A Dark Past

Sara

The physiotherapy was long,painful and drawn out. Kat sucked in a deep breath of pain wishing she could be anywhere in the world right now except for here.

"Try to relax now you're muscles are a bit tense" the physiotherapist said soothingly trying to calm her. Kat gritted her teeth in frustration, she knew she was only doing her job but she had no idea what it was like being so helpless.

When her hour of torture was finally over Kat left as quickly as she could trying to seem grateful but failing miserably. She headed over to the coffee shop across the street and sat down at a corner table ordering a black coffee hoping the caffeine would help somehow. She was only there five minutes or so when she felt a gust of sharp wind hit her and looked up to see none other than Sara her stepsister of three years.

She was in no ways happy to see her and she had the impression Sara wasn't so happy to see her either. So the question was why was she here in Galway looking like she had just crawled out of a hedge with bloodshot eyes and no makeup on? She was almost unrecognizable from the fashionable and perfect girl everyone assumed she was. She looked over at Kat nervously "Is it O.K if I sit here I really need to tell you something".

"Sure" she said with clear mistrust in her voice.

The thing was Kat and Sara had history and that meant she hadn't talked to her in over two years. Not that Sara was to blame for all of it but she was hardly the selfless one either.

Now sitting across from her in the nearly deserted coffee house she wished more than anything that she could just get up and leave but the wheelchair beside her was a grim reminder that she wouldnt be able to turn her back on the situation. What could Sara want to talk to her about so badly anyway?

Sara began to talk and Kat begrudgingly listened to her story of woe. "Well you see the thing is I'm in a bit of trouble.... She paused as if it was painful to keep talking, Kat didn't say anything just waited. She eventually continued "I know we've had our differences but I really need your help with this" she pleaded with her. Kat felt like throwing her almost empty cup of coffee across the table at her. They had their differences? that was an understatement.

Kat's eyes bored into Sara's and even though she had promised herself she wouldn't feel guilty Sara couldn't help it. She looked down at the table and Kat smiled smugly at making her feel so uncomfortable.

It had all started the summer her dad had gone away and Kat first met her step-sister to be. She remembered her mums excitement for them to meet. She didn't say anything but Kat knew she longed for her to have more friends than she did. They awkwardly said hello to each other as Sara got out of the car and her mother beamed at them hoping they would bond instantly. She remembered her first impression of her, she had long wavy dark hair that rippled over her thin beautiful face and a cheeky confident smile that made her look invincible. She knew that if she went to her school she would be little miss popular ina matter of days. She wasn't the sort of girl Kat would usually be friends with but she was willing to give her a chance if only for her mum's sake she couldn't care less about John.

And in retrospect she could recall actually beginning to like her, to be honest it was hard not to. She was the centre of attention at all times but Kat didn't mind her laughter was infectious. She soon had them all in fits with her cocky brazen attitude to life. But most of all her mother was happy and after all that had happened she truly deserved to be. When they had finished eating dinner her mum and John went to the living room to have some quality time whilst watching strictly come dancing and Kat and Sara went upstairs to her room. They laughed and talked for ages and for some peculiar reason Sara seemed to like talking to her, she didn't seem to think she was odd like the other kids at school thought she was.

"So...." Sara began a cheeky glint in her eye.

"What?" Kat asked confused.

"You have a boyfriend?"

Kat blushed a bright crimson colour filling her cheeks. "Maybe...."

"Well who is he? Do I get to meet him?" she asked excitedly

"He's called Sam, I guess you could meet him if you really want to"

She clapped her hands together like a child "Excellent! god you're so lucky I've never had the guts to have a serious relationship with anybody I  just wouldn't be able to handle it" Yep like she thought she could probably have any boy she wanted with just the click of her fingertips.

So in the next few weeks Sara met Sam and let's just say that she liked him a bit too much. Kat didn't have to worry though because for some unfathomable reason Sam didn't find her attractive or like her at all for that matter and she never figured out why.

Anyway Sam was hers and she wasn't giving up on him without a fight. But that wasn't what stopped Kat from not speaking to her for two whole years or hating her with a very intense passion. Because that wasn't all that happened that summer and there was no way Kat could ever forgive or forget living with the pain of the aftermath ever since both physically and mentally. She had got back at her though and at the time she remembered thinking "I hope this ruins her life forever like she destroyed mine" and she didn't regret it doing it.

Now in this secluded coffee shop she wondered how Sara had the nerve to show her face again after what she did. "Look..." Sara began for the third time "I'm not here for me O.K? I'm here about Ben" Now Kat started to really listen, poor little sweet Ben. He was 6 when she first met him as Sara's little adopted brother. Even when she stopped talking or communicating with Sara at all she had still seen Ben. Lately she hadn't gone around as much because Sara was back in town but she could still see his adorable little smile clearly in her mind paired with his soft curly hair and baby blue eyes. 

She felt her stomach twist painfully and hoped nothing was wrong, if anything happened to him she would go off the rails completely. She took a deep breath in "Is he O.K, nothing has happened has it?" the worry and pain was evident in her voice. Tears welled up in Sara's eyes, this was the only thing that Kat cared about that Sara did too. "He was taken into hospital just last night, he was climbing a tree and he fell and now it looks like it's pretty bad" she blustered out in a shaky uneven voice. 

Much as she hated Sara's guts she knew they had to stay strong for Ben. She made her way over to her wheelchair on shaking legs. "Come on" she said to Sara "We have to get to the hospital"