Head to Room

Paige took the news about as well as anyone in her situation could, as in, she was pissed. I didn’t blame her. Mom and Dad had been keeping a major secret from her for years now. Both her and Elisabeth had grown up thinking we were a normal family. Well, mostly normal. Dad was always a bit of an odd one with his beliefs. Beyond that though, Paige had the mistaken belief that everything else in our family operated like everyone else's, namely that Dad wasn’t actually our biological father and Mom had gotten pregnant from someone else. She had known we shared a father being twins, but learning that Dad was actually the one placed her in a weird place. I could tell she didn’t know how to feel, a look of shock on her face as she processed everything she was being told.

Dad had been living a double secret life, one as someone who wanted to love just one person, and the other a much more serious crime of hiding his fertile status from the world. Mom had gone along with him, not only marrying a fertile man but helping him keep his status hidden and giving birth to two sets of kids with him. If that wasn’t hard enough to take in, she also had to accept that her brother was fertile as well. Both her parents, and now her, were committing a felony keeping it a secret. All while being kept in the complete dark her entire life.

Paige was furious, but she had to see their reasoning. The best way to keep a secret is to not tell people, even if they deserved to know. The fewer people to know something, the less chance it has of getting out. Dad only told me when he showed me my real test results when I was sixteen, and that was more a, ‘you can live normally if you just be careful.’ I’d have been pissed if he hadn’t terrified me with talk of what would happen if our secret got out.

I left early, letting Mom and Dad talk to Paige. Already being in the loop, there wasn’t anything new from that. Instead, I went up to my room. Closing the door, I flopped on the bed with my phone in hand. A few seconds later, I was video calling Kaylee. She picked up after a few rings, her smiling face greeting me.

“Hey,” I said, feeling a smile of my own form.

The screen shook as she positioned her phone to a more comfortable place. From her surroundings, I knew she was in her room. “Hey there.”

“What are you up to?”

Her smile slipped. “Studying. My last government quiz results were uh… less than desirable.”

I felt my eyebrow quirk. Of all the things Kaylee could have trouble with, government was a bit surprising. The girl was in a lot of high-level math classes and she never complained once about them. Then again, maybe honors classes were different. I was just in normal government, and it was laughably easy. “You having trouble in a class? That’s surprising.”

“Okay, Mom,” she said with a laugh. “She keeps hounding me to keep grades up. More of that, ‘You won’t get into a good college if you screw around,’ BS,” she said, distorting her voice in a mocking attempt to mimic her mother. “I think she still expects me to go to one of those prissy Ivy League places.” She looked cute when she scrunched her nose like that. “But enough about that. You tell your family yet?”

“That we are dating?” She nodded happily. “Just did.”

“And?”

I suppressed a grin, enjoying the sight of her try to hide her anxiety. Like she had anything to worry about. We’d been friends for a long time. My parents already loved her. What did she have to be nervous about?

“They were less surprised than I expected them to be. I had the feeling they were expecting it.”

I could see her visibly relax. “You too?”

“What, your parents say something?”

“First thing Dad said. ‘About time.’” She laughed. “I think he’s happier I’m dating you than I am. Wait, that came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”

I was laughing, switching position so it was a little easier to hold the phone. “I know.”

There was a stretch of silence. Her head tilted as she stared at me. “This is weird.”

“What is?”

“This. I mean, we are dating now yet this doesn’t feel any different than normal. Is that normal? Shouldn’t it be different?”

“It’s only been a day.”

“True.” She didn’t look too comforted by that.

“Besides, we’ve known each other for a long time. I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go.” An idea sprang to mind. “But you know what couples do? Go on dates!”

Her smile was back. “Is that your way of asking me on a date?”

I held back my own urge to smile, wanting to tease her a bit. “Well, if you don’t want to…”

“Ass. You know I do.” Her smile fell away. “But it can’t be anytime soon. I really need to study. Mom is always on me about grades during basketball season. The last thing I need is her using us going out to yell at me for slacking.”

