Face-Off at the Altar

by Toni Aleo

  “Oh, good,” her father said, and Mekena shook her head, her eyes meeting Skylar’s. Skylar sucked in a quick breath, her eyes widening as Mekena continued to shake her head.

  “How dare you?”

  Skylar shrugged. “What?” But she could see it in her sister’s eyes, she knew full well what Mekena was speaking of.

  “You know what. I heard everything.”

  “Heard what?”

  “That you basically raped Markus!” Mekena accused, her heart pounding so hard, her ears started to ring. She felt so dirty, so sad and hurt for what her stupid sister had done, yet Skylar looked unremorseful. She looked the way she sounded, and that only made Mekena madder.

  “Mekena!” her mother cried.

  “What in the world?” her father asked, looking between the both of them. “What are you talking about?”

  “What is wrong with you? Are you sick?” Mekena yelled, holding Skylar’s unashamed gaze. “How? Why?”

  “Shut up, I didn’t fucking rape him. That’s just insane.”

  “You drugged him! You sucked him off till he was hard and then tried to fuck him,” she said, repeating what she had heard. It felt like there was a knife in her windpipe, but she went on. “You lied to me! You made this seem like he wanted it, when really, he was a victim of your sexual assault. You shouldn’t even be sitting there—you should be behind bars. How dare you!”

  “Oh, Lord. Dramatic much?” Skylar said, rolling her eyes. “We got high, we tried to fuck—”

  “Lies! He had no clue.”

  “Mekena, those are some big accusations,” her father said, standing up and crossing his arms. “I think you need to tread lightly.”

  “Tread lightly?” Mekena yelled, her voice actually breaking. “I stood on the side of the house and heard it from her own fucking mouth!” She pointed to her sister, who just shook her head dismissively. “She drugged him with Xanax and took him to bed, trying to get him to have sex with her—and he couldn’t even stay awake. She played it off as if it was mutual, and it wasn’t. It wasn’t at all!”

  “Skylar!” her mother gasped, looking to her eldest, and Mekena’s sister just shrugged.

  “She’s being very dramatic. They both are. It was a party, things happen.”

  “Rape doesn’t happen! It’s perpetrated by sick, disgusting people, you fucking whore,” Mekena screamed, her heart shattering as her tears ran down her face. “I don’t even understand. I can’t fathom why you would do this. I’ve spent almost two years thinking I wasn’t good enough. I wouldn’t talk to him, I cut him out—when he was the fucking victim! Because of you!”

  “He wasn’t good enough—”

  “That’s not your place!” she shouted, her voice rattling the windows. “This is my life. I am living it, not you.”

  “You’re being ridiculous,” Skylar said with a roll of her eyes, still unconcerned.

  “I just don’t get it. How can you sit there, so uncaring, after what you did? He was so upset, so hurt that he wanted to hurt you. But even you knew he wouldn’t because he’s not a fucking douche. He’s a good guy, and you hurt him!”

  “Oh Lord, Mekena, get over it. It’s over. He’s gone, forget it!” she yelled. When Skylar noticed her parents staring at her, she shrugged. “What? It’s not a big deal. Just ignore her. Her boyfriend was a whore, and he wanted it. I couldn’t let her get hurt.”

  “Why? Why would you think he would?”

  “Because men are dogs! Come on,” she said with a laugh. “You have to realize that.”

  “Just because you think that doesn’t mean I do.”

  “I don’t understand why you have such a bad outlook on men, and why you think you need to push your ideas on Mekena,” Libby said, staring at Skylar.

  Skylar scoffed as she held Libby’s gaze. “Well, you should! Dad walked out on you, fucked your sister, and then cheated on her again.”

  “Skylar Marie!” her mother cried. “What is wrong with you?”

  “That is in the past,” her father yelled as Libby took a step back.

  “Excuse me?” she asked, and Mekena put her hand out to keep her aunt from moving. “You cheated on my sister?”

  “It was a misunderstanding. So long ago,” her mother tried, but Skylar laughed arrogantly as Mekena continued to hold Libby back.

  “I will gut you, asshole, if this is true,” Libby yelled, but Stan was horrified, shaking his head.

