Feeling more lighthearted than she could remember ever being in the past months, Reyona drove up her driveway with her sister behind her. Toria was on the phone with her friends that came to Kayooma with her.
"Yes, I will be staying with my sister today. Duh, I am not ditching... of course, it is before pals," she said after a pause, sticking out her tongue as if the person on the other end could see her. "Yeah, say hi to Jake for me, yeah, girl! Don't do what I wouldn't do. On second thought, please don't do some things that I would do!" She laughed out loud as he listened to what the person on the other end was saying before she shook her head. "No, don't..."
Reyona smiled as she tuned out her sister's conversation, and then her smile vanished when she saw that Thomas's car was already parked in their lot. Toria saw the car simultaneously and told the person on the other end that he would get back to her.
"Yes, probably tomorrow. bye" she said breezily as she disconnected the call and turned to behold her sister's countenance "At least I am right about one thing."
"What thing?" Reyona asked, wondering what her sister was talking about.
Toria leaned over and touched Reyona's hand when her sister parked the car. I know that you are not ready to tell me what exactly happened, which I do not take offence at even though I should, but at least my theory that it has something to do with your husband is confirmed by that look on your face."
"What look?" Reyona asked as she came out of the car. She wondered when her little sister became so intuitive.
"The "I don't want to go in there" look on your face, Rey," Toria answered with her arms crossed against her body as she looked at the house and then back at her sister. "You know, you don't have to if you don't want," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Reyona said with humourless laughter, "Of course, I want to go in; why wouldn't I? It is my home, remember? Come in, kid and stop overthinking things," she said as she stretched her hand towards Toria, urging her to come on in.
"If you say so," Toria said, then, in a swift change of mood, she said, "Hey, you don't get to call me kid anymore, you know. I am a well-rounded, experienced, and well-travelled woman now, you know."
She said this with her arms around Reyona's as the latter opened the door.
That arm was what kept Reyona from falling over, as her shoe caught against the threshold when she felt an arm pull her roughly inside when she opened the door.
"Where have you been? Why did you lie to Mom that you would be coming when you knew that you were not coming and you let that bastard humiliate me? What do you mean by saying you will divorce me? You are not the one to tell me what to do! I will leave you when I damn wanted and not the other way around!" Reyona was stunned for a moment as Thomas held her tightly in his hands, shaking her so much that her neck felt like it would snap from the front and back motion, all while bathing her face with his alcoholic breath while yelling at her.
Before she could recover from her shock, she felt Toria give Thomas a hefty shove. He had been stumbling back so fast that he lost his footing "Get your hand off my sister; what the heck is wrong with you?!"
Reyona was amazed by her sister's strength as the latter looked back at her, asking if she was fine.
"Yes, I am."
"Is this what has been going on? Was this what you refused to tell me? He has been manhandling you." Toria said with a voice filled with venom that Reyona thought she might punch Thomas where the latter was trying to get his bearing where he felt against the couch if she did not do something.
"No, Toria. You know, I wouldn't allow that. I don't know what got into him," she said as she stealthily stood in Toria's path to prevent her from getting close to Thomas, who had managed to stand up by that time, though he was weaving, as he pointed his hands towards Toria's face.
"How dare you push me like that? Don't you know that I am your sister's husband? This is no place for you to stick your nose, bitch. Get out of this place and run to Daddy. The adults are talking here!"
"Did you hear that?" Toria said she intended to advance on Thomas again. "Can you hear that idiot you call your husband?"
"Toria…"
"Come over here and say that to my face!" Toria said this directly to Thomas, who just made a rude remark to her. "Just look at him, sis. Is that what you have been dealing with? All these insults from this drunk head?"
"Who are you calling a drunk head, you bitch?" Thomas yelled at Toria and raised his hand as if he wanted to hit her.
Reyona had it with him. As she dropped her bag loudly on the floor, the two of them stopped their tirade and looked over at her wide-eyed. "What is wrong with you, Thomas? Can't you see that you are embarrassing yourself? How dare you drink like a sk**k in this house, calling my sister a bitch on top of that too? Stop it this instant, Toria. Stop jumping to assumptions too. I told you he is not like this normally. I don't know why he decided to embarrass himself like this but I will be damned if the two of you turn my house into a war zone where you will spar to your heart's content."
"Sis!" Toria said this in protest. "He was manhandling you! Was I supposed to stand here and watch him pull out your arms from their sockets?"
"You were supposed to mind your business and not poke your nose in an adult's business!" Thomas snapped and before Reyona could say anything else, Toria had removed one of her heels and threw it smack on Thomas's forehead.
"Ouch, what the hell?" Thomas yowled in pain as he held his hand to his forehead, his slur less prominent now.
"Toria!" Reyona said in exasperated shock. She had always known Toria to be impulsive and temperamental and she realised her mistake in thinking earlier that the maturity she could see in her sister meant that she had curbed that too. She smacked her palm against her forehead when Toria ignored her call and faced Thomas.
"That is what you get for insisting that I am a kid. I am twenty-five years old, you asshole. Let me just see you lay a finger on my sister again and you will know that I have more where that comes from!"
Then she leaned in to kiss her sister's cheek "Before you say it, I will be gone because I know that I can't."
"You know I wouldn't ask that of you" Reyona said wearily.
"Of course, you won't," Toria said with a small smile "You are much too nice for that but I know that I might just give in to the temptation in me right now if I stay in this tonight with your husband"
"Don't be ridiculous, Toria. It is late already. What temptation are you talking about?" Reyona said as she tried to stop her.
"To kill him, of course," she said simply and laughed when Reyona blinked at her words "Don't worry I will be fine, my friends already said I am missing out on all the fun anyway so I will just join them while I leave you to…" she turned back to give Thomas a scathing look before turning back to Reyona "Unless you want to come, of course"
"No, I…"
"I know that" she kissed Reyona's cheek and turned to leave "We will talk later, sis or I will keep hounding you till you do," she said and Reyona urged Toria to take her car since Toria came to ReyDexter with a cab.
Toria collected the key and her eyes caught on something as she turned to leave. She shook her head at Reyona, a touch of disappointment in her expression as she said "That did not look like nothing" with that, she left.
The door banged closed behind her and Reyona looked toward what she pointed at. Her eyes widened as she turned back furiously at Thomas "You smashed the TV screen? What is wrong with you?"
Reyona regretted the initial restraint she had put on her sister when Thomas only shrugged sluggishly and said "It was your fault"