“Hi, honey, you’re back from school early. Is everything okay?“
And there she stood, applying with grand gestures, red lipstick across her lips. Her platinum blonde hair was brushed back. Sparkling diamond earrings adorned her earlobes.
“My class was canceled,“ Kelly muttered.
“Well, some free time never killed anyone.“ Vicky smirked as she surveyed her reflection in the mirror.
“Yes . . .“ Kelly felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to throw up everything that was inside of her. The tremendous rage for the wrongful act that had been done to her all those years ago; her heartache after that awful betrayal; the frustration of having been denied the truth all this time; the regret for all of the things that could have been different . . .
Gloria.
“Hey, are you sure everything is okay?“ Vicky turned around and looked at Kelly, but she only stared back with a vacant expression. Kelly’s skin was pale and grayish, and it looked like she could barely stand on her feet. “Maybe you should sit down, get some rest.“ She gestured with her hand toward the canopy bed. Then she turned her back to face the mirror and applied mascara on her eyelashes.
“Yeah . . .“ Kelly stumbled over to the bed. She was exactly behind Vicky, who was absorbed with her own reflection in the mirror. She wanted to jump at her from behind and end this whole thing, here and now.
Kelly clenched her fists and took a deep breath. For the first time since that dark day, in fact for the first time in her life, she decided not to stay silent while others trampled over her.
“I know,“ she said quietly.
“Know what?“ Vicky asked.
“I know,“ Kelly raised her voice.
“What do you know, honey?“ Vicky turned from the mirror and faced her. Kelly’s stare stung her like a whip. It was cold, hostile, and disgusted. Vicky became engulfed with a horrifying feeling.
Does she know the truth?
I’m panicking about nothing, she tried to reassure herself. No one but her really knew what had happened that day almost seventeen years ago.
“I met with Gloria McIntyre today,“ Kelly dropped a bomb.
Any hope that Vicky had managed to gather crashed in a split second.
“What?“ she gasped. “How? You’ve kept in touch with her?“ Vicky didn’t even try to conceal her anxiety.
“No. We just happened to run into each other today.“
“Oh . . .“ Vicky mumbled. “Well, isn’t that nice,“ she tried to crack a smile.
“I know.“
“What are you talking about?“ Vicky decided not to show her hand before she absolutely had to. Perhaps this was all a big misunderstanding.
“I want to hear you say it.“ Kelly rose from the bed and approached her. “I want to hear you say that it was you who wrecked my life. That it was you who made them come after me.“ Even after all this time, Kelly still couldn’t bring their names to her lips. Tears flooded her eyes. “That it was you who wanted to hurt me so badly. That it’s you who has lied to me for all these years without even batting an eyelash!“ She picked up the mascara tube Vicky used beforehand and chucked it at the floor.
Vicky looked at her in stunned silence. Her lips quivered, but no voice emerged from them.
“How could you do this to me?“ Kelly asked in a broken voice.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.“
“I don’t think that two lousy apologies really compensate for an eternity of betrayal,“ she hissed at her. Kelly almost didn’t recognize herself. She had never spoken like that to anyone, let alone her best friend.
“Don’t you know how much I love you?“ Vicky sobbed. “You mean the world to me! Haven’t I proven that in all our years of friendship?“ she demanded. “I changed my name to feel closer to you. I was the one who suggested that we tell your parents that ‘Kelly Danes’ is actually you, so they wouldn’t be worried, and in the process of doing that I had to give up the relationship with my own parents,“ she reminded her. “I haven’t spoken to them since I left to find you in New York. They probably think I ended up in some drug den.“ Her face contorted with disgust. “They will never learn about my accomplishments.“ She narrowed her eyes at Kelly. “They will never be proud of me.“
“I didn’t ask for all that! You were the one who wanted to get a fresh start. You were the one who wanted to run away from your family, your town, and everything you had ever known. So don’t you dare blame me,“ Kelly slammed at her.
“I gave up my identity, everything I was, for you. Everything I’ve done has been for you,“ Vicky insisted.
“Even what happened at the house of mirrors was for me?“
Vicky looked at Kelly through a curtain of tears; the image in front of her became blurry.
For the first time in a long time, she was lost for words.
“If you hated me that much, why did you look me up in New York?“ Kelly continued. “Why did you offer to let me stay with you? Why did you help me get back on my feet?“ Tears were gliding down her cheeks. “Why did you pay for med school? Why didn’t you just let me die in some godforsaken alley and put an end to the agony I’ve felt every single day, all because of what you did to me?“ At this point Kelly was screaming at Vicky, though she was only a few inches away from her.
