Beca attempted to calm her nerves as she stared out the back door. She could see her younger sister over at their old picnic table. With her feet propped up onto the bench and sweat dripping off her face, she was steadily lifting herself up in down in an impressive series of pushups.
"Standing her isn't going to make her like you again." Beca murmured to herself. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the 19 year old opened her sliding glass door and stepped out into the yard. A harsh amount of sunlight hit her and she squinted into it. By the time the glare was out of her eyes, her sister was already halfway towards the road, walking away from her.
"Jaiden! Jaiden, please don't walk away." Beca begged, starting after the other girl. She hurried as fast as she could and eventually caught up with her before she could get into the red car she was in the process of unlocking.
"Why are you even here?" The teenager muttered, fiddling with her keys and finally managing to unlock the driver's side door. Before she could worry about locking it again, Beca slid into the car's passenger side and put her seatbelt on. Her younger sister glared at her and shoved her key into the ignition.
"I'm going to drive around the block four times. And then you're going to get out of my car." Beca nodded in understanding and started into her prepared speech as quickly as she could.
"You have every right to hate me, I know. I know me saying I'm sorry and that I should have done something doesn't help anything. It doesn't change anything. But I really am so, so sorry. And if you're going to be up at Barden next year, I want us to actually talk-"
"I'm not going to Barden so I can get closer to you. I'm going because it's the only place I can go to for free, and that's just because Dad feels guilty too." Jaiden interrupted, turning her car around the second corner, marking the halfway mark of their first lap. Beca's face flushed a deep red and she drew in a deep breath.
"My point is that I have never regretted anything more than I regret ignoring what was happening." She admitted quietly. Jaiden accelerated past their house for the first time and turned at the first intersection.
"Yeah well, good for you. It doesn't really matter to me if you regret what you did or not."
"I told my girlfriend about you Jay-"
"Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that," the 17 year old snapped. "And I really couldn't care less about whatever girl you tricked into dating you. It's really great that you can just be yourself and date who you want without getting the shit kicked out of you for it. Believe me, I'm happy for you." Beca clenched her eyes shut and bit her bottom lip. They passed their house for the second time, and the younger of the two stepped onto the gas pedal a little harder.
"I don't know how many times I'm going to have to apologize for you to understand how sorry I am." The 19 year old said in frustration. Her sister shot her a sideways glance and then shook her head.
"I understand that you're sorry. It just doesn't matter." They passed the halfway point around the block and Beca knew she was running out of time.
"Jaiden, please just give me another chance. I don't need us to be close or anything. I just need you not to hate me. You're my sister; that's not how it's supposed to be."
"You're right. Sisters are supposed to look out for one another." They passed the house a third time. Beca knew her chances were at about zero at this point.
"I know. I fucked up. I thought that maybe if I could get out of the house and get dad to believe me, I could help. But he always just brushed it off as us not liking Ted."
"Wow. That must have been a lot of effort for you." The dark haired girl responded dryly. Finally, she pulled to a stop in front of their house and turned to look at her older sister.
"If it gets you off my ass about this, then fine. I accept your shitty apology. Now get out of the car so I can get away from you." Jaiden said bluntly. Beca hesitated for a moment before unbuckling her seatbelt and stepping out of the small Ford. The moment she shut the door behind her, the car peeled out and her sister disappeared down the street. Beca sighed shakily and pulled her phone out of her pocket. She quickly dialed Chloe's number and lifted the small device to her ear. The small girl sat down on the front porch step and ran her fingers through her hair tiredly. Her girlfriend answered on the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Chloe, will you come get me?"
"What, why? Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. I just can't be here right now. She hates me so much and I can't take my mom right now." Beca's voice broke and her girlfriend's heart cracked right along with it.
"Okay, okay. I'm going to be there as soon as I can. What's your address?"
"I'll text it to you."
"Alright. Beca, what's going on between you two? Why would your own sister hate you?"
"Because I abandoned her Chloe!" Beca shouted into the iPhone, "When our parents got divorced, my mom got custody of her and her fucking new boyfriend started beating the shit out of her because she came out. And I never stopped him." Silence rested between the two young women for the next few seconds.
"Beca, that's awful."
"I tried telling my dad, but he didn't believe me. She ended up in the hospital for almost two weeks before anyone actually realized I was telling the truth."
"We can talk about this more in the car. I'll be there within the next two hours. I love you Beca. This will all be okay."
"Thanks. I love you too." The singer muttered into the speaker. She heard the click of her girlfriend hanging up and slowly lowered the phone from her ear. Beca quickly typed her address into a message bubble and sent it to Chloe before slipping it back into her pocket.
Thank you for the two reviews on the first chapter! I'm willing to take it in any direction you guys would want to see, so feel free to message me and let me know or post it in the reviews!