Chapter 2
"Emily, do you always have to shoulder everything yourself?" he said.
He used to say that to me too.
The first time a client made me cry, he stood in front of me, protecting me.
He told me, "Sophie, don't try to carry everything by yourself. I'm here for you."
But now, those words were for Emily.
I set the keychain down on the shoe cabinet.
"Fine," I said.
William stared at me.
"What's that supposed to mean, 'fine'?" he asked.
I dragged my suitcase toward the guest room.
"I'm tired," I said.
He caught up to me in a few quick steps and grabbed the doorknob.
"Sophie, it's not as messed up as you think between me and Emily," he said.
I stopped in my tracks.
"What do you think I'm thinking?" I shot back.
William's lips parted, but he didn't say a word.
I brushed past him and opened the guest room door.
The sheets were fresh, clearly just changed.
On the nightstand sat a half-full glass of water, right next to Emily's usual meds.
And William's watch was sitting there too.
I turned around.
For the first time, William looked rattled.
Emily called out softly from upstairs.
"William."
He let go of the doorknob and went upstairs.
As he walked away, William called out, "Take it easy. Don't push her."
After the door closed, I picked up the keychain and clutched it in my palm.
Buddy was pawing at the crack of the door, whimpering softly.
I pulled out my phone, the anonymous confession account's profile was still open on my screen.
There was a new comment under the video.
[She came home early tonight.]
I stared at those words, my stomach twisting.
It wasn't that seeing them together made me sick.
I was sick to my stomach about myself.
How did I not see it until now?
I heard William's footsteps outside the door.
He knocked.
"Sophie, can we talk?" William called out.
I didn't answer.
He knocked again.
"Sophie, don't try to scare me with your silence," he said.
I opened the door.
William was standing there, holding a glass of warm water.
Whenever my stomach hurt, he'd always bring me water just like this.
The glass was steaming.
I didn't take it.
"Did you bring her water like this too?" I asked, my voice sharp.
His face darkened.
"She's your sister," he said.
"So what?" I shot back.
"Can you stop assuming the worst about everyone?" he said.
I looked at him.
"Just tell me, was that you behind the anonymous confession account?" I asked.
William's hand trembled.
Water splashed onto the back of his hand.
He didn't flinch.
"Did you snoop through my account?" William asked.
"It's a public profile. Anyone can see it," I replied.
He closed his eyes for a moment.
"It was just a momentary feeling," he said.
"So getting close to her, was that just momentary feeling?" I shot back.
William lowered his voice.
"Emily's been hurt before. She's terrified of men, terrified of intimacy, terrified that everyone will abandon her. You're her sister. How can you not understand?" he said.
I let out a dry laugh.
"I get it. That's why I brought her home, slept on the floor with her, took all the heat from the relatives, and didn't even complain when the wedding got pushed back," I said.
William's lips tightened.
"Stop throwing that in my face," he said.
I'd heard that line way too many times.
After Emily was dumped at the altar, she spent whole nights smashing stuff.
I'd work at the studio all day, then come home at night to pick up the pieces.
One time, I got glass in my hand, and William carried me out in the middle of the night to get patched up.
He sat in the hallway, his eyes rimmed red, looking like he'd been crying.
"From now on, don't worry about her. I'll take care of you," he said.
I really believed him back then.
I really thought he was here to save me.
Turned out, people really did change.
It didn't happen all at once.
He just started giving the patience he once had for me to someone else, little by little.
Emily came downstairs.
She'd changed into her own clothes, but there was barely any color in her face.
"Please don't blame William, Sophie. This is all my fault," she said softly.
I didn't say a word.
She walked up to me, her fingers fidgeting together.
"That night, I had a nightmare. I dreamed I was back at the wedding, and everyone was laughing at me. I called you, but you didn't answer, so William came over," Emily said, her voice trembling.
William chimed in immediately.
"You were at the exhibition, your phone was switched off," he explained.
"So you just crashed in the guest room?" I pressed.
Emily quickly shook her head, looking flustered.
"No, we didn't sleep together. William just stayed with me on the couch," Emily said, her voice shaking.
She paused, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"It was just later that night, I got scared, and he let me rest against him for a while," she murmured.
I lowered my gaze.
"Where exactly did you lean on him?" I asked, my tone icy.
William's expression turned grim.
"Sophie," he said quietly, almost pleading.
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"Please, don't do this. I never wanted to take anything from you. I was just...I was just so scared," she said, her voice trembling.
She looked up at William.
"Can you help me explain? I'm scared she'll stop seeing me as her sister," she pleaded.
William reached out to hold her.
It was so natural, like he'd done it a thousand times before.
So natural that the ache in my chest didn't even hit me right away.
I took the glass from his hand.
He relaxed a little.
"That's more like it," he said.