“Because I love you, Kelly, with all my heart. Can’t you see that I’d do anything for you?“
Kelly shook her head vigorously. “Maybe because you’re so full of guilt. If you truly loved me, you wouldn’t have done this to me.“ She gave her an empty look and left the room.
“Kelly, wait. Don’t do this.“ Vicky followed her.
“I never want to see you again!“ Kelly picked up her pace and headed to the staircase.
“No, don’t go.“ Vicky grabbed her arm, preventing her from going down the stairs.
“Don’t touch me!“ Kelly tried to shake her off, but her mousy body structure had never been useful in physical conflicts.
“Enough! Don’t let something that happened seventeen years ago ruin what we have now!“ Vicky implored.
“What we have?“ Kelly looked at her in astonishment. “What we have is a pack of lies. Total deception.“
Vicky felt as if a knife had stabbed her right in the heart.
“What if I hadn’t happened to meet Gloria today?“ Kelly continued. “Would you have ever bothered to tell me the truth?“
That name caused currents of the strongest hatred Vicky had ever felt to pass through her body. The bitch had ruined her life. After all these years, she had finally done it. Gloria had gotten what she’d wanted all along; she had taken Kelly away from her.
“Don’t say that name,“ she commanded.
“What name?“ Kelly got confused for a split second. “Gloria? You want to tell me that this was all about her?“
“I was about to lose you!“ Vicky cried. “She tried to snatch you away from me. I saw the way you looked at her.“
“Wait, you did this to me because you were jealous?“
“Girls like her get what they want, when they want it; and when they’re bored with it, they simply throw it away like yesterday’s newspaper.“ Loathing dripped from Vicky’s voice.
“I don’t know about girls like her, but she is the loveliest person I’ve ever met,“ Kelly declared defiantly and sent her an icy glare.
Vicky could feel the exact same sparks of jealousy and rage that had surfaced on that dreadful day all of those years ago once again surging within her.
“Take it back,“ she strengthened her grip around Kelly’s arm.
“Let go! You’re hurting me!“ Kelly tried to release from her clutch. “No matter what you do, I won’t say anything bad about Gloria. One thing is for sure, though; she was a better friend than you.“
“Take it back! Tell the truth! What has she done to you? You’re not Kelly!“ Vicky shook Kelly as if she were trying to exorcise a demon from her body.
“Let me go, you maniac! Let me run far aw
ay and never come back!“ she cried.
“No!“ Vicky exclaimed.
The two were fighting an ancient battle: one was trying to escape, while the other one was not ready to set her free.
“Let – me – go!!!“ Kelly roared, and with a sudden twist, with a force that she didn’t know she possessed, she managed to shake off Vicky’s grip.
But in doing so, Kelly lost her balance and tripped, falling down the stairs, tumbling like an old rag dull.
“No. No. Nooo. Nooooo!!!“ Vicky screamed.
It took Kelly a few seconds to hit the ground, producing the most horrendous smashing sound against the hardwood floor. A puddle of blood encircled her head like a halo, staining the polished floor.
Vicky ran down the stairs, almost tripping herself, and leaned over her body.
“Kelly? Can you hear me? Please, say something. Please?“
Kelly didn’t answer. The vermillion circle surrounding her head gradually grew.
All of a sudden, Vicky noticed she was dripping with the blood of her beloved friend. The purest blood there could ever be. She gazed down at her bloody hands and smeared them across her face.
“You’re not dead, Kelly. You are not dead.“
The blood was still warm. She stared at the lifeless corpse and realized that this was it.
Kelly Whitesporte was gone.
But Kelly Danes was still here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank three special people, who with outstanding amounts of patience, acted as my trusty advisors. To Lyndsey Senet, Sonny Cohen and Leron Cohen, I will be forever grateful.
I would also like to thank the rest of the Cohen clan, Uncle Moshe, Laurie and Edan, my dear family residing in New York City. Your warm hospitality allowed my frequent visits to The Big Apple. This amazing city has become an inseparable part of me and of this book.
A special thank you goes to my dear friend, Nir Vidas, who believed in my vision for the cover and helped me design it to perfection. You are exceptional in taking mere ideas and turning them into reality.
Jacky Lowell, I was incredibly lucky to have you as my editor. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Carol Kay, thank you so much for your outstanding precision and delicate touch in proofing this Novel.
Last, but not least, is my mother, Galia Cohen. I am dedicating this book to you. Without your insightful remarks and never-ending support, my book would have ended up as just another Word file on my laptop. Thank you for helping me pursue my dream. You are the best mother a daughter could ask for.
WHEN THE
ILLUSION
GETS
DARKER
. . .
www.danamoison.com
Join us on FaceBook
Dark Illusion: A Psychological Thriller Novel Page 23
