"Who?" Nicole asked again, still frozen on the couch.

"You know, Ezra, Jesimae's son?" Faye couldn't believe her mom had forgotten who Ezra was.

But Nicole didn't forget. Although she never imagined things would go this far.

"Oh my God." Nicole put her hand over her mouth. She felt like she would be sick.

Faye couldn't understand her mom's reaction. "What, Mom? What's wrong?" The room seemed to be shrinking around her.

"You can't date him, Faye," she whispered. It was as if she was talking to herself.

"What? What do you mean?" Faye didn't think her mom would mind. He was a nice guy. Her mom knew that. Maybe it was because he was older.

Nicole didn't answer. Faye was frustrated. What was her mom not telling her? She read a mix of emotions from her. Sadness and hatred. "Mom?"

She grabbed Faye's hands. "Listen Faye, you can't date Ezra. You can't be with him."

Faye shook her hands away from her mom's. "What are you talking about? I can date anyone I want. I'm sixteen. And I thought you liked him. He's your best friend's son." What was happening? She felt claustrophobic suddenly.

"Yes, my best friend's son. The same best friend who also liked your dad. Who married him. Who had a son with him before I stole him away from her."

Nicole started crying. She was so upset with the situation and hoped she never had to tell Faye everything that happened with her father. She didn't want Faye to be ashamed of her.

"What do you mean? Jesimae was married to my dad? And my dad had a son with her. So, I have a brother?" Faye moved away. She knew what her mom was trying to tell her, but she didn't want to believe it.

Nicole leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Faye, and cried more. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you before. I didn't think something like this would happen."

Faye's face turned as white as a ghost. "I think I'm going to be sick." Faye took off for the bathroom.

Nicole ran after her and stood outside the door for a few minutes. "Are you okay hun?"

"No! I'm not! This is disgusting! I can't believe this!" Faye cried out as she sat next to the toilet.

Nicole stepped into the bathroom and hugged her daughter tight. "You didn't know and it's all my fault."

It was silent for a few minutes as they sat on the bathroom floor.

"So, I guess that's why I felt a connection with Ezra. He told me before about how he didn't know his dad either." Faye wiped her face and let out a low laugh. "And it turns out we were talking about the same guy." She looked up at her mom. "What do I do, Mom?"

Nicole was relieved that Faye was taking it better than she feared. She thought Faye would run off and never speak to her again. She hugged her daughter again.

"I'm going to call Jesimae and let her know what's going on. She will tell Ezra. It'll be okay." Nicole hoped Ezra's reaction wouldn't hurt Jesimae or Faye.

"I want to be there when she tells him," Faye said. She felt terrible that Ezra would feel this disgust and shame that she felt. She wanted to support him.

"Okay, I'll ask Jesimae if that's okay."

Hours later, Ezra rushed to his mom's house in Unity. The voicemail she left sounded urgent. He wondered why she wanted to talk to him in person. He thought someone in the family had died. He hoped it wasn't Grandma Greta or Grandpa Jasper.

Jesimae's driveway had another car. He didn't recognize it. He quickly walked into the house.

"Mom! I'm here!" Ezra shouted in the doorway.

"In the living room!" Jesimae shouted around the corner.

Ezra took three long strides to the living room and was shocked to see Faye and her mom sitting on the couch with his mom on the loveseat.

"Oh, hello." Ezra smiled awkwardly.

He remembered the kiss he and Faye had shared. How different it was from the other two girls he's kissed. The first kiss was always the most exciting. There was a huge spark, and it made him jump out of his skin. But with Faye, it almost had the same effect as kissing Grandma Greta.

"Sit down pumpkin." Jesimae patted her hand on the empty spot next to her on the loveseat.

She only calls me Pumpkin when she's giving me bad news. "What's going on?" He asked.

"There's something important I need to tell you. Something I should have told you years ago." Jesimae looked at Nicole.

Ezra was confused. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. He wondered how anything his mom had to confess to him would have anything to do with Faye or her mom.

