Page 94 of Haunt the Mall
39
Break the Chain
Part of me wanted to believe Jen was just bloated. It was a food baby. Period cramps. Anything but her demon seed. Yes, she had a semi-recent smell sensitivity, and she’d swapped her fitted clothes for baggy sweats, but she could be going through a phase. A new job. A new guy. That could change a person—for better or worse.
I eyed her stretched skin and gripped my knife. If my sister was stressed, I’d need the defense.
She tugged her shirt down and scowled at me. “I’m not fat, I’m pregnant.”
And that was how she announced it? I couldn’t help it—I laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Jen snapped.
“Nothing. That’s just…random.” I hadn’t even said anything about it. No wonder the house had been more tense than the haunted mansion. Jen plus hormones was a recipe for disaster.
“Congratulations?” I tried.
Tori squirmed.
“Thanks,” Jen said flatly.
Was her pregnancy planned? Or was she zoned out during the million safe sex talks we got from Mom over the years? I might’ve gotten a few more of those than my sisters based on the way I dressed, but Jen had gotten the condom on a banana demo in sex ed.
Dad slumped over his meal and Tori nudged her leftovers with the blunt side of her knife. No one made eye contact.
What was I supposed to say? My family blindsided me with this. I ventured something akin to interest. “So, when do we meet the boyfriend?”
“Never.” She flushed and stormed away.
“We’re not that bad.” I turned to my dad. “Is he dead? Or did he ditch her?”
Jen banged some pots around in the kitchen. “Shut up, Kat. At least I had a boyfriend. No one wants your trashy ass.”
“Jennifer,” Mom reprimanded.
“What? It's true,” she said, her voice rattling the walls. “You know how she is. Guys are only interested in her for sex. They don't even need to dump her. What, are they supposed to take home a girl in fishnets? No one wants to be around someone that desperate for attention.”
My face stung like I’d been slapped.
“Wow.” I didn't know she still had it in her. Dazed with a dull, hollowed ache in my chest, I stood. “And on that note, bye, fam.”
“You don't have to leave,” Tori pleaded.
Dad clenched his fists. “Once you both calm down, we’ll sort this out.”
I scoffed. “What’s there to say? You all knew about it.”
Tori slunk into her oversized hoodie like a sad turtle. “We weren’t supposed to tell anyone.”
“Not even her sister?” I raised my eyebrows.
She shook her head, morose. “You don’t tell her everything.”
Of course not. She was awful. Opening my heart to someone never seemed to matter in the long run, anyway.
“Why should I? You let the whole family know about my bad day,” I snapped. “But sure, keep her secrets and heartache.”
Tori’s mouth hung ajar. “I didn’t know it was a secret.”