The following is a work of fiction. All characters participating in sexual activities are over 18. Any resemblance to real life persons is merely coincidental.
This story is part of a series and it is advised to read the story from the beginning as each chapter continues directly from the last. This story is split between the different perspectives of his and hers. To get the full story it is suggested to read both sides.
The Nosey Neighbor - Her Story
By: VanillaUnicorn
"It was Brian..."
Those words hung in the air as the room went silent. Emily just stared at her sister in shock at what she heard. She knew Brian wasn't a good person but she never figured him for someone who would hit a woman before. In a way she was thankful that he had never raised a hand to her.
Candace stood there with tears falling down her cheek. She felt shame and humiliation at the same time. She knew she should've known better. She wasn't sure what it was about Brian that had attracted her to him in the first place but the fact that he was her sister's ex-boyfriend should've been enough to keep her away on its own.
The sounds of their mother playing upstairs with Candace's kids could be heard as both women stood there unsure what to say next. They looked at each other some more before Emily closed the distance and wrapped her arms around her wounded sister. During their embrace Mrs. Schneider came back down the stairs and approached the two of them.
"Ok, the kids know to play for a while upstairs. So someone had better explain to me what happened." Joanne said to both of her daughters.
Emily finally broke free from her hold on her sister but reached down and clasped her hand onto Candace's. The make-up on the eldest daughter's face had become a mess from her silent tears.
"We had better take this into the living room where we can sit down." Emily said to the two other women.
The trio stumbled quietly into the living room and each picked out a different place to sit. They made sure that they were close enough that they wouldn't need to speak too loudly because they didn't want Candace's kids to hear what was said.
"I guess I should start since this is partly my fault." Emily said with a sigh.
"It's not your fault. No one forced me to do what I did." Candace retorted back.
"I'm not saying I'm to blame for that part but I am to blame for bringing Brian into our lives to begin with. Had I not ever been dating him then you would've never met him."
Candace had not thought about it like that but if it wasn't Brian then it surely would've been some other loser she went for since that was the type she always seemed to find or better yet the type that seemed to find her.
"So I guess I should take it back to where it started. There are things that I never told either of you before. It was mostly because I was embarrassed by it and the other was because I just wanted to forget any of it happened. Back when I started in college I was alone. Even here when I was in high school and before that I didn't really fit in. All the girls my age would always tease me about my weight and the boys would constantly call me names. Throughout all of that I missed out on a lot of things especially dances and dating. I always felt like there would be no boy who would ever want me like that. I wasn't the pretty girl or the skinny cheerleader that they all seemed to be chasing after. Then I went off to college and it was more of the same. I thought maybe the fresh start would be different and some boys would just come up to me and it would be better but they were still chasing after the same types."
As Emily explained what her life had been like, both her mother and sister felt terrible. They both knew that they should've been there looking out for her but they didn't. Candace had seen what her sister described first hand when her sister first started high school. She was one of those popular cheerleaders that the boys chased after and saw the way her sister was cast aside. She figured that it was just the way school went and eventually Emily would blossom out like she did. The problem was that while Candace became even more of a knock out as she finished up high school, her sister had remained the same.
Joanne felt guilty because she had been paying more attention to her other children and her job that she missed the signs of what was going on. What had happened with Emily pretty much mirrored what happened with her when she was growing up. She had been a later bloomer and hadn't really come into her own until her senior year of high school. Before that she looked a lot like how Emily did and had faced similar ridicule from her classmates.
"Things changed some with having Kim as my dorm roommate. She was what I wanted to be like and she helped me to see what I was doing wrong and how I could improve. Well how I could attract boys at least. It worked too and before I knew it I had experienced more than I ever could've hoped for. It was when I went back for my third year that I met Brian. Apparently I met his friend before that but I don't remember it. Anyway, things were good with Brian. We did all the things couples usually do. I even thought he would be the guy I would eventually marry. Then it all came crashing down. I came back to the apartment that Kim and I shared exhausted from my finals and just wanted to spend some time with him. I tried texting him and got nothing in response. The weird thing was when I sent each message the pair of pants on the floor would ding. Short story on it is that it was because they belonged to Brian and he was in Kim's bedroom having sex with her. I was devastated. I wanted to just quit school right then and there but I knew you and dad wouldn't let me. It was why I was in such a terrible mood that Christmas and why you had to force me back into my car to go back. I didn't see Kim for a while after I got back but eventually we talked about it and came to an agreement to be civil the rest of the school year but go our separate ways once the lease on the apartment was done." Emily continued.
Emily stopped explaining long enough that she could take a few drinks of the bottle of water she had brought into the living room with her. Candace and Joanne looked at each other unsure how neither of them had picked up on the signs that Emily had been going through such a rough patch back then. They were about to say something but Emily continued with what she was saying.
"After that I met Becky and then right after that Brent came into my life. Things seemed to be looking up and I actually started to feel happy again. Then daddy got sick and it felt like everything was going bad again. Sure I had Paul in my life by that point but I wasn't really positive where I stood with him and I certainly didn't know that I had become pregnant yet. At daddy's funeral I saw Brian again and it was like a double punch to the gut. I had avoided him those couple years and hoped to never see him again but there he was. It was why I was so adamant about him leaving. After what he had done to me he had no right to be there."
"If I had known all that had happened between you two I would've never invited him. I'm so sorry hunny. I thought things just didn't work out or that you had met Brent by that point and that was why you broke up with him. I had no idea he was like that." Joanne interrupted with.
"It's fine mom. It's like you said you had no idea. And for you Candy you had no idea what he was like either. I saw the way you were looking at him at the funeral and I know that you probably thought he was a good man but he wasn't. I wish I had been upfront with you then and you wouldn't have pursued him any." Emily said as her head fell in shame.
"Well technically he kinda pursued me. Sure I showed interest towards him at first but it was him that actually made the first move. At first things were great and that's when you found out mom. I know I should've been more careful to not do anything with the kids around but when you came to drop them off early that day I had no idea you were coming. Thank god you didn't show up any earlier than you did or it would've been worse than it was. Speaking of that, Em I'm sorry about what I did to your car. I don't know what I was thinking and let my anger get the best of me." Candace said finally apologizing for the destruction she caused.
The emotions and tensions had been building up as the three women shared what they felt was their part in what had happened. It was the mother, Mrs. Schneider who was the first that broke. She simply couldn't help it as the tears began to flow from her eyes. Both of her daughters swiftly latched onto their mother in an attempt to comfort her. Minutes went by as the three of them let everything out. Had it not been for the children coming down and asking what was going on they might've stayed like that all night.
"Go back upstairs and play!" Candace yelled at her kids even though her face was still firmly planted against her mother's shoulder.
The children did as they were told and stomped back up the stairs. A few minutes later, the three women heard the children doing whatever it was they were doing again. Slowly they disentangled from each other and cleaned off the messes that had become their faces.
"So where do we go from here? What he did simply can't stand." Joanne Schneider said as she stood up and looked at her two daughters.
"I don't know but both Brian and his friend just decided to move into my place. They said that I belong to them now unless Emily was willing to come back to them and take my place. I know that we can't go to the police about it." Candace explained and then let her head hang in shame again.
"And just why can't we go to the police? They are illegally squatting in your house." Mrs. Schneider proclaimed.
"They said if I ever did for any reason that they would release some sort of sex tape they filmed of me with them and that they would make sure my kids were taken away from me. I never should've agreed to let them film anything. I should've known that they would use it for something like that." Candace said crying again.
"So if we can't use the police maybe we can force them out ourselves." Emily said adding her two cents to the mix.