Just the thought of that scene made Carol’s heart ache.
"My aunt believes that if my mom hadn’t been disabled, if she hadn’t spent every day crying because she couldn’t find us, her life would have been better. Our family wouldn’t have fallen apart, and dad
wouldn’t have moved on so quickly with a new fla after she passed away."
Carol’s eyes dimd for a mont as she spoke, then she quickly added, "But I don’t bla my aunt.
None of this is her fault. If there’s anyone to bla, it’s that truck that swerved into our lane."
If it hadn’t been for that truck changing lanes, the lady driving wouldn’t have crashed, and mom wouldn’t have ended up with a lifelong disability due to a steel rod piercing her leg. Dad wouldn’t have
been so frantic after getting the call about mom being in the ICU that he lost track of the kids.
It all seed like it was written in the stars.
"How does your dad treat you?" Rosemary asked softly, "Were he happy when you and your brother ca ho?"
"He just broke down crying on the spot, kept apologizing to us for not taking better care of us, saying it was his fault we ended up alone for so many years." Carol’s smile held no trace of bla; instead she
said, "He doesn’t know about Doom. We didn’t tell him."
Rosemary nodded in understanding; after all, no one wanted their loved ones to live in constant fear.
"He only knows I ended up in an orphanage and then was adopted by a kind couple. Later on, I reunited with my brother, and then Crystal suffered indecent assault for trying to save my adoptive
parents, and died because of fatal injuries."
ntioning Crystal weighed heavily on Carol, as if a mountain of stone pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.
They say that Crystal, with her last breath, made her parents promise not to hurt Carol and Clark.
That good-hearted girl, knowing her ti was short, still used her last bit of life to protect them.
"Back then, Crystal had multiple fractures, breaks in her nerves, tendons, blood vessels, and her organs were damaged to varying degrees. Even if she had survived, she wouldn’t have been able to
move her arms and legs freely, and there was a high chance she would have needed amputations.
Given her condition, she would’ve had to live with a catheter bag for life, never leaving her wheelchair, being fed by soone else. For her, that would’ve been unbearable agony."
Especially when she had soone she deeply loved and didn’t want him to learn that she’d been violated; every day when waking up, she had to face herself in a wheelchair. She had always loved the arts,
especially dancing. If she lost her arms and legs, it would have been a devastating blow. With her temperant, she truly would’ve preferred death over living like that.
"I’ll take good care of my aunt and her husband, give them more company and attention, to comfort Crystal’s spirit in heaven."
Holding a bouquet of white roses in one hand and Rosemary’s hand in the other, Carol said, "For the New Year’s dinner, I want to visit my aunt’s house with Clark. We can’t go empty-handed. They’ve seen
their fair share of jewelry over the years, and they have plenty. I was thinking of gifting sothing practical. I heard there’s this craft yarn shop at the mall which is all the rage with the girls. I want to buy
so yarn and knit sweaters and scarves for them two."
"You know how to knit?" Rosemary sounded surprised.
"Yeah, my adoptive parents taught when I was little." ntioning her adoptive parents made Carol’s heart sink again, "Tomorrow, I’ll pay my respects to them again."
As they passed a clothing store, Rosemary suddenly noticed the clothes on the mannequin bore a striking resemblance to her own designs from a while back, about ninety percent similar.
She looked inside at the other mannequin displays, the clothes they wore were incredibly similar to her previous designs as well. She glanced at the store sign - 2F? Never heard of it.
"Spotted sothing you like?" Carol noticed her friend pausing; linking arms with her, she suggested,
"Shall we go in and have a look?"
The mannequins were adorned with tags that declared "New Arrival".
"See anything you fancy, just try it on. It’s on today!" Carol declared with a generous laugh.
"Did you co into so money?" Rosemary asked with a light chuckle.
"A bit," Carol whispered, "Splurging on a few outfits isn’t a big deal."
Rosemary had known for a long ti that Carol mastered the "Deadly Seven Steps" - a drug she had once used against Rosemary. So Rosemary guessed, "Pharmaceuticals?"
"Nope, but how did you know I dabble in little concoctions?" Carol said; then suddenly rembering sothing, she laughed again, "It was my artwork, actually. Sold a piece on the underground market for 50 grand. You know, my foster parents were teachers; they loved painting and calligraphy, and I picked up a bit from them growing up."
Though they weren’t masters of their craft, her artwork and calligraphy could fetch a decent sum.
"I also sold a calligraphy piece for 30 grand, so today you pick whatever you want, my treat!" Carol’s smile had just begun to bloom when a girl shot her an unfriendly glare.
"Carol?" The girl’s voice dripped with disdain, "What are you doing in a place like this? Dad’s been giving you too much pocket money so you dare to shop here?"
"Let’s head over there," Carol took Rosemary’s hand, eager to avoid a pointless spat.
The girl noticed the bouquet of white roses in Carol’s arms and said with even more scorn, "Your mom’s been dead for how many years now, and you’re still wasting money on that? Just looking at it
brings bad luck!"
"Katherine!" Carol’s anger sparked, but she held it in, not wanting to cause trouble for her father.
"What? Am I wrong? Your mom’s long gone, and you’re squandering money on sothing for a dead person. Think the family fortune is yours to waste?" Katherine’s words were cruel, and she even knocked the bouquet from Carol’s arms.
Carol watched the flowers ant for Crystal fall to the ground and felt her temper rise. Her voice carried a warning, "Pick them up."
Instead of complying, Katherine stomped on the bouquet, "Pick up sothing for the dead? As if!"
Carol was skilled enough to handle Katherine in under a minute, but the problem was, Katherine was her half-sister; they shared the sa father.
Katherine, still feeling unsatisfied, kicked the ruined flowers at Carol’s feet, "Pick up every petal and get out with your bad luck charm! This place is out of your league!"
As Katherine turned to leave, Carol’s hand shot up, delivering a stinging slap, "Didn’t your mom teach you manners? Living in my house for so long, you never learned decency?"
Katherine clutched her face in disbelief, staring at Carol, "You weakling!"
When had she beco so strong?
"The ruined flowers, 19 bucks." Carol said, taking out her phone and displaying the paynt code,
"Scan it."
"You dare ask for money." Katherine seed to be encountering such audacity for the first ti,
"Isn’t dad’s money enough for you? Now you’re after mine too."
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