Chapter 17: The Truth Will Set You Free

Deana’s day was ending the way it started, in disappointment, but she only wasted a minute overthinking what happened in the hallway, then eased back into bed.

“Well, what happened?” Rebecca asked and rolled on her back next to Deana. “That didn’t take long enough.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Evan, I thought you left to go find Evan?”

“Rebecca!”

“I thought after this morning you’d make sure it happened,” Rebecca said. “Did you change your mind about him being your first?”

“It’s midnight.”

“So, isn’t that why you snuck out?”

“I didn’t sneak out,” Deana said. “I had to pee. I was being quiet, so I didn’t wake you, that’s all.”

“And you just happened to have to pee when Evan finished showering.”

“No, I had to go before that, but he was in the shower, so I had to wait. And I didn’t go when he finished. I waited a few minutes.”

“You chickened out.”

“Reb, this is a big deal.”

“Huge!”

“That’s right, huge. Maybe reality hit. He’s my brother. It’s not like we can have a relationship. Everybody knows he’s my brother. Shit, we’re twins.”

“Dee, what’s really bugging you?” Rebecca asked. “I saw you kick Teddy. Are you scared?”

“No.”

“It’s normal, even if he wasn’t your brother, but you said you want your first time to be with somebody you really, really love, and you don’t want to wait.”

“Okay, so I’m nervous,” she said. “Let’s not talk about it anymore. Today has already been a letdown, and it’s late.”

Rebecca sighed. “Okay.”

“Thanks, Reb. I love you.”

“Prove it, kiss me.”

Deana felt her tension ease. She put her hand on Rebecca’s stomach. “Hey!” She felt around under the covers. “What happened to your PJs?”

“I took them off.”

She briefly considered the situation, then said, “We can’t cuddle like this.”

“I know,” Rebecca said.

Deana pushed her cotton pants down, kicked them off, and removed her top; then she threw them. “Now we can cuddle.”

“Baby, you can spoon me all night.”

“Mm, you’re so good to me,” Deana said.

“Friends with awesome benefits.” Rebecca got on her side and wiggled back into the silky curves of Deana’s body.

Deana put her arm around Rebecca’s waist and slipped her thigh between Rebecca’s. A soothing peace warmed her heart, and a tear trickled from her eye. She had fallen for the tumbler in a bad way.

The last summer vacation of Evan’s high school years was the one he expected the most out of. Making out with Deana in front of Rebecca had kicked it off with a bang. Did that foretell or pave the path to this?

If his mother hadn’t stopped him, he would have had her ass in his hands, and he would have been ramming his cock into her crotch when Deana opened her door. Shit, if his sister hadn’t interrupted them, he would have fucked Candy right there without regard for anything or anyone. His father, who lurked around in the night, had been home. What if he had caught them?

Evan had imagined it for years, and over the last few weeks, he had touched his mother with purpose, gone into her room, peeked at her pussy, shot a load in her panties, and rubbed his erection against her back while his arms sank into the overflow of her braless tits. What had he expected would happen?

If Evan had a container large enough or a window he could get away with peeing out, he would have chosen one of those over leaving the safety of his room. He grunted, got out of bed, and pulled on a pair of boxers. He had gone to bed naked, just in case his mother came to finish what they started. How stupid it had been to think Candy would chance getting caught in his room.

The stairs groaned under Evan’s feet, so he stepped close to the wall to limit their cry. Eventually, he would have to face his mother, but not yet. Deana, Evan thought, I need to talk to Deana first. Too bad he couldn’t tell her the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Jeez, when was the last time he told the truth? Deana had to know something was up, she’d seen them. If a conversation started, his sister would do the rest. But what about kissing Deana, seeing her naked, and wanting to shove my raging hard-on in her?

They were twins, connected like one, so what if they kissed or saw each other naked. That barely raised the needle on the moral meter compared to committing adultery with his father’s wife. Shoot, ten years from now, what happened with Deana would be something they laughed about, but sex with the woman he had to call Mom could potentially alter life like a Back to the Future time machine.

After pissing, Evan brushed his teeth, washed his face, and peeked into the hallway, expecting his mother to appear out of thin air. When she didn’t, he stuck his head out and listened. Gloria’s voice was distant, and Deana’s door was closed. Perfect, his mother and Gloria were in the kitchen, and Deana was in her room. All he needed to do was get in there without giving himself away. Evan felt like a cat burglar sneaking around his house.

