Betrayal

by Lucy-Anne Smith

  “What is it?” He looked back and forth between Sam and me. He was beginning to look nervous.

  “Well... I’m pregnant.” She smiled.

  “What? How can you be pregnant?”

  “How do you normally get pregnant?” Sam asked, a little annoyed.

  “No, that’s not what I mean,” Russell said, getting up from his chair.

  Sam and I looked at each other. This was getting confusing.

  “What do you mean, then?” I queried.

  “I mean, how can you be pregnant by me? I’ve had a vasectomy.”

  CHAPTER 17

  He just stood there for what seemed like hours. He was very calm for someone who just found out his girlfriend cheated on him.

  Sam didn’t move; she was like a statue. I slumped in my chair, putting my face in my hands. What a mess. What a total and utter mess.

  Russell finally said, “So, when were you going to tell me that it wasn’t mine, Sam? Never?” Sam just sat, dumbfounded. “Aren’t you going to answer me, Sam?”

  “I... I... I don’t know what to say.” Sam finally sputtered.

  “No, I’m sure you don’t. Because you’ve been caught red-handed.”

  “I’m sorry, Russell. I...” Sam fell into the chair behind her and began to sob. She knew she had gone too far. I think we all did.

  Russell went over to the drinks cabinet and took out a bottle of vodka. He unscrewed the lid and drank from the neck. I had never seen him like this before. He sat down.

  “Whose is it, Sam?” He took another mouthful.

  Sam looked up in horror, her eyes red.

  “Surely, you don’t expect me to tell you.”

  “Well, I think it’s the least you can do. Since you cheated on me, got pregnant then lied about it.”

  I sat there looking out of the window. What else could I do? There was no way that I was going to pick sides in this disaster.

  “No, I don’t want you going there and a causing a scene.”

  Russell laughed. “I don’t care enough to do that. I just want to know who the poor sap is that you conned.”

  “Russell... Please,” Sam begged.

  “Whose is it, Sam?”

  By this point he’d put the bottle of vodka down. I was glad he wasn’t going to be silly.

  “It’s Ollie’s.”

  “Oh, nice. He may as well be your brother, for Christ’s sake.” I wanted to comfort Sam, but I was rooted to the spot. “That’s disgusting. When?”

  He was really putting her through this. Mind you, I had to agree with him. She deserved something, but perhaps not all this. Then again, I wasn’t in his position. Sam’s makeup had run so badly she had black tear lines down her face.

  “At the party.”

  “What party?”

  “Mum and Dad’s anniversary party.”

  He shook his head, amazed.

  “Well, you’ve really outdone yourself this time, Sam. What was all the ‘I love you’ about every night, besides a crock of shit? Well, I’m glad I found out sooner rather than later. You know what? I’m glad you did this ‘cause now I can go and never think it was my fault we failed. That I’d done something wrong. I haven’t wanted to be with you for a while now, and you’ve given me the perfect excuse to run. Boy, will I be running. As far away as I can get.”

  Sam’s shoulders were heaving, but she wasn’t making a sound. I looked back at Russell and this time he was looking at me. “Did you know Beth?” he said quietly.

  I nodded my head and looked to the floor. “I’m sorry, Russell. I thought it was for the greater good.”

  “Whose greater good? Not mine.”

  “No, it was for the baby, Russell. I did what I thought was right at the time.”

  This was terrible. The look on Russell’s face was unbearable. I felt like grabbing Sam and shaking her for what she had done and for what she had made me do.

  Russell blew out a breath and said, “Well, I’m done. Sam, have a nice life. I’m outta here.”

  Russell took his jacket and slammed the door behind him. As soon as he was gone, I ran over to Sam to comfort her. She hadn’t said anything for quite a while, now. I bent down and put my hand, lightly, on her back. She still didn’t move.

  I said, “Sam, please talk to me, you’re scaring me now.”

  She slowly looked up. “What am I going to do, Beth?”

  “Sam, come on.”

