'And if you're ever tired of being known

For who you know

You know, you'll always know me

Dorothea (ah-ah)'

*DOROTHY'S POV*

Knock knock.

The taps on the window next to me pulled me out of Spencer's article, which he'd asked me to re-read after the few word modifications he'd made– as if 'supposed' or 'presumed' could change something to his great writing style.

Well, at first, I didn't even lift my head from the paper, as I'd just sat down on the plush armchair, and I told myself it must have been a branch. But when the knocks continued more insistent and impatient, I resigned myself to get up, the hair across my body being pulled up too as I realized the night was already falling, and I couldn't see anything through the square of darkness.

Who could even be knocking? Spencer and Blade had gone out to put the animals to bed and grab some logs, and we didn't have many neighbors, at least not human, so it could only be...

"Cluck."

"Saturn! What are you doing here?" I gasped as the two golden eyes appeared through the darkness, her beak hitting the window again and again. "How did you get here?"

That was something I would never know, unless the hen started to talk, and I wouldn't have been surprised, as Saturn was special. She always managed to sneak out of the henhouse and end up in the weirdest places, like the sill of this high window, and I would definitely miss this feathered outlaw, along with Moonlight and Jupiter, when we would go back to Subrose.

But we couldn't carry them through the one-day drive, so we had agreed to put them back where we'd stolen them, and it was for the better. We would each find back our own families and friends. We couldn't get away forever, neither I, nor Saturn, even if the fierce hen kept on trying, and before she could escape again, I quickly opened the window, ready to scold her about going out at night when there were dangerous things lurking in the shadows.

Yet someone else's voice was already arising. "Are you crazy?! Put that gun down! It's–"

"Dorothy's sister, yeah, I guessed. I've seen the photos in the living room."

I was so used to hearing Spencer's annoyed gasps and Blade's unfazed sarcasm that I needed a few seconds to process the words 'gun' and 'sister', my wide eyes meeting Saturn's as if she could tell me I was hallucinating. Yet her 'cluck' sounded more like a 'no', stopping my heart, almost as much as Blade's dangerous tone when he continued,

"But that doesn't mean I trust her when she was sneaking in the shadows with a gun."

No matter how much I was craning my neck to see something, with my small height, I couldn't glimpse more than the thick foliage, and that made my mind and heart reel with each word.

'Sneaking in the shadows with a gun', it didn't sound like my sister. Just being here in this 'muddy', dark place she'd always hated didn't sound like her. Yet Spencer had seen her enough to recognize her even in the dimness. Now, the question was: could Blade be threatening my sister with a gun?

In spite of the strange situation we were in, it wasn't the best way to make a good impression on his possible in-laws, but could Blade do it?

I already knew the answer, and it was what made me rush through the back door without even grabbing my shoes, my socks gliding on the wet ground as soon as I stepped outside.

Like always, it was a grand entrance, making the three silhouettes on the other side turn to me – two that I recognized instantly, even as my eyes were adjusting to the darkness, and the other one... A woman slightly taller than me, with a flipped hairstyle where no strand was sticking out on the wrong side, even with the gun pointed at her head. There was only one person who could achieve that...

"Oh my gosh, you're pregnant!"

Yes, it was Daisy, my big sister in all her splendor and grace, her pale eyes meeting my wide electric ones, at least until I narrowed them at the two men beside her.

"Who told her?"

Both lifted their hands in defense – well, Blade, only one, as he still prevented Daisy from even shrugging.

"They didn't tell me. It's motherly instincts. Besides, your belly is peeking out, and you're glowing."

'Glowing'? At this instant, I wasn't even sure which color my face was with all the back-and-forths of my blood, red? Blue? White? And in the dimness, under the large cardigan I was wearing, I doubted she could have seen much of my four-month baby bump. As for the motherly instincts... were they that acute? Because it had taken me days to realize I was pregnant myself...

My eyes trailed down to my small belly, my thoughts quickly following to a pit of self-doubt, but before my heart could drop down too, Daisy made it jump again.

"Now, can you please tell Blade to release me?"

"No way. That still doesn't prove me that the fucking pigs aren't following behind, with or without you knowing," Blade replied, his gang leader aura as sharp as ever, making Daisy gasp, and she would have surely put a ladylike hand over her chest if he hadn't been still holding both behind her back.

