Souls Remember What Matters — Corey Gibson 21
Chapter 21 – Every Word
DARIUS
I found Cathy in our mother’s study, refilling her wine glass from the bottle she’d apparently brought with her. Her hands were shaking slightly, whether from the alcohol or the confrontation at dinner, I couldn’t tell.
“Cathy.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “We need to talk.”
She turned around, her chin lifted in defiance. Even drunk, she looked ready for a fight. “What about? How I told your precious wife the truth?”
“You mean how you were cruel and vicious to the mother of my child?” I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. “In front of Luna, no less.”
“Luna needs to see the truth too.” Cathy took a large gulp of wine. “She needs to see that not all women are weak like her mother.”
Something hot and dangerous flared in my chest. “Weak? Sera is the strongest person I know.”
“Is she? Because from where I’m sitting, she looks like she’s falling apart.”
“Because of what you just did to her!” My voice rose despite my efforts to stay calm. “Because of the poison you just spewed at my wife in our mother’s house.”
Cathy laughed, the sound bitter and ugly. “Oh, please. Don’t act like I said anything that wasn’t true. She is an orphan. She doesn’t belong in our family. And deep down, you know it.”
I felt my hands clench into fists at my sides. “You don’t get to decide who belongs in this family.”
“Don’t I? I’m your sister, Darius. I’ve known you your whole life. I know what’s best for you.” She moved closer, her eyes bright with wine and conviction. “And what’s best for you is Vivienne.”
“That’s not your choice to make.”
“Isn’t it?” Cathy’s voice got softer, more manipulative. “Do you remember what Vivienne did for me? What she saved me from?”
I closed my eyes, the old memory surfacing against my will, Cathy at sixteen, crying hysterically in our living room. The torn dress, the bruises on her arms, the way she’d flinched when anyone got too close.
“Of course I remember.”
“Those boys would have raped me, Darius. They would have destroyed me.” Her voice cracked with emotion.” And Vivienne didn’t hesitate. She threw herself between us, screaming for help until someone came. She saved my life.”
“I know-”
“She saved my soul,” Cathy continued, tears streaming down her face now. “And what did she get for it? Those animals turned on her instead. She got hurt because she protected me.”
The guilt was like acid in my stomach. It always was when I thought about that night. Vivienne had been seventeen, just a year older than Cathy. She’d ended up in the hospital with a concussion and three broken ribs
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because she’d refused to let them hurt my sister.
“Our family owes her everything,” Cathy said, pressing her advantage. “Everything, Darius. That’s why mom lets her into this house even though she doesn’t trust her. That’s why you agreed to help her with her bucket list. We owe her.”
“Yes, we do. But that doesn’t mean-”
“It means you should divorce that pathetic woman upstairs and give Vivienne what she deserves.” Cathy’s voice turned hard again. “One year, Darius. She’s asking for one year of your life. One year to know what it’s like to be truly loved before she dies.”
I stared at my sister, seeing the fanatical gleam in her eyes. “You want me to marry Vivienne.”
“I want you to do what you should have done years ago. If Vivienne hadn’t left, if she hadn’t been so selfless and noble about your grandfather’s wishes, you never would have looked twice at that orphan girl.”
“Stop calling her that!” I snapped angrily.
“Why? It’s what she is. No family, no background, no class. Just some nobody who got lucky.” Cathy’s voice was getting louder, more vicious. “Even your own daughter can see Vivienne is better. Luna loves her more than her own mother. What does that tell you?”
The rage that had been building in my chest finally exploded.
“It tells me that my four–year–old daughter is being manipulated by adults who should know better!” I roared, taking a step toward Cathy. “And it tells me that my sister has forgotten what loyalty and decency look like!”
Cathy stumbled backward, her eyes wide with shock. I’d never raised my voice to her like that before. 1
“Sera is not some orphan girl who got lucky,” I continued, my voice rough with emotion. “She’s the woman who held my hand when Luna was born and cried just as hard as I did. She’s the woman who sits up all night when Luna has nightmares, singing lullabies until she falls back asleep.”
