it must have been awful for you hearing that stuff about your dad back then. And then him committing suicide. It’s a terrible thing you went through. But taking it out on Fiona and the rest of us isn’t the answer. She’s as much a victim as you.’
Sophie scowls at Kelly. It may be my imagination but I’m sure her cheeks flush, as though she’s embarrassed. As though she knows she’s in the wrong.
‘Talk to your brother,’ Kelly pleads. ‘Listen to me, Sophie—’
‘Listen to me, Sophie,’ Greg mimics, stepping back into the light. ‘As if she’s going to be fooled by your pathetic lies. I should have known you wouldn’t do the decent thing and admit to what you did.’
But Kelly isn’t giving up. ‘Sophie, your brother’s angry. He’s lashing out at us. But don’t let him drag you down. Don’t let him ruin your life. I thought we were becoming friends before, back at the house. If you won’t let us go for me, then do it for Ryan and Sonny. They really bonded with you. Do you want them to grow up without their mum as well as their dad? Do you really want that for them? Could you live with yourself knowing you destroyed their childhood?’
‘Boo fucking hoo,’ Greg sneers. ‘What about our childhood? Mine and Sophie’s? Who’s responsible for destroying that? Oh… yeah… it was you.’ He stares at us each in turn before grabbing his sister’s arm and pulling her towards him.
I wince as I see Greg’s rough treatment of Sophie. ‘Does he hurt you, Sophie?’ I call out. ‘Did he force you to do all this?’
‘Shut up, bitch.’ Greg’s face is a mask of frustration and in that instant, I get a clear-as-day flashback of his father looking at me in the same way. The exact same expression when I wouldn’t go along with what he wanted. It knocks the air from my body, and I feel as though I’m shrinking into myself.
Sophie follows her brother out of our view, and I can hear them having a whispered, heated discussion in the corner.
‘Can you believe this?’ Tia hisses, looking from me to Kelly. ‘They’re both insane. What they’ve put us through is—’
‘Shh, hang on a minute, Tee,’ Kelly replies. ‘We need to hear what they’re saying.’
Greg and Sophie are arguing. She’s telling him that maybe they got it wrong. That they should listen to our side of the story. That deep down she always suspected their dad might not have been completely innocent.
But Greg isn’t budging. ‘How can you even think that?’ he hisses. ‘They need to admit that they lied. We need to see this through. You’re just losing your nerve, that’s all.’
‘You’re being stubborn, Greg. You should open your mind to the possibility that we’ve got it wrong.’
Kelly and Tia exchange anxious yet hopeful glances. I try to reciprocate, but I can’t make my face work. I’m still in shock at the similarity between Greg and his father. It’s like déjà vu. And I can hardly make sense of who is who.
‘I’m not arguing with you, Sophie. We’re doing this.’
‘No.’ Her voice rings out loud and firm.
‘What do you mean, no?’
‘I mean, I think we should let them go. I’ve had enough of this. It’s enough, Greg. We need to stop before it goes too far.’
‘Give me the knife, Sophie.’
‘Why?’
‘Just…’
There’s a scuffling sound.
‘I don’t want to hurt you,’ Greg growls. ‘Just let go of it!’
There’s another scuffling sound and they come into view, both of them gripping the knife handle, but Greg looks far stronger than Sophie. I’m jolted back to the present day, and I’m worried for her safety. The knife is perilously close to her face.
‘Let go of the knife, Sophie!’ Kelly cries. ‘You’ll get hurt! Leave her alone, Greg!’ Kelly turns to me, her eyes wide. ‘I can’t look.’
As Greg wrestles the knife from his sister, she jerks backwards and falls. There’s a thunk as Sophie hits her head on the corner of the bar. She goes down onto the floor with another dull thud.
I can’t help crying out, wondering if she’s okay. Realising selfishly that she was our only hope of getting out of here unharmed.
Greg falls to his knees to check on her. ‘Sophie! Soph!’
She’s making moaning sounds, so at least she’s alive. But she must be badly concussed. ‘Call an ambulance!’ Kelly shouts. ‘Greg, that’s your sister. What have you done? You need to call for help.’