A Collection of Short Stories

10. The Perfect Sister

"You thought you got rid of me," Karina said as she threw her sister's body down the stairs.  "Now it's my turn to live." She left her body there and made it look like an accident. She had too much to drink and she fell. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. Just an unfortunate accident. 

Karina left her sister's house, thinking about how everything would soon belong to her. She could have everything she wanted. Everything she deserved. For years, her parents had favored Cassie over her. They loved her. They adored her and gave her everything, while Karina had nothing. She was jealous of Cassie for many years. She despised her. She hated her. But today, she finally got rid of her. She could finally live the life she wanted for so many years. The life she deserved. The life she would do anything to get. 

She was going back home, but not before she called the police to report her sister's murder. She told them everything, and they brought her in for questioning. They let her go an hour later and she just drove home. Karina was cleared. They didn't suspect a thing. And even if they did, they didn't have any evidence to  prove it was her. Everything was going according to plan. All she had to do now was take over as Cassie and live her new life. 

She changed herself. She became her. She dressed more like Cassie, wearing long, silk dresses and black combat boots. She also dyed her hair a darker shade of brown and wore makeup. Something the old Karina would never do. But she had to, if she was going to live her life. 

Her sister had two kids. Two twin girls. Emma and Valerie. They were everything to Karina. She loved them as if they were her own. Cassie was never a good mother in Karina's eyes. She never had time for them. She was more worried about her job than her own children. They didn't deserve a mother like her. They deserved someone who would love them unconditionally. They deserved a mother. And Karina would be the one they would go to whenever they needed someone. Cassie didn't just have the perfect kids. She had the perfect husband. The husband that would soon be hers. 

It all started on December 4. Cassie's 30th birthday. She and Karina had an argument. Cassie was drinking, and a little too much. 

"Karina, I can't deal with them anymore. They're controlling. I need to leave."

"So what? You're just gonna leave your kids behind? Are you serious?"

"I can leave them with him."

"No. No. You're so ungrateful, Cassie. You have everything and I have nothing, and I care more about your kids than you do."

"Karina, you have to understand. I---"

"No. You're not going anywhere. You're not leaving them!" she screamed as she pushed Cassie's body down the stairs. "It's my turn to live."

She snapped back to reality. It was all in her head, how she killed her, and why she did it. No one ever understood why. They all said Karina was jealous and they painted her as a monster. But they didn't know the truth. They didn't know what kind of a person Cassie was. 

Karina's mind wouldn't stop thinking about that day. She looked out the window to the nearby lake when she saw a car pulling up in the distance. She recognized it perfectly. It was Gabriel's car. He was home. She stared at the clock. 2:30. He was home early. Earlier than usual. Maybe he wanted to surprise her. How sweet of him. 

She opened the door to let him in.

"Hi Gabe. You're home early."

"Karina? Hi. I wasn't expecting to see you. Is Cassie around?"

"No, she went for a walk. But I made dinner for you."

"Thanks, but I already ate. I stopped off with a friend and we had dinner together."

"Oh. Okay then. I'll just leave it for tomorrow."

"Yeah about that, I won't be home tomorrow. I have a meeting with a friend."

"Really? What friend?"

"Veronica."

"It's a she." Karina said, under her breath. 

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's just that...how would Cassie feel if you were out with her?"

"I already told her about it."

"I know, but don't you think she would get a little jealous?"

"Karina, listen. I don't know what game you're playing, but I really don't know why it's so important to you."

"I'm just looking out for Cassie."

"No. You hate her. Why are you suddenly sticking up for her? What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything."

"You killed her, didn't you?" 

"No. I---It was an accident. I didn't mean to."

"I can't believe you. What about Emma and Val? She was their mother."

"She didn't deserve them. She was a horrible parent and you knew it!" Karina couldn't control herself. He was supposed to understand her. He was her husband. Cassie had brainwashed him. She couldn't let that happen. He was on her side. He loved her. He had to go. 

Karina grabbed Cassie's gun which she kept in a safe and shot him seven times. "You should have loved me when you had the chance." There was blood everywhere. She was going to clean up his body, when Emma and Val came back home. They found Karina standing over their father's dead body.

"What did you do? You killed Dad. How could you?"

"Girls, listen. Your dad was a cheater. He was cheating on us with another girl. He deserved it."

"What do you mean 'us'? And where's Mom? Did you kill her too?"

"Girls, I'm right here. I would never leave you alone."

"You are not our mother. Where's Cassie?"

"I got rid of her. She wasn't the mother you needed. Not the wife Gabe needed. I saved this family from her. She was ungrateful. She didn't deserve you."

"So you killed her?"

"I did. But it doesn't matter now. I can be your mother. We can make great memories without her. I can take you anywhere you want to go. I love you girls."

"You are not our mother. You will never be our mother. You're crazy."

They were turning to head for the door when Karina grabbed them by the arms.

"Don't talk to me like that. It's disrespectful. I would have thought Cassie taught you at least some manners."

"Cassie was the best mother anyone could ask for and you killed her. You talk about disrespect when you killed our mother. You're insane. You're crazy. We hate you."

Karina knew she wasn't going to convince them. All she wanted was a family. Was that too much to ask? She knew it was going to hurt her if she killed them, but she didn't have a choice. They didn't want to be a part of her family, so she had to get rid of them, no matter how much it hurt her. 

She grabbed the same gun she used to kill Gabe and killed them both. Two shots rang out and Emma and Val fell to the floor, dead. She hated doing it, but she had to. Karina then shoved all three bodies in the trunk and buried them in the lake. 

They were gone. Everyone who hurt her was gone. She wanted to have her perfect family, but they didn't understand her. They weren't the ones. So she went searching for them. She went looking for the perfect family...and wouldn't stop until she found them.