  “No, it didn’t go that far, and Linda and I went to counseling. Skylar’s lying.”

  “Whatever. It was last week,” Skylar accused, and everyone went silent as her father gasped.

  “Stan?” her mother asked, her voice shaky, but his face drained of all color.

  He pointed at Skylar, and he shook his head in denial. “That’s a fucking lie, and you know it!”

  Mekena looked back at Skylar and shook her head. “Yeah, it is. She’s lying.”

  Scoffing, Skylar was defiant. “I am not.”

  “Yes, you are. Your nose always flares when you’re lying, and you’re doing this to get the spotlight off you and your issues,” Mekena said, completely sick over what her sister was doing. Had done.

  Rolling her eyes, Skylar looked away as their mother spoke. “Are you doing drugs, Skylar?”

  Silence fell over the room as Mekena really looked at her sister. She hadn’t done that in a while. She would just glance and walk away, so angry with her, but as she took in Skylar’s sunken face, her skinny body, her bloodshot eyes, she realized that her mother’s assumption could very well be true.

  “Mom, be real,” she muttered, laughing. “I don’t do drugs except at parties.”

  “You’ve lost a lot of weight. You’re always broke, needing money, you aren’t active in dance anymore. Be honest with us,” her father said. “Stop lying. Are you in trouble?”

  “The girl hasn’t been honest about anything, and you think she’s going to own up to the fact she’s a pill popper?” Libby scoffed, and everyone turned to look at her as her eyes stayed locked on Skylar. “I know she is. She has three bottles in her room right now, under a stack of clothes in her second drawer. I found them when I was looking for a shirt I know she took from me. The bottles don’t have a label, and I didn’t think anything about it. I thought they were old, but now, now it all makes sense.”

  Skylar laughed. “You guys are crazy. Those aren’t mine. I’m fine.”

  “Why do you continue to lie?” Mekena asked, shaking her head. “I know you, I know you better than anyone in this room, which is why I just don’t get it. Why would you hurt me like this? Are you that selfish?”

  “I didn’t do it to hurt you. I did it to prove to you he was scum. Jesus, get off my back!”

  “No! You don’t get to hurt people like that. You don’t get to drug them and force them into sex and think it’s okay. No telling how much he’s had to deal with. I’ve been a complete bitch to him, and he didn’t even know what really happened! How do you think that makes him feel? How you made me feel? You have no fucking cares for anyone but yourself. That is just plain pathetic, Skylar. How dare you?”

  “Oh my God, who the fuck cares? It’s over, get over it.”

  “I will never get over it,” Mekena sneered. “I will never forgive you.”

  “Whatever,” Skylar huffed. “Oh my God, everyone stop staring at me!”

  “Skylar, if you’re honest, we can help you,” her father said, and Mekena let out a heavy sigh. Why did they always baby her?

  “We are here for you, honey,” her mother added, and Mekena shook her head.

  “Yeah, and let her off for all the pain she caused me—hell, all of us—with her lies. Let her get clean and then push us back together. That’s your plan, huh? Well, let me tell you right now, take me out of the fucking equation. I’m done.”

  “Mekena! She’s sick!”

  “Yeah, she’s a disgusting piece of shit, and I’m not going to forgive her. She doesn’t see a problem, Mom. The first step
to getting help is realizing you are sick, and that bitch has no plan to do that.”

  “There is nothing wrong,” Skylar yelled, but her eyes started to well up. “Everyone, let it go. I’m not a druggie. It was college, a stupid night, no big deal. I’ll apologize to him for giving him drugs when he asked for them—”

  “Don’t change the story to make it look like you did nothing wrong. I know Markus, he doesn’t do drugs, never did! You did this to him. You ruined almost everything, you ruined me, and I don’t even understand how, Skylar. You aren’t that person. You’ve changed, and if it is the pills, then do yourself a favor and get clean.”

  “I’m not doing pills!”