“Deana,” he whispered outside her door, then decided these were extraordinary circumstances and opened the door without knocking.

His sister was sound asleep, spooning Rebecca. Holy shit, I should leave, Evan thought and closed the door behind him as he walked toward the bed. Pajama tops and bottoms were scattered on the floor. The girls were facing him, only a sheet partially covering them. Deana’s arm was around Rebecca’s waist, and their legs were a tangled mess. His sister’s dark complexion was the only thing that distinguished her legs from Rebecca’s. As creepy as it was, he stood at the end of the bed and watched them sleep. They were naked. Shouldn’t Deana have been worried about their parents?

Deana’s face was in Rebecca’s scattered hair as if she might have been kissing the tumbler’s neck. It was a beautiful scene, and part of Evan was jealous, the rest of him found it erotic. He went around the right side of the bed, behind Deana, and lowered his butt to the mattress. “Dee, I need you,” he said.

When Deana didn’t respond or even twitch, Evan laid behind her and put his arm over both girls. “I need you ... need to talk.”

Rebecca stirred long enough to pull his arm against her chest. Evan moved his face closer to Deana’s ear, ready to try again, but before he spoke, his sister’s scent and exposed neck reminded him of the previous morning. She told him he could kiss her anytime, and right then, Evan wanted to. He licked his lips and placed them on her skin. It was moist and salty on his tongue. Rebecca shifted, and the silky center of her tit moved under the palm of his hand. She must think it’s Deana’s hand. It was clearly a breach of ethics, but the thrill it gave him made it easy to justify.

Evan opened his mouth and placed it on his sister’s throat. “Dee, wake up, or I’ll kiss you.” Nothing happened, so he used his teeth and tongue to make her respond. “Wake up.”

“Mmm, I am,” Deana said.

Dammit, he was holding Deana’s best friend’s tit while sucking on his sister’s neck. Fuck the moral compass. Evan rolled Rebecca’s growing nipple between his fingers. “Why didn’t you answer me?”

“Ah, why would I when you were promising to kiss me?”

“Because I told you, no more kissing. I need to talk to you.”

“We could kiss first, then talk?”

Rebecca didn’t make a sound, but she had his hand in hers. Her mouth encased his finger and sucked it. How much did Rebecca know about him and Deana? “I told you I can’t kiss you anymore.”

“Then why are you in my bed whispering, ‘I need you,’ in my ear?”

“Because I do,” he said. “Shoot, I didn’t mean it like that. I wanted to talk, um, to you, and I didn’t want to wake Rebecca up.”

“Don’t worry, we could bounce on the bed next to her and she wouldn’t wake up.”

Wanna bet, he thought and pictured the cute tumbler’s face, grinning as she moved his spit-slickened finger back to her nipple. “But it’s private, ah, what I want to talk about.”

“Kiss me before you talk, or I won’t be able to concentrate,” Deana said.

“Nah, we shouldn’t do that anymore.” He watched Deana turn her head toward him, said, “Just one,” and placed his lips over hers. It was one thing to kiss your sister in front of her friend on a dare, but making out with her while feeling up her friend was bizarre.

Evan got his hand out of the way when he realized what Deana was reaching for. His sister wanted to feel Rebecca up, too. “Deana,” he mumbled, “this is weird, what we’re doing right now.”

“What, you’d rather talk?” Deana huffed. “Racing, right? You ask Mom yet? I’m telling you, she’ll help you. She’s been acting, um, acting differently, you know, like she used to. I’m sure she’ll take up for you.”

“I told you she was acting weird, but you didn’t see it.”

“So, I noticed, recently. It’s not a big deal,” Deana said.

“I still don’t think I should put her in that position.”

“Ooh, what position you got in mind?”

“Jeez, Dee, what’s wrong with you.”

“Me? You’re the one who got a boner while talking to her. What if your towel had fallen and that,” she shoved her butt back into his groin, “popped up in front of her?”

He sighed. “I didn’t get a boner talking to Mom. I had it when I ran into her.”

“It’s hard to hide something that big under a towel. I saw it, and I bet she did, too. What was she doing up?”

“I think you’re spending too much time with the tumbler. She’s rubbing off on you.”

“I’m asleep, not deaf,” Rebecca said. “Is it really too big to hide under a towel? Can I see?”

“Asleep my ass,” Deana said. “Eavesdropper!”

