Chapter 98: She is a step sister
1027words
Entering the familiar family kitchen, I slid out the wooden farm table chair and sat down in front of my parents. Drake took the seat next to me as I stole a nervous glance at him and then focused on my parents. They looked stressed and tired and I knew they were going to give me an ear full about ruining their BBQ. I honestly didn't mean to, but I wasn't going to let Melissa and Jason stay here. They didn't belong here.
"How is your hand?" Mom asked Drake.
He looked at it and then just shrugged before he hid it beneath the table. It was as if he was ashamed of what he had done. I wasn't ashamed. I was proud. Seeing Jason get pummeled like that was the greatest thing I've ever seen. There were times during our marriage that I wished someone would punch him out for me, but nobody came to my rescue. Until now.
"What is it that you want to discuss?" I asked. They called us down here for a reason and I wasn't leaving until I knew.
The scowl on Dad's face made me a bit nervous but I was ready. There wasn't a thing they could say to make me feel bad about what happened.
"Jason wants to press charges," Dad blurted out. "He's claiming that you openly attacked him, Lynn and that your new boyfriend finished it."
"That's bullshit!" I shouted while I slammed my hand on the table.
Dad held up his hand. "I know that, but we all know how Jason can be." He exchanged a glance with Mom and my insides twisted.
I tried so hard to keep his wrath from them. He always alienated me from my family and I let him, thinking he'd leave them alone. After the divorce, I figured they'd be safe. But now that he's with Melissa, they seem to both be using them.
"What's going on?" I asked.
With a sigh, Mom took a seat next to Dad. "Jason won't stop until one or both of you are in jail for this. You know how much money he has now after taking over his father's factory, right?"
Drake snorted next to me but I kept my eyes on my mom. I knew that Jason would take over his family business eventually, but I never expected it to be so soon. Then I wondered if he had done something to his own father to make it happen sooner. I definitely wouldn't put it past Jason to do something like that.
"He can try all he wants," Drake growled. "He may have money, but I can guarantee that I have more and my lawyers are better."
Dad exchanged another look with Mom and I couldn't take it anymore.
"How long has Melissa and Jason been together?" I needed to know even though it didn't mean anything to me. They were both horrible people and they belonged together, but poor Conner didn't deserve to have them as parents.
Dad winced. "They've been seeing each other for a solid year. Before that, it was off and on."
I felt my hands shake. The timelines were as I expected. "So, they were together when I was still married to that monster, and you knew?!"
"No! We only knew about the previous year when Melissa started coming around with Conner. We just assumed they had been seeing each other off and on, especially now that we know that Conner is Jason's son and not yours," Dad said as he nodded at Drake.
"You know that means my own sister was fucking my husband, right?" I snapped.
Even though I stopped having any love in my body for Jason after a year of being married to him, it still hurt to know that my own fucking sister would do this to me.
Mom winced. "You know how your sister can be."
"And that makes it okay?!" I nearly shouted. "You two have let her get away with murder for as long as I can remember! Why don't you ever make her be accountable for anything?!"
"No, it doesn't make it okay!" Dad barked. "But there are things that you don't know, lynn." He looked up at my mom before he continued. "Melissa isn't my daughter. She was three-years-old when I met your mom."
I felt the blood drain from my face as I gawked over the table at them. "How am I just learning about this now?!" This was something you didn't keep from someone for twenty-some years!
"We didn't think it was important. She was still your sister. You both share the same mother."
I scoffed. "So, this is why she's the way that she is? Because our fathers aren't the same? I would expect this kind of attitude in her teens, not now. Give me a break."
"Melissa would stay with her father every couple of weeks and when she got older, we learned that he was molesting her. She was angry and resentful the older she got and saw how happy you were," Mom started. "She's always been jealous of you, lynn, and of your relationship with your dad."
My heart fluttered just a tiny bit, but my anger was still present.
"I'm sorry that she went through that, but how was that any of my fault?! She can't keep going through life using that excuse to get what she wants. Is this why you two never yelled at her or grounded her growing up?" I knew it was true. They were afraid of her. It all made sense now. They used to walk on eggshells around Melissa when she was going through a temper tantrum. She used to destroy our mom's good China and they did nothing to stop it. Now I know why.
I reached over and grabbed my dad's hand, noticing how callused they were from years of hard work.
"You can't let her control you anymore. It's horrible what she went through but she's an adult now. She needs to take some steps to heal herself. There are people that can help her through this."
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