Chapter Six

1064 Words
When Nina came by Kate's office to check in on her, it was well after 5 pm. She motioned at the unopened letter sitting to the far right of Kate’s desk, only an inch further and it would be in the trash. "Yeah I know, I was hoping to have a few drinks first but what the hell.”  Kate reached for the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper no larger than a paper napkin. It was taken from one of the smaller legal pads in the office, the ones Arlene would normally use to take their phone messages. Kate began to read the pathetic excuse for a letter her sister had left:  Kate,  I'm sorry you had to find out like that, he told me to tell you so many times. You weren't meant to be there on Friday, I tried to make sure you weren’t going home but I had to leave and you looked busy, I know how you hate being interrupted. We’re going away for a bit, maybe it’s for the best.  Anyway, it is what it is.  Elise.” Kate handed Nina the note so she could read it for herself. The expression on her face reflected everything Kate was feeling. “What a piece of f****** work she is!"  Kate was a little shocked, she had never heard that word escape Nina’s mouth before, at least not while they were at work. It was most definitely called for at this moment.  "Seriously Kate, after everything you’ve done for her, it’s just not right. You deserve more than this piece of crap of an apology and you sure as hell deserve more than this piece of crap for a sister.” Kate knew her sister didn't actually care about her feelings, she never had. Ryan was probably the one behind the note. Elise most definitely wrote it, the lack of empathy made that very clear, but Ryan had to have suggested she do it.  Oh God, what if this all happened after the wedding! Surely she wouldn’t have let me marry him, would she? Kate knew her sister or at least thought she did, so she knew Elise would have waited until the absolute last second to say something, and maybe not even then.  Kate imagined herself at the altar with Ryan, Elise standing by her side. Ryan looking into her eyes as he recited his vows. Ahh! She shook her head in an attempt to erase the image. What the hell am I doing? Kate tried to remain positive; "If it wasn’t her, it would have been someone else. I don't know, maybe in a really messed up way she has done me a sort of favour?" She said this even though she knew Elise was the one to have seduced Ryan. She had clearly heard him trying to end things with her that night. It was likely he only went back to Elise after realising he and Kate were over for good. She was always taking anything she could from Kate like it was some sort of revenge for her being born and taking away all the attention. Kate had put all the blame on Ryan when it was really Elise who had caused this whole mess. Kate handed Nina the signed documents and told her to head home, sending them off to the bank could wait until morning.  She threw her sister's note in the trash and was about to do the same when her phone rang; it was Ryan! She hesitated, staring at the name lit up on the screen. The butterflies she once felt when he called were now replaced with a strange, empty feeling. Anger was rising up from the pit of her stomach, the note she had just read moments ago was certainly not helping the way she felt. Kate suddenly wished she hadn't sent Nina home so soon, she could have used a friend to settle her down. She was ready to explode with the rage building inside her but knew she just needed to take a few deep breaths. By the time she had calmed down enough to answer, the phone had stopped ringing. She waited, wanting to see if he would call back. Nothing. For a brief moment, she hoped he would. Kate snapped herself out of that thought rather quickly. F*** this, she thought. I’ve done absolutely everything right by both of them.  Elise had taken enough advantage of her over the years. Only their father ever really acknowledged the sacrifice and accommodations Kate had made for her sister. She knew her mother would try and defend Elise when she found out, hell she would even try to defend Ryan, but Kate no longer cared. She headed home to tell her parents exactly what had happened. Kate was sure her mother would give her a spiel about how women should be at home, looking after their husbands. That it was probably her own fault for being so career-focused. Luckily, when Kate arrived home, her mother was already in bed and she wouldn't have to deal with her backward opinions until morning. She told her father everything. Tony was very understanding. He knew his little girl was being so strong considering what she had just been through but had no idea his oldest daughter was to blame. They both agreed Elise was no longer employed by Moretti & Associates, it's not like her sister would be missed anyway; she was hardly ever in the office. Elise had had a free ride for long enough and neither of them wanted to enable this behaviour any longer. "Thanks so much, dad, you mind telling mum? I'm not really in the mood to be lectured about this?" she hugged him and headed into bed for an early night.  Kate reached into her handbag fishing around for her phone, she was determined to wake bright and early for a fresh start. As she did, Kate saw the European travel brochure she had picked up this afternoon staring back at her.  Rather than sleep, Kate flipped through the beautiful blue-green pages, one by one. She could almost hear them calling out to her; willing her to take a leap and dive in.  
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