Simone closed her eyes and leaned back, raising her face to the ceiling and taking deep breaths to get a grip over her emotions. She simply would not give this bastard the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Ronald didn't look at her. He simply went back to scrolling on his phone, occasionally looking towards the washroom for Mina's return. He did not care for Simone's reaction. He had never really formed an emotional attachment to his eldest daughter. She was just a thing attached to his first wife. Two people he did not want.
Soon after Mina returned from the washroom. "Sorry, I thought I had to pee, but I had to poo."
"It's fine," Ronald replied, getting up.
Simone, having regained her composure, smiled brightly at Mina. Mina seeing her sister smile with all her teeth smiled back.
The three of them left the restaurant and headed back to the car. Simone took her bike out of the trunk and kissed her sister goodbye. She maintained distance from her father and did not say goodbye to him. She did not even look at him.
Mina stuck her head out of the window and waved. Simone waved back.
Suddenly, her father turned the car in such a way that the back wheels sprayed her entire face and body with the thick, muddy water from last night's rainfall.
Simon's entire body froze, her hand still suspended in a wave as her father drove off.
Mina, who had already turned back around, saw nothing.
Ronald smirked as he watched her from the rearview window.
---------
Simone wiped her face and looked down at herself. She was completely drenched. Her clothes, her shoes, her bike, even her purse. Every part of her was splattered with mud. Her only saving grace was that she'd managed to close her eyes in time from the onslaught.
She could not believe it.
What sort of behavior was that!? And from a man in his 50's! He harped at her for laughing too loudly at a kids movie and follows it up with such a childish antic?
What did she ever do to him to deserve this? He was the one who cheated! He was the one who destroyed their family! He was the one who abandoned her and her mother! She had only ever tried to earn his approval. Ever since she was a little girl, she only ever wanted him to acknowledge her.
And yet, he hated her! Hated her for a reason she did not understand!
Simone cleaned her hands off as best as he could with the underside of her shirt and mounted her bike. As she rode back to her apartment she cried miserably, so much so that a few people looked at her. She bit her lip to keep herself from wailing like a baby. Eventually, she crashed onto the ground from her vision being clouded with tears. Getting up, she walked the rest of the way.
Once inside her apartment, she tossed aside her purse and shed her clothes. Stepping into the shower, she just stood under the hot water. Now she felt more anger than pain as she watched the brown water stream down her body, run over her feet and go down the drain. A befitting image of the state of her life.
Scrubbing herself vigorously with her sudsy loofah, Simone realized she was still crying. Vengeful tears mingled with the hot water.
How dare he do that me? Who the hell does he think he is?! Does he think I won't ever retaliate?
She rinsed her loofah and squirted more body wash onto it.
I will change things. I'll make sure he knows he can't ever treat me like that again. What would he do if I told Mina the truth about how he treated me from the moment I was born? What would he do if Mina learned of his cheating? All his lies and his betrayal? How would he react if his precious daughter despised him for his cruelty?
For a brief moment Simone reveled at the thought of it. The look on his face. But then she discarded the idea with a weary sign. She couldn't. She wouldn't. She wouldn't hurt Mina in that way.
Her father could go to hell for all she cared, but as long as Mina loved him and saw him as a good person, she would not do anything to sabotage it. Unless he did something stupid and hurt Mina as well, Simone would not retaliate. Not in that way.
She would find another way to get even.
Stepping out of the shower, she meticulously did her skincare. That ass. I already have bad skin and he splashed me with muddy water. What if I breakout more now?
She brushed her teeth extra hard to rid herself of the taste of ice-cream. Recalling his comment about her being a fat slob, she hit the counter with her fist. That fucker has a beer belly! Who the hell is he to call me out on my weight!?
Slipping into her pajamas, she swallowed three sleeping pills dry. Gagging slightly, she quickly drank from her bottle of Gatorade. Applying some eyedrops, she got under her blanket and closed her eyes. Tomorrow she had to be back at work. Insomnia or not, she could not afford to lose her job. She was always two paychecks away from being broke. And she could not ask her mother for help. That would only add to her burden.
And she absolutely refused to ask her father for help. Hell would have to freeze over first!
------
Three hours later, Simone gave up on trying to sleep. She was wide awake, stressed, angry, upset and her headache was thumping so painfully at her temples. Getting up, she went to her closet and picked out one of her most scandalous outfits. A tight fitting back dress that barely covered her butt and revealed the top of the breasts. She had not worn this dress in years. Back when her figure was banging, she would have confidently worn this, but her weight gain had made her feel too insure to ever wear it. Even so she didn't throw it out. It was a small bit of hope. A reminder of what she once had and could get back. As such this dress stayed at the back of her closet.
But right now, she didn't give two fucks. She was miserable and needed a distraction. The dress made her body feel a bit pinched but there was no true discomfort. She strapped on a pair of black heels.
Walking back into her bathroom, she grabbed her makeup and went heavy on the eyeliner and eyeshadow. Next she applied red lipstick and topped it with a layer of gloss. Stepping back, she realized that she looked quite hot. Not as hot as before, but still good. She spun in a full circle and admired her exposed legs. They looked a bit lumpy but not as bad as she thought they looked. Maybe it was the dress. Or maybe it was the heels.
Tossing her hair, she grabbed her purse and headed out of her apartment. There was a bar only 5 minutes away. She rarely went, but right now she was determined to get drunk.
Then she would come home, masturbate under the bathtub facet and go to sleep like the classy lady she was.