by Writing Shark
Your wife becomes wife material again
Gemma Winters feels bad that she overhears her own sister, but she knows no other way out. Alice accomplishes everything she sets out to do, is successful and popular. Not only with her friends, but also with her family. It pains the 18 year old girl that her sister gets along so well with her father and she desperately wants her to help her be as close to him as Alice is.
But instead she now has to hear that it is Elise, a stranger, who is getting her help. And she also has a crush on her father! And so is Alice!
Gemma doesn’t know what to make of it. It’s unnatural and forbidden… but her stomach gets all light and her fingers tingle at the thought that the girls might have found a way to be close to her father.
Alice uses Elise for this purpose and Gemma is angry and disappointed that it is not her with whom her own sister is holding together.
But does she even want to? As this thought runs through her light head, the girl huddles in the shadows under the tree, facing away from the house, alone and in the dark, even in the daytime.
She is afraid of her father. Or maybe she isn’t. Gemma doesn’t know. She is confused. There is definitely something that draws her to him, but she is his daughter and her mother always told her it was natural to be attracted to a strong man. She could consider herself lucky that he is her father.
But like this? Gemma has always been afraid of this idea, even disgusted, also because inside she was afraid of disappointing her parents if she admitted to herself that her mother was right. But Gemma knows only one thing. She is too stupid, too inexperienced and too scared to find a solution. She wants her father to find a solution, or her sister. But both are busy being happy with each other while Gemma…
She presses her lips together and tries not to cry. She is so weak. No wonder her father doesn’t like her. What would he think of her if he knew that her whole body shook when he hit her? It was supposed to be a punishment and Gemma couldn’t even manage that. Instead of obeying him, she felt something she didn’t understand, a feeling of warmth fueled by pain and the hope that her father might like her a little more after the punishment. Gemma doesn’t understand it.
She should talk to her mother about it. Hellen has always been a solid pillar in her life. But for the last few days she has been, annoyed, restless and irritable, just like the people in the videos about drugs they see at school. Withdrawal is what the videos call it and even Gemma sees that her father is more concerned with Alice than with his wife.
Because she’s such a perfect daughter, Gemma thinks sadly, wiping her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. Because she knows how to make father happy. And she doesn’t help me!
Gemma runs back into the house, woken up by her sister and her friend who don’t want to share the secret of how to make her father smile.
She looks at the sofa on which she has failed. Not even pain can make her a good daughter. More tears run down her face.
Then she sees her mother in the kitchen. She’s hunched over a glass of wine, looking as restless and jittery as Gemma feels. She should be pulling herself together, but the girl knows that she is the only one in the house who has disappointed her father by her behavior.
I want my father to be proud of me! I want him to smile!
And her mother is the only one who can help her.
“Mom?” Hellen lifts her head, her hair disheveled and her eyes tired. She doesn’t sleep well in her oldest daughter’s bed. It’s too small and reminds her of her failures when it comes to children. She was afraid she did the wrong thing, now she knows. And now she is like Amy, the friend she wanted to help. With no sex, no love and no purpose in life.
“Yes honey?” she asks, forcing a smile. “What’s wrong?” Gemma looks like she’s about to cry and in the past she would have loved to help her, but now Hellen has problems of her own and the things that are bothering her daughter are so easy to solve. Hellen is annoyed with her daughter.
And then she realizes it.
As Gemma looks at her with moist, needy eyes, Hellen Winters understands why her husband is angry with her.
James is never annoyed with his children, not with Elise, not with Gemma, and certainly not with Alice. He loves them, wants them to be happy and to make it in life. And he has a plan.
And Hellen Winters has stood in the way of that plan. First by giving him a daughter he couldn’t mold, with a mother who drastically opposed him, and then with a third daughter she took for herself.
And what good did that do Gemma? Hellen is not strong enough to make a girl into a woman who will make it in life. Of his three daughters, only one is a woman, Alice, and Alice is perfect. Not only for James, but Hellen knows that Alice doesn’t need anyone but her father. But the other two? One has lost her way in life as far as it can go, is more Hellen than Alice, and the other thinks her mother is the one who can help her. Hellen has failed and her punishment is still too gentle. No more sex, that’s all her husband has done to her.
And Gemma is on the same path as me… My God…
“I overheard Alice and Elise,” Gemma blurts out. “They’re being naughty and trying to manipulate dad and…”
“Shut up!” The dauughter’s mouth drops open. Hellen bangs her fist on the table and jumps up, fiery anger in her eyes. She charges at Gemma, grabs her and slaps her hard across the face. “How dare you eavesdrop on Alice! You little bitch!”
“Mom…” Gemma is so shocked, she doesn’t even cry while her cheek turns red.
“Your sister is the best woman in this house dammit! And you think your little lousy brain knows what she wants to do with your father? Don’t be so stupid as to think you know how Alice lives her life! She does it better than both of us put together!” Gemma can literally feel her heart breaking but Hellen has finally understood what she can do to be a good mother to her daughter.
“Mom I…”
“Shut up! I’m not your mother! I’m some stupid girl who was lucky enough to get your father and I almost ruined it! Stupid bitch Hellen!” She grabs her daughter tighter, pressing her fingers against her cheeks and forcing her to look at her. “Now listen to me carefully you stupid little girl.” And Gemma listens. “Your father is the one you need to turn to. You want to know why you’re so stupid? Because you listen to women. Because you have thoughts of your own. Because you think your voice means something. You stupid bitch! Stop thinking like a woman. Stop thinking like a girl. Look at Alice. Alice is happy because she thinks like a daughter! You want to know why Elise is better than you? Ask her, not me. They both know how to deal with your father. Fuck! There’s only one person in your world that matters and you need to understand that! Gemma! Fuck!” Hellen lets go of her daughter and sits back in her chair. Then she looks at her little angel for a long time. “Your father will be home from work soon. I advise you to finally be a good daughter to him. And if you’re too stupid to know how, get help. God knows we need help.” Then she turns back to her glass, leaving Gemma alone.
Writing Shark 