Jealousy at TAC

by Richard Pinkerton

  * * *

  Vanessa approached the police station when her cell phone began to ring. She picked it up and saw the name “Cherry” on the screen. She scowled and answered. ‘Hello... Cherry.’

  A female voice replied. ‘Hi, Vanessa. It’s me.’

  So there was a girl behind the voice.

  ‘Nice to hear from you, Cherry.’

  ‘I thought it was time to give you a ring. Your voice is so sexy.’

  ‘Well I’m glad to hear that you don’t sound as retarded on the phone as you do when you type instant messages.’

  ‘What? Oh... well my spelling isn’t very good, I know.’

  ‘So Cherry. How was the modelling shoot this morning?’

  ‘Huh?’’

  ‘At the agency.’

  ‘I’m not a model.’

  ‘That’s interesting, because I met you there today and you were most definitely a model.’

  There was silence for almost five seconds before the girl claiming to be Cherry replied, ‘You must have me mixed up with someone else.’

  Vanessa came to a halt outside the station itching to go inside but she had to expose this girl and find out who she really was. ‘Oh, I think you are the one mixed up Cherry... if that’s your real name. You know, I find it really strange actually that you met my half sister at the pools on Saturday. I think what we have here is a case of a split personality, wouldn’t you say, Nadia?’

  The girl on the other end hung up immediately. Vanessa smiled to herself, pocketed her phone and entered the station.

  She found herself in the reception area and got quite a shock when she saw Nadia sitting there, staring at the cell phone in her hand. She peered up to see Vanessa and her eyes bugged. The expression would have made Vanessa laugh if it wasn’t for the rage she felt bubbling up inside her at the sight of her conniving sister.

  Vanessa barged towards her. ‘You lying, back stabbing bitch! How can you do this to me? How can you do this to Rex?’

  Nadia leapt to her feet and met her with a staunch look on his face. ‘Get away from me, or I’ll scream!’

  ‘Go ahead. Scream. I don’t care. You set us both up. You pretend to be some girl on the Internet called Cherry and steal some pictures from a website, which just happens to belong to the company I signed a modelling contract for. But that’s not the worst of it. You accuse Rex of raping you?’

  ‘He forced me!’

  ‘He did not and you know it!’

  ‘I told you, didn’t I?’

  ‘You said you went willingly!’ Vanessa glanced over at the enquiries counter, but nobody was there. She glared back at Nadia. ‘Tell me, why? I know he didn’t rape you. I thought you wanted him? I thought you really liked him?’

  Nadia smirked, glanced at the counter and then spoke in a quieter tone. ‘He’s a fool. Seems he’d rather have you than me.’

  Vanessa nearly smiled. It was a statement she would have dreamed to hear coming from Nadia’s mouth only an hour or so earlier. ‘So this is what this is all about? You’re pissed because he rejected you?’

  ‘Oh, no, he didn’t reject me, I rejected him!’

  ‘You just said he’d rather be with me!’

  Nadia snickered. ‘I got sick of him talking about you. Vanessa this, Vanessa that. I want to go see her. Bla bla bla bla. It makes me sick. So I dumped him.’

  ‘Dumped him?’ Vanessa almost laughed.

  ‘I’m pregnant Vanessa.’

  ‘What?’ Vanessa reeled.

  ‘He got me pregnant. We didn’t use protection, remember?’

  Vanessa paused to let the shock of the claim ease off. ‘You’re funny, Nadia. It was two days ago. You can’t know that yet.’

  Nadia scowled. ‘You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Straight A student... screwing a rich boyfriend who buys you everything you want. Living with a mum who loves you, but still lets you do whatever you like.’ The bitterness echoed through every word. ‘You have it all, don’t you? Meanwhile, me, your only sister who has a mother who doesn’t give a stuff and a father who didn’t even know she existed until recently. I’ve got nothing. You got it all!’

  Vanessa allowed herself another pause as she realised what all this was about. For a second she even felt a little compassion for Nadia, but when she thought again of the claims her half-sister had made, her anger prevailed. ‘I get it now. You want what I have. You see me with all this stuff and you see me with a dream guy and you want it too. But you couldn’t have it. I get it.’

  ‘What do you know? You didn’t even know your boyfriend was seeing another girl behind your back. What was her name now, Carol?’

  ‘I don’t know, you tell me. What’s her name? Who is she? What does she like? What are her dreams and aspirations? You know her better than anyone, don’t you? After all, you created her too, just like you created Cheeky Cherry.’

  ‘I did not create Cheeky Cherry.’

  ‘Then who did. Shawn?’

  ‘Tucker bloody Pyles!’

  Vanessa’s jaw dropped. ‘Tucker?’

  ‘Yeah, he was trying to make friends with you. He had some crazy idea he could get you to fall in love with him if he pretended to be a girl. He thought that once you fell in love with him online, you’d get over the fact that he was really a fat gormless dickhead called Tucker.’

  The truth became clear to Vanessa now and she kicked herself for not having thought about it earlier. ‘So that’s why he typed like such a retard.’

  ‘And you fell for it! So what does that say about you?’

  Vanessa smiled. ‘So Tucker was in on the whole charade? It was him who planted the photograph and the letter in Rex’s text book and he dropped it so that the stuff would fall out and I’d see it. You’ve all been working together.’

  Nadia snorted. ‘As if! Looks like you’re just looking for a conspiracy. You’re so determined to believe that Rex is all sweet and innocent. Well you’re kidding yourself. He’s a dirty disgusting rapist.’

  ‘He is not!’ Vanessa grabbed Nadia and tried to hurl her to the ground. Nadia managed to keep her balance and grappled with her. The two crashed into the wall of the waiting room, each trying to gain control over the other.

  A police officer burst in and pulled the two of them apart. ‘Quit that! This is a bloody police station! What the hell has gotten into you two?’

  Vanessa steamed. ‘She’s a liar! She’s lying about Rex!’

  ‘I am not!’

  ‘She is!’ A voice came from the entrance way. Mr Harris, the PE teacher stepped in. ‘I heard the whole thing. That girl...’ he pointed to Nadia, ‘…admitted she was setting him up. She was a willing participant in the whole thing.’

  The officer turned his head to stare at Nadia.

  ‘That’s a lie!’ Nadia screamed. ‘It’s a dirty lie!’ She thrashed out at Vanessa, but the officer grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  ‘Calm down now or I’ll have to restrain you.’

  Nadia swung her arms about, trying to break free from the policeman, but he held her firm. ‘Ok, that’s it. Out the back!’

  He had to drag her out as she kicked and screamed. ‘I’ll get you Vanessa! I’ll get you!’

  Vanessa felt weak at the knees and had to sit down. Mr Harris stepped up and sat beside her. ‘I heard everything you two said. And I’ll swear to it under oath.’

  Vanessa forced a smile. ‘Thanks, Mr H.’