“Makes me glad my mom has more or less given up on me being a stellar student.”

Kaylee laughed. “Maybe she’s counting on you marrying into money.”

“You know, never really thought of that. Fortunately, I know a girl. I think I have a real shot there.”

Amused, she quirked her eyebrow. “Oh? Do I know this girl?”

It was hard not to smile, but I managed. “No. She’s uh… in another city.”

“Uh-huh. Well good. You can stop mooching off me then.” It looked like she was going to say something else, but her face lit up as she remembered something. “Oh right, break is coming up in a few weeks. You doing anything?”

I thought for a moment. Nothing came to mind. I think Mom and Dad said something about visiting some family, but we did that every holiday. “Just some family stuff. Why?”

“You know my parents have that timeshare condo we rent out? Well, we are going skiing for ten days again this year.” She nervously brushed the hair away from her eyes. “I was uh… wondering if you wanted to come with us?”

It was a bit surprising, but I enjoyed watching her squirm on the other side of the phone. “Is that okay with your parents?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I mean, isn’t that what you do as a family? I wouldn’t want to impose.”

She puffed out her cheeks. “You’re my boyfriend, Scott. You aren’t imposing. Besides, my dad was the one that suggested it in the first place. I… wish I had thought of it.” There was a guilty look in her eye.

“I’d love to go.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Great! I’ll tell Dad to get another ticket.”

“Just let me know how much it is.”

She waved it off. “Don’t worry about it. Mom and Dad would never let you pay, even if we weren’t dating.”

A knock at the door interrupted us. “Hold on a second, Kaylee. Yeah?” I yelled over my shoulder. The door opened as I twisted to see who it was. Paige. She didn’t look happy. Then again, did she ever when she talked to me?

“Have a second?” she asked, looking towards my phone. “Hey, Kaylee.”

“Hiya, Paige,” Kaylee said with a small wave.

“I can’t believe you are dating my brother. I thought you had standards.” I was about to get angry when I heard Kaylee snort from the phone. A quick look over my shoulder and I found Paige was only joking. Maybe. She had a good poker face. “Anyways, can I borrow my brother for a little bit? We need to talk.”

“Sure. I need to get back to studying. Oh! Before I go, I have Faith’s government notes if you wanted to look over them too. They are a lifesaver.”

“Aren’t they? I’ll grab them tomorrow from you.”

“Sounds good.” She looked at me. “Bye, Scott. See you tomorrow.” Saying my own goodbye, she cut the connection after blowing me a kiss. Behind me, Paige made a gagging noise.

“Going to be a while to get used to that.”

Rolling over, I flung my legs over the bed and sat up. “Is that why you came in here?”

“No,” she said, giving a nervous glance at my phone. Sighing, I knew what she was angling for. Handing her my phone, I waited as she disappeared out the door. She returned a few seconds later, closing the door behind me. Dad had given her the same riot act. The one thing he drilled into me, never ever talk about anything sensitive around a phone or microphone. I didn’t believe the government was actively listening in, but he made a good point about voice commands and things passively listening. Phones especially. It was always better to do things with an abundance of caution when a careless slip could land you in a whole world of trouble.

“So, how was your talk with Mom and Dad?” I asked, patting the bed beside me. She didn’t move at first, looking at the spot and me like she was debating something. When I thought she was going to just stand there, she moved over and took a seat.

“You knew, didn’t you?” she asked, not looking at me.

I nodded. “Not that long though. Since I was sixteen.”

“Your test.”

“Yeah.” I risked a glance over at her. She was like that wild cat you passed on the way to work. Every time you passed, it would hiss and take a swipe at you. Then one day, it suddenly walked over and started rubbing against your leg and you were at a loss what to do. Which one was its real feelings? Liam told me that she was a lot like me. Maybe that was true, but I dealt with her prickly side a lot more than he did. Still, I could tell she was having a hard time with this. I might have too, but my concern was more about my own life and how everything was about to change. Yeah, it was a lot to take in, but her life was by and large unaffected. Dad was still Dad, regardless if he was our biological father or not. I was still her twin, and Elisabeth was still our sister. Nothing changed.