So instead, she showed her outrage through her voice. "What? I would never denounce my little sister. The gun was only for my safety if you weren't the ones squatting here, and I've been careful to not go here directly. Do you think Dorothy is the only one who's learned illegal tricks?"

"Yes, 'cause the gun safety is still on, and if it'd been Dorothy, I would already be dead," Blade pointed out, the proud smirk tugging at his lips making it sound like a compliment, and as strange as it was, it did send warmth to my cheeks as his gaze met mine.

"If anyone had followed Daisy, they would already be here by now."

I nodded at Spencer's wise argument, though I would have never doubted Daisy, anyway, and I didn't hesitate one second to tell Blade, "Yes, release her, please."

In spite of our many differences and disagreements, she was still my sister. When we'd been younger, she had never denounced me to our parents – sermonized me, yes, but not denounced, and she hadn't changed much...

"Oh no, look at your socks! Did you get out like that?" she gasped as she joined me, shaking her head as if I hadn't rushed here to save her life, and I was starting to regret it as she trapped me into a tight hug. "We should go inside. It's not the moment for you to get a cold, and we have a lot to catch up on."

Why had I told Blade to release her again? From up close, her jade eyes looked terrifyingly similar to our mom's, and mine were already drifting toward Spencer and Blade in search of some help.

"Oh, and I've baked my famous coconut cake." She was indeed dangerous, aiming perfectly at my sweet tooth, and that without losing her innocent smile. "I've left it, along with a few more goodies, in my car, down the road. Maybe your... men can go get it?"

That was all a strategy to get me alone, and Spencer was already walking to her side to grab the key she was holding out. Blade was only hesitating because he had never tasted her cake.

"You sure you're okay alone?"

My gaze traveling from his attentive one to Daisy's, I swallowed harshly. "Yes, yes, don't worry..."

It couldn't be worse than the police interrogation I would have to face soon, could it?

A faraway 'cluck' once more echoed too much like an objection as I led her inside, calling over my shoulder at Blade and Spencer, who were heading in the opposite direction, "Don't forget to get Saturn back inside the henhouse, and make sure Moonlight has enough hay!"

"How many animals did you rescue here?" Daisy's smile was more disbelieving than amused as she shook her head, although all her movements froze when we stepped inside.

"Just two hens and a goat."

She clearly didn't hear my reply, otherwise, she would have added a disapproving remark. But here, her lips only parted with a shallow breath as she took in the familiar living room, from the dining table to the plush brown armchair.

Even if she had never liked this rustic environment, the cabin was still Grandpa's, and through the nostalgic gleam of her gaze, I knew she was picturing as many memories of him as I did.

"You did a great job with this place. It looks even better." She cleared her throat, trailing a finger over the mantel and checking for any hint of dust in a nervous habit, even though there wasn't any because I'd cleaned it twice in the past week, when I'd needed to busy my hands and thoughts during Blade's trip.

"Thanks, Spencer and Blade are doing a lot too." I smiled as we passed by the coat rack Blade had made, passing the succulent plant Spencer had rescued in a pot, and heading towards the armchairs where I'd gathered too many cushions.

"So what is it? Are you planning to stay here forever? Are the three of you a menage à trois or something like that?" She turned to face me before I could even sit, as apparently, she'd already recovered from her emotions, and I was now the one left breathless.

"No! no... I just... They're waiting for me to choose..." Since almost five months. "And I will... I just don't know yet."

I slumped down on Grandpa's armchair as if it could give me the key to this mystery, even though I'd already tried many times, and the only thing that had changed, as I looked down at my fiddling fingers, was my belly, which was each time a little bigger.

"Oh, wait, you don't know who the father is?" It was her turn to fall down on her seat – in a more elegant way, of course – as she caught my glance down at my stomach, and I wasn't sure how to take her gawking expression as she seemed more shocked that Spencer could be the father, and thus, had been careless, than when she'd found out I was pregnant.

Well, it was true that Spencer had always been the purest and most careful between us two, but I guessed it was the exception that proved the rule, and once could be enough in this case.

"No... It happened at three days of intervals, so I can't know." I cringed at the sound out loud, although the whisper was barely louder than the haunting voice of my conscience, and I didn't even dare to lift my gaze to my sister.

