I couldn’t accept it. I just couldn’t. It made my blood boil just thinking about my little sister getting involved with another woman. She was too young to know anything about love! I was also sure it was all misplaced gratitude after all the help that girl, Violet, had provided. Misplaced gratitude and admiration.

“—so then, Violet said—”

“Could you please stop talking about her?”

I’ve just had it with her talks about her “friend” once we got home and sat on the sofa. It was like she was the only thing my sister could talk about.

“…Did something happen between you two?”

“…That’s my question. Did something happen between you two?”

“Erm, no? What are you on about?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

“…Of course.”

“I don’t mean as friends.”

“…I know… I meant it in that way.”

“I saw the way you look at her.”

“No, I meant that I love her… as in… love.”

We stared at each other for what felt like ages, me incredulous and she waiting for my reaction.

“Love?” I scoffed.

“Sis, have you ever been in love?”

“We aren’t talking about me.”

“No, but could you answer anyway?”

“…No Abby, I have not. I had mum breathing down my neck all the time and the people she’d send down to uni to check if I was only there studying and nothing more. I already told you that.”

“I see… you never had, huh…?”

“What does this have to do with anything?”

“I guess… I won’t be able to make you understand if you can’t sympathise.”

“What’s there to sympathise!? Abby, it’s not normal!”

She cocked her head back, looking hurt.

“…Then… am I a freak?”

I had said the wrong thing. I only wanted her to understand. Why did I have to tell her that in that way?

“N-no! That’s not—”

“But I’m not normal either.”

“Aby, that’s not what I—”

“Do you hate me now?”

“No! Of course not! You’re my baby—”

“Then, do you find me disgusting?”

I chocked, not because I believed she was, but because she thought I’d think such thing.

“Of course not!” I told her, trying to reach out to her, but she pulled away from me. “Abby, please, listen to me! I’m telling you this because I worry about you! About your future!”

“…Mum also said horrible things to me because she worried about my future.”

“…”

“…You’re just like her.”

“A-Abby! Please don’t say that!”

Hearing her say such thing, telling me I was just like the person who brought us so much pain, more to her than me, was dilacerating.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

She didn’t say speak else though. She just stood up and walked away from me, towards the front door. “Abby! Where are you going!?”

“To Violet’s. She doesn’t know yet, but I’m sure she’d at least not make me feel like I’m worse than trash if I told her.”

“Abby please! Abby! Don’t go! Abby!”

Cried as I might, she walked away, crying too.

◊◊◊

Whatever had gone down between the sisters, Abby was being torn apart by it.

When I arrived home from the cemetery, she was already in my bed, all curled up in the foetal position and holding a pillow to her face.

It was clear what had happened. Sophia confronted her and they had an argument with Abby being rejected by the person she admired the most in the world. I was just happy this time she came to me instead of completely shutting herself off from the world.

For the first three days she didn’t leave the bed. She also barely talked and ate, and refused to be touched. On the fourth, she began walking around the house and eating a little bit more. Sunday was the fifth day, and the day her sister came by.

“Could I talk to her?” she asked after a stiff exchange of greetings. While she looked like she was about to cry, all I wanted was slapping that face that was reminding me a lot a certain woman I hated so much.

“She hasn’t uttered a word since she came here,” I growled.

She bit her lip and stared down to her feet, bobbing her head slightly. Then, she lunged at me. For a moment I thought she’d try to brute-force her way past me, but instead she began shouting.

“I’m sorry, baby sis! I’m so sorry! I can’t accept it! I just can’t! But you’re no longer a baby! You’re sixteen! Soon you’ll be an adult! You’ve got to make choices of your own now! Don’t let your horrible sister be a factor in them! I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry and… I love you! I always will! No matter what!”

Once she was done shouting her message—and blasting all my hearing capability from my left ear—she latched on to me, sobbing “no matter what”.

She had gained some pity from me, so I patted her back with only one hand. Turns out, I was only any good at hugging Abby, and no one else.

“Please… take care of my sister,” she pleaded in a very weak voice, almost imperceptible. Were it not for me having watched her breaking down in excuses, I’d have attributed that to some sort of audio illusion.

She began walking away and that’s when I noticed the car parked in front of my house. Mr. Will was outside, over the driver’s side, but so too was my dad there, holding a passenger door open for Sophia.

“Dad? What were you doing with them?” I asked when he came inside.

“…You know I love that girl as much as I love you. Seeing her like that breaks my heart.”

“…Thanks dad.”

He placed a hand on my shoulder and shook me gently back and forth.

“I only offered a father’s perspective to her. The rest is up to Sophie.”

I wasn’t sure… no, I had no idea what he meant. What I knew was, if he wanted to tell me, he’d have done it. I also had something more important to do than chatting with him by the front door.

“Hey… how are you feeling?” I asked in a hushed tone as I sat by her on the couch.

She looked at me and scooted over very meekly, squatting between my legs and hiding her face between her knees and my chest.

“…Do you think I should forgive her?”

That was such a hard question. I was a single child, I only recently started dealing with people in any deeper way, and I still hadn’t figured out if I should tell her that I knew what the argument had been about or not.

Fortunately, dad was there and intervened.

“Abby, I’m sure it’s very hard for you, but please try to understand, it’s not easy at all for your sister to come home and see that her baby sister is no longer that sweet, innocent child and is now making life choices of her own. She has to come to terms with that, and I can tell you as a parent, it’s not easy. Give her time.”

I wasn’t sure if Abby should be that forgiving, but what my father said had some wisdom, plus I had very painfully heard her sister’s apology, so maybe I was simply being extremely bitter. I didn’t know a thing, at the end.

“Does Violet know what the argument was about?”

She shook her head with a vigour I hadn’t seen in a while.

“I’m sorry Violet… I can’t tell you just yet…”

That settled it for me.

“It’s ok. I can wait until you feel ready. You don’t need to tell me anything until you feel like it,” I assured her.

She began unfurling, putting her arms around my neck and legs around my waist. I had grown very accustomed to our bodies being pressed together, and even with having our dads around, but this position was new and getting me flustered because our groins were touching since I didn’t have the time to close my legs.

“You really are my sun,” she said, taking my mind out of such trivial matter and back to what was important.

Haah, how am I supposed to answer that!?

I glanced at my father who seemed amused by what she said to me.

Haah, really… what a pain this all is.

“Erm… y-you’re my… my sun… too…”

If he was aware of what the sisters’ argument had been all about, he knew full well what she meant. From me telling her the same, he could them either assume I was just being sweet, or that I felt the same way about her.

If he wasn’t aware… I doubt he’d look so enchanted by our exchange if he was against us dating.

He chuckled to himself and left us alone.

Now that she seemed to be settling down…

“Erm, Abby? It’s no big deal, but… could you let me close my legs, please?”