She sighed, still not looking at me. “I feel like an asshole.”

“Probably because you are one.” Paige turned her head to glare at me. It looked like she was going to snap at me, but she managed to bite it back. Very unlike her.

“I deserve that,” she finally said. “I’ve always thought you were following after Dad. I had no idea you were…” She trailed off, unable to finish. I knew what that was like. It was as if saying the word would make it real. Normal considering she was still processing everything. “I knew our family was messed up. Dad always going on about being with only one person and Elisabeth going off and actually doing it. I’ve always felt me and Mom were the only normal damn people in this family. I thought you were a coward for not being more aggressive.”

“Honestly, I don’t think I would be too different even if my rank was what my card says.”

“Maybe, but I still feel bad.” Again, she actually looked like she felt bad. This was new territory for me. Paige always seemed to care only about herself and what others thought of her. What made this entire situation more awkward was this was really the first time we’d talked like this in a long time. We had been close once, before high school. I tried to pinpoint where we started to drift apart, and it was about the time she became sexually active. I wasn’t sure what to say to her, and it was clear she was as lost as I was. My eyes moved to her lap, where her hands were fidgeting anxiously.

Liam might have been right about me needing to talk to her, but that was easier said than done.

“So…” she said slowly, not looking at me. “What uh… what are you?”

“Dad didn’t say?”

She shook her head. “He said something about it would be better not knowing too much.”

I let out a dry laugh. “That sounds like Dad.” She was looking at me with a silent pleading in her eye. She hated not knowing, and I could see the curiosity eating away at her. Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “You want to know that badly?”

“A-rank?”

I quirked my right eyebrow. “I wish.” She seemed to relax somewhat.

“B-rank then.” She frowned when I started laughing.

“Wrong way.” Her face paled. “Technically it’s a step above that. Double S. Woo,” I said with a mocking cheer. “Of course, we don’t actually know for sure. The doctor was only guessing since you need to run a different test to get more accurate results at that level. No way in hell is that going to happen.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Looking away, she stared at the wall across from us. Her hands gripped the edge of the bed, knuckles whitening. “I kinda wish I didn’t know now.”

“They say ignorance is bliss.”

Her head snapped around to face me again. “What about Kaylee?”

“What about her?”

“Does she know?”

“Of course not.”

“How is that going to work?”

I frowned, looking away from her. “Honestly? I don’t know,” I said as I stood up. Moving away from her, I stretched out my arms. “It’s still a work in progress.”

Paige’s head followed me as I walked out the knots in my legs. “Kaylee enjoys sex as much as any girl. She’s going to start wondering why her boyfriend doesn’t want that.”

My face was already starting to heat as I remembered what happened the night before. “That’s somewhat worked itself out.” My sister gave me a suspicious look. “She uh… kinda thinks I have no sex drive.”

“And she’s still okay with dating you?”

“Unlike you, Kaylee and I have something a little deeper than sex.”

Paige didn’t look convinced. I could tell a little of her old self was returning as she leaned back and propped herself up on my bed. “How is that anything different than what you had before?”

“Well, I’m her boyfriend now.”

“Who can’t have sex.”

“Yet. I said it’s a work in progress. I’ll figure something out.” That last part was more to convince me than her. I needed to figure something out or Paige would be right. I didn’t want to set sex as a goal in our relationship but damn it, it was something I wanted as much as I hoped Kaylee did.

After another long silence between us, Paige seemed back to normal. With a deep breath, she stood and brushed herself off. “Well, this was a good talk.”

“Does this mean you’re going to go easy on me from now on?”

“Not a chance,” she said without hesitation, a smile creeping onto her face before she headed for the door. It was worth a shot at least.