The Archibald’s really have done a number on this pair. It makes me wonder if Tally had been the eldest twin how she would have reacted to her parents’ manipulations? Would she have let them treat her like a cash cow, or would she have rebelled before it dissolved to threats and violence?
The moment we get into my car, all of Priss’s spite driven rebellion dissolves and she becomes quiet and withdrawn. There doesn’t seem to be an ounce of fight in her right now. I shouldn’t care, Carrigan isn’t my friend or my problem, but there’s something about seeing a glimpse of fire and then watching it be doused that’s affected me. I’m not sure if it’s sympathy I’m feeling but I need to be careful. Carrigan Archibald has spent years playing men, toying with them, flirting with them, and generally doing whatever her evil bitch of a mother taught her to do to snag her a husband. She’s not above manipulation to get what she wants.
Pulling into a drive through fast food place just around the corner from the marina I turn to Priss. “What do you want to eat?”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine, I normally just have a green juice for breakfast, I’ll get something later.”
My lips turn down into a scowl. “No.”
“No?” she echoes back at me, confusion making her brow furrow.
“No, I’m ordering breakfast, so you’ll eat with me. You’re skin and bone, you need some proper food in you,” I growl.
“I can’t eat anything here. Do you know how many calories are in the food they serve here?” Her voice goes up as she finishes speaking and I can almost taste her panic.
“Priss, you can eat whatever you want, you don’t have an ounce of fat on you. If anything, you’re too skinny. Order a proper fucking breakfast so we can sit down and eat together before we talk.”
Her eyes dart to the menu, widening a little, while she shakes her head. “Mom never let us have carbs, I’ve never eaten most of this food,” she says a little shakily.
My lips part to call bullshit, then I remember Tally saying she only ate pizza for the first time when she went to visit family last summer, that their mom said they’d get fat. “I’ll get us a bit of everything, you can see what you like and I’ll eat the rest, I’m a growing boy,” I say with a wink. “Juice, coffee, or both?”
“Juice please,” she says meekly, and for the hundredth time this morning I want to punch Vanessa Archibald in the face for being such a cunt. I wish I knew which version of Carrigan was the real one. Is she the docile girl or the conniving, Machiavellian woman?
I order a mix of food; pancakes, waffles, breakfast burritos, eggs, hash browns, sausage patties, and lots of bacon. More food than we could ever eat, but I don’t care. Right now I want her to gorge herself on greasy, fatty foods, the stuff that tastes so nice because you know how bad it is for you.
Driving to the marina I pull to a stop in the parking lot opposite my boat. Priss doesn’t wait for me to open her door this time, and I smile to myself as she climbs from my car, her new pink sneakers sparkling in the early morning sunshine. Despite the shopping and the stop for food, it’s only just after seven and the marina is empty but for a few early risers making the most of a full day on the water.
Handing the bags of food to Priss, I slide the gangplank down onto the pier and secure it in place, then take the food from her and gesture for her to lead the way. More confidently than I expect, she climbs aboard and waits for me on the deck.
“Inside or out?”
“Can anyone hear us out here?” she asks.
“I doubt it, but I suppose if there’s anyone on the other boats they might. Inside would definitely be more private.”
“Inside then please, I’d rather no one overhear us,” she says, her voice timid, her body language so different than her normal superior poise.
“Okay then,” I say, pulling my keys from my pocket and quickly unlocking the galley door, gesturing for her to move ahead of me and go inside.
Watching her take in the luxurious interior of my boat, I enjoy the way her eyes roam around the space. I love this yacht, it’s my escape, my freedom, and the thing that makes me happiest in the world. My parents are awesome, but they suffer from serious wanderlust and more than a few months in one place has them itching for the next big adventure. They always want to try a new town or country, and as a kid that meant me and my brother packing up and going with them every time they decided to move. Since starting St Augustus, I put my foot down and refused to drop everything and travel with them at their whims, this boat is my only throwback to that transient life. It doesn’t matter that I only sail on this lake, it’s big enough that the open water feels limitless when I’m out there.
I don’t allow many people on here; until Tally came with us, my family and the guys were the only people to step aboard apart from my crew, but for some reason it feels okay to have Priss here with me, and I don’t really understand why.
Maybe I’m forgetting who she is because of how she looks, but I need to remind myself how bad a person she is and ignore how much she looks like her sister, a girl
