Chapter 2 Adultery

Scarlett couldn't tell how long she had 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 rage out anymore.

She stood up on wobbly legs and waited for the blood to flow through them after staying in the same position for so long. She didn't dare look at the messy bed. She would really throw up if she saw the bloodstains on the sheets again.

Instead, Scarlett made her way to the bathroom, swaying on her feet like a drunkard. She held onto the wall to keep from falling and turned on the light. It almost blinded her. She was immediately met by her own reflection in the mirror above the sink.

"Ugh, no..."

She whimpered, her right hand covering her mouth as she stared at her disheveled hair, the smudged mascara under her eyes, and the see-through nightdress that barely hung from her thin shoulders. She did look cheap.

Scarlett came closer and held onto the sink. She turned her head slightly to one side and then 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-shameful as it was. She burst into tears again and was surprised to find she still had some left after all. She walked into the shower and turned on the water, making 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 the bedroom.

She tore the sheets off the bed and piled them together with her nightdress. She decided she'd burn it all later.

Scarlett picked up the dress she had worn last night. It was short and didn't seem appropriate after what she'd just been through, but she had no other choice. She slipped it on and let her hair down, too mad to even think about 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 Megan's address. Her feet trembled throughout the ride. She had no idea what she was going to do once she saw her. She had no plan and couldn't even think of one. All she knew was that she needed to understand. Why would someone so close to her do this? Why Megan, of all people? After everything they'd been through together...

When the taxi dropped her off, Scarlett stood in front of her friend's apartment complex for a few minutes before making her way inside. She knocked on the 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 wasn't 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 she was hiding something.

"Oh, hello, Scar," she said, running a hand through her hair. "What... What brings you here?"

She was sweating like a pig. Scarlett narrowed her gaze at 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 on the 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's not here. You have to leave, now!"

Scarlett was aiming for Megan's bedroom door but passed in front of her mother's room first. The door was slightly ajar, and through the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw 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 burst into the mother's bedroom, and immediately, a strong smell of liquor and sex hit her nose. She covered it with a hand as 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 doubt-it was the sheepish form of her father, 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 as her father's face turned crimson red.

"How did you end up here?! Why are you in this woman's room, half-naked? Dad, there must be an explanation-"

"I have nothing to say, Scarlett."

It was like her heart had been taken out of her chest and thrown against a wall. Scarlett opened her mouth, but no words came out. What was there to say anyway? The things she was seeing were pretty much self-explanatory. Her father pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"You pounce in here like the devil! Don't you have any respect? It's your fault for walking into this."

Scarlett let out a dry laugh. She then turned to look at Megan's mother, who 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 the scene unfolding in front of her was real. Never in her life could she have guessed that her father would have an affair with no one 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 woman 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're going to lie. There's nothing going on between you, yet 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 on my dad for how long, huh? The same amount of time 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 pairs of eyes in the room turned to look at the newcomer, who was none other than Megan herself. She was out of breath, but her burning eyes were 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 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.