‘You wouldn’t have understood,’ said Vicky. Tess moved forward and Vicky thought for a moment that her sister was going to strike her. She flinched, but Tess pulled her into an embrace. She was taller, and Vicky felt her face being pushed into the material of Tess’s fleece, and she felt her sister’s arms encircling her grow tighter.
‘Don’t you ever do anything like that again, you hear me? You’re all I have,’ said Tess. She squeezed tighter and Vicky’s face was pressed harder into the material. She could feel Tess’s ribcage beneath her neck.
‘Ow! You’re smothering me,’ she said, fighting to pull away. Tess held on for a moment longer and then let go. ‘What are you doing? Trying to squeeze me to death?’
‘What am I doing? Hugging you. I’m going mad with grief and worry!’ shouted Tess, raising a finger and pointing it at her face. ‘I thought you were dead! Do you know how that feels? Loss? I spent a day and a night thinking you were dead and that we were going to have to bury you! And now we hear you ran away! Jesus Christ, Vicky! I thought you’d pulled a few stunts in the past, but this!’
Vicky felt a sudden rage at her sister.
‘Is that all you can say, you selfish bitch? Sophia is dead and all you can do is shout at me!’
Tess lashed out, and the slap was hard and unexpected. Vicky stood back in shock, holding her stinging cheek.
‘How dare you speak to me like that in my house!’ cried Tess.
‘It’s not your house. The bank owns it, like everything else!’ shouted Vicky and she launched herself at her sister, nails out, wanting dearly to scratch her eyes out. Tess ducked out of the way, but not before Vicky gouged a corner of her cheek with a nail. Tess fought back and landed another hard slap on the side of Vicky’s head. Her ear rang as she staggered back into the fireplace, hitting her back on the stone mantle and knocking a picture frame onto the carpet.
‘Enough!’ shouted Jasper. He slammed a frying pan down on the counter with a loud clang. ‘Enough, the both of you!’ He came around and stood between them. Vicky was leaning against the wall by the fireplace, clutching the side of her head. Tess was dabbing at a long scratch on the side of her cheek, which had started to bleed.
Vicky was surprised that Jasper seemed so hostile to them both. He didn’t go to help Tess, or offer her a tissue to stop the bleeding.
‘I’m glad you’re okay, Vicky. But there’s things we need to talk about, tomorrow,’ he said. He looked at Tess again, and then went to the coat stand by the front door, grabbed his coat and left the house.
They were silent for a long minute after the front door slammed. Vicky picked up the photos; one was of Tess’s wedding. She looked down and thought how happy they’d been. Tess beaming, radiant in her beautiful dress, as she signed the register with Jasper standing over her, sexy as hell in his dark suit. She smoothed her hand over the frame, and shook the inappropriate thought away guiltily. Relieved that the glass hadn’t cracked in the fall, she placed it back on the mantelpiece. She looked back at Tess, who was standing in the same spot, hand on her bleeding cheek, staring at the carpet.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Vicky. There was another long pause.
‘Why didn’t you come to me?’ said Tess, in a small voice. ‘Why did you go to Cilla?’
‘It’s complicated.’
‘No, it’s not,’ said Tess, looking up at her with hostility in her eyes. ‘You just don’t want to tell me. What does Cilla have that I don’t?’
‘She doesn’t judge me.’
‘You think that’s what I would have done? Judge you? Do you know who killed her? Sophia?’
Vicky kept eye contact with her sister, but didn’t answer.
‘What was she doing in your flat?’
‘I just want to sleep,’ said Vicky, feeling the weight of her exhaustion pressing down on her.
‘So, that’s it. Conversation closed? You cause this huge drama and that’s it. Vicky’s tired, she wants to go to bed. Vicky does as she pleases. Vicky gets what Vicky wants.’
‘You have no idea what I’ve been through, Tess,’ said Vicky.
‘No, I don’t… You’ll have to sleep on the sofa,’ said Tess, wiping at her chin with the back of her hand. She moved to the kitchen and grabbed some paper towels.
‘Why can’t I sleep in the spare room?’
‘Because Jasper is sleeping in the spare room,’ said Tess. She looked up at Vicky defiantly.