  I helped her up and wiped her face as best as I could.

  Sam said, “I can’t live without him. What am I going to do?”

  “You’ll be fine,” I told her.

  She stared into the middle distance; tears streaked her face. Her hair was a mess and her voice was becoming higher and louder.

  “You don’t understand!”

  “Sam, please calm down. Everything will work out.”

  “It won’t!” she shouted. “Nothing will be all right now. You told me to do this! If I’d have gone along with my plan of getting rid of it, everything would be different right now.”

  “Sam, please, calm down. Think of the baby.”

  She suddenly looked straight at me. “I. Don’t. Care about the baby,” she spat. “I need to go and find Russell. I’ll tell him that I’ll get rid of it. Then he’ll come back.”

  “Sam. Please.”

  She wasn’t listening. She was becoming hysterical. Sam stood up, walked out of the room, put her coat on and walked out the front door. Where she was going, I didn’t know. There I was, left in their house all alone.

  I didn’t know what to do next. I saw a set of keys on the table, so I took them hoping they were either Sam’s or Russell’s keys for this house. I left and sat in my car thinking about what to do next. I looked at the time; it was eight p.m. I decided to ring Meg.

  “Hello?” she answered.

  “Hi, Meg.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s all hit the fan! Sam told Russell that the baby was his and he dropped a bombshell.”

  “What’s that?”

  “That he’s had a vasectomy!”

  “Oh, god. What’s happening now?”

  “Russell’s gone somewhere and Sam’s gone looking for him. I don’t know where either of them are, or what’s going on now.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to see if I can find Sam. After that, I really don’t know.”

  “Well, I’m at the Frying Frenchman. I’ll keep a look out for her. If I do see her, I’ll give you a ring.”

  “Thanks, Meg. I’ve got to go. She could be up to anything.”

  I put the phone in my bag and set off. I could tell this was going to be a long night. Driving into town was a nightmare with all the traffic. I must have gone in 20 places looking for her. It wasn’t easy and I could have missed her because every place was so busy. I tried anyway. I had to; she was my sister. I looked down as many side roads as I could. There wasn’t hide nor hair of her. In the end, I had to go home, and hope she would call.

  Pulling into my road, I wearily got out and headed for my door. I took my keys out of my bag and went to open the door when a shadow popped out from the side of the house. I jumped and tried to ready myself for a fight. It was all I could think of.

  “Beth, it’s me,” the shadow said.

  I strained my eyes to see through the darkness. I realised it was Russell. As he got closer, I could see that he wasn’t angry anymore. He just looked sad.

  “Are you all right?” I asked.

  He moved closer to me, until we were toe to toe.

  “Why were you going to let it happen? I thought you had some feelings for me.”

  I fidgeted uncomfortably, where I stood.

  “I’m sorry, Russell. I had to. Sam and the baby came first. What do you want me to do?”

  “I don’t know anymore. Can I come in?”

  “Um, I’m not sure.”

  “I promise I won’t do anything. I just want to talk.”

  “OK
, come on in.” I finished opening the door and we both entered the hallway. Russell went into the living room and I followed. We sat down and just looked at each other. “I’m so sorry, Russell. I didn’t want to do it. I thought that it would be the best, but I was wrong.”

  He took my hand. “It’s not you I’m blaming, Beth. Sam’s a grown woman. She can make her own choices and she decided to lie to me.”

  “I’m sorry that it happened.”

  He looked down. “Why did she do it?” he asked me.

  “She was drunk and stupid.”

  “That’s not an excuse. I could have done the same with you. You stopped us and you were drunk.”

  I had no come back for that one. “What are you going to do now, Russell?”

  “I don’t know. If I moved away, would you come with me?”

  “No. You know I can’t.”

  “Then for the time being, I’m gonna stay right here.”

  “What are you going to do about Sam?”

  “Nothing. I have nothing to say to her. I’m only going back for my things.”

  “Where are you going to sleep tonight?”

