Blackmail

being blackmailed

can be the worst

and when you are surrounded

with people so unappealing

but you do what they say

or be doomed as their prey

and be threatened every day

that they could ruin your life

either way

you world is shattered

your parents would banish

you, and classmates forced to degrade you

until you just wanted to vanish.

***

"Come in, come in."

Mom hurries to the door, opening it and welcoming our guests. I glance at each of my older brothers, none of them looking too enthusiastic. Ben and Aidan are trying to sneak up the stairs, until Dad spots them, hauling them back down by the collar of their shirts.

"Let me take your jackets. Go ahead inside, supper is almost ready." I hear Mom say, and soon Patricia and Greg, Whitney's mother and father, walk into the kitchen from the mud room. Whitney walks behind them, looking down at the floor.

"Hi there. It's nice to see you again," Patricia speaks loudly, smiling. I smile back politely, but inside I'm grimacing and don't offer any spark of conversation.

She will talk for all of us.

She squeezes my shoulder tightly, she long nails pinching my skin. I tug away from her, and she moves on to my brothers. Greg talks to my Dad, laughing. I wave shyly to Whitney, who smiles back.

"Alright, everyone. Take a seat. We'll eat," my dad says, setting the plate of steaks in the center of the table as everyone sits down. I take my usual seat beside Aidan and Jude, Mom and Dad at the ends. Greg, Patricia sit on the other side of the table, Whitney directly across from me.

She looks uncomfortable.

"This is a very wonderful house," Patrica says, admiring the kitchen as she takes a bite of her steak.

"Thank you," Mom says politely, sipping her tea.

"Except, I can't imagine why you would chose carpet to go with the colour of your walls. It would look so much better with hardware flooring."

I look at this woman with surprise. I can't believe she said that. I look at my Mom, who eyes narrow but she doesn't look shocked or say anything to defend her home. That's probably because the two of them work together.

Still, it's rude.

"Well, with a large family, we don't care about what our house looks like." my mom says, her voice tight. She smiles but it does not reach her eyes.

My Dad looks down at his plate, smiling a little.

Whitney seems embarrassed. I can't blame her.

"True," Patricia says, with a nod, then looks around the table. "Speaking of large families, don't you have a few boys missing?" She asks, looking at all of us. Quinn is missing from this lovely dinner because he's been gone all weekend. He is supposed to be here, but failed to call or text our parents.

And Joey is at Bella's for the night.

Daniel, of course is all the way in Toronto.

"Ah, well I couldn't keep Quinn here. Joey went to his friends house." Mom shrugs her shoulders, looking over at Dad, no doubt silently asking for help. I can tell they're getting worried about Quinn, but they want to trust him enough to call.

"So, Emma, how is your school year going?" Patricia asks, her eyes wandering over to me.

"Good as can be, I guess." I am hoping Whitney doesn't tell her about the fight that happened on Friday night.

Patricia nods her head, all eyes are on me. I start to wonder if she is going to pick me apart or just let the answer go.

"I can only imagine what it must be like to go through the changes your family has gone through." I stare down at my plate, closing my eyes. She just had to bring the subject up. "Tyler was a good boy."

"Yes, he was. We miss him dearly." Dad finally speaks up, clearing his throat. "Can I get you more coffee?" He offers, and I know it's to change the subject. Thankfully, it works. Patricia hands him her cup and continues.

"Are you in any programs at school that go through the University? Whitney is taking three university preparatory classes to help her get in," Patricia says, with a smug smile. I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Instead I glance at Whitney. Her face is beet red, looking like she wants to shove her fork in her own eye. I would be happy to help her.

"No. I don't think I want that much course work along with my normal classes." I say, my eyes still on Whitney. "Whitney must be extraordinary smart." I mean it in a good way, but also a double meaning because she can't be too smart by the friends she hangs out with.

"Oh, very much so. She has such great friends that support her too." Patricia smiles, tapping her hand on Whitney's. Whitney looks like she wants to throw up.

Whitney finally glances up at me, her eyes full of sadness. Patricia moves on about talking about how she plans for Whitney to go to law school, and she asks Logan, Jude, and Owen about how their schooling is going. Of course she makes the comment that being a mechanic won't get you far in life, which makes Dad's go red faced. He says that his job got him an amazing woman and a beautiful family.

"Right. And that woman you married can't even pick matching decorations." Patricia laughs, sounding so obnoxious. I wait for Greg to speak up, maybe even to tell him wife to shut the hell up, but he just sits there, quietly eating.

"May I use your bathroom?" Whitney speaks up, jumping from her chair. My Mom smiles and nods.

"Emma, why don't you show her the bathroom up stairs." I gratefully take the opportunity to escape and get away from the monster of a guest. I lead Whitney up the stairs, and point her in the direction of the bathroom.

While she goes in, I wait for her outside. I admit, I'm scared to leave her alone in the house, not sure of what she might do. Eventually, I head to by bedroom, tired of waiting and sit on my bed.

It's dark now, the stars shining. I wonder where Quinn is, if he is alright.

