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"They never told me all the details. I was too young. I can tell you what I’ve pieced together over the years."
"Okay." My voice sounds detached, not at all like my own.
"You were taken during a field trip to the San Diego Zoo. You were gone for about a month before you were found at a hospital in Northern California. We had just moved to Virginia a few months before. Mom went back to San Diego a few times to be with your parents. From what I overheard, there were no cops involved at all, no authorities. Even back then, I thought that was fucking weird." Rhys laughs, unamused. "Then, one day, you pop up at an ER in Northern California. You were sick, and scared, and the hospital couldn’t figure out who you were until you told them days later."
My vision gets blurry. This can’t be true.
Rhys looks at me with a sad expression. "Do you want me to keep going?"
I wring my hands together.Do I?"Yes."
"Grandma Ruth flew in and stayed with me. Mom and Dad left as soon as you were found. I never figured out what happened while they were gone, but a few weeks later, you became my sister, and I was to never tell you the truth."
Rhys’s entire body is tense when he finishes. He’s waiting for my reaction to the bomb he just dropped on me.
"Who am I?"
He seems to have expected a different question, but simply states, "You’re Lilly. That has never changed."
Okay, so at least I know my name.
"Who are my parents?"
He hesitates a second. "Your biological parents’ names are Emily and Henry Sumner. You were born as Lilly Sumner. Emily and Mom had been best friends forever. I knew you from the day you were born. We were always together."
I guess that explains all the childhood pictures of us.
"Where are my parents?"
Rhys hangs his head. "I don’t know; I’m sorry. I’ve searched for them online a few times over the years, but nothing recent ever came back."
We’re both quiet. I’m trying to process what I just heard. I was kidnapped. My parents are not my parents. I’m not related to any of the people I live with. Oh. My. God. I was kidnapped. And why don’t I remember any of this? My heart is about to explode out of my chest.
I lean forward, rest my head on my knees, and wrap my arms around my thighs. I mumble, "Why don’t I remember any of this?"
"I have no fucking clue. They never told me shit." His voice is hard. "I was seven, and my best friend needed me. For the first few years, I didn’t question Mom and Dad. I was happy you were back with me. I had missed you after the move. When I was old enough to ask questions, they simply said to me that they couldn’t tell me."
I let this sink in more. Rhys has frustration and disappointment written all over his face. He thinks he’s let me down. I was kidnapped, and I don’t remember anything.
Then, another thought hits me. "Isthiswhy you stopped talking to me?"
His eyes fling up to me, and he rakes his hands through his hair—something he does when he is nervous or stressed.
"No! Shit no." He pauses and fully turns to me. "When we moved back to Westbridge, uh...Wes was all over you. He would always hang around, and"—Rhys takes a deep breath—"I got jealous. Fuck, I sound like such an idiot." He laughs at himself. "Dad saw it and made it clear that I couldn’t have these types of feelings formy sister. You met Denielle and started spending most of your time with her, which helped, but it got harder and harder to play along. When I started high school, it was my chance to start over—to move on from you." Rhys averts his eyes. "Our schedules were different for the first year, which made it easier, but then you started WH. Dad caught me looking at you all the time, and I knew I had to make drastic changes to maintain my façade. One evening, he came to my room and told me I had to get a grip, or he and Mom would need to figure something else out. He never said what they would do, but he basically insinuated sending one of us away. Which wasn’t a fucking option for me."
My blood pressure is through the roof. I don’t know which revelation has shocked me more. I guess you’d assume the fact that I was kidnapped and don’t remember a thing, but I thought I knew my brother. No, he isn’t my brother. But we were so close.
"Well, you seem to have successfully moved on." My voice sounds dry and sarcastic. The feeling of utter betrayal starts spreading through every cell of my body.
Rhys snorts. "I guess I’m a better actor than I thought."
"Katherine?"
Now, his voice sounds hesitant. "Kat and I are..." I can see him trying to find the right words. "An arrangement. We give each other what the other needs: an image. I’ve still been watching over you, even though you haven’t noticed. I try to stay far enough away so no one will notice, but I’ve been there."
Awesome, so he abandonedandstalked me.
We sit there in silence.I see Rhys glancing over at me every so often, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s waiting for me to make the next move.
