I’m hiding out in Scarlett’s house listening to every word that’s being said, and it’s all I can do to bite my lip and stop myself from lashing out at her parents and giving them an earful. I’m desperate to come to her rescue but fear making things worse for her. Better I stay concealed. Scarlett’s dad has recently got home from work, to be greeted by the sound of Scarlett’s mum, Steph, ranting at her in the kitchen. She, who herself has only just returned from a spa day. Her third this month.
Looking around the room, it’s all such a joke, so fucking fake. Everything so clean, open and inviting. Much like the rest of the house. From the spotless porcelain gloss units to the elegant white orchid gracing the sprawling worktop, to the charming print of idyllic St Ives mounted on the wall. A seemingly soothing sanctuary of calm, but which couldn’t be further from the truth. No outsider would be able to guess at the rottenness embedded within its walls, infesting the air like a putrid fungus. It’s all a big, fat, ugly lie, and I want to scream it from the rooftops.
‘Shut your mouth, you disgusting little tramp, how dare you tell such vile lies. I cannot believe I conceived a child as horrid as you. Is it that freakish so-called friend of yours putting you up to mischief again? Is he the one who’s been putting such abhorrent thoughts into your sick little brain? Come on, girl, speak up, tell me, you little weirdo.’
The cow grabs Scarlett’s shoulders and shakes her violently. My poor friend remains mute, and I can sense her pain. Both emotional and physical.
‘Steph, stop it, that’s enough,’ Scarlett’s dad, Brian, says. In something of a half-hearted fashion, though, it has to be said. Like he feels he needs to say something, but is also scared of his wife’s reaction. It’s clear who wears the trousers in this house. Steph dominates Brian. He never dares to disagree with her because he knows he’s out of her league in the looks department and is petrified she might leave him. He’s so weak. So pathetic. Despite Scarlett always defending him. A real man wouldn’t take that, a real man would stand up to Steph, put her in her place, lay down the law and protect his only child. He has no idea that his slutty wife has been shagging the babysitter on and off for the last eight years. The son of his boss, for God’s sake, the ultimate humiliation. And not just shagging him. He does vile things to her. Things that aren’t legal. But the whore takes it without complaint. Seems to enjoy it. They make recordings too. Watch them on repeat.
Or maybe Brian does know. But is too chicken to point the finger in case he gets the sack. Scarlett has been desperate to tell him the truth, but she’s too kind, and she doesn’t want to hurt him. Even though she’s been hurting inside herself for so many years now, having witnessed things no kid should ever see. She’s also been too afraid to tell him for fear of the horrible things that might happen to her and to Brian if she does and gets found out.
Until now, that is.
I’m so proud of her for finally having the guts to speak up, having suffered in silence for so long. But I also suspect her efforts are a waste of time.
Steph glowers at Brian. ‘It’s all your fault. You’re too soft on her. You let her get away with murder. Jason has been nothing but kind to her. Nothing but good to us. Babysitting at the drop of a hat when she was younger, staying later than planned when we’ve overrun. He’s fetched her from school, made her meals, read with her at bedtime. And how does the little minx repay him? Repay us? By fabricating some dirty story. All to get him into trouble. He’s your boss’s son, for God’s sake. A respected member of our community. Do you really think him capable of such things?’
Steph is such a bitch. She knows full well that Scarlett caught her and the babysitter going at it through the slit in the bedroom door. But she doesn’t know the rest. Is so utterly clueless about the other stuff that goes on. What happens to Scarlett when she’s not there. Poor Scarlett is trying to tell her, get her parents to listen. But Steph is screaming the house down, accusing Scarlett of cooking up stories to make Steph stop. Because she feels bad about Steph cheating on her dad, feels sorry for him. But Steph is wrong. So wrong. She doesn’t know what’s happening to her daughter right under her own roof. And that makes her an even worse mum than ever in my eyes. For not seeing it. For not protecting her daughter.
Right now, I feel so angry for Scarlett. So angry with the world, about the injustice of it all. I can see how much pain she’s in; she can’t take much more. This was her one shot at telling the truth, but I knew it would come to nothing.
Things can’t go on like this. I have to do something. I need to protect Scarlett even if others are too scared to.
‘Go to your room!’ Steph commands with eyes like the devil. ‘You are nothing but a lying, sick-headed, evil piece of filth, who gets off on concocting these disgusting stories for no other purpose than the sake of your own twisted enjoyment. I feel ashamed to call you my daughter.’ Still not a word from Scarlett. It’s like she’s blanked out the world around her. Wrapped herself in an invisible cocoon so as not to let the bad stuff affect her any more.
But it’s not enough. I can see how Steph’s cruel words are affecting her. Along with Brian’s failure to protect her. I cannot let the adults hurt the person I love most in this world any more.
Tonight, Scarlett’s suffering will end.