Silent Scream

Sixteen

Bethany Adamson cursed at the sudden noise in the stillness of the hallway. The metal grid between the elevator and the tiled floor clattered beneath her walking stick.

She moved along the corridor, searching for the keys to the flat. With one hand she tried to single out the entrance key. The whole bunch fell to the ground; metal against metal.

She swore as she bent to retrieve them. A pain shot from her knee to her thigh. Her hand closed around them but not before she heard the deadbolt slide across the old cow's door.

As Beth straightened she felt the gush of warm air that came from the open door of their neighbour.

‘Is everything okay out here?’ she asked.

There was no concern in the question, only the hint of a reprimand.

Myra Downs stood about five feet high in her fur-trimmed slippers. The bare skin of her feet was scaly and dry. Beth thanked God that the woman was dressed in a full-length dressing gown. Her fleshy arms were folded across an ample breast being flattened down like dog ears. Her lined face was creased in displeasure.

Beth faced her squarely. Nicola might be frightened of the old cow but she was not.

‘Nah, Mrs Downs, I was just being raped and pillaged by three blokes but thanks for yer concern.’

The woman huffed. ‘There are people trying to sleep, you know.’

‘You'd have a better chance if yer wore propped up against the door.’

The woman's face distorted like a bulldog chewing a wasp.

‘You know, before you came to stay this floor was a perfectly respectable place and now what with the arguing and the noise at all hours ...’

‘Mrs Downs. It's half ten and I dropped me keys. Ger a fuckin’ grip.’

The woman's face reddened. ‘Well ... well ... how long do you intend to stay?’

Yeah, another resident who didn't want her here. Well, tough bloody luck.

‘Probably gonna stay a while. Nic's adding me to the lease.’

It was worth the lie to see the horror register on her face. ‘Oh, no, no, I'll be speaking to your sister about ...’

This nosey old bag was really starting to get on her nerves.

‘What the bloody hell is yer problem?’

‘Loud noise late at night is frightening for single residents, young lady.’

‘Who do yer think's gonna ger in. There's three locks and a keycode to protect yer.’ Beth looked her up and down. ‘And I don't think yer got a lot to fear, to be honest.’

Mrs Downs stepped back from the door. ‘I can't deal with you. I'll speak to Nicola. She's far more pleasant than you are.’

Tell me something I don't know, Beth thought.

She continued to stare the old woman down until the door finally closed. She allowed herself a small smile. That little exchange had made her night.

She jangled the keys a few more times before finally letting herself into the apartment.

Beth placed the walking stick over the edge of the sofa and sat down. She rubbed at her knee. The cold was giving it murder.

She reached for the slippers parked on the edge of the sofa. The maroon leather uppers were soft and smooth; the fur luxurious and warm.

She took off the flat-heeled boots and eased her feet into the expensive footwear. They weren't hers but Nicola wouldn't mind. They had always shared. That's what twins did.

She stood and shook out the ache from her knee.

She tapped on Nicola's door lightly. No answer. What had she been expecting? Of course her whore of a sister was not at home. She was out dancing and showing off her body for money.

She opened the door and stepped in. As usual, the room took her breath away. It was the room they'd dreamt of as children as they'd laid side by side at Crestwood.

Their room would have matching pink covers and pillows. An awning would circle the beds, held in place by beautiful lace. They dreamed of a wardrobe as magical as Narnia. Shelves would be filled with stuffed toys and snow globes. Fairy lights would be draped around the head of both beds. Their imagined bedroom would be magical and light and filled with things that were theirs and they would drift off to sleep making shadows on the wall.

Beth stepped further into the room. Her hand trailed along the shelf above the fireplace and landed on the single brown teddy bear at the end. She opened the door to the walk-in closet and stepped inside.

Nicola's clothes, underwear and shoes were folded, stacked and organised according to colour. Two drawers were dedicated to jewellery. One drawer held expensive, delicate pieces stored in their original boxes. Beth spotted one from Cartier and two from De Beers.

The second held bolder, heavier pieces that Beth guessed were used for her work. She closed the drawer quickly and moved further along. She didn't like to think of her sister at work.

A dressing table separated the wardrobe from the shoe cupboard. A single strand of clear fairy lights lined the mirror's edge.

Beth returned to the bedroom and sat on the four-poster bed. It was a room fit for a princess, just as they'd planned. It was the place they had vowed to live together for ever and ever and ever.

It was the room of which they'd dreamed; except there was only one bed.

One bed to be enjoyed by the sister who had it all.

What Nicola had didn't anger Beth anywhere near as much as her sister's refusal to admit what she'd done.

Her pathetic denial of their past infuriated Beth more and more with each passing day. No apology could ever take it back.

Nicola's actions had destroyed their chances of any life together and still she maintained her ignorance of the facts.

I don't know why you hate me. I don't know what I've done. I don't know how I hurt you. On and on and on with the denial.

However much Nicola protested otherwise, Beth felt the truth in her heart.

Somewhere deep inside, she knew.