[038] a terrible memory

                                                     The Welch household was nothing short of picturesque and quaint. If Courtney was forced to live in this house for the rest of her life, Courtney thinks she'd only last a couple of days before grabbing the nearest gun and ending her misery. But it makes sense for Nancy to live here. She had always wanted a perfect life, becoming a better version of their mom by making (and keeping) her family. And she had seemingly gotten it, even with an asshole like David.

                                                     Courtney knocks on the door before waiting, glancing down at her watch as she waited for either Nancy or David to answer. She had seen their cars parked out front so there was no way for them to not be home.

                                                     Just then, the door swung open and Courtney glanced down to see a little girl smiling up at her. She looked like a mini version of Nancy, all adorned in a cute little dress and her hair in pigtails. "Who are you?"

                                                   Courtney smiles, bending down to reach the little girl's level. "You must be Jenny, right?"

                                                   "How'd you know my name?" Jenny gasps.

                                                   "I'm your aunt Courtney. Of course I know who you are," Courtney responded.

                                                   "You are? But Mommy said you were dead," Jenny frowned, confused by the revelation.

                                                   "Did she now? Your mom has a funny little imagination, doesn't she?" Courtney smiles, although it fails to meet her eyes.

                                                   The sound of footsteps approached the both of them and Courtney looks up to see Nancy approaching them, adorned in a corny little apron.  "Jenny, what did I tell you about -?"

                                                   She pauses when she sees her older sister now standing in front of her daughter, flashing a grin in her very direction. Nancy just feels grateful that she hadn't bothered to carry anything with her or else it probably would've dropped in that very moment.

                                                   "This is Aunt Courtney!" Jenny introduces her with a smile.

                                                   "Surprise," Courtney waves at her.

                                                   "Jenny, go upstairs," Nancy declared, balling her hands up into fists as she looked at her daughter.

                                                   "But why?" Jenny pouted.

                                                   "We need to talk. Now go upstairs," Nancy insisted sternly, causing Jenny to quickly get the hint.

                                                   "It was nice meeting you," Jenny nods at her aunt before she starts heading upstairs.

                                                   "You too, Jenny," Courtney responded.

                                                   Courtney watches as Jenny goes upstairs before she focuses her attention onto Nancy, letting herself in without so much as a second thought or even a semblance of permission. She looks around after closing the front door - noting how the inside of the home looked as boring and quaint as the outside - and wandered towards the many pictures hung up of Nancy and David, showcasing their perfect little nuclear family. 

                                                   "Dead, huh? I hope you made my death creative at least. A car accident or drug overdose is not gonna cut it," Courtney remarked as she held onto Nancy and David's wedding photo.

                                                   "What the fuck are you doing here?" Nancy questioned.

                                                   "I wanted to see my little sister. Although... you're not little now, are you? You've grown up to be a boring little housewife. Are you having fun baking pies and attending PTA meetings every other month?" Courtney teased.

                                                    Nancy scoffs. "Don't do that. Don't act like you're better than me. At least I have a stable, healthy life. You're insane. It's a miracle you aren't locked up in an insane asylum by now."

                                                   "Ouch," Courtney pouted.

                                                   "When you came back home from the crash only to leave town for good, I had to clean up after your shit and take care of Mom. From the looks of it, you had more than enough money to help out and send her to a good nursing home and yet you chose not to," Nancy continued, deciding to say everything she had kept trapped inside of her for decades.

                                                    Of course Courtney had heard all about her mom's decline in health as she got older. And it gave Courtney a sense of satisfaction knowing that she was suffering. Misty gave her updates, seeing as she worked at the same nursing home her mom currently stayed in. She may have spoiled Courtney more but she had deprived Courtney the love she had always craved. She treated Courtney like her own doll, projecting her hopes and dreams onto Courtney.

                                                     She was one of the reasons Courtney was so fuck, coddling her with poison rather than love.