  “We all know you are,” she yelled back, and her heart just broke. As much as she wanted to be there for her sister, love her, she couldn’t. Skylar had caused too much pain. Pills or not, Skylar had broken her. With tears running down her face, Mekena said, “And the thing is, Skylar, you’ve lost me. You pushed me away, broke my heart. And I know that right now that doesn’t matter to you, but one day it will. So if you needed a wake-up call, here it is.” She choked on her words, her sobs escaping her mouth as her tears fell off her chin onto her chest. She couldn’t believe this person who was staring back at her was her sister. The same person she’d loved and idolized for so damn long. She didn’t know this person, nor did she ever want to know her. “I hate you,” she cried, shaking her head as Skylar looked away and her parents tried to protest. “I hate this version of you, and until you find my sister, don’t contact me. Don’t even breathe my name. We are done.”

  With that, she turned, ignoring everyone calling her name as she slammed the door and went down the front stairs to her car. Before she could reach it, though, bile rushed up her throat and then she was puking her brains out beside the house. Holding on to the house that used to be her safe haven, she closed her eyes as her body heaved. She hoped she could puke out the pain, get it out of her, but it was still there once she finally stopped retching. As she stared at the ground, she shook her head, unable to make sense of what just happened. What she’d heard.

  It was all so insane.

  And above all, how was she supposed to face Markus after everything that happened? It was her sister who made him a victim. It was Mekena who was completely awful to him. How and why would he even want to look her in the eye? Talk to her? Walking toward her car, she closed her eyes before laying her head on the roof of the car. She sucked in a deep breath, wiping her face and the snot from her nose. Everything hurt. Her stomach, her heart, her soul. She didn’t know what to do.

  She didn’t even know how to face him.

  But most of all, she wanted to hug him. She wasn’t sure if he’d even let her.

  And that hurt her more than knowing her sister was a pill-popping whore.

  When a pair of arms came around her, she froze until she saw that it was Libby. Wrapping her arms around her aunt, Mekena cried into her chest as her body shook with her sobs.

  “Oh, Kennie, I’m so sorry,” she said into her hair, holding her close and kissing the side of her head.

  “I just don’t understand.”

  “That’s the thing, honey, there is no understanding addicts. They’re sick,” she tried, but that didn’t make Mekena feel any better.

  Pulling back, she looked up at her aunt and shook her head. “I should worry for her. I should feel like I need to fix her. Or even want to fix her, but I don’t. I’m so mad at her for what she did to him. You should have heard his voice, Libby. He was broken. At one point, I thought he was going to cry. She hurt him. Messed with his head, and now it all makes perfect sense. He’s been so fucked up from this debacle that he hasn’t been playing the way he used to. I feel like it’s my fault.”

  “Mekena, how…how in the world is it your fault?”

  “I don’t know, she’s my sister.”

  “But it is not your fault, and he knows it.”

  “I just feel horrible. I feel like I should have known, like I should have given him a chance to tell me. But I just ran,” she said, her voice breaking and her tears rushing down her face. “I wasn’t there for him.”

  Cupping her face, Libby kissed her nose. “Sweet girl, you reacted like any other woman would. This is all fucked up, and it’s gonna take time for everyone to heal, but in no way is this your fault.”

  “I can’t believe this,” she cried, rubbing her nose and closing her eyes. “I just don’t get it.”

  “I don’t either.”

  “I don’t even know what to do.”

  “Well, we gotta go to work. So you have time to figure it out.”

  Swallowing hard, she felt her lip wobble. “I wanna hug him and tell him I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sure we will see him, and you can do just that.”

  “What if he pushes me away?”

  Libby shrugged. “Then at least you tried.”

  Mekena nodded, though that didn’t help or make her feel better. She was confused, she was heartbroken for Markus, and she didn’t know how this mess would ever be fixed.

  But deep inside her, she knew it had to be.

  She just hoped he’d let her help.

  “No way.”

  “Yeah.”

  “No fucking way.”

  “Yeah, I stood right there, heard it from her mouth.”

  Shaking her head, Baylor leaned back in her chair as she exhaled loudly, patting Dawson’s butt. Her expression was blank, her eyes wide as she just kept shaking her head. Markus felt the exact same way. He was horrified by the whole thing. Violated and hurt, but in a way, he was thankful he knew the truth. Skylar hadn’t held back the details, and he felt he’d needed that to move on. He felt like he should feel more…pain, maybe…or something like that, but really, it was just worry. He hadn’t wanted Mekena to hear all that. He’d wanted to explain it himself, hold back some of the gory details, but she heard it all. That worried him. He wanted to know what she was thinking, what had happened once she went inside, and above all, what that meant for them.

