No One Has To Know

-4-

Song: Curiosity

Artist: Carly Rae Jepsen

*~*~*~*~*

Heather sat down at the bar top counter. "Hey, what can I get for you tonight, ma'am?" The bartender asked.

"I don't know, just something strong," Heather muttered.

"Coming right up!" He smiled.

Heather stared at the ligneous countertop, lost in a sea of thoughts. She thought about the last time she saw Bailey. They were both visiting for Christmas- one of the three times Heather saw her family since she moved out. Suddenly, she could smell the pumpkin pie and the sweet fruit salad that her grandmother had made that year. Heather had watched Bailey receive a "white elephant" gift from her. Snickering, she waited anxiously for her older sister to unwrap gigantic red clown shoes. Bailey had stuck out her tongue at Heather when she opened her useless present. "There, now you finally have shoes that fit!" Heather had mocked.

"Look who's talking, Bigfoot? Damien, I think I found the Sasquatch you and your stupid friends have been looking for!" Bailey had retaliated.

Heather rolled her eyes at the memory. Damien- Heather's cousin- ruined her train of thought. He was the most annoying kid to exist on the planet, as far as she was concerned.

Bailey was only twenty-five years old. Heather had no idea that her sister had been depressed. And only God knows how long. To Heather, Bailey was the happiest of her siblings. In fact, she was Martha's favorite. Heather didn't understand how she could've had such a horrible life if she was the "star child" of their family. Perhaps Heather was rendered cold from the treatment she received from her mother. It was no secret in the Wilson/Kaneko household that Martha Kaneko despised her second-born daughter. Heather's father, Robert Wilson, went along with everything his wife said, even if it meant throwing Heather under the bus for everything.

A thought crossed Heather's mind- she could just text her dad for the information on Bailey's funeral. Then she remembered that he would just ask her mom if he could invite her or not. That's what it was like with every family event. Her mother would ask herself: "Do I want Heather to come and ruin this gathering?" Heather didn't know why she even bothered to ask to come over for the holidays. She knew she had to ask for permission every single time while her other family members were "always welcome."

This brought her back to Bailey. It was that same Christmas, and the party had ended. Heather wasn't expecting to stay the night, so she hadn't packed a suitcase. She remembered walking into the kitchen from the bathroom and hearing Bailey argue with Martha: "I mean, Heather is your daughter too. I don't see why you're reluctant to let her sleep over, much less COME over," Bailey had stated. Heather had decided to hide behind the wall so she could listen in.

"You know exactly why I have to think about it," Martha had replied. "She's a complete narcissist! Don't you remember how miserable she made me and your father when you two were younger?!"

Bailey had crossed her arms. "She's not so bad now, mom. She's twenty-one. She's grown out of her high school bully stage, and she just wants to be with this family."

"She's so rude to all of us! I can't even have a civil conversation with her. I think she's—I'm sorry, Bailey, but I think she's a sociopath."

Heather recalled how awful and gut-wrenching it was to hear that word being assigned to her. She had balled her fists, ready to storm into the kitchen to defend herself, when Bailey had kept talking. "Mom, that's too far. Heather has feelings just like us. I think she's just hurting."