The harsh light of the late morning exposes the cracks in her overly polished veneer. No amount of makeup can hide the ugly inside of her. The lies. The manipulations. The cruelty. And I’m left wondering, yet again, how I never saw it.
A couple of neighbors are out mowing their lawns on this bright, sunny Sunday, saturating the air with the scent of freshly cut grass. The happy shouts of children playing down the street echo all around. Amazing how the unexpected presence of one unwanted person can almost ruin your entire day.
Stopping at the bottom of the steps, Douglass asks, “Why are you here?”
Amelia’s face goes from red to almost purple as she drags her gaze over Douglass then glares at me.
“Interesting choice of wardrobe,” she seethes.
Douglass tenses. “Thank you. It’s quite comfortable,” she replies stolidly.
Amelia takes one menacing step down. “Are youfuckinghim?”
When Douglass doesn’t answer, Amelia comes down another step but stops when I push Douglass behind me, shielding her. Amelia’s green eyes darken, and her mouth twists in a snarl.
“You’re fuckingher?” she shouts at me, dismissing her sister like she’s not there.
The way she says‘her’oozes disgust, and I know it’s deliberate. Another way to hurt Douglass.
“I’d think long and hard about the next thing that comes out of your mouth,” I warn her.
Amelia’s face slackens in what looks like surprise before she’s able to wipe it away.
I want to tell her that yes, in fact, I am fucking Douglass. That sex with Douglass is a million times better than it ever was with her. But I bite my tongue.
Douglass steps around me but I band an arm across her middle and tug her close.
“Why are you here?” Douglass asks a second time.
Amelia drops her attention to the cuts on Douglass’s arm, and the smile that forms at seeing the damage she left with her nails makes me sick.
You cannot punch a woman in the face no matter how much she deserves it.
“Dropped by to see Aunt Natalie.”
My arm locks when Douglass tries to lunge forward. “Cut the bullshit. I knowexactlywhy you’re here. Natalie isn’t your personal ATM. Leave her alone.” Douglass jabs her thumb over her shoulder at the Mercedes. “Clearly, you’re doing alright for yourself.”
Douglass is a lot stronger than she looks. It’s taking a good amount of strength to keep her in place. I’m also getting turned on seeing her go toe-to-toe with Amelia. My woman is a fierce little thing when she wants to be.
“And you, little sister, can cut the holier-than-thou crap. Pretentious bitch,” Amelia spits.
“Watch your mouth,” I snap at the same time Douglass shouts, “Or what?” not caring that the next-door neighbor is now watching from their porch with abject interest.
With heaving breaths, Douglass’s voice gets louder and angrier. “You going to throw me down the stairs again? Break my arm? Burn me with the curling iron? Cut me with a knife? There isnothingyou can do to me that can hurt me anymore.”
Each abuse she lists punches me in the heart with a hard blow, one after the other. Amelia actually did those things to her? A haze of red films my vision, and Amelia takes a step back when she sees I’m about to lose my shit.
Then the one voice none of us expected says, “What are you talking about?”
We all look over at the front door where Natalie is standing in the open doorway, utter horror visible on her face. She steps out onto the porch, arms crossed over her chest as she stares down her oldest niece.
“Is that true?”
Amelia freezes in place. It takes a minute before she replies with disdain, “You’re going to believe her over me?”
“Don’t answer my question with another question, young lady. Did you do all those horrible things to your sister?”
Natalie is visibly shaking. Douglass tries to push out of my arms to go to her aunt, but I won’t let her. The palpable tension surrounding us is ripe to explode, and I won’t let her get caught in the blast when it does.
