Liv’s Flat
Amelia was on her way to meet Liv at her flat when her phone pinged with another text. She read it carefully and smiled. Everything was going to plan. She’d charmed all of Evie’s friends, had a date with Ross that night and now just needed Liv to complete the last piece of the jigsaw.
Liv answered the door and blinked hard as she saw the newly blonde version of Amelia, who said in a bored voice, “I know I look like your sister yadda yadda. Whatever.”
Amelia stepped into the cleanest, whitest and emptiest living room she had ever seen. She said incredulously “Do you actually live here or rent it out as an operating theatre?”
Liv shrugged. “I like things simple and uncomplicated. I’ve had enough chaos in my life,” she replied tersely.
“Well, this is certainly basic. It looks like a jail cell. A few cushions and a couple of plants around the place wouldn’t kill you.” She laughed, “All you need is a toilet in the corner and a poster of Rita Hayworth on the wall and you’ve got the fullShawshank Redemption.”
Liv had been trying to keep her temper, but this was just plain rude. “This is how I like to live,” she said icily. “If you don’t like it, you know where the door is.”
Amelia gave a harsh laugh. “That’s a nice way to talk to the person who is going to turn your life around for the better and give you the chance to finally get back at your sister.”
Liv sighed wearily. “Look, I told you I’ve already got things back on track. I’m doing OK and Evie isn’t even on my radar.”
“Oh keep telling yourself that and one day you might believe it, but I don’t buy it for one second,” said Amelia. “You know how she’s running that business? She’s used the money from your dad and from that fat fool Freya to set herself up.”
Liv felt her skin prickle.
“Surely that business should be yours too?” Amelia carried on. “It’s the money from your dad that’s made it possible. And, all the time, she’s talking about giving back to the community, supporting local artists … blah blah blah. All so she can look good and be Lady Bountiful.”
Amelia went in for the kill, “And you still owe her money, right?”
“How do you know about that?” Liv said, sharply.
Amelia shrugged. “Your sister likes to gossip, especially when you are the subject. All this talk of how she saved you. Sending you to rehab. To me it just looks like she likes to control you, Liv.”
Liv responded, “That’s none of your business. You obviously have your own issues with Evie. What the hell has she done to rattle your cage?”
Amelia ignored her, “And that time you nearly tried to drown her when you were kids … no one has forgotten about that. And – what else? Something about when a local lad died …?”
The colour drained from Liv’s face, “Who the fuck told you that?”
Amelia smirked, “Let’s just say Evie’s not as trustworthy about keeping your secrets as you would like to think.”
Liv’s mind was racing and she thought, ‘I finally believed I was safe and that no one would ever know what happened.I’ve worked so hard to put the past behind me and move on, and now this. And if Evie has blabbed to this hard-faced cow, then who else has she told?’
Liv had always been ‘the problem child’ in the family, making Evie the golden girl. This had only festered as they grew older, with neither of their parents able to provide the love, stability or fairness both their daughters needed. Liv spent far too much of her time thinking of ways to get back at her little sister.
Back in 2004, after Evie and her first boyfriend, Brodie, had quarrelled at a bar in Stromness, Liv had seized her chance. She got Brodie blind drunk and spent the night with him in a hotel room. She claimed they had slept together, and she was pregnant with his child: telling these spiteful lies during a fearsome confrontation with Evie and Brodie on the beach.
Evie had hurled a bracelet he’d given her as a gift into the freezing water; Brodie had waded in to try and find it and had drowned. Liv lied that the tragedy caused her to miscarry, and Evie fled Orkney in horror, believing she was responsible for a double tragedy: Brodie’s death and the loss of her sister’s baby.
It was only after their father’s death, twenty years later, that the truth finally emerged. That Brodie had never slept with Liv. That there had never been a baby. That Liv had planned to ruin their relationship with her lies.
Amelia watched as Liv tried to regain her composure. Her breathing had increased and her eyes were darting around the room.
“Not got much to say for yourself, have you, Liv?” Amelia drawled.
Liv glared at her with deep loathing.
Until coming back home from rehab, Liv wouldn’t have given a flying fuck about what anyone thought of her, but itwas all different now. She had built a life for herself and made friends with the people in her AA group.
They were understanding and forgiving and had all made mistakes in their lives, but Liv was terrified they would turn their backs on her as soon as they found out what she’d done.
Her stomach churned, she couldn’t bear the thought of them looking at her with contempt and pity, especially Rab. She knew for certain she wouldn’t survive if his friendship and respect were lost.
