Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 85(@300wpm)
I keep on my serious face, crossing my arms over my chest as I quirk a brow at him. “But Star and Lacy said that—“
“Ah,” Barron sighs, rolling his eyes. “Those two. I should’ve known that they were the ones who told you.”
“Yeah, and they shouldn’t have been the ones to tell me that you like fucking around with your sister,” I glare. “It should have been you explaining the relationship. Long before Flora showed up at our house. How could you invite her over to watch us have sex without telling me about who she was to you first? Even if she’s not your biological sibling?”
“I know,” Barron sighs. “It was wrong, and I apologize for that. I did really want to tell you about her and about our complicated past, but I guess I could just never find the right time. Before I knew it, Flora was already back in town, and we’d already made plans and…I don’t know,” he shakes his head. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault, and this situation would have never blown up in my face or gotten out of hand if I’d just talked to you first.”
“Yeah, I agree,” I mutter. “But I don’t get it. If you two aren’t really siblings, then why were you calling each other brother and sister? I heard you just now. And don’t lie because I heard you guys talking about your childhood too. You clearly did grow up together.”
“We did,” Barron nods, “in the orphanage.”
“Oh?” my eyes widen as he nods again.
“Yeah. The two of us were placed in the same group home around the same time, and we grew up together there. We became very close, both because we were a part of a handful of kids who were there for a while, and because we suffered a lot of hardship together.”
“You did?” I whisper, suddenly feeling awful. Oh my god, I’ve completely fucked up. Meanwhile, Barron shrugs, his eyes going far away.
“Neither of us was very well-liked by the other kids,” he says on a pained chuckle. “We endured a lot of teasing because of the fact that no one was interested in adopting us. The longer we stayed there as other kids came and went, the worse the teasing—or I should say, bullying—got.”
“That’s horrible!” I gasp.
“Yeah, it is,” he states. “And on top of that, Flora was always a little on the smaller side when she was younger, and she was very shy and quiet, so she made for an easy target. I tried to protect her because I was a tough guy, even growing up, and very aggressive, but there were just too many of them. The other kids basically became animals, and they’d do everything, from taking our food for the day to stealing the few personal belongings that we had.”
“Kids can be so cruel,” I shake my head. “I mean, what reason did they have to do that to you guys anyways? You’d think that they’d want to come together and behave like a family, and not ostracize other kids that were in the same predicament as themselves.”
“You’d think,” Barron shrugs, his expression carefully controlled. “But I guess it was their way of coping with their pain. Regardless, Flora and I had to learn to look out for each other. We stuck together and over the years, we got closer and closer, until we became like each other’s family. Like siblings. That’s why the two of us act like brother and sister. That’s why we affectionately call each other “Big Bro” or “Little Sis.” It’s just a term of art because we’re not really related.”
I pause for a moment, dumbfounded.
“That makes a lot more sense,” I say in a quiet tone, suddenly ashamed. “Barron, I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have assumed—“
Unfortunately, I burst into tears then, feeling like a complete loser.
“No, it’s okay,” he tells me quickly. “It was a fair assumption to make. I mean, you heard us calling each other brother and sister, so what else are you supposed to think? Plus, after what Lacy and Star told you, you were already on edge.”
“Still, I should have trusted you,” I argue “I shouldn’t have listened to them. What would they know?”
Barron nods.
“They don’t know about my years at the orphanage, so they thought the same thing you did. That Flora and I are biological siblings, even though we’re not related at all.”
I shake my head.
“Still, if you’re that close, it’s weird that you’d engage in voyeurism with Flora, right? Don’t you find that strange?”
He nods, hanging his head.
“It is, and it’s something I want to stop actually. I’ve wanted to stop for a long time now because even if we’re not blood-related, we’re related somehow, and you’re right. It’s not sane, nor is it healthy. So in some ways, you have the right of it, Danielle. I need to stop associating with Flora, or at least put a halt to this part of our relationship. Things have spiraled out of control too much already.”