Oh, Brother

I got settled into the dorm room, forcing myself to calmly put everything in the proper drawers. It was a good way to calm my nerves. After I couldn’t draw that out anymore, I went across campus to the dorm that Dad told me was Reece’s. He’d asked her mother, because I didn’t want her to know I was coming. I didn’t want to give her the chance to run from me.

It was all I could do not to sprint there. I missed her. No, this was more than that. It was like someone had ripped out some part of me that was so essential, I wasn’t truly myself without it.

I knocked on the door and nearly turned away. To say I was nervous was a bit of an understatement. That kiss…

What if she didn’t want to see me?

But then the door opened and it was too late to turn back.

Standing there was a girl I didn’t recognize. Seraphina, maybe? She gave me a friendly smile and said, “You must be here to see Seraphina.”

I was confused. “No, I’m looking for Reece.” The girl looked confused.

“Why?” she asked.

“That’s between her and me.”

“Well, you’re looking at her. Reece Blackwell,” the girl said, sticking out her hand. I froze. When I didn’t respond, her face fell and she looked appalled. “Oh, Sera’s going to kill me.”

“What’s going on?” I asked. She couldn’t be Reece. If she was, then who was my Reece?

I heard her voice behind me. “What’s going on?” she echoed.

“Sera, I didn’t know. I’m sorry,” ‘Reece’ apologized.

“Reece?” I asked. Both girls grimaced.

My Reece took my hand and led me down the hall. “I’m sorry,” she said. She didn’t speak another word until we reached a park. Sitting down on a bench, she put her head in her hands.

“What’s going on?” I asked. She tried to pull her hand from mine, but I refused to let her. I’d gone without seeing her for so long, there was no way I was going to forfeit even this small contact if I didn’t have to.

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “I’m not Reece. I’m sorry that I lied. Reece… she’s my best friend. She begged me to go and pretend to be her. She wanted no business with Jeremy, and she didn’t want to waste her summer touring Europe. So she sent me. I never should have let her talk me into it, and I’m sorry.”

My breathing sped up. “You’re… not my sister.” I didn’t know how I felt about that. I was relieved, certainly. Thrilled. Angry, betrayed, humiliated.

“No, I’m not,” she confirmed.

“Then who are you?”

“Seraphina Kincaid,” she replied, sticking her hand out for me to shake and smiling faintly. I might have believed that smile, if it weren’t for the strain in her eyes.

I didn’t take her hand, though, and I released my hold on the other. “You lied.”

“I did,” she agreed. Her face and voice were now devoid of emotion.

“You put me through hell. Do you know how hard it was, feeling what I did for who I thought was my sister? Do you realize how disgusted I was with myself?”

“I’m sorry,” she said. Her voice was choked with emotion this time. But I kept going.

“I came here, thinking that I could make it work. Even though it’s not conventional, even though it’s not legal, I thought we could still be together. But I didn’t know you at all. You’re a liar, and an unfeeling, insensitive fool. I can’t believe I ever thought I loved you.” I stormed off. I couldn’t look at her anymore. I didn’t know what to think anymore.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from looking back at her, for just a moment. She was sitting there, beautiful as ever, crying silently and wrapping her arms around herself, as if to hold herself together. I started walking back to her, to comfort her, to do something, but Reece- the real Reece- came running down the pathway and threw her arms around Sera.

She didn’t need me. She probably never had.