Mandy winced inwardly. Secrets! She also had her own secrets. Didn't she also keep it away from everyone? As Mandy pondered over it, she remembered it wasn't only her and Skylar who kept secrets from the rest. Bradley kept the secret of his illness away from everyone too. So, this left her with so much to wonder about what the rest were also hiding from each other, What a terrible squad they made!
"I have a monster in place of a father who always abused my Mum," Skylar started, her eyes distant.
She didn't like the hideous name Skylar called her father.
"Everything became so awfully annoying. I persuaded my Mum to divorce him, but she wouldn't, always claim how much she loved him. Today, they have filed for a divorce, and they're currently working on the papers." Skylar sighed, then continued, oblivious of Ifes' and Mandy's uncomfortable gestures.
"But that's not all, the whole thing is really hard on her. My mum loves him so much that she's so vulnerable."
As Skylar spoke, Mandy thought of herself. Did she love Alex to the extent that it made her vulnerable as well? Was her reaction spelling it? What if it turned out that he didn't love her as much? Will it affect her terribly?
Oh, Alex! You won't be the death of me.
"He never took care of my sister and I, always abusing my Mother in every possible way," Skylar said, cutting into Mandy's thoughts.
"He goes out and comes back from the streets to steal my mother's money, and instead of my mum getting all annoyed at him, she would offer to give him more money when he came back."
Mandy and Ifes were dumbfounded and felt bad at the revelation, but Skylar wasn't finished.
"That's not all," Skylar continued. "My sister had a serious car accident that broke her legs. The doctors said she won't be able to ever walk on her feet again. Tell you what? She uses the wheelchair!" Skylar began to wail. " My own elder sister, Joy; Joy now moves about on a wheelchair!"
"As if my sister remaining crippled for the rest of her life wasn't bad enough, her husbAnd I mean that useless husband of hers, left her and ran off. I hope he rots in hades."
At this point, the duo joined Skylar in wailing.
"Joy blames herself for all her misfortunes," Skylar spoke amid tears. "My sister is back home. She is going through a serious trauma. As I speak to you, she's currently having a session with a psychologist. Life's one d*mn jerk."
"Life's a jerk without Christ," Ifes added silently.
"Her daughter, Olivia, is all she's got in the world."
Skylar saw Mandy's disoriented face but didn't care to spare her the last bombshell. Mandy bargained for it, so let her hear and bear it.
"So, I've finished speaking about everyone. Now, it's time to tell you about me."
Mandy and Ifes looked up to the red-haired girl and trembled inwardly. What was she going to tell them now?
"You both knew the kind of life I lived," Skylar continued her ordeal.
"I dated several men at once. I got pregnant several times, but I wouldn't know who the particular father was. Unwilling to take care of an unplanned pregnancy, I terminated them several times. But the last one I did, ended my world. I almost died. Looking back today, I wish I did."
"But, Skylar!" Mandy called out.
"No, Mandy, you have to listen to what I'm telling you. The last abortion I carried out shattered any hope I have of ever being a mother in the future. So tell me, Mandy, what's there to live for again? What hope do I have now that my world is shattered into pieces?"
Skylar took up the now-empty bottle of alcohol and smashed it on the ground. "Look at this!" She pointed to the shattered bottle. "Look at this bottle down here. Are any of you able to mend it again?" She shook her head. "No, it can never be mended. That is what I am now, a broken home, destroyed sister and finally a shattered life!"
Skylar began to wail uncontrollably again. "There's nothing to live for again, nothing! This is a cruel and wicked world, and I regret ever being born. I regret everything."
"But you didn't tell us anything. Why? Why didn't you?" Mandy asked Skylar, but she knew that question could also be directed to her.
"Oh, I almost did! I remembered a time when the whole situation got to me, I felt like I was running crazy and I needed someone to talk to, and Ifes' name kept chiming in my heart."
Mandy tilted her head to look at Ifes who was beginning to get filled with realisation.
"I made her promise me that she wouldn't tell any of you about our meeting. Looking at your expression, I reckon she kept to her word."
Ifes felt her heart going down her stomach as she clearly remembered that day—the frightened look on Skylar's face, her trembling body, and the way she spoke. What had she done? Why didn't she go back to Skylar and find out what plagued her heart?
"I wanted to start telling her about it when Megan called me. Since then, I have not been able to muster the courage to talk to her again."
"I'm so sorry, Skylar. I'm sorry you're going through all this and none of us were there for you." Mandy said, tears pooling down her face.
"It wasn't your fault." Skylar raised her head and looked at her friends, her vision blurred with tears. "Now that you're here, you might as well pass me a farewell message across to our friends. Tell them everything I just told you. They will understand. Tell everyone I love them and you all should always keep me alive in your hearts."
"Don't say such things, Skylar!"
She ignored Mandy. "Now I want you to turn around and leave my house unless you also want to tell me how I'll."