The Worst for You

“Tyler, honey. Maybe it’s time to take you to the doctors,” Julie suggested when she saw her daughter exit the bathroom, yet again.

Tyler shrugged. Truthfully, she wouldn’t mind finding out if there were something wrong with her. She hated that she had been constantly sick lately, though she felt more than okay. “Okay, I’ll make an appointment for you tomorrow with my doctor.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Tyler nodded as she passed her mother and walked into Bennett’s room without knocking. “You awake?” she asked deftly.

Bennett mumbled something close to ‘No, go away’, but Tyler ignored him as she jumped onto his bed. She leaned her head on her elbow as she looked at her brother’s semi-asleep form. She couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy. Unlike her, he had grown up in a home where everything was supposedly out in the open, only to have those realities ripped from underneath him. Now he had to deal with the fact that not only had his assumed family situation been a lie, but he also had to come to terms with the fact that there was a man he had no memory of out in the world; the man who had fathered him.

“Ben, you need to get out of bed,” Tyler spoke softly receiving only a grunt in response. “Seriously, this isn’t healthy. Plus you’re starting to develop a stench. You could use a shower, or two.”

“Funny,” Bennett mumbled.

“C’mon, lets take a walk,” Tyler offered. It had been three days since the tell-all initiated by the teens’ mother. Bennett lifted his head from the pillow, nodding, and a sour look on his face. “I’ll go start the shower!” Tyler jumped from the bed, giving her brother, her twin, a moment to wake up as she let the water warm up in the bath.

**

“Can you tell me about him?” Ben questioned unexpectedly. Up until that point, he had remained silent as he and Tyler roamed the neighborhood, taking in the smell of freshly cut grass and enjoying the rays of sunshine shining down on them.

“What do you want to know?”

“Well, what’s he like? Do I look like him? I always wondered why I didn’t look a thing like my dad— Paul,” he corrected. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Other than you two butting heads, I haven’t really heard much about him.”

Tyler smiled softly, unsure where to start. After a short silence, she began with the easiest subject. “You look a lot like him; you have the same eyes. As for describing him, back when we got along, he was the best. We always did fun things together. We we’re so close, I felt like I could tell him anything, and I thought he did the same.” A sad smile overtook her face as her eyes flashed. “Apparently, that wasn’t always the case,” she stated under her breath.

“I know you it would be hard for you, but,” Bennett began, trailing off as he wondered how to finish his request. Tyler stopped walking, Bennett following suit as they faced each other. “Do you think you could introduce me to him? I don’t think Mom would, and I really don’t know if I could do it alone; but I have to meet him.”

Tyler bided her time as she mulled over the idea of going home, even if it were for just a visit. Her initial response was immediate and distinct in her mind, but watching the distress on her brother’s face, she was reminded that she had once been in his shoes. She had once been given the information that would lead her to the parent she had never known, and given the chance, she would have loved to have a sibling, a friend, by her side as she did. So, her response shifted, “Yeah, I can do that.”

Bennett, knowing his sister’s assertion cost her, simply nodded before resuming their journey though the neighborhood in silence.