Sister Wars

Chapter 1: That Dark Day

  The three stood remotely, their hearts heavy and their heads bent. Their family had never been religious, Elizabeth was the only one who went to church and wished to have a mass for her funeral. Which was the reason why they were bored out of their mind, listening to the priest go on about all the good things she had done in her life and how much she will be missed. Things they already knew, feelings they already felt, more than anyone else in the church.

  They weren't really listening to the priest, they were sick of the pity which they would have to put up with for God knows how long. Each one was lost in their own thoughts and memories of their mum or wife. The church felt like miles away from where their minds had wandered off to, they were lost in another world... far away from reality.

  Ashley went through the walk-wardrobe in her mind's eye, smiling inwardly at the crazy labels stuck on the racks. That wardrobe was her and her mum's pride and joy, or, at least, was. Her mum was gone now, and she was never coming back.

  One of her mum's favourite saying was "you are what you wear". Ashley found that this was partly true, if you dressed up neatly people treated you better. She was still amazed that she had worn most of the clothes in that wardrobe. She didn't say all because she had never worn anything from the "wedding of a person I hate" section, nor the "I'd rather die" section.

  She had no idea where her mum had got the clothes but those two particular sections housed the most revolting pieces of clothing Ashley had ever seen and she had never worn them outside of that room. She half smiled at the thought of the puffy sleeved, high collared and low hem-lined monsters in a colour that either made you shield your eyes or make you want to puke.

  The funeral section loomed up in front of Ashley unexpectedly, kind of like death itself. She hadn't been to too many funerals, just a couple of distant relatives and her Gran's. For every funeral she had worn a different outfit which was thrown at the back of a rack and never looked at or worn again.

  She looked down at the satin black dress she was wearing, the one her mum had chosen before she died. Her eyes filled up with tears at the memory of her mum after her first chemo. She knew she was going to die but she wasn't about to neglect her daughter's style just because of that, which was why she chose Ashley's dress for the day of her funeral. Whenever she felt well enough she would surf the internet for hours, looking at website after website and collecting a long list of dresses which she and Ashley would eliminate one by one that evening.

  And each night would end the same, with Ashley telling her mum that everything would be fine and her mum saying that she had lived a pleasant life. Ashley blinked twice to force the tears back in, there was no way she was going to show weakness. She looked down at her matching satin stilettos with silver heels that were impractical for any kind of environment except polished tiles. She looked at Aubrey who was biting her lip, frowning at the priest who was still ranting.

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  Aubrey tugged at the sleeves of the black cotton dress her dad had forced her into. After an hour of arguing she finally gave in and put it on as a sign of respect towards her dead mum. She felt like a fish out of the water next to her sister who was wearing a dress that roughly cost six hundred euro, the shoes excluded.

  Her dad was wearing a normal suit, the one he wore to every special occasion. Their mum was the one who grumbled that he hadn't changed his suit since he was in his twenties. She loved her dad to bits, more than she ever let on.

  He had always been there for her, listening to her ranting about school. He had never judged her or said that she was wrong, unlike her mum who seemed to think she did everything wrong. She had always been jealous of Ashley who got the best of everything, just because she was Elizabeth's favourite. A glance at her and you would know why. She had inherited her mum jet black hair and blue eyes along with her perfect jawline and clear complexion.

  According to Aubrey she had it all, their mum buying her whatever she wanted, all the boys falling at her feet without her noticing and, well just plain everything. Aubrey, on the contrary was ordinary. Elizabeth never bought her expensive clothes or paid for a private tutor, it was clear that she didn't like her.

  Then she looked at her dad, his face creased with worry. She had no idea what he was going to do. He didn't have a job so there was no way he could pay for the running of the villa and the maids. Maybe he'd move them to a smaller house and get a job, but then, she could never be sure, he had a way of being unpredictable.

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  Mark had been a bit shocked by the death of his wife. Of course he knew she was sick, she had cancer for God's sake, but he didn't think she'd go away so quickly.

 He had no idea what to do with the girls. Sure, Aubrey would understand that whatever happened it was for their own good but Ashley...

  Ashley was different, she had grown up in the comfortable villa, only popping out to go shopping at the high end boutiques or to go abroad with her mum where she would stay in a five star hotel and go everywhere in a taxi. A very expensive taxi, Mark reminded himself, recalling the bills that arrived when his wife and daughter had been on vacation.

  Sometimes he pitied Aubrey, it was like she was living without a mum, as much as Ashley seemed to be living without a dad. He could never remember a time when he and Ashley had really talked. She would ask him to pass the salt or something but she never told anyone how she really felt and sometimes he thought her life wasn't as perfect as her wife tried to make it.

  Like in the last few months Ashley had locked herself in her room for hours on end and refused to open up for anyone. She just stayed in her room, hunched over her laptop, researching and writing. Not that anyone knew that, they had no idea what went on in her mind, what she felt or who she really was.

  Not even her mum, who thought she had dedicated her life to getting to know her daughter.

  Even though the girls didn't remember it clearly, there had been a time when it was different. When Elizabeth had less work and she spent more time with the girls, with both of them. She would do anything with them, from going to Aubrey's basketball games to Ashley's dance recitals.

  Then work started to increase and she started to lose contact with Aubrey, bit by bit. And her bond with Ashley grew stronger, Ashley became like her drug. Every free time she had was spent with Ashley while Aubrey watched from the side-lines.

  That's when he drew a line. He wasn't going to watch while his daughter, his favourite one was ignored. That's when he started giving his all to make sure Aubrey had what she needed.

  And the family broke up in two, Ashley and Elizabeth, Aubrey and Mark. He looked at Ashley, lost in her own thoughts, her fingers absent-mindedly drumming the wood. She hadn't always been like that, quiet and closed up inside herself.

  He remembered her laughing and chasing her sister around their previous house when they were around seven years old. But then his wife set her mind on changing Ashley into a miniature picture of herself, down to her haircut and the clothes she wore. He suspected that Ashley didn't like it but put up with it so she didn't disappoint her mum.

  He snapped out of his thoughts when Aubrey moved closer to him and gave him a small hug. He smiled down at her and reached his hand out for Ashley who was further away. She glared at him and shrugged his hand off before folding her arms over her chest.

  He sighed and turned his attention to the priest was seemed to be wrapping up his speech and was moving on.

  Moving on.

  Everyone seemed to be talking about him moving on, from his wife's death. He wasn't sure what he should do, what was best for him and the girls. He guessed he would figure it out in time how to deal with Ashley. But right now his decision was to move. Away from the memories and the pain.

Um, hope you liked that first part. I'm not sure if it's all that good, I guess I'll just leave it to you to decide. And I promise it won't all be sad, it's just until I get the plot set up. There won't be more than two more chapters tops of sadness. So, hope you enjoy the rest of the story as well. :) And if you have any questions about anything or you're in the mood for a chat just PM me or leave a message on my message board. I will try to answer to every message you send and if I don't you have every right to give me an earful. And by the way thanks for reading... I should shut up now... so, bye.