“So he is my brother.” David nodded. She laughed once, brokenly. “I finally date one decent guy.”
Sarah made a sound halfway between a sob and an apology. Megan looked up at her. “Do not.” Sarah went quiet.
For the next several weeks, Connor refused to see David. He continued living with Sarah, finishing school, and preparing for graduation. He and Megan stopped texting for nine days, then slowly resumed contact under new terms neither of them knew how to name. Brother and sister felt ridiculous after eleven weeks of dating.
Ex-boyfriend and ex-girlfriend felt worse. They settled on names. Connor. Megan.
Two people who had been thrown into the wrong category and were trying to climb out without injuring each other further. Their school made the situation more difficult by being a school. Rumors spread. Someone posted a vague joke about “prom plot twists” on a private story.
Connor nearly punched a classmate who asked whether he and Megan were “technically from Alabama now,” and a guidance counselor intervened before the incident became disciplinary. Megan heard the comment secondhand and went home shaking with rage. David wanted to call the school. Megan stopped him.
“Do not make this a bigger spectacle.” “But they are harassing you.” “They are being idiots. I can handle idiots.”
David heard Laura in the sentence and almost said so. He didn’t. Instead, Megan asked him a question that cut deeper. “When Mom was dying, did you ever think about telling her then?”