  If there even was a them?

  Should there be a them?

  Fuck, he really wanted a them.

  “Are you okay?”

  Looking back to Baylor, he shrugged. “Yeah, I mean, I guess. I don’t know,” he said, breathing out slowly. “I feel like I should feel more. I mean, I feel dirty, and I’m sure that’s to be expected. And I feel violated. Again, expected. But should I be broken? Or something like that? I don’t know. I’m just mad at her, and I hate her for what she did. I wanted to smack that smug look off her face, Baylor, and I’ve never wanted to hurt a woman. She was just such a bitch.”

  “Oh, don’t you worry, I’m taking her out when I see her,” she warned, and Markus scoffed.

  “Yeah, yeah, you aren’t doing anything,” he reminded her, and she gave him a look that said otherwise. Ignoring that, he looked back at his hands. “I mean, I don’t remember any of it, so there was no trauma. But shouldn’t I feel more?”

  “I can’t tell you how to feel, Markus. It’s you. You know how to feel.”

  He nodded. “Yeah.” Leaning on his legs, he dug his elbows into his thighs as he held her gaze. “I’m mad and violated and worried. And really worried about Mekena.”

  She smiled tentatively, patting Dawson’s back now. “I can imagine. So she heard the whole thing?”

  “I think so.”

  “Man, that sucks to realize that not only did your boyfriend not really cheat on you, but your sister basically raped him.”

  “And had no remorse.”

  “’Cause she’s a whore,” Baylor said, shaking her head ruefully.

  “Yeah,” he agreed, leaning back in his chair. He wanted to take a shower. He had already taken one that morning, but he still felt dirty. He wondered if that feeling would go away. Or if that was just one of the repercussions of what had happened. “Do you think I should go to counseling?”

  Meeting his gaze, Baylor smiled. “I do.”
<
br />   “Yeah.”

  “You may not feel everything now, but you will, and if I’m not there, at least they will be. I’d go to Wren Lemiere. She was wonderful, and I think she’s still working for the Assassins. She travels with the team and everything. Always someone to talk to.”

  Markus nodded. “Okay, I’ll make an appointment Monday.”

  “You don’t have to, you can walk right in. I think it would be good for you. And if anything, what can it hurt, you know?”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, wringing his fingers together. Even with all the emotions he was feeling, he couldn’t shake the worry for Mekena. “Should I call her?”

  “Call who? Skylar?”

  He laughed. “Fuck no. Mekena.”

  “Why?”

  “To check on her.”

  Baylor shrugged. “Maybe just text her? No telling what is going on over there.”

  He hesitated. “What if she doesn’t answer?”

  “Then she’s busy. I don’t know, Markus. I mean, this is a lot, not only for you, but for her. Mekena said she thought you did it because she wasn’t good enough for you. That’s a lot to shake off, you know?”

  “Yeah,” he said as he reached for his phone. But then he realized he didn’t have her number, that she had changed it. Clicking on Avery’s name, he typed out a quick message.

  Markus: Hey, have you talked to Mekena?

  Avery: Since?

  Markus: Since the blowout in her front yard that I know you know about because your husband has a huge mouth.

  Avery: Yes, and you’re right, he does. :P

  Markus: I know. Anyway, is she okay?

  Avery: I mean, she’s as okay as she can be. She’s upset.

  Markus: Should I call her?

  Avery: When I say she’s upset, she’s crying and shit. She wouldn’t want you to hear that.

  Markus: Oh. Okay.

  Avery: Yeah, but she’ll be at the rehearsal tonight.

  Markus: Yeah, I guess I’ll wait.

  Avery: Cool.

  Markus: Cool.

  But it wasn’t cool. He didn’t like that she was crying. He didn’t want to cause her any more pain. He probably shouldn’t have stopped, but seeing Skylar’s car and their house, he knew he had to. He had to get it off his chest, and while he was ultimately glad he had, he wished Mekena hadn’t been there. He hadn’t even seen her car, nothing to indicate that she would have been there, but she was and she heard everything.