  He looked sheepish. “Could I stay here? Just for tonight. I’ll find somewhere else tomorrow.”

  I wasn’t sure this was a good idea, but I couldn’t put him on the street. I sighed.

  “Yeah; on the sofa, though.”

  “No problem. Thanks.”

  Well, he was a free agent now and I still couldn’t have him. This was depressing. My mobile began to ring in my bag. I answered it.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi. It’s me, Beth.”

  “Sam! Where are you?”

  “I’ve been looking for him everywhere. I can’t find him.”

  “It’s all right. He’s here, with me.”

  “He’s there? What’s he doing there?” She sounded shocked.

  “When I came home, he was waiting for me. I think he just needed somewhere to go.”

  “Can I speak to him?”

  “Hang on.”

  I turned round and handed the phone to Russell.

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t want to talk to her.”

  “Please, Russell? Just talk to her, please.”

  He sighed and grabbed the phone. He said, “What... I don’t want to hear it... No... I told you... No, it’s over, Sam... No... I’m going now.” He handed the phone back to me. “She’s not listening to me. Maybe she’ll listen to you?”

  I put the phone to my ear.

  “Sam?”

  “He won’t talk to me. What am I going to do?”

  “Don’t worry. Let me talk to him. I’ll speak to you soon, Sam. Go home and rest.”

  Then her mood changed. “Beth, I don’t know what I might do if I don’t get him back. I’ve had enough of this.”

  “Sam, stop being silly. Do you want me to come and pick you up?”

  “Yes, please, Beth.”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m at Pig & Fiddle on the high street.”

  “I’ll be there in a minute. Stay where you are.” I put the phone back in my bag and turned to face Russell. “Are you coming?”

  “No, I don’t want to see her. I’ll stay here and wait for you.”

  “Russell, I think she might do something stupid. Please come; it will calm her down a bit. Then you can go wherever you want.”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea, Beth. That could make her think that we’re getting back together.”

  “Please, for me?” I asked.

  He reluctantly agreed and we got in the car. Driving to pick up Sam, we reached a decision that we wouldn’t talk about the pregnancy or what had happened earlier.

  Arriving at the bar, I was nervous. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Russell looked at me. I could tell he wasn’t going to enjoy this, either. We approached the door and Russell opened it for me.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  I stepped inside and looked around. I saw Sam sitting at the bar. I pointed her out to Russell and he nodded in acknowledgement. Slowly, we walked towards her. She saw me. Her face was still tear-stained and swollen from her crying.

  “Hi, Beth.”

  “Are you OK? Sorry, that was a stupid thing to say.”

  Then Sam caught sight of Russell. She stood up and began to walk towards him.

  “You came.”

  She held her hands out to him.

  “Don’t!” he snapped.

  “Russell, please. I’m sorry,” Sam said.

  I scanned the bar and there were plenty of empty tables.

  “Shall we sit down somewhere?” I asked them. “We can talk then.”

  They both agreed and we walked over to the closest booth. We all sat down. Nobody looked anyone in the eyes.

  “Why did you do it?” Russell sounded truly hurt. “That’s what I don’t get. You wanted to work through things.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Sam replied. “I can’t give you an answer.”

  “Any answer would be good right now, Sam.”

  “I don’t know. I was drunk.”

  Russell shook his head. “Why do you think that’s an excuse? You still made a decision to have sex with someone else.”

  “I know and I can’t take that back. How many times do you want me to say it?”

  Their voices were steadily getting louder.

  I muttered, “Calm down. People are beginning to look.”

  Sam looked at me. “I don’t care, Beth! Let them look! Russell, I only did it because I was getting nothing from you.”

  I looked at Sam in horror. I couldn’t believe she had just said that. “Sam, that’s out of order!” I snapped.

  “What, and the way that he’s treating me, that’s OK?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying, Sam, but you can’t say that.”

  “Whose side are you on?” she demanded.

