Page 19 of Rascal

“Hallie, we made a mistake!” Dad exclaimed. “We’re only human!”

“So was I! Where were you when I was terrified and hurting? Did you stand by the daughter you raised me to be, or believe I was the bitch Shane portrayed?”

“Shane identified you!” Mom cried.

“And did that sound like me?” I shouted in. “Could the daughter that you brought up have lifted a knife and stabbed the man she loved for no reason? Did you even question Shane’s version of the truth? No, you jumped on the bandwagon and condemned me. You didn’t want a daughter back then; you don’t get to change the narrative to suit yourselves.”

Mom moved away, wringing her hands in distress.

“Hallie…”

“What, Mark?” I spun on my eldest brother. “What shit are you going to offer me? Because I haven’t forgotten what you said. About not wanting a psychotic bitch like me near your family. I was your sister!” I screeched. “And you kicked me without a second glance. I was the kid who you picked up when I scraped my knee, when bullies picked on me, you protected me. Remember that crap? Compare that pain to how you believed precious Shane Morris and decided I was capable of hurting him. Fuck, you were all aware I couldn’t even stand to hurt a spider, and I was terrified of them!”

Mark could not meet my eyes.

I turned to Andy. “Same to you. What was it that you said? Ah, yeah, you didn’t want a woman like me to be your kids’ aunt. Well, you got your wish; I don’t want fuck-all to do with any of you. You’re faithless, unworthy scum. Trust me, I know exactly who my family is. Uncle, Grandpa and King. They believed when everyone else condemned me. That’s on you; you’ve got to live with that.”

“We’re eager to make things up to you,” Mom said, reaching out. I backed straight into King as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

“You think you can erase what happened to me? Tell me, can you prevent me from being strip-searched and having my ass checked for drugs? Can you make me forget the hurt of your words? How about ignoring my tears and pleas and denouncing me in the newspapers and media? No? Okay, could you stop me being pinned down on behalf of Shane and having my face carved up as a reminder to keep my mouth shut?”

I snorted. They all looked horrified.

“What about the three suicide attempts? Can you remove them from my memory? Or the bitch that wanted me to fuck her, and I took beatings for refusing her. Can you remove my five near-rapes from my mind? Or how about being kicked so hard in my stomach that I miscarried my baby?”

Mom gasped loudly at that, and a hand flew to her mouth. “I was six months pregnant. My daughter was perfectly formed, and she’d have been beautiful. She breathed for thirty seconds before dying. And those thirty seconds were all I needed to understand what it was to be a mother. You bought into Shane’s lies and killed your own granddaughter. You took the stand against me and told the judge to lock me up forever. Oh, that went down well! My own parents not even believing I was innocent.”

Mom’s eyes filled with tears. “Hallie, you’re so full of bitterness.”

“Wow, I wonder why. If you came here expecting to find that pathetic waste of space I was, forget it. She’s gone. I killed her and buried her with my daughter’s death. This is what arose from those ashes. I’m stronger than I ever was and I fuckin’ hate all of you. If you died tomorrow, I’d dance on your grave. That’s what you said to me, right, Andy? Because your best buddy couldn’t possibly lie!”

“We’ve got company,” King murmured.

I turned my head and saw Shane standing there with several of his club brothers. He looked shocked.

“You were pregnant,” he said.

“She’s better off dead than having you as her father. I can only imagine how you’d have fucked her life up.”

“No.” Shane shook his head in denial.

“Yes. Whoever that bitch was that you protected, she caused this. You both killed my unborn child.”

“I had a daughter,” Shane said, sounding broken.

“The fuck you did. She was mine. After what you did to me, you were nothing to us,” I yelled.

“No, I don’t believe you; this is just another lie!” Shane snapped. He straightened, grief fading.

“You’d know, because you’re such a skilled liar,” I retorted. “What did I ever do to you?”

“You tried to kill me!” Shane roared.

“Fuckin’ liar. Why are you sticking to this shit? I’ve two witnesses; I’ve some of the missing footage. When the rest of the missing evidence is discovered—you’re going down, and I’ll fuckin’ destroy you! I’ll laugh when the judge finds you guilty. Shane, I’ll fuckin’ dance on your grave. I’ve got contacts now; everything that happened to me in prison is going to happen to you. That’s a goddamn promise.”

“You’re insane. Totally and completed whacked. You and I both know it was you. Stand there all you want, acting innocent, Hallie. You forget I looked you in the eyes as you stabbed me.”

“If you say so. I can’t wait to break you,” I hissed.