(sisterhood)

LIVIA SEEMS TO HAVE adopted the park now as a place for her to think things out. She thanks Damini. Maybe a part of her wishes that she'll see the girl there, for her to whisper some sage advice. A look around would yield her nothing, however, not one face she recognised. Livia sighed. She looked awfully out of place. At this time of day, it was mostly parents, elderlies and little children running about the park and spreading havoc.

At least the air was nice, the girl thought, listening to her quiet footsteps against the concrete ground. A girl almost ran into her, stopping at the last second with a quiet 'sorry', before disappearing into the distance. Livia smiled. She did that all the time when she was younger. But everyone grows up, and she can't hold onto her childhood forever (even though that was all she wanted to do sometimes). She had to let go.

Harder said than done.

The flowers were starting to wilt, which made the park lose a bit of its beauty, but Livia didn't really mind. She thought that it was still pretty. You don't need splashes of colour for something to be nice. Sometimes, black and grey can make a great colour palette. (Or that's just her inner twelve-year-old edgelord talking). From a distance, she could spot the playground. That used to be one of her favourite spots. She had grown out of it by the time she was twelve, but still.

Life was suffocating. Too much happened all at once, and she was trying too hard to keep track. Lila had suddenly become distant in the past few days, and Brie seemed increasingly concerned. Pamela now almost always returned home an hour or two later than she should be, and the twins refused to let Livia off the hook easily. Her parents were busy getting mad at Pamela and then requesting Livia to keep her younger sister in line. Sarah's rage had only increased in the past few days, and the girl was now a furious ball of fire every time Livia had the unfortunate opportunity of seeing her.

So, it was a rather unhappy experience when Livia noticed Sarah sitting on a bench near the playground, her arms crossed, eyes locked on Livia's face. She sighed, facepalming. Neither girl approached each other, only watched each other warily from a distance.

A safe distance, as if the other was a feral beast that had just been unleashed on the world.

Sounds 'bout right.

(Cue out Apex Predator playing in the background.)

Once again, Sarah was the one who finally marched over, fuming, "Why are you everywhere?"

"Sarah, we live in the same city, same area, study at the same school and know the same bunch of people. Yes, I'm going to be everywhere. Suck it up."

"That is not what I meant."

"Well, that's my answer to your question," Livia deadpanned.

Sarah snorted. "It's like every time I try to do anything, you're just there trying to wreck my day. Stop it."

"Me? Wreck your day? You're wrecking mine too! I was just hoping to have a nice walk!"

"Then keep on walking, Wong. You don't seem to be moving right now."

Both girls were being quiet. They had some face, and they knew people here might recognise them. Right now, it seemed like they were in some heated discussion, short of an argument. Better keep it that way (though Livia knew that would be virtually impossible).

"Because you approached me?"

"You stopped way before I did that. You're such a big liar."

"How am I lying?" Livia asked in disbelief. "Is 'big liar' another thing I am, now?"

"You've always been one," Sarah scoffed. "You'll never be able to start over when people around you still remember your lies and games."

"What the hell have I even done to you?" Livia blurted, hands on her hips. Damini's question. Well, here she was, asking it. She hopes the girl is proud.

"Well, let's see. You abandoned us and Melody when we needed you the most, you practically made me friendless-"

"-we were seven! And it was a joke the entire time! I made that clear-"

"-it's not a joke if the other person doesn't know! And don't forget Mareena-"

"Mareena? Is this what this is all about?" Livia asked, her jaw dropping. "I thought you were over it-"

"You're not over Melody's death, are you?"

Livia sucked in a breath. "One, I'd say Mareena's death affected me much more than it did you, since she was my sister. Two, Mareena died seven years ago. Melody died two."

"Mareena was like the sister I never had. When all of you turned your backs on me, she was still there for me. She's a thousand times better a friend and sister than you are."

"You think I don't know that?"

Mareena Wong. Perfect girl, perfect smile, perfect grades. Livia would be lying if she said she was jealous of her older sister as a kid.