  “It’s not about that! Stop acting like a child!” I couldn’t understand why she was acting like this. She was blaming everyone but herself. This was the final straw. She had to take responsibility for her actions. I said, “Sam, why are you acting like none of this is your fault? Let me remind you that it was you slept with someone else.”

  Sam was literally red in the face with rage. She shouted, “Yes, fine! I know that when I slept with Jason, it was a mistake. I’m sorry!”

  It took me a few seconds to let that sink in.

  Finally, I whispered, “What did you say?”

  “I said it was a mistake that I slept with Ollie.”

  “No. No. You said ‘Jason.’”

  Sam’s face was a frozen mask. “No, I said Ollie. I slept with Ollie!”

  Then Russell confirmed my worst fear when he told her, “Sam, you said ‘Jason.’ You slept with Jason!”

  CHAPTER 18

  “Wh... What did you say?” I sputtered.

  Sam put her head in her hands and began to cry softly. She said into the tabletop, “Oh, my God, Beth. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  I started to panic and babbled, “No, you didn’t sleep with Jason. You couldn’t have. I mean, Jason wouldn’t have.”

  I looked at Sam, then at Russell. He looked stunned and disbelieving. His eyes were wide.

  I said, “Oh, Beth. Please, no. No. You don’t know what you’re saying. You’re upset.”

  Sam was crying uncontrollably.

  “Oh no. No, no, no, no.” I said.

  Russel asked, “Sam, why would you say something like that?”

  She was shaking her head. Sam said, “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” Russell put his arm around me.

  He said to me, “Beth, are you OK? Do you want to go?”

  I stared at Sam, horrified. “You slept... with... Jason.” I couldn’t believe it. My head was beginning to spin. “But I’m engaged to him... You’re my sister... How could you?”

  “Beth, do you want to go?” Russell asked again.

  I turned to Russell, half-dazed. “No. Wha
t I want is for Sam to answer me.” I looked back at Sam. Sam couldn’t look at me.

  She stammered, “I... I don’t know... Please forgive me.”

  All this time, I had stopped myself from having the one thing that I really wanted because it belonged to Sam. Meanwhile, she was having what was mine. I looked at Russell. Then I looked at Sam.

  “Forgive you?” I asked, incredulous.

  “Yes! I’m so sorry, Beth.”

  “Yeah, no problem,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll forgive you and then you’ll go and do it again.”

  “What?” Sam gasped.

  “NO! How the hell can I forgive you? You slept with my fiancé! What is wrong with you? No wonder he doesn’t want to be with you!” I barked, pointing to Russell. “You’d sleep with anything and anyone!” I felt a lump in my throat. “I’ve got to get out of here.” I stood up unsteadily, then looked back to Sam. “I really hope you’re happy with yourself. You’ve just lost your sister!” Then I walked to my car.

  As I opened the car door, I heard Russell calling out behind me.

  “Beth!” I twisted round to see what he wanted. “Wait! Where are you going?”

  “I’m going ’round to see Jason.”

  “Why? Just leave him.”

  “I have to find out why.”

  “Fine. Just please ring me when you’ve finished.”

  “Yes. Take Sam home, please. If you’re still staying at mine, there’s a key ’round the back under the plant bowl. I’ll see you later.”

  I got in the car, did a turn in the road and drove off past a still-crying Sam. I had to get my head straight. I needed to know what to say to Jason. I still couldn’t believe that they had done this to me. I had been close, but I had stopped because of Sam and Jason.

  To me it seemed that they didn’t care, about me or anyone else. I pulled over and stopped the car on some grass at the side of the road. I could feel the tears falling. I banged my hands on the steering wheel a few times to release some of the anger in me.

  “Why me? Why did I deserve this?” I couldn’t control the tears. I lay my head down, still crying. I felt like screaming. I felt like ripping Sam’s head off. Calming down wasn’t working. I wiped my eyes and carried on driving. I passed people who didn’t have a care in the world while mine was falling apart. I pulled into Jason’s road, stopped the car and checked my face. There was no mistaking that I had been crying.