chapter 2

Catriona, Six Years Later

My sister was finally graduating from university. She should have been done years ago, but the beauty that she was did not go unnoticed. A modeling agent signed her at seventeen, spotted sitting on the May Day throne, I might add, and then she proceeded to strut her skinny, perfect ass all over the world for almost three years.

I had never heard such an argument between her, my parents, and another man who I only caught a glimpse on the day she signed her modeling contract. I think the older gentleman was from the university. I remember Aileen shouting that this was her life; she was only seventeen and had so many good years ahead of her. That the travel and getting used to public attention would be suitable for her future, the man said the agreement was she would attend university and then she would take her position.

My parents were torn. Dad yelled that Quinn’s kept their word. Mom said she would only be young once, and this was unexpected, but a character-building opportunity. As soon as I walked by the den trying to hear more, I was told to go over and play with Red. They quit talking until I was out of the house. Then the shouting resumed, but I couldn’t hear what was being said.

All I know is the university let her put off her studies, and my sister went all over the world. I remember going to the shows to watch her in Paris and Milan. But the greatest show ever occurred in our living room. I nearly died laughing when I saw my parent’s faces when Aileen was on tv for a big sexy lingerie fashion show. My sister didn’t tell them about that one. They just happened to turn on the tv and get an eyeful of my sister’s assets. Now, that was a phone call I could hear clearly from my bedroom. I did not envy her at that moment.

      It wasn’t long after that, and into her third year, she had a skiing accident in the Alps and managed to break her femur—no modeling with that kind of injury. Also, no exercise. She gained nearly thirty pounds and looked even prettier. It was strange no one visited, but that man from the university, and except for the modeling agency, no one sent flowers. For someone surrounded by adoring fans and people all the time, my sister seemed very lonely. She never even had a boyfriend! Even in upper school, she only stole kisses from boys and never kept them as her own. All of that beauty didn’t matter anymore since she couldn’t walk in skintight suits in six-inch heels.  

Life isn’t fair.

She no longer modeled but began taking online classes. Once she healed up and went through physical therapy, she set off to Dublin. For the first time, when she called, she talked about other students, her friends, her professors, and she seemed happy. She lost some of the coldness in her voice. She even once whispered to me about a cute teaching assistant she met. He was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. I had a hard time believing that with all of the celebrities she had been around.

However, I had to promise not to repeat the meeting a man part. Mama and Dad would tan her hide if they thought her honor was in trouble. Oh my, in most of the world, a woman could love as freely as they wanted, but not here! It’s as if Aileen and I were to maidens stuck in the Middle Ages. When I turned sixteen and finally grew curves, I thought my parents were going to slap a chastity belt on me.

Not that they needed to. Red, Finn, and the others chased every good-looking boy away. Those two accompanied me to every social function. At least Finn was still gorgeous, exciting, and funny. I could look at that man all day. He was in college too, but unlike Aileen, it was closer, and he came home every weekend. I saw him more than I ever did, my sister.

Away from home and off in the city, creating a life, Aileen said she never knew it all could be this wonderful. I couldn’t imagine it, but she seemed so sad that graduation was coming up. I think she could have stayed and studied forever, but I knew she had a job lined up. Something that would once again have her traveling all over the world. She said she wouldn’t be home much. She never really gave me details. She promised to tell me everything after graduation.

We were going to have a girl’s weekend just the two of us and take a holiday. It was amazing how my sister changed over the past three years. She wasn’t the same icy and angry girl that left home at seventeen. She found happiness, and even love in her little world away from us. She also earned the oddest degrees. Who double majors in ancient civilizations and business management? She was beautiful, smart, sometimes weird, and loved by all. She was finally happy and excited about life. My sister was so many wonderful things.

Her graduation was a week before my Mayday Celebration. I no longer felt jealous or bothered by the comparisons. Despite not being a model or a university graduate, I felt more like her equal. That funny gypsy witch was right. My sister was the queen, and now I would be one too.  

My sister was.

My sister was.

My sister was.

Those words still don’t feel right coming out of my mouth or even running through my head. We never made it to her graduation. Three days before graduation, I remembered the knocking on the door. It was after supper, and I was finishing up homework. My mother opened the door, and there stood the man I remembered from years ago. Mama was in shock as the man walked in, he looked at me in an almost appraising manner, which made me get dad from the barn.

When I came back, mama was crying and rocking back and forth as the man patted her arm, saying he was so sorry. My father rushed to her. The man began frantically whispering to my parents. I caught that he was so sorry, she should have been protected, but there was an attack, and she was dead. They continued to talk. My mother whaled and cried. I don’t know all that was said, but the only words that repeated over and over again was that my sister was gone. Someone had taken her from this world, and all that we had planned would never happen. Her life was over, and I could feel that mine was beginning to change in ways I never knew possible.

      Aileen had been the victim of what must have been a random act of violence. The police suspected it was a gang initiation. The city was growing even more vicious and dangerous. She had been violently stabbed in the heart as she was walking to her apartment.

Her friends made statements to the police and said she had left the local pub that was only a block away from where she was with them and her boyfriend celebrating their final exams. She had walked home like this a hundred times, though generally with James. On that specific night, he had to help close up the pub. That’s how they met. He was a graduate student & teaching assistant by day and a bartender at night. At least that is what we were told. He didn’t come to the wake or funeral. I think it was grief that stopped him.

He was also Aileen’s secret.

It’s incredible that even in death, people followed her orders and kept her secrets.

None of her friends came either.