Chapter 3: Adam... My sister?

SOPHIE'S POV

I tried to calm myself as I drove toward the house. But my heart kept racing. If yesterday was indeed a setup, then Adam's wrath is the least of my worries. What about dad? What would be his reaction? Perhaps the best bet for me would be to arrive early and talk to Dad. He needs to believe me; he needs to see through Olivia and her mother's schemes, but alas, I lied to him yesterday before going out. Where do I start? I heaved a sigh and prepared myself for the worst.

When I got home, the halogenated security lights were still on.

"You, daughter of Eve? Where have you been?" My father's voice thundered.

I paused and sniffed my nightgown, which made me appear even more guilty.

"I said, Why were you not in the Bible study last night?"

 "Dad," I said, my mouth was literally shaking.

"I need you more than ever to believe what I'm about to say." I began, my voice betraying me. "I know… I know I told you I went…"

"Hold on!" Father roared; he appeared to be scanning through something that just popped up on his phone. His eyes were shocked and inquisitive.

"Child." He called. "What is this?" He inquired now, showing the screen of his phone to me.

It was pictures of me in the nightclub. Someone had sent it to him. Could the person be Olivia? But why?

"Dad, that's what I was trying to say; it was Olivia. It was Olivia who told me to meet her up. She told me to come and save her at the club."

"Now Olivia?" Father asked mockingly, rumpling his thick eyebrows. "Where are you? Are you not the one who said something about collecting a songbook from one Stacy? Apparently, the nightclub has become your hymn book." Father questioned, his eyes blazing with anger.

 "But dad… I swear, I didn't do it. It was Oliv-"

"Shut up!" Victoria shrieked from the house.

"I didn't do it."

"I said, Shut your lying mouth! If you must sin, why drag others into sin with you? Why? Just Why?" 

 

"Dad, please hear me out. I was..."

"If Olivia told you to come to the club, why did she attend the family Bible study last night and you were nowhere to be found?" she yelled, a few inches away from me.

"Do you know how many times I tried your number last night and it wasn't going? I bet you are just enjoying yourself and turned off your phone. Only God knows what you always do in Louisiana, your liar."

"Is that what we have been teaching you? We teach you the way of the lord. Feeding you with God's words daily, but you did this? You have brought shame to this family." Victoria continued to add fuel to the fire and my father's eyes furrowed more.

"But I was trying to save Olivia last–"

"Dad, mom," Olivia interrupted me, walking toward us.

"I was worried and searching for Sophie this morning since she didn't come home last night when someone passed the information to me. Sophie was at the club. She's no longer a virgin. In her hand is payment for the service rendered for her virginity." Olivia declared.

She leaped towards me and snatched the packet in my hand, revealing the bundle of cash.

Dad had hidden his face in disappointment while Victoria started to sneer at me.

I was shaking; there was nothing much else to say; I would never make it defending myself. Olivia really did her homework perfectly, and I was a fool to fall into her trap. I was sobbing in silence while watching the last piece of pottery I tried putting together get broken apart.

Dad broke the silence; a lone tear appeared on his face, and I felt a sharp pain in my heart. His voice was calm and precise.

"Sophie, daughter of sin, I have never been so ashamed. But the Lord says if your right hand, left hand, or eye will take you to hell, cut it off. Sophie, I am not afraid to cut you off." It was the first time I saw him cry.

"It is the Lord Jesus of you. I will not watch you burn my house. From now on, you are no longer welcome here. Pack your things and leave."

I kept replaying the scene with Dad in my head over and over again as I wandered about the streets with the few things I was able to pick up from the room before I was ejected: portable luggage containing my school documents, a few clothes, and my crucifix.

“Daughter of Sin," that was what my father had called me. I forced out a bitter smile, if only he knew he was currently sharing his home with the very mother of sin while he ejected someone completely innocent.

How heartbreaking it was to discover that the man who gave me life knew so little about me. I bit my lip.

 

I had to look for somewhere to stay in the meantime. If father could be so easy to manipulate, perhaps because he was married to Olivia’s mother, it wouldn’t be the same with Adam; at least by now, he should begin to nurse second thoughts about his reaction. By now, he must have started asking the right questions and seeking the real answers behind the false image painted for him by that jezebel.

On arriving at Adam’s apartment, I noticed Olivia’s blue sedan parked near the lawn. I stopped short on impulse. What could she be doing here too? Was she here to convince him not to change his mind? Did she hate me that much? I increased my pace. There was no need to knock or ring the doorbell; the door was slightly open. In the sitting room, the television was turned on with the volume at maximum, but no one was watching. I only saw a few clothes flung here and there, some on the floor, others lying on the couch. The one that immediately caught my attention was a woman’s pink pants on the sofa. Speechlessly, I stared. Then I began to hear other noises from the bedroom. I followed the trail, and it led me straight into Adam’s bedroom, and before me was my so-called step-sister and lover having sex less than a day after I "supposedly" cheated on him. I froze in shock. Was Adam a part of this too?

"What the fuck is going on here?" I screamed, and they stopped, not bothering to cover their nakedness.

Both of them were sweating and panting like two mad dogs.

 "Yes?" It was Adam who spoke first, after an uneasy silence. There was no remorse on his face.

“What are you doing in my house?" he asked with a grimace.

“Adam…my sister?"

"Hey, hey, stop that." Olivia waved an arm at me impatiently. "I’m not your sister, ok?"

"Just leave," Adam said more calmly.

"And don’t come back; I told you it’s over between us. Go, go give that treasured honeypot of yours to your customers who can pay since I can't."

I watched him silently. How could I have been this stupid? I didn’t know whether to burst into tears right in front of them or just leave. I heaved and decided it was better for them not to see me cry again. These were clearly my enemies.

I turned and was about to leave, but quickly stopped on getting to the door.

"What is it again?" Adam asked even more impatiently.

"The money, can I have it?" I asked, facing Olivia, who immediately started laughing.

"The one your clients paid?" She asked mockingly.

"I have given it to Dad; go and collect it from him... He deserves a share of the cake too, don’t you think?"

"Please get out of my house!" Adam raised his voice.

A lone tear fell from one of my eyes, and I hurriedly turned to leave with no exact place in mind.