Katherine
I splutter, and gasp for breath, when cold water hits my face. The previous images of shadowed, dark brown eyes and an easy smile vanish as I’m brought back to the present. My head is spinning with pain, and confusion, wondering how the hell I ended up like this - again! I lift my head to see Ashley, standing in front of me with a water bottle in her hand.
“What time is it?" I swallow the tiny bit of saliva in my mouth, and lick my lips, trying to capture some of the water droplets still there.
Glancing around, I see we are in a dimly lit, barely furnished living room. The wallpaper is old, yellowed, and torn in places. Looking down, I see the dirty green, worn carpet, and note the filthy mattress in the corner. Where the fuck am I?
“Time to wake up," Ashley says, snapping my attention back to her. She sits in a chair opposite me. I wriggle my hands, and feel the rope cutting into my wrists. I have no idea how long I have been here.
I remember leaving Gwen and Harry’s place, and heading toward Newcastle Mall. Someone grabbed me from behind, shoved a bag over my head, and I felt the burning prick of a needle in my neck. Then nothing. Darkness.
I have come to a couple of times when Ashley splashed water on my face, and opened my eyes to find her sitting in front of me. She glares at me with the same disgust she always has when she looks at me, but it’s not long before darkness overtakes me again.
“How long have I been here?" I feel sluggish, my tongue feels too big for my mouth, and I speak really slowly. I look at Ashley again, and try to focus my eyes. Fuck, what is wrong with me? Ashley laughs and it echoes in my already pounding head, then I notice, her face is all bruised up. What the hell happened to her?
“Don’t worry your head will be clear soon.”
“What the fuck did you do to me?”
“Oh, nothing compared to what you deserve.”
“What do you mean? What the hell have I ever done to you to deserve this? I've tried to be a good sister, I've tried for so many years."
She shrugs. “Does there have to be a reason?”
“Yes, I need to know. I don’t understand why you hate me so much.”
She ponders my words for a moment, I watch as she gets to her feet and turns away from me. Her shoulders rise and fall on a breath before she spins back around and takes her seat.
“When we were growing up, you seemed to have mummy wrapped around your little finger. I knew you were her favorite, no matter what I did. You were her good girl, racing to tell mum every time I did something wrong. It was like you constantly had to be the centre of attention, even if it meant I suffered. But, I dealt with it, because I had daddy. He always had time for me." She smiles as if remembering, but it quickly passes and her scowl returns. “Then, one day something changed, and daddy stopped doing things with me." She pauses, and sneers at me, like I’m shit on her shoes before going on. “You took my daddy away from me, he was mine and because of you, mum made him leave. I was his princess, but as we got older, he paid less attention to me, and more to you. He used to tell me, because I was getting older, you needed him more. We used to do everything together. He would read me stories, play games with me, come into my room late at night and lay with me. I felt safe, loved, I was his princess. So, because of you, I had to do what I did.”
She stares off into the distance, tears flow down her face, and for the first time since we were little, I see something in her eyes besides hatred. I see sadness there. Oh, God is she saying dad touched her? My stomach churns at the thought, and I hold back what I want to say, because I don’t want to think about it.
“What do you mean when you say you had to do what you did?”
She wipes the tears streaming from her eyes and attempts to compose herself.
“The last night daddy came to my room, he told me we couldn’t do this anymore, and you needed him now. I cried and begged him not to stop loving me, but he wouldn’t listen." The expression on her face now is one of pure evil, and hatred so strong, I never thought it was possible. "That's when I knew you had gotten your claws into him, so I had to make him see leaving me was a mistake. I printed off some photos he took of us together, and I showed mum. She got angry, and I knew she was jealous of the love we shared. Later that night, her and dad fought, and the next morning he was gone. Don’t you see I wouldn't have had to do it if you had left him alone. He was mine, and I knew you were jealous of our love, just like mum.”
Holy fucken shit, this bitch has lost her fucking mind. She is sick, and twisted, and needs fucking help.
“And, then when we got older and mum made us move, you tried to take another man away from me. Because you couldn’t stop trying to ruin my life, I vowed to make you pay, and take everything you ever cared about away. I wanted to make you want to end it all, but you wouldn’t take the hint, and I'm sick of waiting. So, this time I'll do it my fucking self. I wouldn't have had to do it this way, if you'd done it yourself, but you couldn’t make shit easy, could you? You have to always think you're something, when I know you are nothing. I planned for you to suffer long and slow, like I have been all these years. So, I started with the one person who was close to your heart.”
God no, this can’t be happening, is she telling me she had Brooklyn hurt?
“By the look in your eyes, I’m guessing you know who I’m talking about." She laughs and clucks her tongue before going on. “Poor little Brooklyn, so trusting and naïve, actually believed Darren could like her.”
