Nikki, you have a fraternal twin sister. And an aunt too. Neither one of us is an only child. Although, in our hearts, we always will be.

Your sister was sick. I couldn’t take care of her and take care of us. So your aunt made arrangements for us. She had the other baby adopted.

On your first birthday, I called your aunt to see if she could find out how your sister was. She said the baby left the hospital healthy and she didn’t know more. She may have been lying, because they were listening. So I hung up fast so they couldn’t trace the call and I never called her again. She vowed to keep the adoption a secret because the adoptive parents begged her to. They never plan to tell your sister she isn’t their real child. I’m sorry I’m not there with you now. I hate to leave you all alone. No one should be alone in the world. That’s why I’m telling you about your aunt. Her name is Claire Nichols. She has means and will help you if you ask. But be careful. She’ll stop at nothing to keep the secret of your sister from being exposed.

I’ll love you always. To the moon and back.

Mom

By the time I’m done reading, some of the inked words are blurred from my tears. Clenching her letters tightly against my chest, I curl up on the bed and cry myself to sleep, repeating the words over and over. To the moon and back, Mom. To the moon and back.

***

The next afternoon, I freeze when I hear the knock on the trailer door. I’d rehearsed what I was going to say to Evil Evans all night, but now the words have left me. I barely eke out a “Come in.” It’s pretty ironic that I’m about to ask her for help, when all I wanted before was for her to leave me alone.

“Ready, Nikki?” We make eye contact, but I quickly look away, steadying myself with a deep breath.

“Ms. Evans, I need your help.” I wrap my hands around my stomach— the words actually caused physical pain when I said them.

It’s the first time I’ve ever seen her speechless.

“It’s about the letter from my mom.” My eyes well up with tears. “I have an aunt,” I blurt out. “Her name is Claire Nichols. I need to find her. I really need to find her. Will you please help me?” I was up half the night searching the internet, there’s more than four thousand people with my aunt’s name. Ms. Evans could search records…maybe even hire an investigator.

She listens to me explain what I want her to do. “Nikki— ”

“Please, Ms. Evans, please. Don’t take me anywhere yet. Just try to find her first. Please. She’s my only family.”

I sense her mentally paging through her caseload, deciding if I’m worthy. “It may not be as easy to find her as you think.” She sighs and looks toward the ceiling. Eventually she reluctantly agrees. “You can’t stay here. I’ll have to talk to Ashley’s mom about keeping you a few more days. If she can’t”— the warning in her voice is clear— ”you’ll have to go to the foster family tonight.”

I don’t tell Ms. Evans about my sister. My sister. After Evans leaves, I say the words aloud to myself to see how it sounds. “My sister.” After seventeen years, how can someone have a sister?

***

I hate to cry. Telling Ash about Mom’s letter would most definitely open the floodgates. So instead, I just hand her the envelope and let her read the whole crazy story for herself. As she finishes reading, Ashley starts to cry. I can’t hold back my tears when I see hers. We hug, clinging to each other tightly.

It takes a little coaxing. Ashley actually begs her mom to let me stay with them for a little while longer. It’s not that her mom doesn’t like me, but she does dislike an extra body in their small trailer, five kids cramp things enough. But Ashley convinces her and she reluctantly calls Ms. Evans to tell her I can stay.

“Mother of the year said you have a week. Generous, huh?” Ashley says as we walk to get some of my clothes.

“At least she’s letting me stay.” I shrug.

“Well, if we run out of time, I guess we’ll just cut your hair into a mullet, glue on a scraggly mustache, and stuff a quarter keg beer belly into a red flannel. She’ll find room for you then. Hell, she’ll have the rest of her spawn calling you Uncle within a few days.

I laugh. Her depiction is a bit overly dramatic, but it’s not that far off. “What happened to Uncle Kenny?”

“You mean Uncle Joe. Uncle Kenny was last month.”

“That’s right, I forgot you got a new Uncle.”

“Don’t bother remembering, he went out for milk and never came back.” I look at Ashley in disbelief. “No, really. He literally went for milk. Mom gave him twenty bucks and he never came back.”

I shake my head. “She’s too nice.”

“Sure.” Ashley looks at me like I’m crazy. “We’ll go with that.”

“Honestly, I’m grateful she’s letting me stay. I wouldn’t last too long with anyone else.”

“What choice do you have?”

“I don’t know. I have a little money stashed away. I’m getting out of here, with or without Evans’ help.”

Chapter 6

Zack—

Long Beach, California

After Emily told me she was ready last weekend, I’d thought that maybe finally doing it would bring us closer together. But if this week is any indication of things to come, I’m starting to question if sleeping with Emily is even a good idea. Her usual bossiness has hit a new level of extreme this week. I secretly wonder if she thinks she can get away with anything now, because she holds the looming sex card over my head. She’s been treating me like a dog with a bone held just out of his reach. Only pretty soon this dog may bite her and go find a nicer owner. It would be pretty ironic if I wound up turning her down in the end, after the last year of practically begging.