"I'm sorry about my Mom." I snap my head towards my door and see Whitney there, staring down at the floor. "She can be really obnoxious and selfish." I stare at her, wondering why she is even talking to me. I decide not to blame her for her mothers actions.

"You can take a seat if you want." I point to my desk chair a couple inches away from me. "I don't really want to go back down there." Whitney smiles gratefully, taking a seat. We are silent for a few minutes, both of us looking any where but each other.

"So, you really take university classes?" I ask, can't imagining the stress. I can barely pass Chemistry. Technically, without Austin's help, I probably wouldn't be.

"It's my moms idea. She wants me to get good grades, so I can get into a good university, and have a good career." Of course it was her mothers idea. She's so controlling.

"It must be so stressful. How do you do it?" Whitney looks away, and I can see it bothers her.

"Actually, that's why I hang out with Carla." Whitney whispers, I can barely hear her. When I do catch on to what she's saying, I wait patiently for her to continue. "I took some college courses over the summer, and that was so overwhelming. So, I took some pills to help calm my nerves. Except they were from Carla's boyfriend."

It's all starting to click together now. And I can't wait to tell Andrea I told you so.

"Carla found out and so she took a picture of him dealing me some. She blackmailed me with it. She said if I didn't get money from my parents, she would show them." Whitney mumbles.

"If my parents knew I took pills to cope with stress, they would kill me. I mean, you see how my Mom is."

Now that I know what Whitney is going through, how Carla's blackmailing her, I feel sympathetic for her and even angrier with Carla. She is the devils spawn.

"And here I was thinking you had been brainwashed into joining their group." I laugh, rubbing my hands all over my face. Whitney shakes her head, smiling.

"No, I would never do that willingly." She stops for a minute, glancing into my eyes.

"I'm sorry about what she said to you. She should never have said the things she did. And I'm glad you punched her."

"It was such a relieve." I smile.

Whitney and I talk for a while, and I learn that I really like her. Whitney likes to watch sad movie marathons, play volleyball and even though she's in eleventh grade, would end up being valedictorian.

"Whitney, it's time to go!" Patricia calls up the stairs, ending our conversation. Whitney rolls her eyes, but we go down the stairs together. Patricia is in the middle of giving Mom a hug, then says goodbye. She leaves without waiting for anyone else. Greg follows behind her, like a small puppy.

"Thanks for having us over, Mrs. Taylor." As Whitney pulls her jacket on. Mom crinkles up her nose at the 'Mrs. Taylor'.

"Oh, please, call me Kathleen. Mrs. Taylor makes me feel old." Whitney smiles, and waved as she leaves. After we hear their car leave the drive way, I think we all breath again.

"That was awful. Please, Mom, for the sake of our well being, never invite them over again." Jude pleads, everyone agreeing. Mom shakes her head, a small smile on her lips. I hop up onto the counter, texting Andrea on my phone.

"Has anyone of you heard from Quinn? He should be back by now. It's getting cold out there, I don't want him freezing to death." Dad comes from the basement, where he has probably escaped to after supper finished.

"No." I simply say, all my other siblings reporting the same thing. Dad and Mom look at each other, concerned. Mom picks up the house phone, about to make a call when it starts ringing. She raises her eyebrows at the number but answered it anyway.

"Hello? Yes this is Kathleen Taylor." Mom nods, listening to the person on the other end. "Oh really? Well, yes I will. Thanks for calling Mr. Harp."

I freeze at the name. Mr. Harp is the school's principal. Mom hangs up, looking at me angrily. This isn't going to be good.

"Boys, why don't you give you father and I some time to talk to your sister." By the tone of her voice, I know she isn't happy. The guys don't argue, and leave, either going upstairs or to the basement. After they are out of sight, Mom rounds on me.

"Emma Jane, what is your excuse for getting into a fight at school?" I wince at her tone, and Dad widens his eyes. I wish I had told them sooner.

"Emma, answer your mother."

"I hit Carla because she was saying shit about our family." I say, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but-" Mom cuts me off with her hand.

"You should have told us the day you got home from the dance Emma." Dad sighs, "We are more upset that you didn't tell us." I look down, feeling stupid.

"You're suspended for three days from school. Did you know that?" Mom asks, her voice raised. I shake my head. Three days?

"Emma, I just can't believe this. I'm so disappointed in you." There's a bark of laughter behind me. I turn and see Quinn. His cloths are wet, his eyes narrowed in on me.

"Is the princess finally getting in trouble? Looks like I'm not the only disappointment." Quinn smirks.

"Just because I get into a fight, doesn't mean-" I start, getting off the stool, facing my little brother.

"Just shove it, Emma. Your just mad because you prince charming Austin can't come and rescue you." I narrow my eyes at Quinn, and see that he is wobbling a little.

"At least I have friends." I snap, "I don't need to be drunk to be accepted. I don't need to be high to feel good." Quinn's eyes widen, surprised about what I said. I regret it the moment it leaves my mouth.

"Quinn, what is you sister talking-" Mom asks, her features turning from angry to concern. Quinn's face flash something I've never seen before, and he barrels at me, shoving me into the wall.

"You're a bitch! I hate you!"