                                                   And then there was the fact that her mom always chose men over her own children. Although none of them stayed for long, their mom prioritized relationships over her children. Courtney may have played the part of the perfect daughter but she always resented her mom for that, convinced she was the reason their dad had run off and abandoned them in the first place. 

                                                  So, no, Courtney didn't feel like being the bigger person and forgiving her mom. She'd prefer to hear her mom beg for forgiveness first before she even considered such a thing.

                                                   "I did. I still do. But why should I help her? Or you? Mom was a bitch to us and you... you always act like you're better than me. But from the looks of it, I think it's pretty obvious who won here," Courtney argued.

                                                   Everything was a competition between the two sisters growing up, one that Courtney always seemed to win time and time again. Even now, Courtney was still convinced that they had to be competing. But Nancy had long since outgrown the forced competition their mom had placed upon her two daughters  from birth. Now that she was a mom of her own, she realized how stupid it had all been.

                                                  Nancy shakes her head as she slowly approached Courtney. "If I'm being completely honest, I hated you growing up. I hated you for being more popular and prettier than me. but then I saw you for who you were and I hated you for being such a monster. When you were stuck in the woods for nearly two years, I rejoiced. I hoped you had died. But then you came back alive and I hated you for being so damn lucky. That hatred just grew over the years but then I had Jenny."

                                                  "So what? Your little brat made you see the light or something?" Courtney scoffs, rolling her eyes.

                                                  "She made me see that I'll have one thing you never will. True happiness. You may dress up in designer clothes and swim in money, but you'll forever be miserable. So, no, I don't hate you anymore. I just feel sorry for you," Nancy confessed.

                                                  Courtney chuckles but her eyes darken, Nancy's words quickly digging under her skin. She hadn't been expecting her to say that. Courtney had been prepared for a fight - itching for it, in fact. But this completely blindsided her. Courtney did have everything she could possibly want but Nancy was right to say that she was miserable. She felt as though she was cursed with a hole in her chest where her heart was supposed to be, never feeling happy or satisfied. 

                                                 "Now, if you excuse me, I'm currently preparing lunch. I suggest you leave and go back to whatever hell you crawled out of. I never want you to come back," Nancy says as she storms towards the front door, opening it and motioning for Courtney to leave.

                                                 "So that's it then?" Courtney asks, scoffing softly. "You're just kicking me out?"

                                                Nancy nods. "Yeah. You're not my sister anymore. You're just a terrible memory."

                                              Courtney dryly laughs as she storms out of the house, taking Nancy's words to heart. She didn't even spare Nancy a second glance as she made her way out of the house and towards her car. If they were now going to be nothing more than strangers on the street, then Courtney wasn't going to dignify her with even a look.

                                             But just as Courtney was making her way to her car, her phone suddenly rang. Courtney leaned up against her car door and checked her phone to find that it was Misty calling her. She answers it, her gaze cast onto the street beside her. "This better be important or else -."

                                             "I kidnapped Jessica," Misty cuts her off, sounding nothing short of giddy and excited.

                                             "You did what?" Courtney's eyes widened.

                                             "Are you not impressed?" Misty falters, waiting for Courtney to praise her and tell her wonderful she was for taking the initiative.

                                             "I mean, that is impressive. But... were you careful?" Courtney questioned. "No one can trace her back to you?"

                                             "C'mon, Court! I'm not an amateur! Of course I was careful," Misty giggles. "Besides, I think you're going to want to come by to hear what she has to say."

                                            "And why's that?" Courtney questioned.

                                            "Does the name Victoria Roth mean anything to you?" Misty responded.

                                            That was all Courtney needed to hear.

(🌲🔪🦌)

                                               "Well, we meet again," Jessica remarked, grinning as she remained handcuffed to the bed.

                                              Inside of the slightly neat but dimly lit basement, Courtney and Jessica were alone. Misty was just upstairs, deciding that now was the perfect time to make cookies. Seeing as it was the first time Courtney had ever visited her home, Misty saw it as a celebration nonetheless.

