Chapter 42 - Why are doing this

Rosie

A manic laugh woke me up from my chemical-induced unconsciousness as I pried my eyes open tiredly, my vision hazy as I tried to make sense of where I was.

I was in a car in the backseat, hands tied up behind, and I blinked in confusion. How did I get into a moving car? Then everything that happened came rushing back. My confrontation with Sophia and how smug I was when she knew she couldn’t get to me.

But damn, I didn’t think she would stoop so low as to actually kidnap me. I knew she did all sorts of horrible things to me, but kidnapping? Nah, because that was a whole different level of psychotic.

I tried to struggle, or rather thrashed, against the robe, and the tightness was biting into my skin. My grunt noise got to Sophia, who was driving, and she whipped her head back.

“Awake already, sis.” She grinned, that malicious glint in her eyes.

I tried to sit properly, but my muscles still feel lax and lethargic. My head was pounding like it wanted to split.

She turned and continued driving, “Don’t struggle too much because you’ll feel dizzy ...” She said casually, and I glared at her. “Why are you looking at me like that?” She scoffed, “I told you to leave him, but you wanted in the hard way, sis.”

I was tired of Sophia’s bullshit. I think Sophia truly had a screw loose in her head, and she was unstable. Like, she kidnapped her sister for a man? I sighed out, trying to conserve my energy and try to stall time, maybe conversing with her until Jude noticed I was gone.

But even if he noticed, how would he know where Sophia took me to?

I didn’t know what Sophia was planning or planned, but I didn’t want to be in the same space with her.

“Why are you doing this?’ I asked the question, even though I’ve thought of this question a million times: how could my twin sister do this to me? Why did she take joy in my misfortune? Why did she want to make my life a living hell? What did I do, or what was it?

Sophia looked at me through the rearview mirror and suddenly increased the speed, and my heart nearly removed itself from my ribcage because of the abruptness. I wanted to shout at her to slow down, but that would fuel her more to taunt me.

I looked out of the passing road and noticed we were already leaving the border of Highlander Creek.

And panic started to claw at my throat. “We are supposed to be twins...”

“Shut up with that twins thing,” she interrupted me, and without looking, she swerved violently to the other side. And my heart jumped because how could she do that? Did she want to get us killed?

“I never considered you as one, and you’ll never be.” She spat out with so much hate that I flinched. ... and then turned sharply and drove straight into the forest; trees flew past us in a blur, and I left my panic show on my face because I couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Worry not,” Sophia said as the car bounced violently over roots and rocks, making my body slam against the door and seat. “Lover boy is coming to save you.”

I frowned. How would Jude know where this place was? How would he know where I was? It was impossible unless Sophia had planned something.

Seeing the confusion on my face, she smirked. “Oh, you don’t know.” She laughed—that high, manic sound that made my skin crawl. “He’s even hiding something from you.”

My heart stuttered... What did she mean? Hiding something from me?

After what felt like an eternity of bumping through the forest, she finally stopped at an abandoned cottage that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. She killed the engine, and I breathed out in relief—we were safe from the horrible, near-death car ride.

Sophia got out and yanked open my door, grabbing me roughly and pulling me out of the car. I grunted as I stumbled, my legs weak and unsteady.

“What the fuck did he see in you?” she asked while nudging my leg with her foot to make me walk forward.

“And does he even carry you at all?” She tilted her head, examining me. “I don’t think he could because you’re a whale of a human being.” She tsked.

My face heated with shame and anger. Jude had carried me more than once, effortlessly, like I weighed nothing. And I thought he liked carrying me, and I loved it—loved feeling protected in his arms.

But I didn’t say anything, didn’t give a snarky response, because Sophia was clearly unstable and I didn’t want to push her over the edge.

“Walk faster,” she ordered, and I felt something hard nudge my back, and I looked over my shoulder to see a gun pointed at my spine.

Immediately my blood ran cold. How did she get a gun? Where did she get it? And what was she planning to do with it?

As I moved toward the cottage entrance, Sophia suddenly paused. Then, like a switch had flipped in her personality, she yanked me back roughly and ordered me to go back to the car.

I was surprised at the sudden change but meekly went back, not wanting to argue with someone holding a gun.

Sophia cursed under her breath, got into the driver’s seat, and ignited the car again.

She tapped her thumb on the steering wheel and quickly glanced at me in the rearview mirror.

“You want to know why?” She started; her voice was cold and flat. “You really want to know why I hate you so much, Rosie?”

And I gulped, nodding my head.

“We were born by the same parents,” she began, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. “But why did Mom and Dad dote on only us while we are the same and their daughters?” She clenched her teeth. “But I dealt with it. I tried to be indifferent about their obvious favoritism. Until our fourteenth birthday.”

My stomach dropped; I remembered that was the day Sophia changed completely.

She gave a humorless scoff. “You remember, don’t you?” Sophia’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror, and they were wild, unhinged. “You were sick because you won’t stop eating everything. Poor little Rosie with her stomach ache, and Mom and Dad dropped everything to rush you to the hospital, leaving me at home alone on our birthday. Our birthday, Rosie. But it was all about you, like always.”

“I was so angry and hurt because I was always the only one left alone. So I went outside to play before I was cornered and raped...” She uttered in a detached, flat, emotionless voice, and I flinched from the relationship.

“Sophia—” I tried to talk, but she cut me off with a hard glare.

“Do you know what Mom said?” she laughed. “Mom screamed at me for ruining my birthday dress and for going out when they told me to stay inside.” She scoffed again. “And I said I was jealous and making up stories.” She laughed—that horrible, broken sound that made me want to throw up.

“That’s when I decided, I’ll steal everything from you like how mine was robbed from me.

A tear slipped out of my eye, remembering how Sophia literally changed and my parents started choosing her, but I never knew and turned inward.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry, can’t undo what happened!” she screamed, slamming her hand against the steering wheel. “It’s your fault! If you hadn’t been sick and fallen ill, I wouldn’t have been left alone! If you hadn’t been the perfect daughter, the pure one everyone loved, maybe someone would have listened! You pushed me to this, Rosie. Everything I did to you.”

“...”

“You don’t deserve to live,” she said, and her voice went cold and calm. “Die like the fourteen-year-old version of me died that night. Die like my innocence died.”

Then she slammed her foot on the gas. The car shot forward onto the highway at terrifying speed. She drove in a zigzag pattern, swerving between lanes, and I genuinely thought we were going to die. I tried to grab something, anything, but my hands were still tied.

As we drove across a bridge, I saw three wolves running alongside the car at impossible speed. One of them was huge, bigger than any normal wolf, and it moved with terrifying grace and power.

As Sophia increased her speed, she laughed manically and grabbed the gun. She fired at the wolves but missed.

“Look at them!” she grinned wildly. “They even came for you!”

I stared at her in confusion. What did she mean the wolves came for me? What was she talking about?

She fired again, and this time one of the bullets hit a wolf in the leg, and a howling sound tore through the air as Sophia’s eyes shone with manic glee.

That’s when I finally managed to free my hands. The rope had loosened from all the thrashing, and I yanked my wrists apart, ignoring the burning pain. I grabbed the steering wheel behind as we both fought for control, both of us pulling in different directions. She jabbed her elbow into my stomach, but I didn’t let go.

Because I wasn’t ready to die yet in a freaking accident.