away, his long steps lunging and determined, making him look somehow unstoppable.
Like he’s the wrecking ball that he told me he was, back in his office. A force of nature.
My Arrow.
My sun on a warpath.
As soon as he disappears into the night, I let out my first sob. I turn away from the window and fall on my ass on the floor.
I sob and sob but have enough presence of mind to cover my mouth, to not alert the whole world that I’m crying.
That my witchy heart is breaking because someone killed the heart of the boy I love.
His big, precious, darling heart.
How could anyone do that to him?
How could my sister?
God, my own sister.
The girl who’s perfect in every sense. How could she do that?
What was she thinking? I can’t understand it.
I can’t… believe it, even.
I hear her footsteps climbing up the stairs and I spring up from my crouched position. I don’t even take the time to wipe off my tears that are still streaming down my face. I whip open the door.
Standing at the landing, Sarah frowns at the suddenness of it all. “What –”
“You cheated on him,” I say in a strong voice.
I almost declare it to the empty, dark hallway.
She’s taken aback, her frown deepening, and for the first time in my entire life, I don’t like how smooth and flawless her skin is. She was crying a second ago, wasn’t she? Why aren’t there any track marks on her cheeks?
Why’s she so perfect even in her misery? Why isn’t her world falling apart like mine is?
“How did you… What?” she stalls.
“I overheard your conversation.”
She loses her frown at this and her lips curl up in a sneer. “You had no right.”
She’s right.
I had no right to eavesdrop. It was wrong. But I did it anyway. And I don’t care about right or wrong.
Not right now.
Not when my sister has so much explaining to do.
“You cheated on him,” I repeat.
Her eyes widen and she marches closer to me. “Can you keep your voice down?”
“Why?”
I don’t wanna keep my voice down.
I wanna scream and shout and kick and punch.
I’m so angry. I’m so fucking angry right now.
Fire roars in my gut. It roars and raises its head like some kind of an animal.
A dragon breathing fire.
Is this what he’s been feeling all this time? This… heat and fury.
“Well, if you heard everything then you know why.” Then she grabs my arm and digs her nails in my flesh, hissing in my face. “It was a mistake. I don’t want my mistake plastered all over the world. I’m not like you. I don’t revel in bad behavior. I don’t take pride in it.”
A flush overcomes my face, a flush different than the anger that I’m feeling.
A flush of embarrassment at my own betrayal against her.
But I won’t let it overcome me right now.
I can’t.
I can curse myself and punish myself later. Right now, I have to be strong. For him.
For my Arrow.
“Mistake? Cheating on your boyfriend is not a mistake,” I snap at my sister for the first time.
I never thought I’d see the day. I never thought I’d be mad at her for anything.
But then, I never thought she’d betray Arrow like this.
“Oh, and you know a lot about boyfriends, don’t you?” She grits her teeth.
“I know about lies. You lied to him. For months. You lied to me when I asked. You lied, Sarah.”
“So? I don’t owe you the truth, do I? I don’t owe you anything. And I told you to stay out of it. I told you to stop asking questions because this is my life. And it has nothing to do with you but you wouldn’t listen.”
I suppress the pain in my chest at her callous words. I suppress the urge to scream, I’m your sister. Doesn’t that mean something to you?
But again, this isn’t about me. It’s about him.
“What about him? You owed the truth to him, didn’t you?” I ask, my arm going numb in her grip. “How could you do that to him? You slept with his best friend. Not once but for months and you lied about it.”
“Listen, I don’t need this from you, okay? I don’t need you to tell me what’s right and what’s wrong. I did what I did because I was trying to save our love. I lied to him to spare him the hurt and I won’t apologize for it. Once we were married, I would’ve stopped and none of this would’ve