I'll Tear Down the Stars for You

“Milk it for all it's worth. Make sure you get there first. The apple of your eye. The rotten core inside. We are all prisoners. Things couldn't get much worse. I've had it up to here, you know your end is near.”

I stared at my phone as it rung in my hands, my eyes wide as I stared at the caller ID. I had just seen the news and I knew exactly what he was ringing me for, and I just couldn’t be bothered to answer it as I know we’re just going to argue, but then again, he has to know that I didn’t send in those photos. Whether he’ll believe me or not, I don’t know.

I sighed and brought the phone to my ears anyway. It’s best to find out then sit and ponder.

“Hello?” I hesitantly said as I answered the phone, hearing no reply on the other end of the line. “Tom? You there?” I heard a shaky sigh on the other side of the phone. I knew that he was upset for some reason... a reason that I know...

“She cheated on me,” he whispered. I barely heard him but I managed to work out what he had said.

“Huh?” maybe I could try and play dumb?

“Olivia kissed another man behind my back, Ebony. I kicked her out of the house... and it hurts, even if I didn’t love her,” he didn’t love her? But. He proposed to her. God I’m confused.

“Oh. I’m sorry, Tom,” I wasn’t.

“You don’t sound sorry,” he hissed. “... Did you know about this? Did You know that Olivia had cheated on me before it had gotten out?” I didn’t say anything. I just stared at the blank TV screen. “Ebony?”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“Then why didn’t you tell me? So I didn’t have to go through this?” bastard.

“So you know how it feels,” I didn’t mean to say that. It just... came out.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You broke my heart twice, plus all those girls you’ve fucked in the past. Now it’s your turn to have a broken heart,” I was about to hang up, but I couldn’t. Something stopped me from doing so.

“You bitch!” he screeched at me.

“I’m a bitch? Tom. You deserved it. You got a divorce with me so that you could fuck her. How do you think that makes me feel? Huh?” I waited for a response, but it was silent. All I could hear was his deep breathing.

“Not... good?”

“No. Not good at all. In fact, I was depressed, Tom. Depressed. You tore my heart out, threw it on the floor, stomped on it a million times and then threw it in the bin. You left me for a woman who made us break up ... twice, and now she’s gone and cheated on you. I’m disgusted with the fact that you chose her over me. But you know what? I’m over you. I. I have a new man now, and. And I love him... ?” I wasn’t sure about that. Neither Mark nor I have said I love you to each other yet, and I don’t think we will be anytime soon.

“You don’t sound too sure about that, Ebony,”

“Don’t think you can read me like a book because you can’t,” I snapped. “You never knew me. The only thing you knew was how to break my heart. Your speciality? I think so,” I felt rage burn inside of me as I said all these words to Tom.

“Ebony calm down. You’re just getting yourself worked up and it’s not good for you,”

“I’m not pregnant Tom,” I hope. I don’t want any more children. 4 is enough.

“I don’t care. It’s still not good for you so calm down,”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Tom. You hurt me so this is payback for you,” I snapped.

“You did this, didn’t you? You sent in those pictures on purpose,”

I scoffed. “No,”

“Ebony. You’re the only one who knows what Olivia looks like so it must be you who did this,” I could sense him rolling his eyes. News Flash. Megan knows what she looks like too. Idiot.

“No. I saw her outside near Hailey and Emily’s school, not in the mall. But Megan saw Olivia in the mall,” I squeezed my eyes shut. I shouldn’t have brought her into this.

“Megan? Really? She did this to me?” the shock in his voice made me want to burst out laughing. He still doesn’t get it does he?

“Yes she did,”

“Why? She’s hurt me,” he sounded sad. But I don’t care. Why should I? I don’t care.

“Like I said, you hurt us. She still dislikes you. But you know what?” I waited for an answer, and it when it came, it was barely audible.

“What?”

She did it because she couldn’t stand seeing that bitch cheat on you. She did it because you’re her dad, no matter what you’ve done to us as a family. She did it because she still cares for you. We all do,” and with that, I cancelled the call and turned my phone off so that he couldn’t call me again.

“Who were you talking to, baby?” I jumped in my seat and turned my head to see Mark standing in the doorway leaning on the doorframe, his eyes staring straight into mine.

“Tom,” I saw fire burn in his eyes.

“Why were you talking to him? He cheated on you!” he hissed at me, walking over so that he was looking down at me. He intimidates me so much sometimes.

“He told me that he saw Olivia on the news with another man. He said that she admitted to cheating on him so he dumped her and threw her out the house,” Mark’s eyes widened at my words. Why? It beats me.

“Why did she cheat on him?!” he screeched at me.

“Beats me. She’s a whore. End of. What do you want for dinner?” I stood up and began to walk in the direction of the kitchen when Mark grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me back to face him.

“Olivia is not a whore! So don’t call her one!” Mark yelled at me.

“Mark. She splits people up for her own benefit, then cheats on them when she gets bored with them. Resulting her as a whore,” I put my hands on my hips, a sign that I wasn’t up with taking any of his crap.

“Ebony. If anyone is the whore, it’s you. You lost your virginity when you were 14 and DRUNK. You slept around and got pregnant at the age of 17. Careless sex. So I believe you’re the whore,” well. Excuse me!

“First, I am aware that I was stupid for doing that at a young age. But what do you expect? My parents had just died and I was confused as hell.” I’ve not told Mark about Tyler and I doubt I ever will. I’m slowly losing my trust in him. “Me getting pregnant with Megan wasn’t because of careless sex. We used a condom, but it snapped. We didn’t mean for it to happen. Get your facts straight before you accuse me of being a whore, thank you very much,”

“I don’t care if I’m going straight to my own assumptions about your past, all I care about is that you stop calling Olivia a whore. It’s rude,” I quirked my eyebrow up at him.

“And calling me a whore isn’t rude? I’m your girlfriend for God’s sake. Anyway, why are you so bothered as to what I call Olivia?”

“Because. It doesn’t matter. I just think that she should be with Tom,”

“And why is that?” I asked him, my arms now folded across my chest.

“Because they look perfect together,” he gushed. Lying twat.

“That’s not what you said when we first met. You had originally said that whoever Tom’s new chick is, who was Olivia, doesn’t deserve him,” what’s he going to say back to that? Nothing. I win.

“I felt sorry for you because I met you like, a week after the divorce and shit,” sympathy? I don’t need sympathy. “But now the plan is wrecked,”

“Plan? What do you mean by plan?” I looked up at Mark with a confused look on my face.

“Nothing,” I laughed.

“Right. And next you’re going to tell me that you actually know Olivia,”

“I do,” I stopped laughing.

After a deadly silence, I replied with, “How?” not sure of what else to say. I mean, he could admit that he had actually dated her before he met me. He could be a part of her loop and be oblivious to it.

“We talk,” he shrugged. Well no shit Sherlock.

“Oh come on! “We talk,” what kind of answer is that? Be serious. How do you know Olivia?” he didn’t say anything for a while. He just looked at the ground. Or anything but my face for that matter. “Mark. How do you know Olivia,”

“You don’t need to know,” he snapped at me, finally locking his eyes with mine. But I wished he hadn’t. His eyes were filled with hatred.

“Yes I do,” I sighed and glared up at him, gently tapping my foot as impatience began to smother me.

“Stop tapping your foot. It’s annoying,”

“I’m just waiting for your answer, that’s all. I answer many questions for you, so why don’t you answer this one, measly question?” Mark sighed heavily and glared at me. He opened his mouth, and out of annoyance he yelled in my face;

“BECAUSE OLIVIA IS MY SISTER,”