“Jeez, I gotta go ... go talk to Mom.”

Deana bumped him again. “Better take care of that or she might notice, again.”

Rebecca popped up like a Jack-in-the-Box. “Might notice what? Maybe I can help take care of it for--”

“Go back to pretending you were sleeping,” Deana said and shoved Rebecca down.

“Holy shit, I came in here for help,” Evan said.

“I can help,” Rebecca said, trying to get up.

Deana held Rebecca down and said, “Go give Mom a massage. That will distract her or give her an--”

“Give her what?” Rebecca asked. “An orgasm like you supposedly had when--”

“Rebecca.” Deana held up her fist.

Evan wasn’t sure if his sister was serious or fucking with him, but either way, it was time for him to get the hell out of there before Jason’s three favorite words happened while his mother was two rooms away.

Jason had taken a shower the night before, but he sensed there was still dirt in his pores, so he decided another wouldn’t hurt. Once the water was hot enough, he got in, closed his eyes, and started thinking about Billy Joe. He had been so close to sneaking her away while Evan was busy with Cindy and his uncle. Ticket Girl had to check in with her mother, and BJ loosened up. It might not have been a sure thing, but the vibes Jason got had him feeling pretty confident that he would get in her pants or at least find out if her tits felt as good as they looked. Mm, ripe peaches.

They found themselves frozen in the awkward stare of two people about to kiss for the first time. He moved his hands to her waist. She grabbed his forearms but didn’t push his hands away, so he angled his head and moved in. She rose to the balls of her feet and met him. Without hesitation, their kiss went straight to demanding and hungry, like they had both been waiting for it too long.

Their passion and his expectations had been shut down by the approaching KK. Billy Joe reverted to her quiet demeanor, and it was Ticket Girl who took her someplace where nobody could see them. If it weren’t for Evan driving, he would have spent more time trying to find them. Cindy was wrong; they weren’t a little off, they were way off.

Now that Jason was in the shower with his eyes closed, imagining Billy Joe’s mouth and how her kisses set him on fire, it was easy to see how familiar it had been. If he had gotten her into hiding, maybe he could have found out if she was as willing and wild as Becky.

Becky slipped inside the shower curtain at the end of the tub and squeezed under the cone of water with him. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“You’re gonna use all the hot water, so I figured I’d get some now.”

“I locked the door.”

“I know,” she said. “I used my nail file.”

“Fuck, what if I was--”

“I would have watched until you finished. I’ve always wanted to see a guy jack off.”

He huffed. “Figures!”

“Don’t act like you’re not glad I’m here,” Becky said and grabbed his partially erect cock. “Look, you’ve been thinking about me.”

Jason looked down at the tiny hand grasping his dick. “That’s not the point,” he said, watching her tongue curl around the corner of her mouth. “Mom’s home.”

“You worry too much.” Becky turned into him and sandwiched his leg between her thighs. “I’ll put on my robe and say you barged in on me because I was taking too long. That wouldn’t be unusual.”

He flexed his muscles against the pussy that was smashed on his leg and tilted her head back, then convinced himself that without pigtails, his sister didn’t look like Billy Joe. Then, a toe-curling kiss confirmed they used their lips and tongues alike. He pumped his thigh up and down on Becky’s crotch. A hot spike drilled into his skin. “Are you--” His sister bit his lower lip.

“Ah, yeah, yeah, I am. Isn’t it amazing how hot pee is?”

He watched Becky’s face while she relieved herself. It resembled the stages of her orgasms. When the boiling fluid stopped pouring down his leg, he said, “Yes,” and started kissing her again. He could only hope Billy Joe was one-third as wild as his sister.

Becky got a bar of soap and started lathering his balls and cock. He stared, trying to comprehend how good it felt. She pulled his flesh back with one hand, then the other twisted on his knob like she was revving a motorcycle. “Mmmm,” she purred. “It feels good, mmm, good and ready.” He was disappointed that she didn’t finish him off and let him watch her face while cum squirted on her stomach. “Turn off the water,” Becky said. He did and followed his sister out of the shower.

“This will work,” she said and knelt in front of the toilet. “Yeah, it will.” His sister bent over, and her ass cheeks separated, displaying her puckered anus. He got down behind her. Becky’s pussy swells appeared between her legs and parted, revealing her red inner meat. It had seemed like a big target the morning she bent over, brushing her teeth, but now, compared to Darlene’s fat cunt bulging between her thick thighs, it seemed too small. He wouldn’t be able to fuck his sister in this position the way he plowed the redhead.

