Gone Girl 3

Chapter 7

It's been a week since I left the hospital.

My mom is always home. She took some free time from work but this isn't a good decision long term since we can barely afford food anymore.

I tried to convince her to let me live with Dominic but even after meeting his parents, she decided he wasn't serious enough. He parties too much and smokes a lot of weed, which wasn't a secret to anyone.

I promised my mother I would go to therapy but I haven't gathered the courage to call Mrs. Smith yet... and I don't know if I ever will.

Someone knocks on my door and I answer, "yes?"

I glance at the door and I see Irène. She looks tired and her blonde hair seems more bleached than the usual. Her skin used to be impeccable but she is growing more and more exhausted. She has deep eye bags from barely sleeping.

Is it because of this situation or just her personal stuff?

She walks to me and hugs me, unexpectedly. Her hug seems warm but distant.

"How are you?" she asks in a monotone voice.

"The same as last week," I reply. I'm scared of my house and it hurts because this is the only living memory we have left of my father.

How can we sell this house and move somewhere else and lose him just because of me?

It's all my fault.

"How are you?" I ask her as she sits on the bed, seemingly lifeless.

She closes her eyes and slightly chuckles. "Perfect as always. But don't worry about me." She smiles shortly.

I nod, wanting to believe her. I sip from my glass of water.

"So, you have a brother? Shocking," she jokes.

"Please, don't remind me. I'm just trying to move on," I say.

"Come on, he seems nice," she jokes and I know it.

"Stop lying, you are secretly thinking he is an abomination," I say amused by her hatred towards any man she doesn't know.

"First, because he is a man, second because he is totally weird. Who does the shit he did? Poor Nicole," she says insincerely.

"Shut up, you aren't feeling sorry for Nicole at all," I reply.

"Maybe yes, maybe no," she smiles as she steals the glass of water from my hand.

Hopefully she has some empathy left inside of her, but she probably already wasted it all on me. She treats me differently since she found out I was abused. They all do.

"Why do you hate men?" I ask curious. I should hate them because of my rapist and all the men that hurt me but my dad reminds me there are good men out there.

Even Derek doesn't seem that bad.

She sighs. "Attack is the best defense."

Well, I didn't expect this answer. She treats men bad before they can get the chance to do it to her. She is always on the defensive, with everyone but especially the opposite sex. She doesn't like her father, she doesn't have any good man figure in her life, she only likes me, her sister and Shanice. She's never had a true male friend and always sees them as evil creatures who want only sex. So she uses them first.

"Why don't you?" she asks.

"Because I'm tired. What good would it do?" I reply honestly. Is Irène any happier now that she sees every man as the enemy? I'm sure she has her reasons but she attacks everyone without any proof, regardless of their gender.