Bedroom Bully by Harper West

29

Rebecca

With the trialinching its way into my life and me no closer to finding a way to sleep, I took advantage of the first holiday weekend we had at the company. The Fourth of July was almost upon us, which meant we had both Friday and Monday off. So, instead of clueing Joseph into what I was going to do, I kept silent about the ticket home that I booked.

I needed to look my sister in the eye and tell her that I knew.

What I wanted was the truth. Well, not necessarily. What I wanted was the truth from my sister. I knew that if my parents understood the truth of what really happened, they wouldn’t hate JoJo as much as they did. Plus, they’d get Mags the kind of help she really needed instead of cooping her away like they were trying to do. My sister said it herself: all she wanted was to live a normal life. I wanted her to know that it was possible.

If she came clean and admitted that she needed help beyond what Mom and Dad could give her.

I didn’t even inform my family that I was coming home. I simply showed up on their doorstep. I drew in a deep breath before I knocked on the door, gripping my travel bag in my left hand.

And when Mom swung the door open, she squealed.

“Rebecca! Oh, my goodness!”

She wrapped her arms around me as Dad came barreling in from the backyard. He was covered in grass and dirt, but I didn’t care. I wrapped him up in the tightest hug imaginable as Mags slinked herself down the stairs, staying quiet as she waited her turn.

“Hey there, Mags,” I said with a smile on my face.

But she didn’t return the smile. “What are you doing here?”

Mom scoffed. “Maggie, honey, is that any way to greet your sister?”

She folded her arms across her chest. “What do you want?”

I furrowed my brow as I stepped inside. “Is everything okay?”

All she did was stare me down, though. And that’s when it clicked.

Someone’s already called her.

“Guys, we need to talk,” I said as I set down my suitcase.

“No, we don’t,” Maggie said curtly.

I’m going to kill JoJo myself. “Could we all go sit in the kitchen?”

Dad held out his arm. “Sure, yeah. Honey, could you get us some drinks?”

“On it!” Mom chimed in.

I didn’t like the way my sister was staring at me. Her eyes seemed dead, and cold. Her demeanor was hardened and removed. I tossed her an inquisitive look before we all made our way into the kitchen and sat down, except for Mags, of course.

She stood in the corner, perched like a hound dog.

“We are so glad you decided to come home,” Mom said as she handed me some sweet tea.

Dad placed his hand over mine. “We’ve got lots of fun plans for the 4th, including going to that park you love so much to watch fireworks.”

I sighed. “That sounds wonderful, but we really need to talk.”

“About?” Maggie asked flatly.

I gazed into her eyes. “I know what happened the night of the accident.”

A silence came down over the kitchen, like I had just admitted to knowing who killed J.F.K. Mom and Dad looked at each other while Maggie’s faced burned with red, though I wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed or upset.

“Sweetheart,” Dad said as he squeezed my hand, “it isn’t that we tried to keep things from you. We just--.”

I peeked over at him. “Hid the fact that someone tried to rape Maggie, so she killed him?”

Mom balked. “What in the world are you talking about?”

Dad furrowed his brow. “Maggie was raped?”

I blinked. “Wait, what are you guys talking about?”

And that’s when Mags cleared her throat. “They’re talking about the night JoJo beat me to a bloody pulp because I couldn’t sell off all the crack he was forcing me to peddle.”

“Maggie,” Mom hissed.

“No, no, it’s fine,” she said as she pushed off the kitchen counter, “if Becks wants to storm into the house acting like she knows everything, she should at least hear our side of the story, right?”

I furrowed my brow. “I don’t believe you.”

Maggie scoffed. “Why? Because JoJo said so?”

Mom reached out for my forearm. “Sweetheart, Joseph Ryker got into some troubling stuff as a child, and he dragged your sister into it because she loved him. He manipulated her, and--.”

I stood to my feet and addressed my sister. “You might have pulled the wool over their eyes, but you won’t do it with me. Those boxes up in your closet? They weren’t full of ex-boyfriend memorabilia, were they?”

