Page 2 of Submission

I go still at her mention of Hunter and she takes the opportunity to lean forward, her voice low.

“What’s it like spreading your legs for a little bit of money instead of for free, like you usually do? I was wondering how you managed to buy your way onto the winner’s list. Now I know how.”

“I didn’t buy my way onto anything,” I hiss, suddenly furious. “I didn’t have to. I wouldn’t stoop to your level. And the only reason you’re coming at me right now is that even with all your money, you couldn’t take something which was never rightfully yours. Your insecurities are not my problem!”

Her face tightens at my words. “It seems you need another lesson in respect.”

“What?” I don’t bother lowering my voice. “Are you going to try to beat me up again? You know, you act like some stuck-up socialite half of the time, but then you reduce yourself to acting like a bully in some public high school bathroom. Grow the fuck up, Ashley.”

Her face twists in anger and I’m not surprised. It’s not like I never stood up to her before, but I’ve never been so confrontational and so confident. I dare her to fuck with me.

Something shifts in her eyes, and she sneers, “You should really be careful how you talk to me, Megan. Do you think you’re safe right now because you’re letting some old man fuck you? Where will you be when he throws you aside like some used-up whore? Because he will, and I’ll still be here waiting for you to fall apart like the talentless tramp you are.”

Her words conjure a painful throb in my chest because many of them are triggering for me, like whore and talentless. Many of those words remind me of another person I avoid like the plague: my sister. I recall our brief but disturbing conversation.

“You’re a hard one to catch up with,” Rachel said after I answered the phone.

Immediately, I recognized the voice, and all those sour feelings of childhood rushed back.

“How did you get this number?”

“Did you move?”

“What do you want, Rachel?”

She always wants something, and it’s never a good thing for me.

“You’re still a rude bitch, I see.”

“I’m hanging up.”

“I want to come to see you,” she blurts out.

“For what?”

“Do I need a reason to visit my sister?”

She’s never once acted like a sister to me and allowing her back into my life would be a huge step backward.

“I’ve got to go,” I told her, knowing that if Hunter heard our cold exchange, it would raise more questions about my past that I’m not ready to answer.

“This conversation isn’t over!”

“Yes, it is.”

And I hung up.

Evacuating a bad situation for my own mental wellness is not something I would have normally done in the past, but this is a new day, and I’m a new Megan. It’s time that both of these toxic women understand that.

“You know, from the way you’re so invested in my love life, I have to wonder if you’re not just a little bit in love with me. I mean, nobody has ever cared so much about who I sleep with as you do.”

When her face blanches, I smile ruthlessly and know that I’ve got her right where I want her.

“And before you go around calling me a whore to whoever will listen, you should get your facts straight about who I’m involved with. He’s not as forgiving as I am.”

After saying that, I brush past her and begin walking away.

“You cunt!” She screams at me. “I should–“

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