I ran my hand through my hair, pacing now because I couldn’t stand still.
“She’s the woman who makes Luna’s Halloween costumes by hand because she wants them to be perfect. Who reads the same bedtime story fifty times because it’s Luna’s favorite. Who knows exactly how to cut the crusts off sandwiches and that Luna only likes the red Goldfish crackers.”
“Darius-”
“I’m not finished.” My voice was deadly quiet now, which seemed to scare Cathy more than the shouting had. ” She’s the woman who brought me soup when I had the flu last winter and didn’t complain when I was horrible to be around. Who listens to me talk about work problems even when she’s exhausted from her own day.”
I stopped pacing and looked directly at my sister. “She’s the woman who cared about me enough to marry me even though she knew she’d never measure up to some impossible standard you and Vivienne set in your heads.
“But Vivienne-”
“Vivienne is a dying woman who’s scared and desperate and clinging to a fantasy from when we were teenagers.
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“The words came out harsher than I intended, but I was past caring. “And you’re helping her destroy my family because you feel guilty about something that happened fifteen years ago.”
Cathy’s face went pale. “She saved my life.”
“Yes, she did. And I’ll always be grateful for that. But gratitude doesn’t mean I owe her my marriage.” I stepped closer to my sister, making sure she could see the resolve in my eyes. “It doesn’t mean I owe her my wife’s happiness or my daughter’s stability.”
“She’s dying, Darius. She’s dying and all she wants is one year-
“She’s dying and that’s tragic. But Sera is living. Sera is my wife, the mother of my child, and she deserves better than being treated like she’s disposable.”
I moved toward the door, then stopped and turned back.
“And you know what else, Cathy? Even if Sera was just some orphan girl who got lucky–which she’s not- she’d still deserve basic human decency. She’d still deserve not to be attacked in her mother–in–law’s dining room by someone who’s supposed to be family.”
Cathy was crying now, mascara running down her cheeks. “I just want what’s best for you.”
“No, you don’t. You want what makes you feel less guilty about the past.” My voice softened slightly, because despite everything, she was still my sister. “But destroying my marriage won’t change what happened to you, Cathy. It won’t erase that night or make Vivienne’s sacrifice any less meaningful.”
I opened the door, then paused one more time.
“Sera is my wife. She’s Luna’s mother. She’s your sister–in–law, whether you like it or not.” I looked at her directly, making sure every word landed. “And if you ever speak to her the way you did tonight again, you won’t be welcome in my house or around my daughter. Are we clear?”
Cathy nodded, still crying.
“Good. Now you need to apologize to her. Tonight, before we leave.”
“Darius-”
“Tonight, Cathy. Or we’re done.”
I walked out of the study, my heart pounding with leftover adrenaline. In the hallway, I nearly ran into Vivienne, who was standing just outside the door.
“Oh,” she said softly, her eyes wide. “I was just looking for the bathroom.” She laughed nervously, “I seem to have forgotten my way around the house, it’s been so long,” She quickly added.
Something in her expression made me wonder how long she’d been standing there. How much she’d heard.
“It’s upstairs, second door on the right,” I said carefully.
“Thank you.” She started to move past me, then stopped. “Darius? What you said in there about Sera… you really meant all of that, didn’t you?”
I looked at this woman who’d once meant everything to me, who’d sacrificed herself for my family, who was
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now dying far too young. And I felt an ache I knew would never go away, yet I knew it was a necessary pain.
“Every word,” I said quietly. “She’s my wife, Vivienne. She’s the mother of my child. What we had when we were younger… it’s not worth destroying what I have now.”
Something flickered across her face–disappointment, maybe, or hurt. But she just nodded and continued toward the stairs.
I stood in the hallway for a moment, thinking about what I’d just said. About the choice I’d just made.
Then I went to find my wife.
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