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When he returned, Tyson bounced on the bed beside me, jostling me. He kicked off his tennis shoes and leaned back against the headboard.
“Now what?”
I handed him my notebook and let him read what I had written so far. He chuckled at the last line I had written and handed me back my notebook. “Getting anything less than perfect does give you hives,” he teased me.
I scowled at him. “And losing a game or having a lousy game makes you an ass.”
He frowned at me. “It does,” he agreed.
I nodded my head. Maybe he was seeing that getting good grades was as important to me as his sports were to him. I needed them as much as he did.
“What do you want to do when we graduate?” Tyson asked.
“Go away to college somewhere.” I glanced at my brother. “What?”
“By yourself?”
“That was the plan, Tyson. You think I can’t handle it?”
“No, not really. You still don’t go to the grocery store by yourself. In the last three years, you’ve finally started talking for yourself.” He wasn’t being mean, but it was harsh, and it hurt.
“I had to, you abandoned me,” I snapped.
He snorted and looked away. “Abs, I didn’t abandon you. I was right there every single day. I knew you were okay. I was just trying to maintain some distance so we could keep our separate identities.”
I rolled my eyes at my twin. “Where were you then when Alex Holt harassed me in the library in the eighth grade because you no longer had my back?” He glanced at me. “Geek, nerd, freak. Are you sure that you and Tyson are related?”
He was really looking at me now, sorrow crossed his face.
“I became a target for those that only maintained distance because of you. Jenson Hall also eighth grade. Walked behind me to seventh period math class, every single day. Shoved me all the way. Just a gentle shove. His words hurt far worse.”
“Abs why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because Tyson what you were doing hurt me far worse than some idiot bullies who have daddy issues.”
He grabbed me in his arms and held me close. “What else?”
“You don’t want to know,” I said into his chest.
“I do. Has anyone bothered you at our new school?” He asked.
“Not so far but Cal Cooper doesn’t let me walk alone very often so they seem to respect me because of him.”
He leaned back and looked at me. “I’m sorry Abs. I didn’t know. I was caught up in finally being just Tyson Gardener not Abby’s brother who didn’t get the grades she did. I didn’t know the guys were bullying you.”
“Why would you? Mom and Dad made sure we had few classes together to help us keep our identities separate. That made it easier to hide what was happening to me. Kyle Goertz was the worst. Remember freshman year we had to sit in alphabetical order at the lunch tables? Lucky you and me, we didn’t have same lunch period.
“Kyle thought it was funny to spit in my food. I nearly starved my freshman year of school. When I got up to put my tray away, he would call me names. I couldn’t be like you. Popular, good looking…”
He stopped me there. “Abs you’re beautiful. You hide behind those glasses that are too big for your face. The guys on the football team are teasing Cal about falling for the nerd. All he says in response is what beautiful eyes that nerd has.”
I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I wiped it away with my sleeve.
“I had to remind them that they are talking about my sister,” he declared.
I couldn’t stop the flow of tears then.
“Please don’t cry,” Tyson begged. “I hate it when you cry.”
