Adultery

Scarlett couldn’t tell how long she cried in the hotel room. In the end, she had no more tears left. She whimpered but her cheeks remained dry after she’d wiped them earlier. It angered her that she could not even pour her anger out anymore. She stood up on wobbly legs and waited for the blood to flow in them after she stayed in the same position for so long. She didn’t dare look at the messy bed. She would really throw up if she was to see the blood stains on her sheets again. Instead, Scarlett made her way to the bathroom, swaying on her feet like a drunkard. She held onto the wall to not fall and turned on the light. It almost blinded her. She was immediately met by her own reflection on the mirror above the sink. “Ugh, no….” She whined, her right hand covering her mouth as she stared at her disheveled hair, the traces of mascara that smudged under her eyes and the see-through night dress that barely hung on her thin shoulders. She did look cheap. Scarlett came closer and held on to the sink. She turned her head slightly to one side and then to the other. Her neck was littered with love bites and they looked…sickening. “No, this is not me.” She snarled. “This cannot be me.” Yet it was. With each passing second, Scarlett convinced herself that indeed, the woman in the mirror was her, as shameful that was. She burst into tears again and was surprised to see that she still had some left, after all. She walked into the shower and turned on the water. She made it hot enough to burn her skin. If only she could peel it all off… She smeared herself with soap and scrubbed hard. She couldn’t even feel the pain. The disgust was greater than anything else. She scrubbed until she bled, the water turning pink when she rinsed herself off. Somehow, she still felt dirty so she repeated the process again and again until she could no longer hold her arms up. Then, Scarlett wrapped herself in a towel and returned to her bedroom. She tore her sheets off of the bed and put them in a huge pile with her nightdress. She decided that she’d burn it all later. Scarlett picked the cloth she wore last night. It was a short dress that didn’t seem appropriate to wear after what she went through but she had no other choice. She slipped it on and let her hair down, too mad to even think of tying it up. Her phone, keys and a bit of cash were thrown into her purse before she rushed out of the hotel. Scarlett hailed a taxi and got in, giving the address of Megan. Her feet trembled all throughout the ride. She had no idea what she was going to do once she’d see her. She had no plans and didn’t have the ability to think of one. All she knew was that she needed to understand. Why would someone so close to her do this? Why would Megan out of everyone else? After all they went through together… When the taxi dropped her off, Scarlett stood in front of her friend’s apartment complex for a few minutes before she made her way inside. She knocked at her door and waited anxiously for someone to come. She was about to knock again when the door flew open and Scarlett’s confused eyes met those of Megan’s mother. The strangest thing about her was not that she was wearing a night robe at midday. It was the look of pure horror on her face, as if Scarlett was the last person she wanted to see. As if there was something she was hiding. “Oh hello, Scar.” She said, passing a hand through her hair. “What…What brings you here?” She was sweating like a pig. Scarlett narrowed her gaze down on her: “I’m here to see Megan, of course. Is she here?” “Oh…Oh, no. I’m so sorry dear but Megan left very early this morning. She’s not around. M-Maybe you could come back later in the after-Ah!” Scarlett pushed past Megan’s mother, hitting her hard against her shoulder. Luckily, she knew the house better than anyone. She walked straight down the hallway, screaming as loud as she could: “MEGAN! Come out, you fucking bitch! Come out, wherever you are!” Her mother was right behind Scarlett: “What are you doing, Scar?! I told you, Megan is not here. You have to leave, now!” Scarlett was aiming for Megan’s bedroom door but she passed in front of her mother’s first. The door was slightly ajar and through the corner of her eyes, the young woman had seen something. Something that made her stop abruptly. “Scar…” The woman said with a trembling voice. “Scar, leave. Now.” But of course, Scarlett wasn’t going to obey. She bursted into the mother’s bedroom and immediately, a strong smell of liquor and sex hit her nose. She covered it with a hand while she looked at the man standing half naked by the bed. She couldn’t believe her own eyes. “Dad?” She said, her voice laced with disbelief. No doubts. It was the sheepish form of her dad, so out of place inside another woman’s bedroom. “Dad?!” She repeated, this time with more anger. The man frowned, his back straightening. Scarlett watched his father’s face turn crimson red. “How did you end up here?! Why are you inside this woman’s room, half naked? Dad, there must be an explanation-” “I have nothing to say, Scarlett.” It was like her heart was taken out of her chest and thrown against a wall. Scarlett opened her mouth but no words came out of it. What was there to say anyway? The things she was seeing were pretty much self explanatory. Her father pointed an accusatory finger in her direction: “You pounce in here like the devil! Don’t you have any respect? It’s your fault if you walked into this.” Scarlett let out a dry laugh. She then turned to look at Megan’s mother. The latter was leaning against the door, staring back at her with cold eyes. “I tried to stop you.” She stated. The young woman looked between them, still unable to believe that the scene unfolding in front of her was actually real. Never in her life could she have guessed that his father would have an affair with no other than Meg’s mom. They lived in completely different worlds. She found it quite ironic that she came to deal with her issues regarding Meg and found a problem with her mom as well. “Listen…” The latter said. “It’s not what it looks like, Scar. You might have misunderstood but there is absolutely nothing between me and your father. We just-” “Shut up.” Scarlett interrupted. “Just shut up if you are going to lie. There is nothing going on between you but the man is standing butt naked in your room. What else is there to know?” “Scar!” Her father yelled. “No. You shut up too! I’m so sick of this. Like mother, like daughter, right?! You’re both disgusting. You had your eyes set on my dad for how long, huh? The same amount of time that Meg fucking wanted my fiancé too?!” Scarlett shook with anger: “You are both sluts and I hope you rot in hell!” Just then, someone came running down the hallway. All three eyes in the room converged to look at the newcomer who was no other than Megan herself. She was out of breath but her burning eyes set on Scarlett: “First of all, what are you doing in our home and why are you calling my mother a slut?!” Scarlett fisted her hands. She’d never thought that she would one day be capable of murder but in that instance, all she wanted was to wrap her hands around Megan’s neck and squeeze all the life out of her.