The Worst for You

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Bennett questioned his sister when she emerged from the bathroom—for the third time that day. Tyler shrugged, nervously wiping at her chin, though she knew from her inspection in the mirror moments before that there was nothing on her face. “You’ve been getting sick a lot lately,” he commented, concerned.

“I feel fine,” she responded truthfully.

He eyed her speculatively before shaking his head. “Okay. Well, Mom said she wanted to talk to us downstairs.”

Tyler followed her brother to the dining room where Julie and Paul were sitting side-by-side. “Kids, sit down.” Bennett and Tyler obeyed, sitting across the table. “This isn’t easy. But I felt like you two should know. I don’t want there to be any more family secrets.”

“Spit it out, Mom,” Bennett urged, not thrilled with the pretenses.

“Well, Ben, I was planning on telling you this when you turned eighteen but Tyler showing up has forced us to tell you sooner.” She paused as she looked at her confused children. Truthfully, she was savoring the moment, knowing that once the truth was out, there would be no going back. “And with your birthday coming up, you’re bound to find out sooner rather than later anyway.”

“Mom,” Bennett sighed, growing frustrated as his curiosity peeked.

Julie nodded, sharing a brief glance with her husband. “You know that Tyler is my daughter, but what you don’t know is that she is more than just your half-sister.”

“What do you mean?” Bennett asked slowly, stealing a glance at the girl in question.

“I mean, not only do you have the same mother; me. You also have the same father…”

“Okay, now I’m confused,” Tyler interjected.

“But you said that you and Ty’s dad split up before you met Dad,” Bennett repeated his mother’s story.

“Yes, that is true.”

Bennett’s eyes narrowed as they moved from his mother to his father. “Dad?” he asked, his voice wavering. “What is she talking about?”

Paul cleared his throat before speaking softly. “What your mother is trying to say is, I’m not your biological father, Ben. Don’t get me wrong. I consider you every bit my own, but you and Tyler have the same father. You are twins.”

Bennett and Tyler stared at each other, not knowing what to say. Tyler bit her lip as she turned to face her mother a question already forming on her lips. But Bennett beat her to it, his voice hoarse. “So, you’re saying that Ty’s dad is my dad, too?” Julie nodded, about to vocalize her confirmation when Bennett continued. “Why didn’t you ever tell me? Did you plan on never having to tell me?” he accused as he pushed his chair away from the table. “I guess it’s just too bad that Ty showed up then, huh?”

Bennett stormed out of the room, leaving three pairs of eyes to stare at his retreat. Tyler stood up slowly, her eyes careful as she spoke to her mother. “I’m gonna go talk to him.” She motioned to the staircase Bennett had disappeared up.

“I think that would be best,” Paul said as he rested a hand on his wife’s shoulder as she held back tears.

“Bennett?” Tyler called softly as she leaned against his bedroom door. “Can I come in?” The door opened slowly, Bennett’s head peeking through the crack to assure that his sister was alone. Inside, the siblings sat side-by-side on Bennett’s bed, neither one making a sound.

After what seemed like hours, Bennett let out a sigh of frustration. “How come they never told me?” he asked softly.

“No one ever told me either. But then again, I didn’t have someone to call Mom growing up.”

“I think that’s what hurts the most,” Bennett confessed. “Is that my dad and I—or whatever I should call him—were always really close.” He shook his head before smiling faintly at his sister. “I guess it explains a lot, though.” He let a small laugh fall from his lips.

“What do you mean?”

“About you and me; like why we like so many of the same things even though we didn’t grow up together. It must some kind of twin thing.”

Tyler smiled. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”

“No.” He looked confused.

“Well, I guess twin telepathy is out,” Tyler laughed, earning a large smile from her brother.

Tyler had never felt comfortable calling Bennett her half brother. And now she had reason not to. He indeed was more her flesh and blood than anyone else. And Bennett couldn’t say he didn’t see something major coming, he had sensed that there was more to the story his mother spun when she introduced Tyler to his family.

But one thing was gnawing at the back of his mind. Now that he knew that Paul wasn’t his real father, he was left wondering about the man that was. All he knew was what Tyler had shared; that she and him didn’t get along so much anymore, that he lived in Massachusetts, and was a lonely bachelor.

Everything he didn’t know was like a blank canvas in his mind, just waiting to be painted. But first, he needed to meet Frank Graves. He held all the answers.