CHAPTER 2

Nora's pov.

"Jake? Emma?" My voice came out as a whisper, barely audible above the pounding of my heart. The room seemed to blur around me, even more like suffocating as anger and betrayal surged through my veins. The party decorations,which was once symbols of joy and celebration, now felt like mockery.

I just couldn't believe what I was seeing right now, my picture perfect night has been shredded into an un-recovering pieces.

Jake jumped up, his face draining of color. "Nora, wait, it’s not what it looks like!"

"Not what it looks like?" I echoed, my voice trembling with fury. "So, you’re telling me you didn’t plan to kiss my sister in our living room? On your birthday night? The one I spent weeks planning?"

I ran my hands through my thick brown hair from frustration. I turned my gaze to Emma, who was lounged back on the couch, completely unperturbed. The first three buttons of her top undone. She crossed her legs and smirked, not even bothering to cover herself.

"Oh, come on, Nora. Don’t be so dramatic. You should’ve seen this coming." She said sarcastically.

My eyes blazed as I turned to my sister. I can't even believe I still consider her my sister

"You’re not even sorry, are you? This was your plan all along. You always had to have what was mine you whore."

I lunched at her in an attempt to pull her hair. Jake stepped forward as fast as possible, raising his hands to intervene. "Nora, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what got into me. It was a mistake, I swear."

"A mistake?" My voice rose. "You’re not sorry, Jake. You’re just sorry you got caught. If I hadn’t walked in, you’d still be here, with her!"

"So this was your reason for telling me to come in an hour and thirty minutes time ?, Your intentions were so deliberate, yet you call it a mistake you motherfucking cheating asshole.

The anger and betrayal coursed through me like wildfire. In a blur of motion, I grabbed the cake from the counter and hurled it at Jake. Frosting splattered everywhere, but I didn’t care. "Happy birthday, Jake," I spat, my voice dripping with sarcasm and pain.

Emma laughed, a cold, mocking sound that cut through me like a knife. "Looks like your little party is ruined, Nora."

I couldn’t take it anymore. I stormed out of the house, my breath coming in ragged gasps, tears blurring my vision. The night air hit my face like a slap, but it did nothing to cool my rage. My eyes fell on Jake’s car parked in the driveway, and a reckless idea formed in my mind.

Without thinking, I picked up a rock from the garden and hurled it at the windshield. The glass shattered with a satisfying crash, reflecting the broken pieces of my heart.

As the shards fell around me, I took a deep breath, feeling a strange sense of archivement. I turned on my heel and walked away, leaving the chaos behind me. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration, but instead, it turned into a disaster.

I walked aimlessly, my mind a storm of thoughts and emotions. Every step felt heavy, my legs could barely move and my brain kept replayed the scene over and over, like it couldn't yet process what had just happened. I found myself at a small park near the apartment, a place I and Jake often visited. The benches and pathways, once filled with happy memories, now felt like grave markers of a love lost.

I sank onto a bench, burying my face in my hands. Tears streamed down my cheeks, uncontrollably.

"How could he do this to me?" I screamed at the top of my voice, "And with her, of all people?"

"Whyyyyyyyy?" I kept shouting and crying. The questions echoed in the almost deserted playground with just a few love birds enjoying the peaceful night.

Two passer-by turned to stare at me 'like is this girl normal'. But at this moment I don't care what anyone thinks, cause clearly the universe has turned against me.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. My finger hovered over my best friend Jessica's contact. Jessica had always been there for me, through every up and down. I hit the call button. And after it rang for a while she picked up.

"Jessica? It’s Nora. Can you meet me at the park?"

Jessica's concerned voice came through the line. "Of course, Nora. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Just hold on, okay?"

And that's why she's the best, she doesn't need to know what's wrong or what happened she's definitely gonna pull up.

As I waited, I let my mind wander. I thought about the first time I had met Emma, the young girl who had suddenly become my step-sister when both our parents remarried. Emma had always been competitive, always trying to outdo me. But I had never imagined it would come to this.

Jessica arrived, her expression a mix of worry and determination. She hugged me tightly, and for the first time since the ordeal began, I felt a glimmer of comfort. "Tell me everything," Jessica said, sitting down beside me.

Through sobs and broken sentences, I recounted the entire event. Jessica listened quietly, her hand never leaving my shoulder. When I finished, Jessica took a deep breath wiping the tears off my face with her palm. "You don’t deserve this, Nora. Jake is an idiot and have certainly knew that all along, and Emma...well, she’s always been trouble. But you’re stronger than this. We’ll get through it together."

I nodded, wiping the new wave of tears rushing down. "I know, but it just hurts so much. I feel so stupid for trusting them."

"No sweetheart, you just have a good heart and they are the fool for taking advantage of that, truth be told I'm glad you saw their true colors." She said pulling me to rest on her shoulder.

We both sat there enjoying the peace and quiet of the night with no words spoken, and at that moment I lost track of time completely, until I heard Jessica saying.

"Let's get you all tucked up in bed, you've had a really long day and trust me a warm bath and a cozy bed will help."

She pulled me up supporting me all the way to her car and she drove both of us to our apartment.

I went into the house and walked directly to the refrigerator to get a beer. Staggered into my room and locked the door behind me.

I don't know how long it was, hours or days, I honestly have no idea.

Except the constant ringing of my phone from Jake's calls and continuous messages of how it was the devil's doing, I really didn't care.

Jessica has been really helpful, she kept dropping snacks on my doorstep knowing fully well I didn't want to see or talk to anyone or even do anything.

I ones heard her chasing someone away which I was very much certain was Jake.

" She doesn't want to see you" I heard her say.

"Just let me talk to her and tell her how deeply sorry I am. She hasn't been receiving my calls or replying to any of my text."

"What part of she doesn't want to see you don't you understand, get out and never come back here." I heard the door slammed pretty hard. And a sense of satisfaction rushed through me.

Unfortunately I didn't have the stamina or courage to come out and say thank you to her.