Monday morning brought its challenges and triumphs in the most unexpected yet typical way. I woke alone in my bed, but her scent still lingered in my bed, and for a minute I buried my head in her pillow, filling my lungs with her lingering essence. I heard laughter ringing from the Kitchen, Mercy's airy laugh filling our home with an intangible warmth. I quickly brushed my teeth and went through my skin care routine in record time before rushing downstairs. I did not get the chance to join the festivities because as soon as I got to the base of the stairs, the doorbell sounded. An eerie silence settled in my house; I couldn't personally remember the last time I heard the cheerful chime of the doorbell.
The last time we had a visitor, uninvited, in was my father, and I had a sinking feeling that it was him or someone worse as I headed for the door, motioning for Sunshine and Mercy to remain in the kitchen. It was worse than I expected, and yet it was the most unexpected gift from the unluckiest people. There in front of my door stood my parents and Mathew. It took me a second of mouth flapping soundlessly as my brain scrambled to process the information my eyes were feeding it. My father pushed past me, followed by my mother, leaving me to face Mathew.
He looked infuriatingly good. I couldn't smother the sneer that took over my face. Mathew did something unforgivable to the one person I loved more than myself. He deserved to be in pain for all eternity. I would settle for the remainder of his life. Claire wasn't around to witness her revenge, but they would meet soon in the underworld. My sneer turned into a smile, which seemed to rattle him more than my obvious disdain for him.
"Mathew!" I called out in an unnecessarily loud cheerful voice. I pulled him into a tight hug, trying my best to look welcoming.
"Melissa...?" He replied, sounding unsure of what to make of his situation.
"Come on in. It has been ages since we last met. It was Brian's party, right? Have you been to the hospital to see him? So terrible what happened to him." I paused, wiping invisible tears from dry eyes.
I pulled him into the house with forced familiarity, and he stumbled in and I closed the door behind me. I had not spoken to my parents since the last time we met in the hospital. I had taken the initiative to block them, as my brother's scandal was breaking. My father looked like she had aged ten years in the past week. My mother's eyes had lost every last spark in them, turning into a dark, soulless pool, the only indication that she was falling apart at the seams. Seeing as how their favorite child lay in a coma with nothing to be done but hope and pray, only for his name to be dragged through the mud for committing crimes. Even if Brian woke up and by some miracle he was okay, no one would ever accept him given what he had done. At the very least, he was not going to put in jail given his lost vision, although nobody knew that yet.
"As you can see, we are just now waking up and starting our day, so we weren't expecting any visitors, but I am so glad you came," I continued with the same loud, cheerful tone, much to the shock of my two companions. After inviting them to the dining table, I walked back to the kitchen and signed for Sunshine to prepare breakfast for our guests. In less than twenty minutes, a scrumptious meal was laid out in front of my enemies. The meal was meant for us, but I couldn't let them leave empty-handed when they brought my next victim to my door.
Once breakfast was done, I gave them a tour of my house, bypassing the basement where their son had been chained to the floor and had spent the last days of normalcy with his will slowly being broken down. I couldn't help but smile as my silent parents and Mathew followed me through my house and finally out the door to the patio with an amazing view.
Unbeknownst to them, from the moment they had sat down at the dining table, Mathew had been relieved of this phone when Sunshine accidentally brushed against him while pouring him his coffee. While they ate, Mercy had already started hacking into his device, and the tour was a prolonged distraction. They had come here for something, but I knew their words may push my patience past its limits, and I wanted to give Mercy a fighting chance. As soon as we settled down on the patio sofa, my father launched into a tirade.
"I have been trying to reach out to you since last week. Did you block my number? This isn't the time to be selfish, Melissa. Your brother is going through heel and is fighting to stay alive. Some people are looking to destroy our family's name by fabricating videos about him and his friends at a time when they can't defend themselves." I almost laughed out loud but bit my tongue instead. This is the time for our family to come together and show the world that we are stronger than ever." He concluded, looking at me expectantly
"I heard what was being talked about online, and don't worry about that. If Mathew could get away with literal murder, what is a bit of sexual assault?" I watched my parents' face fall in horror, and my face must have mirrored that exact expression. I had not meant to say any of that. I wanted to alleviate their fears and tell them their precious baby boy couldn't possibly do such a thing, but my personal experience stopped me from speaking filthy lies because it did matter, more than any of them could ever know.
"Melissa!" my mother interjected, recovering faster than the rest of us. "We are not looking to start a fight with you. We all came to apologize and make amends. We are family and we need to stick together during tough times. Let the past be in the past."
Don't worry, mother dearest. I said, not managing to mask the malice in my voice when I addressed the woman who gave birth to me. I truly mean it. I mean, I went through the same thing in the hands of my brother and his friends when I was sixteen. I paused, turning to Mathew, whose jaw was on the floor. Don't worry, Brian only acted as the look-out. I was family after all. I said in the same cheerful voice I had been using to address him.
"I mean, it was worse than every time you broke my bones combined. There is something about being powerless to stop strangers from invading your body, but I survived thanks to Claire, whom you killed. I love you all; I truly do, but I'm at a loss for a way I can help you. Unless the help involves reading your obituaries."
Nobody said a thing, a hint of embarrassment on their faces. Of all the emotions they experienced in that moment. The most predominant one was embarrassment. It was as if they had said something out of turn or spilled milk on the ground. They had ruined my life, and yet there they sat, having come to my house with various expectations from me. This time I couldn't help the raspy laughter that escaped my throat, painting the air in thick incongruity.