her smile vanished like it had never existed.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she snapped, spinning on me. “Don’t ever corner me like that in public.”
I steadied myself. I’d known this was coming. “I just wanted to ask if you’re okay,” I said quietly. “You and… our parents.”
She let out a sharp, humorless laugh. “Why would I be okay? You ruined my life.”
“I didn’t,” I said, forcing the words past the tightness in my throat. “Loretta, please. Just listen to me for once.”
She opened her mouth to interrupt, already rolling her eyes.
“No,” I said, firmer this time. “I need you to hear me.”
She froze, clearly not used to that tone from me.
“I didn’t plan any of this,” I continued, my hands trembling at my sides. “That night….I don’t remember it. At all. I was drugged. So was he. There are so many things that don’t make sense, and I would never, never do this to you. Not even after everything. You’re my sister.”
For a split second, something flickered in her eyes.
Then it ignited.
“Don’t you dare say that word,” she hissed, stepping closer. “You lost the right to call yourself my sister the moment you crawled into his bed and took my place.”
“I didn’t…”
“You did,” she cut in viciously. “And even if you didn’t plan it, you benefited from it. You always do. You’ve always been the leech, the shadow, waiting to take what’s mine.”
Her words came fast and sharp, each one carving into me.
“I hate you,” she went on, her voice shaking with fury. “I wish you’d never been born. And don’t you ever try to talk to me again unless there are cameras watching or people around to see us play happy sisters.”
She leaned in close. “Otherwise, you don’t exist to me.”
My vision blurred, but I refused to cry.
Loretta straightened abruptly, her expression smoothing into practiced warmth. She grabbed my arms and hissed through her smile, “Stop looking like you’re about to fall apart. People are always watching.”
She dragged me back into the room, her grip tight and possessive, her smile dazzling.
Timothy was waiting.
Loretta handed me over to him like an object, her fingers digging into my arm just long enough for me to feel the venom in them and leave crescent marks behind. She smiled at him sweetly, eyes still burning with hatred at me, then walked away without another glance.
Every eye in the room felt like it was on us.
So Timothy and I smiled.
We nodded. We shook hands. We endured.
For another half hour, we played our roles perfectly.
When it was finally time to leave, the cameras were waiting.
Flashes exploded as we stepped outside, questions hurled at us with reckless enthusiasm. I didn’t hear most of them. I barely felt the cold night air as we got into the car.
The drive home passed in silence.
I stared out the window, numb, watching the city blur into nothing.
Back at the house, I dragged myself toward the stairs, my body heavy with exhaustion.
“Hannah.”
I stopped.
I turned slowly. Timothy stood a few feet behind me. For a heartbeat, I thought I saw something unfamiliar in his eyes.
Concern.
“You should eat,” he said.
Warmth briefly sparked in my chest. Did he care?
“You look too thin. People might think I’m starving you.” He continued.
The moment shattered.
“Oh,” I said softly.
He turned and walked away before I could respond. I don’t know how long I stood there before I sighed and turned away.
I found Lisa near the corridor. “Hi Lisa. Could you… send dinner up to my room?” I asked, my voice barely steady.
She nodded without comment.
I went upstairs alone.
When I reached my room, I kicked off my shoes and collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling as the weight of the day pressed down on me.
I didn’t cry this time.
I just lay there, hollow, wondering how much more of this I could survive before there was nothing left of me at all.