"No, because look at what happens," I said.
"You want some supper? I'll bring something up." "I'm not hungry."
I started down the ladder.
"Laura," he called.
"What?"
"Don't let anyone make fun of you when I'm
not in school."
"They won't," I said. He went back to his model
ship.
Robert called to find out what had happened
and express his sympathy. I was afraid that if he knew
the whole truth, he, too, would get into fights and then
I would be responsible for the two of them doing
badly in school.
"You're still coming over tomorrow night,
aren't you, Laura?" Robert asked.
"Yes," I said, even though I knew I would
regret leaving Cary locked up in his own dark,
unhappy world.
"I'll be there by five, okay?"
"Okay."
That night I lay awake for the longest time with
my eyes wide open, thinking. What terrible things had
we done to cause all the nasty gossip about us? We
were twins, born minutes apart. We had been
connected in our mother's womb and birth was a great
separation from each other as well as from her. When
we were younger, we did cling to each other more
than most brothers and sisters, even those close in age.
I couldn't recall a day or a night when we were apart. I