                                               Courtney smiles as she slowly approaches the bed. "Guess so. I'd ask how you landed yourself in this mess but I genuinely don't care."

                                               "Misty was right. You do have a... colorful personality. She speaks very highly of you," Jessica remarked.

                                               "I bet she does," Courtney commented.

                                               "Are you both two crazy peas in a pod? Or are you crazier than her?" Jessica challenged. It was a bold move, given that she had literally been kidnapped and was now handcuffed to a bed - her wellbeing left to two highly unstable people. But Courtney admired her a little for it.

                                               "If you don't answer my questions today, then you'll find out," Courtney responded.

                                               Jessica raises a brow. "What do you want to know?"

                                               "You're friends with Victoria, correct?" Courtney inquired.

                                               "Yeah, since college. Why do I have to keep talking about her for? She has nothing to do with this," Jessica shakes her head.

                                               "I'd love to believe that. But seeing as she's recently gotten involved with Suki, I'm more inclined to believe that it was set up from the very beginning," Courtney replied.

                                               "Holy shit," Jessica chuckles, making Courtney frown, "Victoria was telling the truth about that? I thought she was kidding when she said she hooked up with her."

                                               Courtney perks up instantly. "So she did tell you then? Was this your master plan all along? You'd ask everyone questions and get dirt on us, hoping to sell to the highest bidder? We know you're not really a reporter. But Victoria is. You two were going to get information and then Victoria would use it to make a best selling story and become famous again. Am I correct?"

                                                "You're so far off. I thought psychopaths were supposed to be smart," Jessica taunted. She was pushing her luck, quickly underestimating Courtney. 

                                                Courtney decided to teach her a lesson, going as far as tighening the cuffs around Jessica's wrists until they dug into her skin. Glaring down at Jessica, she leaned in close with a cold look in her eyes. "Stop fucking with me, or Misty will be the least of your problems."

                                                Jessica swallows hard, quickly realizing that Courtney was being honest with her.

                                                "Just stop lying and tell me the truth. You'll save yourself a lot of time if you do," Courtney warned.

                                                "You know what? If you let me go right now, I'll tell you everything. The whole truth, I swear. The two of us, we can go against Misty and leave. I'll tell them that it was all her. I won't even mention your name," Jessica pleaded. Since being cocky wasn't working, Jessica figured that she could just settle for surrender and beg for her life.

                                                "Hm, that sounds tempting. But I think I'm going to have to pass. I don't trust you and the fact that you keep lying certainly doesn't help. If you won't help me, I'll get the answers myself," Courtney states before walking away.

                                                 As she made her way up the stairs, Jessica was the one to stop her dead in her tracks.

                                                "From the first moment I met you, I just knew that there was something off about you. I knew you were hiding secrets. I could never guess why," Jessica remarked.

                                                Courtney turns around before smiling at her, her tone chipper as she says, "Well, you know what they say, don't you? Two can keep a secret if only one of them is dead."

                                                 And with that, Courtney goes upstairs where Misty was still in the kitchen. Upon seeing Courtney heading for the door, Misty abandons the important task of making cookies to go and chase after her best friend.

                                                "Wait! I thought you were gonna stay a little longer," Misty rushes in front of her. "They're chocolate chip. No one can say no to those! I even made them with my special recipe."

                                                "I have to take care of something," Courtney vaguely responds as she keeps walking, although Misty blocks her once again.

                                                "Can I help?" Misty eagerly asks.

                                                "You can help by staying here with Jessica. Get the truth out of her and if you can't, get rid of her," Courtney answered.

                                                 Misty nods. "Okay. See you later, alligator."

                                                 She then hugs Courtney and all Courtney can do is pat her a couple of times on the head before she lets go first, leaving and heading straight back to Suki's house. She was going to need Suki to join her for what she was about to do, whether Suki wanted to or not.

(🌲🔪🦌)

word count: 2352
notes: the next chapter is literally going to be so insane, you guys have no idea