THE DEVIL WEARS LIPSTICK

TAYLOR

I get to the house and feel my blood boil; if Talia had not called me, I would never have known that she had been taken by Dad and Julia. I enter the house and ignore the staff that is trying to greet me at the door. I walk straight into the house, checking every room as I weave my way through the house.

The house was oddly familiar to me; I had grown up here, but ever since my father decided that my mom was not good enough to be his wife, I had considered this place a strange place. I had stayed away during breaks and tried my best not to see the house, but they managed to bring me in.

I open one door and see Julia sitting down with Talia; she has her back to me, and I let out a breath. Thank goodness she was safe. I could never tell what Julia could have done to her.

"Rob was right; if I wanted to get you here, all I needed to do was get Talia here," Julia said as soon as our eyes met. She had red blood-stained lips and sparkly eyes. She was on a full face beat as if she was on her way to walk the red carpet any minute from now.

After my father had proposed, she had stopped working for him and now spent her days trying to spend his money and see how much of a hole she could put in his pocket.

"Talia?" I rush to her side and check her body. I do not want to think that Julia would hurt her, but the thought is not far from me. If they could be evil enough to think of destroying a happy family, then they could do far worse, in my opinion. "What are you doing here?" I wanted to scream at her, but she was probably just a pawn in whatever sick game they were playing.

"Julia said I could see Dad if I came, but I haven't seen Dad." I pulled her, ready to take her out of there without consulting Julia. After all, this could be counted as kidnapping.

"Since you are here, why don't we have a drink together?" she asks, stopping me from pulling Talia out of the house.

She was too kind, and that was how she fell right into this. I am just grateful that she called me. It would have taken a while for me to realise that she did not make it home to the house; she stayed with my mom, as my mom was currently travelling the world.

"Are you suggesting we drink in the presence of a minor?" I bark at Julia, but she does not flinch. She just gets up and takes a glass of white wine and walks over to me.

"I know you love drinking, so you don't have to play that game with me," she mutters, and I clench my jaw in annoyance. She wanted me to believe that my mom had a drinking problem and that somehow I had inherited it, but how could I when I watched my mom get disgraced by both of them? 

"I have no idea where you are getting that information from, but I do not love drinking," I say, ready to drag my sister out of there.

"I thought we could talk." She was fast with speaking, so I could not leave as quickly as I would have wanted to. "I mean, we do have a lot to talk about, don't we?" She adds, and I shake my head.

"Go wait outside, T; I will be there soon," I say to Talia, and she nods before leaving us in the room. I turn to her, my jaws still clenched in anger. If I could have hit her, then I would have gladly taken the opportunity. "Julia, this would be my last warning. You've taken enough already from my family; don't test me."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" she asked, folding her hand across her chest. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked again, and I sighed. "Rob won't get married to me unless you and your sister are there, and I know if I convince you, then your sister is done." She sips from the glass, her lipstick leaving a stain by the corner.

"You want me to endorse you?" I ask and then let out a loud chuckle. "I don't endorse rabbis," I add, and for the first time since I got there, I saw a change in her expression.

"I have been trying my best to make a connection with you, but you've been nothing but rude to me," she says, squeezing the stem of the glass in annoyance. "All I am asking is that you show up during the wedding, sit your ass down, and then watch me get hitched to your father."

"Finally decided to show your real colours," I taunt and frown in annoyance. I can tell she is holding back the same way I am, but I don't care. "I will never endorse you, and if you need my approval to get married, then it means you don't deserve to get married to him in any way." I take a deep breath and close the distance between us.

 "If you ever try something like this ever again, then I will storm in here with the police and make sure everyone knows that Senator Rob's wife-to-be kidnaps," I say and see fear dance in her eyes. I am successful with my threat.

She knows that my father would not marry her unless we were there; he wanted to discredit my mom, turn her into a crazy person, and show that the children were on his side. How else would he be able to win the public opinion over to himself? I take a step back and pass by her until I am outside.

I climb onto the motorcycle and hand over a helmet to Talia. She takes it without questioning me and sits on the bike. I wondered why she was still so interested in meeting Dad after all he had done to us; it was a bit annoying, and I was still trying to understand it. He did not think of us as children, so why should we think of him as a father?

We finally arrive at the house, and we go inside.

"Are you heading back to school?" Talia asked, and I shook my head. "Are you mad at me?" I respond to her with silence because I did not want to say anything I did not mean.

"T, you know that I only went because..."

"He does not care, so why do you care so much?" I ask the words, forcing their way out of my mouth. "He just wants to use us."

"Let's forgive him," she suggests, and I shake my head.

"I can't," I say in a whisper. "And you shouldn't either."

"T..."

"Don't contact them; don't go there," I say as if I am listing out rules. "I don't want you to see the shit they are made of; it might ruin you."

She walks to me and touches my arm gently before tapping it and then walking away. "Good night, T," she calls as she goes out of sight.

"Good night, T."