Free Punishment with Kisses by Diane Anderson-Minshall Page B

Father didn’t seem to spend much time together, though.”
    She turned, cocking her head as if she were evaluating how frank she could be, and smiled again. “You know your father doesn’t enjoy these types of outings. Just because I’m happy doing charity work doesn’t mean he is.”
    It was a simple statement but one that felt loaded with emotional information.
    “Why do you stay?” I prodded. Maybe she was sad and drunk enough to answer honestly.
    “What?”
    “Why do you stay married to Father? Is it the money?”
    Tabitha paused, reflectively, her eyes glistening again like they did after Ash’s outburst. She was pensive and thoughtful and though she was crying now, she was still quite beautiful. What did she see in Father, a man thirty years her senior?
    “Megan, I’m not sure you could understand the nuances of my marriage.” She looked faint and stricken. Perhaps I touched a nerve. “It’s hard to explain why we do the things we do, but you must know I’m not some simple ninny pining away for a cold and distant workaholic husband.”
    I wanted to be frank with her, too. “Well, that’s certainly how it looks from the outside sometimes.”
    “You of all people should know looks can be deceiving.”
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt confrontational and defensive.
    “Nothing, dear, I just mean, what you see isn’t all there is in any situation.”
    As soon as we arrived home I rushed straight to the pool house to talk with Ash about this strange conversation. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Shane’s bike and immediately felt flush with anticipation. Being with Shane would make this whole night so much more palatable. I hastened toward the bike to find her first. She was probably waiting by the pool for me, I figured. But when I couldn’t find her there I continued on to the pool house in case she was chatting with Ash.
    I didn’t even stop to knock in my rush of excitement, but I’ll forever wish that I did. Inside, Ash lay supine, her undulating legs wrapped around Cynthia’s neck, while Shane was nuzzled up against Ash. It’s hard to say which is worse: finding your girlfriend making it with your sister or finding your girlfriend in a threesome. But certainly finding both of those things at once when you spent the whole night dreaming about the bitch is among life’s worst moments.
    I was instantly enraged and violently nauseous, and while Cynthia barely recognized my presence, Ash sat up and said, “Come in, little sister,” in her most flirtatious tone.
    The whole sight of it made me sick to my stomach. I stood there, an exclamation barely forcing its way up my throat and out my mouth, as I registered real disbelief.
    “Wait, Megan, I can explain,” Shane began as I shook my head violently.
    At that moment I didn’t know whether to be angry or disgusted, and if it was anger I should feel, who deserved my wrath the most. Was my sister right all along? Was this her fucked-up way of showing me that Shane was just using me to get to her? Or did Ash declare war, seducing Shane just to hurt me? What had I ever done to deserve this?
    The moment seemed frozen in time, but silent admonition turned to pure bile.
    “I hate you. I hate all of you!” I cried as Shane rushed toward me. “Don’t you ever fucking touch me again! And you, you…” I pointed at Ash, who seemed too drugged up to even care that I was yelling at her. God, what was wrong with her? What a horrible human being. “I wish I could be like you, Ashley—all tits and ass and cold and dead inside. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you’re toxic. I don’t want anything to do with either of you ever again. You deserve each other.”
    As I ran out the door I could hear Ash say something but couldn’t decipher it. For all I know she was laughing.

Chapter Six

    I spent the next two weeks inside the house where tensions seemed to escalate as well. My father and Tabitha seemed to be yelling