She stared at me coldly. “He’s really got your mind twisted already, hasn’t he?”

“What is she talking about?” Dad asked.

I came out from around the kitchen table. “Maggie, I don’t hold you responsible for anything that happened. People don’t get into peddling drugs simply because they want to. They trust the wrong people, and I think that’s what happened.”

She scoffed. “Yeah, I trusted JoJo, and it fucked me over.”

“You and I both know that isn’t true.”

“Why? Because you’re fucking him?”

“Maggie!” Mom exclaimed.

“Wait, is that true? Are you dating Joseph Ryker?” Dad asked.

Maggie grinned. “She practically fucked him against his car at the family reunion. I saw the whole thing.”

A shiver worked its way down my spine, but not the good kind. “Maggie, what happened to you wasn’t your fault. No one’s blaming you. But you have to stop blaming JoJo. I know his father is the one that paid everyone off to get you out of trouble. I have a feeling that he’s controlling you and pulling the strings in the background, just like he’s doing with JoJo. And if that’s true, we can fight it. You and me, together.”

Her eyes raked down my body. “You really believe all of the shit you’re spouting, don’t you?”

When Mom and Dad didn’t get onto her about her language, I knew I was a fish out of water. I knew I was the only one ready to defend JoJo’s honor, and I wasn’t sure how that made me feel.

“Sweetheart,” Dad said as he stood, “is it possible that he put you under his spell like he did with Maggie?”

I scoffed. “Not in the slightest.”

Mom cleared her throat. “He’s quite convincing, you know. He’s like his father that way.”

The grin on Maggie’s face grew and that’s when it hit me: JoJo wasn’t the manipulative one. JoJo wasn’t the bad guy. My sister was.

She was the manipulative mind behind all of this bullshit.

“All I want is the truth,” I whispered.

Maggie stood toe to toe with me. “You already have it. The question is, are you going to believe it and stand with your family? Or are you going to side with a traitor and abandon us in our time of need?”

“I know you’re an addict.”

Dad snickered. “You can’t hold that over her head. Recovery is hard, Rebecca.”

I scoffed. “At least they know that truth.”

Maggie shrugged. “It’s not my fault that he’s still playing his game with our family. I tried to get out when he blackmailed me into continuing. I tried to leave when he did everything he could to sabotage my life to get me to stay, including siccing his father on this family. That’s the only reason why he was invited to the family reunion, you know. To keep the peace in the hopes that he won’t screw us over for the rest of his pathetic existence. But go ahead, keep talking like JoJo’s the innocent party in all of this.”

“So, he came to you that night and blackmailed you into helping him dispose of a body?”

She nodded. “And when I said no, he beat me until I could barely see, and that’s why I caved. I’m more than convinced he would’ve beat me until I died had I not given in.”

“Enough,” Mom hissed.

I shook my head. “You have them fooled, Mags, but not me.”

And that’s when Dad finally jumped in. “Get out.”

I whipped around and faced him. “What?”

He pointed to the door. “Your sister has been through enough in her life, and she doesn’t need her sister coming in here and defending the man who ruined her life. So, you either get on board, or you get out.”

“Honey!” Mom shrieked.

I held up my hand to her. “If that’s how you want this to be, then fine. But know this: I don’t know what Maggie has fed you over the years and I know you desperately want to believe your daughter, but this isn’t how this happened. Maggie sold drugs for a cartel during high school to help pay for everything we’ve got right now, and when she couldn’t pay up, they felt they had a score to settle. A man forced himself onto her, she killed him, then she ran to her boyfriend for help. All JoJo did was try to help, and in the process the cartel tried to kill her—again—while he was disposing of a body he didn’t even drop. Whether you want to believe that or not, that’s not on me. But don’t come crawling back into my life when JoJo’s father tightens his reins on you.”

Then, I stormed for my bag, left my family in the dust, and headed back to the airport. Because as far as I was concerned, that place was no longer my home.

Which meant I didn’t have a reason to be there.