The pieces are falling into place, and the picture they reveal is not a pretty one.
“Nate?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we…?”
“Are we what?” I look over at her. Cherry has her hand over her mouth, and her eyes are wide as she stares down at the paper. Clearly, she isn’t willing to voice the only conclusion in front of us. I swallow hard. “We’re siblings.”
“That can’t be true.”
“It is. You know it is.”
“But we…we’ve been…” She can’t finish the sentence any more than I can think it in my head.
“You have a tiny bit of brown in your left iris,” I say. “My mother had a spot in her eye just like that.”
“What?”
“And those freckles. Mom had a lot of freckles as well though her hair was darker than yours. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.” I laugh hollowly. “Obviously, I’m a complete idiot.”
“We didn’t know,” Cherry whispers. “We couldn’t have known. Oh, God!”
Cherry rushes off to the bathroom, and I’m pretty sure I can hear her puking. I want to do the same. I can’t even process what’s on the paper right in front of me.
At this point, I don’t even know which bombshell in my life is worse. My brother and Pops are dead. I’m still recovering from a sleep disorder than caused me to hallucinate visions of my dead father, and the woman of my dreams—who just agreed to marry me—is actually my sister.
For the sake of her safety, Cherry agrees to return to Cascade Falls with me. While she packs some things, I call Reid to have him get her apartment ready for her. I already know the furniture she left behind is still there.
It’s late, but the roads have cleared and the winter storm has passed, so we decide to go ahead and leave. Cherry doesn’t seem up for it, so I drive. As we get in the car and head back to Ohio, she slips off the engagement ring I gave her and lays it down on the console next to the gear shift, and I know exactly which bombshell hit the hardest.
I feel pressure behind my eyes and have to stop myself from telling her to put it back on. I understand why she did it, but I don’t like what it represents. It’s not like I want the damn ring returned. I just want to go back to where we were before all of this started.
I’ve been fucking my sister.
My stomach clenches and I taste bile in the back of my throat. I am half tempted to drive off a bridge, but I just stare at the road. I don’t look over to Cherry. I don’t want to see the tears running down her face.
How am I going to explain this to the family? What happens afterward? Does Cherry come to live with us in the family house and take her rightful place—whatever that may be—in the hierarchy? Will she want to insert herself into the family business even though she really doesn’t know what she’s getting into? Will Nora set up the bedroom next to hers for Cherry to live in? She’d be sleeping right down the hall from me, and I don’t know if I can handle that.
I shake my head. I can’t think clearly about any of this, and for the first time since I was confronted with Pops’ death, I wish he would reappear and tell me what I’m supposed to do. I glance in the rearview mirror to see if he’s in the back seat, but he isn’t.
The ride back home is silent. Cherry sits and stares out the window, an occasional tear running down her cheek. I want to say something comforting, but I can’t even think of words to comfort myself, let alone her.
As we approach Cascade Falls, Cherry lets out a long, shuddering breath.
“Do you want me to explain everything to the family?” I ask. They are the first words I’ve uttered in hours. “I mean, I can tell them for you, or we can do it together—whatever you want.”
“I don’t really care what you tell them,” Cherry says softly. “I think I want to just get a room at the lodge for tonight.”
“Reid has your apartment exactly how you left it,” I tell her. “The key is under the mat. I thought you might need a…a place to retreat.”
“Thank you.” Cherry’s eyes are wide with surprise, but her voice is hollow. “I don’t know how long I’m going to stay though.”
“Why?”
“I can’t just move back here now, Nate! Not after everything that’s happened. Eventually, everyone is going to figure out that not only am I an Orso, but I’ve been messing around with my brother the whole time I was here. I can’t live such a public life under those circumstances, Nate. I can’t even imagine facing your family right now…”
“It’s your family, too. You came here to find your family, Cherry, and you have. I know...I know it will be a little weird—”