Maggie stamped her foot impatiently. Simone was the firecracker of the three, but when Maggie lost her shit, they paid attention.
“Listen to the shouting. Does it sound like Star is happy to see him?”
Simone stopped talking as they hurried along the road. She was right—Star was clearly not at all pleased. Righteous indignation stirred inside her. Sisters may be utterly vile to one another, but woe betide anyone else who dares to mess with them; it was a universal rule. She flexed her fingers. She pummeled her patients’ locked-up muscles daily; she could pummel Stu’s weaselly face with ease, and quite frankly, she’d been waiting for the opportunity.
North Novelties & Curios came into view. Stu swaggered about below like a reprobate Romeo, while Star hung too far out of the front room window, waving her arms about and hiss-shouting. Simone moved to confront Stu, but Maggie held her back in the shadows.
“Give Star a chance to handle it. We can jump in if things get tricky.”
“Oh, Star couldn’t handle kittens!”
“Let her try.”
Stu’s voice was getting louder, as were Star’s whispered shouts in return.
“You can’t be here!” Star’s top half was bent in a right angle from the waist. “You’ve done enough damage as it is.”
“I’ve paid my debt to society,” he said petulantly.
“Sure, but I’m still paying for your misdemeanors. My sister still hates me. I’ve lost my job and my home because of you. This has to stop. I’m sorry, but you need to move on. We broke up three years ago!”
“You said you’d love me forever!” He was accusing now.
“That was before you broke into my work and got me fired and then stole from my sister’s house. As abuses of trust go, that’s a pretty big one!”
He waved his arm dismissively. “That was ages ago.”
Star’s mouth was open, and she was shaking her head as though she couldn’t think of a response.
Stu filled the silence. “And anyway, she can afford it.”
“That is not the point! You are not Robin Hood. And you certainly didn’t nick that stuff to give it to the poor.”
“I love you, Star! And I’m going to make you see that you love me too.”
“We are over. You have to accept it. How did you even find me anyway?”
“Let me up and we can talk about it.”
“No. You can tell me from there.”
In the light from the streetlamps, Simone saw him grin boyishly in a way that he clearly felt would melt Star’s heart.
“I tracked you. On your phone. And then I hung around and waited for you to show up. Plus, your surname is North,” he said, gesturing to the sign plate above the shop. He looked pleased with himself.
Realization broke across Star’s face. The look she gave Stu was clearly not what he had been expecting, and Simone felt a twinge of satisfaction as his hopeful expression faltered.
“You stalked me.”
“It’s not stalking—you up and left without telling anyone where you were going.”
“That’s because I didn’t want you to follow me! I don’t have to tell you anything because we are not together. You need to get that through your head. We are over!”
“Look, let me come up, we’ll talk.”
Back in the shadows, Maggie leaned in and whispered, “Got to give him points for perseverance.”
“Can I punch him yet?” Simone asked.
“Give them another couple of minutes.”
Stu’s wail filled the air. “But I love you!”
“Whatever, this isn’t love. I’m sorry.” Her voice was pleading, begging Stu to understand.
In that moment, Simone could absolutely understand how her sister got into the scrapes she did. She was too nice for her own good. Peace, love, and understanding had their place, but sometimes a person simply needed to be told to swing their hook!
“What am I supposed to do now?” From his tone it was clear that this was not a rhetorical question.
“I don’t know. I can’t tell you what you should do. Quit drugs? That might be a start. But you need to go.”
“And what if I don’t?”
The pleading of a moment ago had morphed into something more menacing, and Simone felt herself clench.
“I’ll call your probation officer,” said Star. “I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.”
Simone could hear the hesitation in Star’s voice and so, it seemed, could Stu.
“You wouldn’t.” His smile was cocky, as though this was a game they had played before, one which he was sure was going to end in very good makeup sex.
“I absolutely would. I mean it, Stu. I have tried to be kind. I wouldn’t mind if it was only me you hurt, but you hurt my sister, you violated her home and her trust in me, and I’ll never forgive either of us for that.”
Simone felt her spine stiffen.
“What?” The cocksure grin was becoming a sneer. “You’re choosing your stuck-up sister over me?”
Star leaned so far out of the window that Simone’s heart gave a stutter of alarm.
“Every time!” Star hissed.
The boulder of resentment that Simone had been lugging about for the last two years suddenly felt like a pebble. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Maggie watching her.
Stu rocked on his heels for a beat as though in shock and then grabbed a fistful of shingle and hurled it up toward Star, yelling, “Don’t you turn on me, you bitch! Who else is gonna want you—”
But he didn’t get to finish his tirade because Simone had broken cover and was striding toward him with her arms swinging and Maggie half running to keep up. Stu, suddenly aware of the two women barreling toward him, one of whom he definitely remembered robbing and last saw shooting death stares at him across a courtroom, stumbled backward into the large concrete planter.
“What!” he quavered, trying to scrabble out of the planter. “What do you want?”
Simone reached him and bent over his cowering form. She could feel Maggie beside her, acting as adjudicator to make sure things didn’t get out of hand, and she was vaguely aware of being grateful for her presence; left to her own devices she would very possibly crush Stu like the cockroach he was.
“I’m going to make this clear for you because I can see that you’re having trouble understanding the word ‘no.’ Leave. My. Sister. Alone,” she snarled. All the anger and hurt she kept dammed up was bubbling out of her.
“Or what?” There was no mistaking the crack in his voice.
“Or I will make you sorry. Unlike my sister, I won’t hesitate to call your probation officer. In fact, if you don’t leave Rowan Thorp right now, I’m going to call the police.”
“And tell them what?” Stu was breathing fast; after his initial surprise his bravado was returning. Maggie piped up.
“And tell them that you are being abusive and harassing and stalking our sister.” Maggie waggled her phone at Stu, close enough for him to see the numbers 999 and the green phone button waiting to be pressed. “I’ll also add in ‘disturbing the peace’ and ‘aggressive behavior.’ Have you had an electric ankle tag yet? That could be next on your list of achievements.”