"Ezra, you and Faye can't date. She's your sister." Jesimae ripped the band-aid off.

Ezra laughed. "Oh, I get it. You're giving me shit for taking your best friend's daughter to a school dance. Very funny."

He looked at Faye and saw she wasn't smiling at all. None of them were.

"I'm not kidding Ezra. This isn't a joke. You and Faye have the same father." Jesimae explained.

Ezra hadn't even thought about his father in years. Even on holidays. The idea of having a father faded from his memory years ago. He eventually realized his dad was never returning and didn't care about his family anymore.

"How is that possible?" Ezra looked at Nicole. "You know my father?"

Nicole nodded her head.

Jesimae continued. "After your father left us, he started dating Nicole. Our friendship was ruined because of it."

Nicole spoke next. "Jesimae tried to tell me that he wasn't the man we thought he was. But I didn't believe her. Kyle told me that Jesimae was having an affair and kicked him out and wouldn't let him see his son anymore. We worked together for a long time. I had a crush on him for years, since we were all in college. I told him he could stay with me until he found a place."

Jesimae spoke again. "And of course, he lied. He was cheating on me with multiple women and gambled away most of our money. Even after the divorce, I still tried to get him to visit you, Ezra. But he was either too busy or never answered the phone. When I brought him to court for child support, he signed away his parental rights."

Nicole continued. "I didn't know any of this and after a while, we started dating. I told him he could just live with me. Months later, I found out I was pregnant. The next day, he told me he was feeling too sick to work. When I came home after work, he and all of his things were missing. I still don't know where he ended up. I never talked to him again."

It was silent. Ezra was trying to process everything. He knew his father must have been worthless for his mom to never talk about him. And the fact that Ezra never heard from him again. He was shocked that his father had a baby with another woman and abandoned them too. And it was Faye.

Ezra stood up and walked over to Faye. He held his hand out. She grabbed his hand, and Ezra pulled her up from the couch. He wrapped his arms around her.

He whispered. "I'm sorry that you have the same piece of shit father I have."

Faye chuckled and whispered back. "I'm sorry too." She paused. "Did you feel something strange earlier? When we, you know."

Ezra whispered again. "Yes, no offense, but I knew something was wrong."

"Me too." Faye whispered back.

They pulled away from each other and smiled.

Ezra looked at his mom. "Is there anything more you guys aren't telling us? Any other lost siblings in town we should know about?"

Jesimae and Nicole looked at each other. "We doubt there's anyone else around here who was involved with him. We both assumed he moved to another state." Jesimae said.

"All right. This is awkward enough," Faye said.

They all sighed.

"I guess I'm going to prom without a date," Faye added.

"Hold up! Why would I let my little sister go to a dance by herself?" Ezra said.

Jesimae and Nicole were pleasantly surprised by how well they took the news.

"No! You can't! What will everyone think?" Faye panicked at the thought of people knowing her brother was her prom date.

"What do you mean? No one else knows right?" Ezra pointed out.

"Well, I guess. But we know!" Faye said.

"I don't care. I still want you to have fun and not feel left out." But what Ezra thought was something different.

What are you doing? This is too weird. I feel disgusted with myself. How could I have feelings for my sister? Even if I didn't know. It's still too fucking weird. Do I really want to go to the dance now?

"I'll still feel a bit left out." Faye thought about how everyone else could at least make out with their dates.

I still feel disgusted with myself. How could I kiss my brother? Okay, I didn't know at the time, but still. Faye thought.

Ezra tried to persuade her. "Come on. As long as we don't tell anyone, we'll look like just another couple at homecoming."

She is my sister, and I want to make her happy. That could be what I've felt all this time. Ezra thought.

"Okay. I'm sure it'll be fun!" Faye agreed.

I do feel comfortable around him. That could be what I've felt all this time. I was relaxed because my body knew he was my brother. Faye thought.

Even though they were disgusted with themselves, they didn't have negative feelings for each other. They recognized their sibling connection. But they still felt more comfortable keeping it secret for now.