She didn't like to think about it. She barely remembered Mareena these days. Time had taken a toll on her memories of her sister, and Livia thought it was easier that way. She cried, of course, but she was ten then. She moved on fast. A bit too fast.

But Sarah hadn't.

In fact, Livia was often astonished by how sad Sarah had been then. Just as bad as she was now with Melody, if not worse.

Mareena should be twenty now. Livia was never that close to her older sister. Or her younger. Livia preferred to be alone or with her other friends. Sometimes, she regretted it. Other times, she thought it was one of the few things sparing her of losing two of the most important people in her life, even if it was wrong.

"You watched her die. You let her die. She died for you, and how do you repay her?"

"By continuing her memory and being the best person I can be!"

"We both know that's a lie."

And it was. Mareena wouldn't want Livia chasing after revenge she'll never have. Mareena would want her to move on.

And Livia didn't let her die. Livia was ten. She barely knew what was going on. The only memories she has of the incident was fear. Utter fear. Terror. Shaking in the darkness, Pamela crying in her arms, Mareena trying to calm them all down. Yells. Screams. Soft crying. Freezing in their paths. The sound of bullets flying through the air. Someone screaming before a loud thud. Their names.

Falling out of a window.

Running into the night with Pamela, wide-eyed as Mareena was gunned down right in front of them.

Livia snapped out of her trance.

"What do you know?"

"I know that she's a better person than you ever will be, and that she wasted her life for you."

"She didn't waste it," Livia seethed, fists clenched. She could feel the anger breaking out of its glass tank now. A tsunami of flames waiting to be unleashed. And she didn't want to hold it back. She wanted it to singe Sarah's skin, let her know what exactly she was messing with. That Livia isn't some weak child she could berate and bully. Livia fights back,

"But she did," Sarah pointed out. "You waste your days trying to chase down useless revenge. Have you even studied in the past few weeks? You don't get along with any of your old friends. Lila Anderson has her own bullshit going on and Carmen is too worried about that to listen to your nonsense. You're practically friendless. Don't you care about family? Friendship?"

"We choose our family."

"And you did. And then you betrayed all of them."

"They betrayed me first."

Sarah gave her a look. "Did they? Do you even know the full story? What truly happened? Were you there? How many details did we leave out to spare you the pain? What she was-"

"Shut up," Livia gritted out. "I know what I need to know, Sarah. I'm not a child. I'm not a toddler for you to play with."

"But right now, you're getting played like a little girl's doll," Sarah glowered. "Face the facts, Livia. Snap out of your fantasy little world. I've told you once, I'll tell you again- you're not the hero here."

"I know that, Hepburn. But you're not the hero either. Look at the kettle calling the cauldron black. Don't tell me what to do."

"I'm not trying to do that," Sarah snorted.

"It sounds like you are."

"But I'm not. What I want to tell you is that you're being an immature brat."

"And you're not?"

"The only difference," Sarah said, raising her head and meeting Livia's eye, "is that I know that I'm a spoilt brat."

"Aww, you're self-aware. That's wonderful," Livia grinned, her smile saccharine-laced and sickeningly sweet. "That doesn't say shit."

"At least I don't try to cover up the truth. I don't lie to myself, unlike you. Wake up, Livia. No one's on your side this time. You're utterly alone in this one-sided war."

"I wouldn't call it one-sided if you're here arguing with me right now," Livia mused, a glint in her eyes.

Sarah laughed in disbelief. "You really don't learn. You don't listen to anyone, do you?"

"I was raised by a mom who told me I should never listen to another voice but my own."

"Hey Violet. But this is not the time to quote songs right now, Wong. Stop being so... blind and trying to hide the truth from yourself. Wisen up. Look around. Find out your strengths and notice your weaknesses.

"And figure out what the fuck you're doing wrong."

Sarah slammed her shoulder against Livia's, causing the girl to fall back, seething. Without a glance, the red-haired girl left the park.

---

a short chapter! the next one will be longer. this is just a bit of a filler before the real drama starts again

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