Trying Not To Love You

Part Seventy Four

Chapter Seventy Four

Martha held up a hand, stopping what was rapidly become a slanging match, almost unidentifiable insults being traded at a rate of knots.

                “Will you all stop? Bloody hell.”

She turned to her father, “I deserve to hear whatever is going on from YOU.”

Carl had the decency to look both speechless and embarrassed, “I...”

When it was obvious nothing was forthcoming, Lucy reached for her arm and Martha turned to look at her Aunt, “what happened?”

Martha dreaded the answers, she already had some of her own ideas as to what happened, and it was making her feel sick.

Lucy sighed, “these two had an affair. Before your mother died.” Carl’s head dropped and even Stephanie had that smirk swiped from her face. “My poor sister trusted these two more than anything, and that’s how she was repaid.”

                “It wasn’t like that,” her father said.

Lucy shook her head and when Martha looked at her she saw tears in her eyes, “she was pregnant. She needed your help to deal with things, and you two were too busy screwing each other. And that breaks my heart. She was a good woman...”

It felt as though the oxygen was being sucked out of the room, Martha was gasping for breath and she was lightheaded, she’d imagined an affair as soon as this started...as close as they’d been the last few months it didn’t even surprise her, but that it was so close to her mother’s death, that caused physical pain to wash through her, “did she know. Did she know when she died?”

The three adults stopped and all turned to her. It was her father who spoke, “it was wrong Martha, I won’t deny that. But there were extenuating circumstances.”

                “DID SHE KNOW?”

He nodded, “she found out the day she died. But it was long over by then.”

She hung her head for a while, “what she found out as she went into labour?”

He shook his head, “she hurt herself...that started off the labour, it was early, twelve weeks too soon. There’s not a day goes past when I don’t blame myself for her dying.”

                “Her and my brother.” She snarled, “you bastard. All these years you’ve lied to me. Told me a tragic story, do you have any idea how sorry for you I’ve felt? All these years wondering how you managed to get through the trauma of losing your son and wife, the PITY I’ve felt for you.”

She looked at Lucy and gave a sad smile, “I’m sorry Lucy, you’ve always hinted that things weren’t right, I should have listened to you about a lot of things in my life. Instead I’ve always listened to those two scheming bastards.”

her legs felt weak, her heart was pounding, nausea was rising in her throat. Suddenly it was all too much for her, She looked between the two, Stephanie looked distraught, her father devastated, but she couldn’t deal with that now. She was the wronged one here; she was the one who’d had to live without her mother, virtually all her life. That was before she even began to think of everything else that had unfolded in the last few months.

She shook her head trying to clear the fog that had settled there, her father was calling her name, she was sure she could hear that, but again shaking her head she ignored him. Instead she hoped to march upstairs but it was more of a stunned stagger. In her room, she then proceeded to empty cupboards and drawers into the suitcases and bags that were stored under her bed. She had no intention of returning to the house again. Ever.