Chapter 28

The next fifteen minutes passed without conversation. Candy had checked to see that the kids were all in their own rooms. It was a little late for that, but it seemed the right thing to do while Sally was there. Knowing what she did about her daughters, maybe Candy should have said something about Deana and Gloria sleeping together, but at least Evan wasn’t in either girl’s bed. Afterward, she got Sally a vodka on the rocks. John would probably notice the missing liquor, but Candy was too embarrassed to tell Sally she wasn’t supposed to drink without him, and she never drank straight alcohol.

“Done,” Sally said and pushed the power button.

Candy held up her glass of water for a toast. “To my sister, the secret agent.” She laughed and gulped water. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

“You may not feel so grateful in a minute.”

Her sister’s somber mood and stern face made Candy nervous. “Is something wrong?”

Sally said, “Yes,” walked to Candy’s desk, and retrieved something from her bag.

Candy waited for more, but her sister was plugging in a USB stick. “What is that for?” Sally ignored her and clicked yes to the install pop-up.

The small object Sally placed on her desk made Candy queasy. “Wait a second.” She didn’t like where this was going. “Sally, what are you thinking?”

“Don’t you see it?”

There was that question again, except this time Candy got it. “Oh, no, you’re not.”

“It’s a last resort, and we won’t let anything happen, but we need proof.”

Fuzzy spots floated across Candy’s vision as the blood drained from her face. “What are you saying?” How dare Sally show up after all these years and imply that? “No, that couldn’t ... never.” She turned and marched toward the bedroom, angry indignation building. “No!”

Not knowing Sally had followed her, Candy whirled around and ran into her sister. “How dare you? Don’t you think I’d know if he were doing something like that? He’d never—”

“Shut up!” Sally grabbed her and yanked Candy, whipping her neck like a snapped towel. “Open your fucking eyes!”

The expression on Sally’s face was the same as when Candy had said Darlene. She would have retreated, but her sister’s fingers dug into her upper arms. “He raped you.”

“What are you talking about?” Candy said. “He never forced me. I let him. I wanted to.”

“Really? So when you were the babysitter and gave him head while he drove you home, that’s what you wanted to do?”

In her mind, Candy was screaming, no, but she asked, “Why would you say that?”

Sally kept going, “Did he stop in front of our trailer, cum in your mouth, then pay you for babysitting, so you felt like a whore?”

Candy gasped, fighting to stay upright. “You too?”

Sally’s lips trembled, and her chin wrinkled. “Did he fuck you after Sandra went to bed and make you think you were doing something wrong?”

A million thought synapses fired in Candy’s brain, connecting memories with pain, shame, and humiliation. “Oh, God, Sally, fuck, oh fuck.” The bedsprings squawked under Candy’s dropping body. She hugged her stomach, fell forward, and rocked. “No, no, no, please, no.”

Sally grabbed Candy in time to lessen the impact, then sat beside her on the floor and laid Candy’s head on her lap. “Baby, it’s not your fault. It’s not.”

“Hold me, please hold me.” It was as if Candy had regressed to that pregnant kid, terrified, helpless, and hopeless, with Sally telling her it would be okay, except Sally wasn’t the one married to John.

“I will.” Sally’s fingernails glided up and down Candy’s forearm. “I’m so sorry, baby, I’ll never leave you again.”

For years, Candy thought she had caused all of her problems. Gloria hadn’t asked to be born into this messed up world, so it was her responsibility to give the girl the best life possible. That meant doing whatever was necessary. Candy had been telling herself that was why she had sucked John’s dick in the car and let him cheat with her on Sandra. She loved Sandra like a mother, and Sandra loved her and did more for her than anyone else ever had. The guilt had been unbearable when she was letting John stick his dick in her in the next room, but he said she was a slut. Why wouldn’t a girl who had been knocked up by her brother believe the adult in her life?