Time flew by quickly, and the more time I spent with Draken's family, the less guilty I felt about the talk with Samuel. I had just finished getting dressed and ready for the day. I decided to wear a heart-patterned, white button-up, mom jeans, a pair of red wedge sandals and simple red heart earrings. Not only that, but I also wore a gold heart locket that Delilah had bought me.
I did not spend all of my time at their home because Delilah would sometimes take me out. About three days ago, we went to the mall, and she bought me a plethora of new clothes. I tried to stop her, but she insisted on doing it because she had plenty of money and wanted to use it to cheer me up. There was one dress, especially, that she fell in love with and made me wear. After shopping, she saw a photo booth, and we took some pictures together.
Yesterday at dinner, she presented me with this locket. Inside was a picture of Delilah and I, as well as, a space for me to put a picture of my parents. It was the most heartfelt gift I received in a long, long while. I was so happy that I ignored proper dinner etiquette and hugged her immediately.
After admiring my locket, I went downstairs for breakfast. As soon as I entered the kitchen, I was dumbstruck. Draken and Delilah were both cooking, but the atmosphere seemed off. "G-good morning," I hesitantly muttered.
They did not seem to hear me, as there was no reaction. I went to the dining table and played with my phone. Eventually, I went into the messenger app and clicked on Hope. My heart filled with a strange emotion as I typed the message, "Hey, it's me. I want to see you, can meet me at the park near Sunflower Café, Yellow Meadow Park, at 10 am." I hesitated to press the button to send the message, but when Draken and Delilah came, I hit send without thinking.
Breakfast was quite awkward this morning. It was fairly quiet as no one said anything. Samuel was the first to break the silence, "How are you feeling, Rose?"
"I'm… nervous, but I still want to do this. I know she is my sister, but she is also the person who made my life miserable. And… I don't want her to get away with it any more. If karma doesn't punish her, I will. But I'm… scared of how she'll react. She might go too far when she's angry, and that… scares me."
Delilah hugged me, "You have nothing to worry about. My sweetheart will be with you. He may not seem like it, but he's quite reliable. She won't be able to touch you if he's there."
…
By 10:30 am, we were there, but Hope was not. She did not show up until 2 pm. I ran over to her as soon as I saw her.
"You damned brat! What took you so long to reach out to me!? Huh? Did that family Finally throw you out? I knew it was going to happen, but they kept you longer than I expected."
"They did not. I just had something to tell you."
"… What? Well, it doesn't matter. I didn't forget what you did last week. How dare you go against me! It looks like I need to educate you again. You're so lucky we're in public right now." She grabbed my hand harshly and started to drag me away.
Samuel then grabbed her hand and forced her to let me go.
"What the hell?" She spun around to face him.
"Could you not tell you were hurting her?"
Hope looked me up and down, then did the same to Samuel. Everything I was wearing was new, and Samuel looked rather handsome and rich.
"Oh, I see what's going on here. You dirty whore!!! How could you do this to me!? Your reputation is already at rock bottom, yet you insist on dragging it down to the pits of hell!? Look at him! He's at least 20 years old, what will the public think!?!? Who will hire you?! What is wrong with you!? Why are you like this!? What did I do to deserve this???"
"Sigh, it's obvious why this is happening. A disgusting piece of human waste like you couldn't survive manipulating your little sister forever."
"What do you know?" She sighed deeply, then got in Samuel's face… well, more like his chest, she had to look up to see his face. She poked his chest as she spoke, "Look here, Mister. One call from me, and you'll be in jail. I don't know what methods she used to pull someone like you, but that little demon is fifteen years old, meaning she's still a minor. I can have you arrested with just a few taps on my phone." She waved her phone around.
He smiled brightly, "Well, It's good you realize she is a minor."
He handed her some papers while maintaining his smile. As confusion grew on her face, Samuel smugly said, "I, Samuel Collins, will see you in court as Miss Rose Fleur's attorney."
Hope's face contorted in an ugly way. He then explained things to her calmly. He mentioned that until the trial was over, she would be unable to act as my manager, and all profits would go to me directly. This obviously upset her, which annoyed me.
"Sister, no, Hope… I want you to pay for everything you have done to me over the years."
"I didn't do anything that deserves to be taken to court. Your illness is just taking over again. The punishments I gave you were to correct things like this. What if you do this to other innocent people. Rose… you NEED me." She brought that up again. She claims I was diagnosed with an illness when I was too young to remember and takes the chance to use strange drugs on me, saying they were medicine. The odd thing is that I have never seen a doctor about this, even when she claims it's acting up.
"Are you telling me that forcing me to work with an abusive teacher was for my own good? Not believing me when I say I have an injury was for my own good? Locking me in a room and barely feeding me was for my own good?"
"I know it sounds bad when you say it like that, but you're unstable and a pathological liar. Look, you convinced a lawyer that I'm abusing you when we've been living like this for years, and you never once complained. Don't you find it strange that you suddenly see a problem now? I think… you should just explain the misunderstanding and come home. Remember your medication? It's been a while since you had to take it, but it seems obvious that you need it."
"No. Even if I am as sick as you claim, I can simply get a doctor's help."
"What?"
"I am fine. I was never crazy, and I don't need anything from you. You just want MY money. If you were this desperate for it, you should have treated me better."
"Your money? Without me, you would have been a broke, forgotten nobody! I don't know if you've taken a look at reality lately, but everyone hates you. Not a single person aside from likes you. There is no way someone like you can live without me."
"Goodbye, Hope. I'll see you in court." Upset, I stormed off.
Samuel followed me, and we left that park. However, on our way home, he stopped at a different park and returned with ice cream.
"You did well. Someone like HER doesn't deserve your sympathy." While handing me the ice cream, he used his other hand to pet my head.
I quietly enjoyed my ice cream while my sister's actions replayed in my mind.
'Undoubtedly, if I were to return with her, she would have done something horrible. And to think she would say all those things after seeing Samuel… Worst of all, Hope was not worried about me whatsoever. She was only worried about my ability to make money for her. Now that I think about it: has she ever cared about me as a person? Was it always about making money? Was there ever a time when she wasn't pretending, and I truly mattered to her? … Because I can't seem to recall one.'
Samuel snapped me out of her thoughts, "Rose, are you okay?"
"Huh? Yes," I replied.
"It's just that I've been calling your name for a while now, and there was no response."
"Oh, sorry, I was lost in thought. What is it?"
"We're home," He informed.
"Oh." I took off her seatbelt and exited the car. "Thank you. Have an enjoyable day at work, and I'm sorry my sister wasted your time."
"It's alright. I hope your day gets better, Rose." He said before driving away.
I spent the rest of the day helping Delilah with chores instead of resting because it was the last day I would spend in their house before returning to Draken's house. Draken's house was essentially a set at this point, so it doesn't feel like home any more. I felt like I needed to repay them somehow.