Caged Birds ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Four

Matt's P.O.V

I had the piece of paper with Kiley's number, in my hand. She hated Sam as much as I did, which made me think that she too felt abandoned and blamed her sister. After the funeral, I thought long and hard about Sam's family.

"Why are the girls so...." I pondered over the word for a moment. "Broken?"

Noah sighed from beside me.

"As I said, their dad made them feel like prisoners in their own home" He explained. "The guy would lock them in there rooms for dads...Endless bruisers and broken bones...It got to the point where things were so bad that they couldn't walk, couldn't go to school..."

I nodded slowly. I understood domestic violence all too well.

"Was there a motive?" I wondered.

"Power, I guess" he suspected. "I know its not a good thing to say but I think everyone's glad he's dead"

I remember feeling taken back when Noah confessed that thought. However, I recovered fast and asked my next question, hoping for more clarity.

"What about his wife, didn't she ever stop of it?"

"She was never home....always gallivanting around with god knows who" Noah admitted.

"Sam's mum cheated?" I widened my eyes.

Noah nodded. "And the old man knew about it"

"So he took out on his daughters?" I realized.

Then Noah's phone began buzzing from his Jacket pocket.

"Seems like it," He said before answering his phone. "Hello? Wait, now? I'll be right there" Noah ended the call then looked over to me. "Diana is in labour, shit!"

I blinked in confusion. "As in Sam's sister Diana?"

Noah nodded. "We need to go to the hospital now, are you coming with?"

A lot happened that day but what I remember most was Noah's haunted eyes after answering that phone call. That was the first time that I had seen Noah genuinely scared. At that point in his life, he and Anna were having troubles and had just decided to call it quits. He then began reevaluating his faith, considering leaving the Mormon church, which he did achieve, as we now know.

"I'm coming with," I responded quickly as we walked to his car. "what's going on with you and Anna?"

"I don't know, man...I think she's got a thing of another guy" Noah admitted slowly when we jumped into his car.

"Holy shit, really? Who?" I asked.

"I met the guy once at a party back in high school, His name is Freddy-something..." Noah trailed off in sadness. "You know what, I don't care" he shook his head.

Less than an hour later, we arrived at the hospital. I greeted Kiley in the hallway with a hug and while doing so, her hands we went down my back, to my ass. When I turned around. I found Sam in the distance. I hadn't seen her since we slept together in New York.

"Sam-" I started just as a nurse came out of Diana's room.

"Sam" the nurse called. "She's asking for you"

She then followed the nurse into the room.

"How are you holding up?" Noah asked Kiley.

"Fine" she lied with a fake smile.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well in their will, my parents said that they want everything to distributed equally between me and my sisters...so will sell the house, I might buy an apartment out of town" Kiley explained. "You know, get away from all this..."

Noah nodded. "Yeah that's a smart move"

A few moments later, Sam stormed out from Diana's room, in tears. Noah and Kiley exchanged fearful looks before entering the room quickly. Sam looked at me angrily, her eyes red and mascara smudged.

"I'm sorry! Okay, I know why you're here...you wanted to see me in pain...the same pain that I made you feel...well here I am...I'm hurting...you got your wish, now will you please leave me alone" Sam begged.

That apology was not sincere, and it didn't give me answers.

"What's the matter with you?" I asked.

It was a bad time, I knew that but this may be the last time I see her.

"Excuse me?" She questioned, turning around slowly to face me.

"Look I get that's this is a bad time but what the hell is the matter with you? You steal my car, you steal thirty grand from me, you pull my own gun on me and then you just leave without any explanation"

"I told you I had to do whatever it took to get out of here!" Sam reminded me. "No, you know what, I don't have to justify my actions to you!" She then disappeared in the distance.

I didn't chase after her, I couldn't. I was scared that if I did then I may have hurt her - like my dad would do to my mum. In my early twenties, I tried so hard to control my anger, but how does one alter there DNA?

When Noah came out from the hospital room, he told me that Diana had died - that's all he said to me before we went back to his house where we drank heavily to numb ourselves from the world around us. I remember getting really angry that night, perhaps even smashing a few things at Noah's place. I drank so hard that night that I called Sam's sister, Kiley.

I drank drove to her parent's house in my 2010 black dodge challenger. We slept together that night. I was so wasted that I barely remember a thing. However, what I do remember is the next morning when I woke up to find Kiley, lying naked next to me.

"Morning" Kiley greeted me with a small smile, the white sheet sitting at her hips, her breasts in full view.

I looked towards the door where I found Sam standing underneath the door frame.

"Jesus Christ" she cried before running out the room.

Everything about the night before felt wrong. There was nothing pleasurable or pleasing about it - just guilt. I chased Sam to my Range Rover where she was now in the driver's seat.

"Sam! Sam wait!" I begged, out of breath and freezing cold, wearing no shoes, standing half-naked.

"Why? Oh, so you can explain why you were fucking my little sister, the day after Diana died!" Sam screamed at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face.

I shook my head violently. She could never let me talk.

"God damn it, Sam! will you shut the fuck up!" I begged, "why am I suddenly the bad guy here?"

"Because you slept with my sister!" Her eyes were wide and homicidal.

"Oh, so you're saying that I am the only person that you've fucked?" I rolled my eyes.

Everyone knew she had been around the block. I felt angry that she even dared to shame me for something she was a pro at.

"But I didn't sleep with your fucking dad,  after your fucking mum died!" She screamed so loud that it deafened me.

"Yeah but instead you've been sleeping with everybody else!" I retorted.

"Goodbye Matt," she said before speeding off.

"No, you know what? I want my fucking car back!" I yelled as loud as I could, watching her drive away. "Stupid bitch...well at least she said goodbye this time"

From there, I walked down the street, wearing nothing but my boxers. I didn't even bother saying goodbye to Kiley.