Page 4 of A Secret Chance
“Yep.”
“Ugh,” Charlotte groaned. “She’s almost as bad as her sister.”
Stacy had interfered in Charlotte’s life more than once. As a teenager, she had bullied Charlotte, and as an adult, had tried to get between her and Logan.
“Carrie might even be worse, or she’s at least practicing to take over the bitch throne,” Lauren said.
“Don’t let that shit get to you.” Charlotte squeezed her sister’s shoulder.
“I usually don’t,” Lauren sighed. “I can take it. I’ve heard it all before. But Char, you should’ve heard what they said about Tabitha.”
“Tabitha?” Charlotte stepped back, her eyes wide.
“Yeah, they said the usual stuff about us and Mom.”
“What the hell did they say about Tabby?” Charlotte said a little louder.
Lauren shook her head, her long brown hair falling beside her face.
“Lauren?” Charlotte coaxed.
“Just let it go,” Lauren said. “Let’s get back to the party.”
“No, I’m not going to let it go.” Charlotte put her hands on her hips. “Do you remember what it was like to live like that? With those rumors about us? The rumors that weren’t true, I might add?”
Lauren knew that Charlotte was right. She worked hard to protect Tabitha, but in this small town she was vulnerable to the Bunkman sister’s rumored past, and Lauren felt helpless to stop the cycle from repeating itself. “What could I have done? Hit her?” Lauren asked, then sighed. “They were talking about how she doesn’t know who her dad is.” Lauren gulped, trying to find the courage to continue. “Then they laughed and said something like, when is Tabitha going to turn into a slut like her mother, or something like that.” Lauren’s face was growing red again. “I confronted them and asked them to leave.”
“That’s way more civil than I would’ve been.” Charlotte’s nostrils were flaring. “She’s just a kid.”
“I know,” Lauren said. “And how embarrassed would she have been if her mom got into a fight in the bathroom?”
“I guess that’s true,” Charlotte mused.
Out of the two sisters, Lauren was the calm, reserved one. Charlotte was the hot head; known for throwing drinks in people’s faces or pouring champagne over their heads.
“Lauren, you did the right thing,” Charlotte said. She pulled her sister in for a hug. “I wouldn’t have even invited their devil spawn brats to the party in the first place though.”
Lauren squeezed her sister back. “I was trying to teach Tabitha about not excluding people.”
“The world is a harsh place.” Charlotte pulled back. “But I can see why you’re trying to protect her from it as long as you can.”
“Thanks.” Lauren’s shoulders started to relax; the adrenaline that had been surging through her body slowly fading away.
“But I’m going to go make sure that bitch is nowhere near this chalet.” Charlotte pulled the door open and paused. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
Lauren nodded. “Yes, just a little shaken.”
“Meet you at the candles.” Charlotte winked and stormed off down the hallway, her Prada winter boots following the same route that Carrie’s plastic ones would’ve taken.
Lauren took a deep breath and inspected her face in the mirror. It wasn’t as red as she thought, just a slight blush on her cheekbones underneath the dark freckles that ran across her face from ear to ear. She headed back to the kitchen to light the candles, but her mind was racing a mile a minute, worrying about one of her biggest regrets: Not telling her daughter the truth about her father.