“What did you do?"
She checks her watch before going on. “I guess we have time for this little story too. When mom forced us to move, I was upset because I knew I had to leave Mathew behind. I wouldn’t be able to see him every day. When I told him it was your fault, and I wanted to teach you a lesson, he suggested we should teach you a lesson by taking Brooklyn away. So, he spoke to his brother, Darren, and explained what was happening. So, you see, I knew what they were doing.”
“You knew, and you still stayed with that piece of shit?"
She stands, and with one quick motion, slaps me so hard across the face, I taste blood in my mouth. Fuck.
“You, stupid bitch, his brother was the one who raped and killed those other women. Matt loved me, and only me," she screams at me and paces in front of me.
“Everything was going to plan, I got you away from her the night Darren raped her, and we thought we had succeed in removing her from your life. Darren had moved her into his house and made sure she didn’t have contact with you. But, then you came and took her, and that little bitch, away. Somehow you managed to screw things up again, so we planned to end this once and for all. But, then you had Matt killed."
She stops pacing and stares at me with tears in her eyes. “You couldn’t stop yourself from taking my man away from me, you ruined my life. You just don’t know when to stop, do you? I’m not allowed to be happy, am I? You just keep taking everything from me. So, when your Italian mob friends found you, and got you away from Darren, it was the last straw. I knew I had to do something myself before you took anything else away from me. So, when Antonio wouldn’t leave you alone, fuck that man was obsessed with you, it didn’t matter where you were, he was always there watching over you. So, I had no choice, I had to take matters into my own hands. I had him arrested." She points to the bruises on her face. “You still don’t get it, do you? Why should I let you be happy, when you ruin everything for me?”
“How did you do this?" Tears run over my cheeks and drip from my chin. She’s done all this, every single thing. She got Antonio arrested by accusing him of hitting her.
“It was easy. I contacted my mate, Billy, and he was more than willing to help me as long as I allowed him to play with you first."
“What does that mean?" Fuck, why is this happening to me? Everything she’s saying is making my head spin. Darren, the rape, the kidnapping, everything she is saying brings it all back. God, this is all my fault, maybe I should just let her end it. I close my eyes, and try to fight the darkness pulling me under. That's when I hear Antonio’s deep voice pushing through the dark thoughts. You're a survivor, Kitten. Fight baby, push through. You were made for me, don’t leave me. I need you like the air that I breathe.
Fighting the darkness, I repeat his words in my head. “You did this, not me, Ashley. You need fucking help. We are blood, why would you do this? We're family, where is your loyalty? You were supposed to love me."
Ashley laughs like a lunatic before squatting in front of me. “Tell me something, little sister," she says sickly sweet. I flinch away from her touch as she pushes my hair from my face. “You write in that diary nearly every damn day, does it make you feel better to pour your heart out? Or does it just make you that bit more pathetic?" She laughs before going on. “You could have made this so much easier on yourself. You had a choice, the opportunity so many times, and nobody would have gotten hurt, but you keep trying to fight the inevitable. It doesn't matter how much you fight, Katherine, it doesn't change who you are. You're pathetic and weak, I’m amazed someone like Antonio was ever interested in you.”
“He loves me." My voice is soft, unsure. I feel like a little girl again, cowering in a corner, wondering why she is doing this to me. But, finally, I know the reasons. Getting to her feet she bends over and laughs at me.
“You think I should feel sad for you? I don’t. You deserve everything that has happened, and everything that is going to happen.”
“Have you finished your story time now Ash, is she ready for me?" A deep voice echoes, and a man steps from the shadows of the hallway.
I suck in a deep breath, something about that voice is familiar. I know that voice, but from where, I don’t know. My head is fuzzy, I can't think clearly. I just cannot remember.
“Yeah, she’s ready, but remember to call out once you've had your fun. I want to be here when she finally takes her last breath. Oh, and Katherine, you want loyalty, you should have got a fucken puppy." Ashley laughs like she's just made the best joke ever, and leaves the room.
I close my eyes, as more tears fall. I jiggle my hands, trying to free them from the rope. I have managed to loosen it a bit, while she was talking, and I can still feel the gun hidden in the waistband of my pants. If I can loosen the rope a little more, I can reach it.
“Oh, and Katherine, don’t fight him. Take your punishment like a good girl," she calls out before I hear a door close.
I see the man looking at me from across the room, he licks his lips and rubs his hands over his crotch. My stomach churns at the look of lust in his eyes.
“We're going to have some fun, I have been waiting for this for a while now. Oh, and I like them feisty so feel free to fight me.”
“Don’t fucking touch me, you piece of shit," I spit out.
He laughs as he stalks toward me.