“Fuck me like a dog,” Becky said. “Hard ... the way you fucked Darlene.”

He pulled back and clamped down on his shaft, then poked the dome between her legs. His sister’s hand was on her pussy, spreading her flaps. She extended her fingers and formed a scoop to guide him in. The flesh groove was warm, but the mouth of her pussy was hot on the tip of his cock. He applied a steady pressure. Becky’s fingers worked around his pancaked dome. He gasped, and Becky grunted.

“Ahhh, fuck yeah,” she slurred. “Do me, do your bitch. Show me how you gave it to Darlene.”

“Not so loud. We don’t know where Mom is.”

“Just fuck me. Mom’s got her ear to the door, and she wants to hear you fuck me hard ... make me scream.”

His sister’s words should have been a bucket of cold water thrown over two stuck dogs, but they made him shove into her violently. Becky’s back arched like a swatted mutt. “Ah, too far, that’s too far.”

He eased back and moved his fist further up his shaft. Before he pushed in again, Becky shoved her ass at him. He looked down, and her tiny butt hole stared back at him. His sister’s body started moving, building up speed and force while her fingers whaled on her clit. She was fucking herself harder than he would have done her. He reached under her chest and found her nipples. They were extended the width of his thumbs. He pinched and milked them out to their solid tips.

Becky’s whimpers changed to moans when his hips started moving. She shoved back as he thrust forward. His sister swung her arm across the top of the toilet tank and discarded all of the items, then she planted her elbows on the lid and grabbed the back of her head with both hands. Her groin was smashed down on the oval front of the bowl. He forced one of his hands between the seat and her body. The tips of his fingers reached around her pubic bone. He could feel his wet prick sliding in and out of Becky’s stretched pussy. Her groin bulged against his palm each time he thrust into her. Their mother wouldn’t need to have her ear on the door anymore. She wouldn’t have to be near the door to know what they were doing.

“Oh, yes, yes, big brother, oh, big brother you’re fucking me so good.”

“Ah, ah, you little...” He bit his tongue, and his strokes became shorter and faster. His balls weren’t swinging anymore, and his cock stiffened and swelled. Becky’s body undulated, meeting his short stabs and humping her crotch on the toilet. He could feel her tunnel clamping down on his bloated dick head in an orgasmic rhythm, and the last thing in the world he wanted to do was pull out of his sister.

“Ahhh, shit, shit, do it ... ah, yeah, do it, do it on my ass,” Becky said. “Cum on my ass.”

There was a split second of sanity, and Jason yanked his body backward. His orgasm was flying through the air when his cock emerged from Becky’s cunt. Her pink anal bud flexed in response to the bullseye his hot cream made. He ran his slippery, spurting cock up his sister’s back. He wrapped his arms around her chest and pulled her against him, still humping her back. His dick ejected the rest of his cum between their bodies. They panted and rubbed together, smearing the creamy load on their sweat-coated skin.

“Becky, oh, Becky, we can’t keep this up,” he said. “Not without getting caught.”

“Mm, but that was so good,” she said. “Wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was,” he said. “Too good.”

“We’ll be more careful ... ah, next time.”

“You think so?” he asked.

“Honestly,” Becky said, “I don’t know. I get so, um, so ... I lose it sometimes.”

“Mm, me too, I guess, but let’s try because I don’t think Mom will really be into hearing us fuck.”

His sister turned her head, and he saw the same evil sparkle in her eyes that he had seen while she pissed on Paula’s book bag. “You never know,” she said. “I need another shower.”

“Me too.”

Evan stood outside of Deana’s door, staring into the empty hallway. To his right was the basement door his mother had appeared in last night. A few paces ahead, just outside the bathroom, was the spot Evan would never step on again without thinking about how his mother’s lips felt on his. He should go to the bathroom, find some panties, and shoot a huge load of incestuous lust into them, then face his mother, but Evan pivoted on a socked foot toward the living room instead.

He paused outside Gloria’s room and looked in. Her softball bat was lying on the floor. It made Evan smile. At least things with Gloria hadn’t gone past the point of no return yet. Do what you gotta do, he told himself confidently.

