Fault

   I showed much reluctance to the idea of being stuck on a ship. Ships made an unsettling feeling arise in me. Of course, my family thought otherwise. This was the height of luxury, and my older sister was sure to take advantage of the chance to soak up the riches all around her. Though, it was nothing new to us. The Tussex family has been a successful family for a long time. We weren't Rockefeller's, but we were close enough. Father owned a business and mother stood by him through everything he did. The two parents had taught my sister, Julia and me to be like them, like what society wants us to be. Which brings me back to the ship I am now stuck on for the rest of the summer which apparently all the wealthy families were doing, so we had to do it too.

"Stop your sulking, Mary. You're ruining the ambiance around me." complained Julia, "Why can't you just be normal for once and enjoy something?" I ignored her, continuing to walk down the corridor to dinner. She huffed in annoyance.

Once we walked into the dining room full of other guests, we plastered on smiles though I believe Julie's smile was more real than mine. We found our seats next to our parents. We were late, but our parents weren't going to scold us now. Not while we were in public, but we were sure to get a scolding about it later. They'd dedicate their night to scold us. "Good evening girls." Father greeted us. We nodded in response, sitting down.

After dinner we made our way back to the room. The room was extravagant, truly magnificent, it had a drawing room and two rooms. One being the master bedroom and the other being a smaller bedroom. Brown leather and gold accents swarmed the furniture. It was all nice until I'd look out the window and be reminded of the fact that I am on a floating vessel in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard the door close, and Julia and I went over to the leather couch and sat. Mother sat across from us, whilst father stood brooding over us. "Tardiness is not accepted! It's preposterous how you could do this! Do you realize how humiliating your defiant behavior is to your mother and me?" He seethed, though Julia and I knew better not to answer, continuing to look down ashamedly, "You will look at me when I speak! Is that clear?" The man shouted, fists clenched in anger.

"Look what you've done to your father. The audacity to disrespect not only me, but your own father too." Mother joined in but her tone was quieter as she blamed us.

"I've had enough of looking at you two, go. Now!" Father finished.

Julia and I stalked to our room. "Jules-" I tried slowly but was interrupted.

"Be quiet! I don't want to speak to you, I've been through enough!" Julia yelled.

"I just, I'm-" I tried again taking a step towards my sister.

"Stop!" Julia said then slapped me, most likely leaving a red mark for later, I whimpered. "Such a baby." She muttered under her breath.

Over the years I've gotten used to the treatment I received from my family. Growing up I heard how the younger siblings are usually favored. That wasn't the case for me. I was almost constantly being insulted or anything of that sort by my family, just not in public. Even though I had been called humiliating, odd, ugly compared to Julia, a baby, a mistake, so on and so forth I loved my family. They're all I had. With these thoughts swirling around in my mind the exhaustion of it all lured me to a rough sleep.

I woke with a start as I had just fallen off the bed. I looked over to see if the noise had awoken Julia, but she was just lying there. Still. Too still. I peered over her shoulder and to my astonishment blood seeped across the white sheets. The sight made me stiffen. Her skin was grey with lips the shade of the ocean outside, her brown eyes wide as if in shock. After about a minute or two of standing there in shock, I ran to tell my parents what happened to their oldest daughter.

I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked again, louder. No answer. I swung open the door. The imagery in front of me was horrific. Father was lying sprawled on the floor with bruises on his colorless skin. The man was mutilated. His internal organs protruding from his corpse. Whereas mother's head was unrecognizable, it seemed to have been smashed in. Blood covered everything.

I couldn't take in the sight anymore. A wave of nausea swept over me and I hurried to the toilet to empty my stomach. Once done, I flushed the toilet and stumbled to the sink. As the water hit my hands crimson liquid went streaming down the drain, my eyes widened in shock. I slowly rose my gaze to look at my reflection. There I stood, blood covering my entire being, but it wasn't mine. I felt another wave of nausea knowing it was all my fault.