AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Just be honest,” I snap.
“Fine,” she hisses. “When it all started, I didn’t know I was doing anything wrong. I was fourteen and terrified of screwing up and losing my family billions of dollars. When I realized that maybe we weren’t being fair to Tallulah I was too far into it to turn back. My parents were so sure that it was the right thing to do, that we all had our roles to play and that, that was hers. I guess I had no idea how bad things had gotten or maybe I just didn’t want to see until the day they attacked her.” Her voice cracks on the last words.
Glancing at her again, I’m shocked to see her hurriedly wiping away a tear from her cheek. I didn’t realize she was capable of feeling bad. Honestly, from the moment Tally dragged her out of that party, drunk off her ass, I thought she was just doing this to save her own skin, but maybe there’s more to it than just that.
“So all this, trying to break the will, it’s for her?”
I feel her turn to look at me, so I risk another glance away from the road. Her eyes are downcast, her teeth worrying her lower lip. “I’d make myself sound better if I said yes wouldn’t I?” she asks.
“Not if it’s a lie,” I say simply.
“Part of it is because of what they did to her, but mostly it’s to save myself,” she admits quietly, and that honesty, even though it’s ugly, impresses me.
“It’s okay to look after yourself, to be selfish,” I find myself saying, even though I don’t necessarily think it’s true, at least not all the time.
“Maybe, for some people, but when selfish is one of your defining characteristics I’m not sure it’s so acceptable,” she says, laughing dryly.
“Is that how you see yourself?” I ask, finding that I genuinely want to know her answer.
“Selfish, stupid, vain, weak minded, yeah pretty much,” she says soberly.
“I don’t think you’re stupid.”
“So just selfish, vain, and weak minded then,” she scoffs.
“I think we all have the capacity to be all of those things, it’s our choices that define us. Maybe what you’re doing for your sister now is your chance to be different. Tally think’s you’re as much a victim in all of this as she is.”
“She’s wrong,” Carrigan says, cutting me off. “I might not have understood what I was doing in the beginning, but in the last couple of years I was fully complicit, I knew what I was doing. I’m not innocent, and I’m not a victim.”
With her words we both fall silent and stay that way until we reach the mall and I pull into the underground parking lot. “Come on, let’s go and get you something to wear,” I say, killing the engine and opening my car door.
Rounding the car, I find Carrigan sitting primly in the front seat waiting for someone to open her door and I can’t help but smile at the difference between her and her sister. Tally would open the door, even if you wanted to do it for her, that’s just the type of girl she is. Maybe it’s because she’s been hiding for the last few years, that she’s forgotten that’s she’s an indulged rich girl, but Carrigan hasn’t. She’s every inch the socialite and I can’t help but want to play with her a little.
Standing beside the door I cross my arms across my chest and wait. After a minute or so she looks out the window and spots me standing there. It’s obvious I’m not planning to open her door and after a second she looks down at the handle and opens it herself.
“I wondered how long it would take you,” I drawl.
“You could have just opened it for me,” she snaps peevishly.
“I could have, but I promise you, you’re not too rich to open your own door,” I say with a smile.
Muttering beneath her breath she stomps away from me, but I don’t move.
“Priss,” I say, using the nickname I’ve given her as a demand. I’m shocked, but pleasantly surprised, to see her stop and turn toward me. Tipping my chin in the direction of her still open car door I stand impassively as she rolls her eyes; marching back over to me and slamming the door shut, still muttering what I’d guess are curses beneath her breath.
Smiling to myself I lock my car and stroll after her, enjoying the shape of her bare legs and the way her almost non-existent curves are emphasized by the dress. At first glance her and Tally are completely identical, but now I’m taking the time to really notice there’s some obvious differences between them. Tally is curvier, neither girl is fat, but Tally’s body is more natural, where Priss looks skinny. In jeans and a tank, she’d be waif like.
The longer I stare, the more dainty she looks and some instinctive urge to feed her comes over me. I’m an active person, my entire family are, but we love to eat. In fact my parents are huge foodies, they love to cook and discover new recipes. I enjoy food, all food. Healthy stuff, and the kind of food that’s running with butter and cheese that I doubt a girl like Priss has ever even tasted.
I catch up to her in a couple of strides and when we reach the automatic doors that lead into the mall I’m at her side. Considering it’s not quite six in the morning there’s plenty of people wandering between the shops and restaurants. “Food or clothes first?” I ask.
“Clothes, although most of these places don’t look like my usual style,” Priss says, her right arm wrapped across herself as she holds onto her left arm at the elbow.
“Maybe try something different,” I suggest. “Your sister mainly wears casual stuff, jeans and shorts.”
“Mom would kill me.”
“Fuck her! This isn’t about your mom. You left remember. Because your parents are fucking psycho’s, so who cares if your mom would lose her shit about you buying a pair of jeans. Hell, get a pair just because she’d hate them.”