That moment of confidence was flattened like a beetle underfoot when Evan turned into the kitchen. Gloria was sitting at the table, and their mother was standing behind her, looking over Gloria’s shoulder. The large bay window on the opposite side of the table created a halo of morning sun around Candy. Neither of them noticed him, so Evan inched closer. The ponytail his mother had the night before was gone. Her strawberry-blonde hair was in a bunch on top of her head. The sleeveless shirt she wore had a large, looping neckline that could have easily encompassed her shoulders. Her breasts swelled past her frame, and the threadbare Lee jeans strained to contain her ass. She was a fuckin’ hourglass. It was hard to believe Candy was the woman he was supposed to call Mom.

When Evan got close enough to touch Candy, his chest felt like it had been wrapped too tightly with an Ace bandage. She was aware of him but remained silent. Gloria was drawing with colored pencils. Maybe Deana was right, Evan thought and placed his hands on his mother’s shoulders. Her muscles were tight like guitar strings. His fingers gently strummed. Gloria continued to draw, engrossed in her work; she was clueless about the changing atmosphere.

The chemicals that had been released the previous night, the ones that drove him insane with lust, were already coursing through Evan’s veins. He had just felt Rebecca up while making out with his sister, and now he was touching Candy’s bare skin. All the years of secretly wanting her, yet unable to pursue Candy, had stopped the flow of desire like a beaver’s dam. A small leak had gone unattended for the last two weeks, and last night, there had been a storm, and now there was about to be a complete breach. Evan didn’t have enough moral fiber to keep his lips away from Candy’s neck.

Evan’s hands worked outward, tempted to take the shirt with them down her arms. He kneaded her biceps. She pulled her arms closer to her body, and the globes of her chest brushed the backs of his fingers. Her head rolled to the side, then forward. He moved his hands to her waist; then his arms went around his mother’s stomach.

Candy wasn’t wearing perfume, but the smell of her shampoo made Evan want to stuff his nose in her hair. He tightened his arms while his head moved toward her. She was sweet on his tongue. His aching balls were pressed into her protruding backside. He kissed her earlobe, and a flash of realization made Evan quiver. He was going to have sex with his mother. Maybe not now, but eventually, it would happen. Could he really know that with such certainty?

Would his mother let this happen right behind her daughter’s back? Evan’s lips on Candy’s cheek felt like love, but the hot press of their bodies demanded more than love. He pulled his arms outward. His forearms carried the weight of her breasts until they rested on the backs of his hands. He moved them up her sides, then started inward toward her tits, but paused at the brink manhandling the objects of hundreds of fantasies.

“Wow,” Candy said, “you’re the most talented person in our family.”

The sound of his mother’s voice snapped the insanity that inspired Evan to grab hold of her tits. He sighed with relief and placed his hands on Gloria’s shoulders, but his cheek remained pressed against his mother’s. He realized they were both fighting to find their natural breathing rhythm. The steel in his cock didn’t yield, and Evan didn’t pull away from her body.

Gloria’s pencil stopped. “Evan, I didn’t know you were there.”

It was a horrible conflict, loving someone one way yet wanting them in such a different way.

His mother’s hands reached back and squeezed Evan’s thighs. “Yes, yes you are, sweetie, very talented.”

“You should take art classes,” Evan said.

“But Dad--”

“Don’t worry about him,” Candy said. “You keep doing what you’re good at and enjoy it. I’ll figure out the rest.”

The last remnant of the world Evan knew before vacation started had just unraveled. “Mom, I’m gonna ride my bike for a while. All right?” He squeezed her shoulders.

“Sure. You know it’s sweltering out there?”

Evan needed to act, pretend nothing had changed, so he said, “I know, but I could use the exercise,” and stepped back. “Obviously, you don’t. You look great.”

Candy brushed his cheek like she always had, but he didn’t recognize it as his mother’s touch. “You always know how to make me feel good.”

Gloria stood up on her chair. “Why don’t you work out with me? You’re helping Deana get a bodacious booty. What about me?”

“Gloria,” Candy said.

“Here, let me see.” Evan turned Gloria around. “Girl, it wouldn’t be fair. You got genetics on your side. You don’t need any help putting the other girls to shame.”

“Evan,” his mom said and swatted him.

“Really?” Gloria asked.

“Heck yeah,” he said. “If we weren’t related, I’d get an engagement ring and keep you for myself.”

Gloria blushed. “And I’d say yes.”

“You better.” Evan swept Gloria up and twirled her around. “Unfortunately, you’re my sister, so I’m out of luck.” Evan faced his mother but decided not to give her a kiss goodbye. “See y’all later.”

“Okay,” Candy said. “I’ll be out some today, so you may need to give your sister a ride or something. Take your phone.”

“Girl, you got him right where you want him,” Rebecca said. “Did you really feel it?”

“What?” Deana asked.

“Don’t even try that. How big is it?”

“How should I know,” Deana said. “I don’t have a ruler on my back.”

“Oh, so you did feel it. Was it on your skin?”

“What is this, fifty questions?”

Rebecca rotated, flipped her leg over Deana, and sat up on her stomach. “Give me straight answers, and I won’t have to keep asking.” She held her hands up and slowly separated them. “This big?”

Deana was still asking herself that same question. Only Evan’s boxers had separated the length of his erection from her skin. In her mind, she could still feel that line of heat from her butt crack up her back. She tried to calculate the distance it would cover on the inside of her body. “You sure it isn’t gonna hurt a lot?”

“Was it that big?”

“I don’t know, but it felt big enough to make me think.”

“Think or change your mind?”

“Wonder, that’s all,” she said. “Other than my fingers ... and yours, I’ve never had anything in there. I heard it hurts the first time.”

“Nonsense,” Rebecca said. “You’ll be so nervous and excited that you won’t even notice the pain, and it only lasts a minute, then bliss.”

“So there is pain?”

“He’s not that big,” Rebecca said. “He won’t break you.”

“Are you serious?” Deana sat up and pushed Rebecca back until her butt settled between her thighs. “It’s the first time.”

“Mine was with a carrot,” Rebecca said.

“What are you, Bugs Bunny?”

“I was horny, and that’s all I had at the time. You got nothing to worry about, but, if you want we can practice with my vibrator, Henry.”

Deana blew out an exasperated breath and fell backward. When her head hit the pillow, she covered her face with both hands, snickering.

“Hey, fuck you,” Rebecca said. “I’m trying to help you ... help you now since you don’t want me to be there.”

“Would you want an audience if you were me?”

Rebecca smirked thoughtfully, then said, “No, I guess not.”

“Good,” Deana said and sat up. “I’m not going to be yelling, ‘Oh Henry’, but maybe we should. I don’t want it to be complicated, you know. If I have to say, ‘Wait a minute,’ he might change his mind.”

“Stop thinking so much,” Rebecca said. “It’s all going to work out.”

“I know, but I want it, want it to happen.”

“As excited as I am, you’d think it was my first time,” Rebecca said.

“It is,” Deana said and kissed the tip of Rebecca’s nose.

“Huh?”

“Have you helped any of your other girlfriends lose their virginity to their brother?”

“I don’t have another girlfriend.”

“You better not,” she said, pausing to stroke Rebecca’s hair. “You sure you’re okay with this? I might be jealous if the shoe were on the other foot.”

“I could be, but even though I don’t understand why this is so important, I’m happy for you, anyway.”

“I’ll have my chance with jealousy, eventually.”

“Really?”

“If that’s still what you want for your birthday, then I wanna give it to you. It’ll still have to happen the way we talked about, but if you want it, I want it for you.”

Rebecca kissed Deana. “Thank you. I love you.”

“Me too.”

“Did Evan really get a boner for her, for your mom?” Rebecca asked.

Deana nodded.

“You jealous?

“No, no I’m not, not at all.”

“I swear, I’m moving in,” Rebecca said.

If she had told Rebecca everything, her friend wouldn’t have thought living there was so great.

Evan coasted on his bicycle, threw his apple core into the storm drain, then started pumping his legs like a maniac, trying to outrun his thoughts. What happened in the kitchen impacted every aspect of his life. His mother hadn’t told him what happened outside the bathroom door was wrong, a huge mistake that could never happen again, as he had expected. And, Evan hadn’t acted like he was scared, shameful, or had remorse. How would this affect his family? In a sense, his mother had died again, but she still lived with them.

Divorced parents, step-parents, and single moms, Evan had friends with those, but he had never known anybody whose mother died, and certainly not someone whose father married the babysitter. That wasn’t all that seemed off, either. He needed somebody to talk to. Maybe Deana needed to know more about what was happening with their mother.

When Evan returned, Candy’s car wasn’t in the driveway, which was a relief. She must have been off buying food for them or picking up his father’s suits at the dry cleaners or something like that. Did his mother ever get to have fun?