"Oh god... Well, at least, it's one of them, and it didn't happen all together."

That wasn't the reaction I'd expected. Who did my sister think I was?

Okay, it might have crossed my mind a few times – late night, horny, pregnant, and mindless thoughts. But anyway, hadn't she witnessed Blade and Spencer bickering just minutes ago?

They could barely share a piece of pie, even if when they worked together, they could do amazing things, and it wasn't hard to imagine each bringing his own talents... Blade's talented fingers, Spencer's soft lips, whispering loving praises in the crook of my neck, Blade's raw curses tingling the underside of my ear, and my small body pressed under their strong, tall, and handsome ones... It could have been amazing indeed...

"No, of course, not." I quickly shook my head, busying my brain with removing my dirty socks in the hope of shedding some heat from my body too.

"Um, so now you're waiting to know who's the father to choose?"

"What? No!" Faster than a cold shower, Daisy's words washed away any forbidden images from my mind, along with all the warmth from my cheeks to my toes as I came back to reality. "Maybe it would be the proper thing to do, but it wouldn't be fair to anyone."

And 'sometimes, the right thing wasn't proper, but it was always fair'. I was realizing it more and more these days.

"I'm gonna choose before, and we've already agreed that it wouldn't change anything. The father is the father, and if it's the one I choose, it's great. The other one will be the godfather and still be in the baby's life because they're both doing a lot for her or him. But if it's the contrary, we'll do like stepfamilies do, with a stepdad, and a shared custody." If there weren't other problems of custody of course...

"Do you realize you don't have that much time left then? How many weeks are you in? 16? 20? It'll pass quicker than you think, and there are so many things to prepare when you welcome a baby. First, do you even know where you will be? You can't give birth here and–"

"Okay, I got it! I'm a mess. I already know!" I threw my hands up at the sound of her endless questions that made something inside me snap.

Well, she hadn't let out that many yet, and she surely had more behind her pinched lips, but I'd already heard them all too many times, in her voice, or in my mom's, in Diane's, and in many more. Even from afar, they were always in the back of my mind, like the doubts in my heart, echoing more or less loudly, sometimes silenced by Blade's bad intentions and Spencer's beautiful words, sometimes gaining amplitude with the tick-tock of the clock, and I hadn't realized how deafening they were growing until that instant.

"I'm not the perfect lady, the perfect housewife. I won't have the perfect family, the perfect wedding, and I don't even know what I'll do tomorrow... Sorry that I'm not as perfect as you are." My voice broke, the shakiness announcing a deluge; anger or tears, I wasn't sure, maybe just powerlessness as the pressure of it all was taking over the dam, and in the silence following, I could almost hear the final crack, except it didn't come from my chest.

"I'm far from perfect," Daisy croaked, the murmur so low that I jerked my head in her direction to make sure I hadn't dreamed it, and still, it was hard to believe.

Between the muddy socks in my hands, my oversized cardigan, my wild curls, and her coat, perfectly folded on her lap, where above, her hands were resting like a perfect lady, and her perfectly matching outfit in autumn colors that the mud stains at the bottom of her pants couldn't even tarnish, it would have been more plausible that I was going crazy than she had said those words.

Yet beyond all of that, her pale green eyes looked more broken than mine.

"My wedding is far from perfect. In the last four months that I've been staying at the parents', Ernest didn't visit me once. I'm not good enough to show off at his business dinners anymore, and I think he's cheating on me." She offered me a close-lipped smile, and even fighting whatever emotions were breaking through her chest at that instant, she was doing it so gracefully.

Actually, none of this was making her less perfect. It was her husband who failed her, and...

"Oh no, it's because of me? I'm so sorry, I've messed this too..."

"No, on the contrary, you're the only one who's tried to let me see the truth. It's been going on for way longer."

"Then he's an idiot because you're perfect," I repeated, my voice still cracking, yet my tone was holding such a different intention.

It seemed all the anger and tears that had been brewing had been swept away with her confession, or maybe they were directed toward someone else. The anger was aimed at that self-centered Ernest, and the sorrow, like the rest of my body as I jumped on my bare feet, was heading towards Daisy.

Though she stopped me before I could hug her, and I would have believed it was because of the muddy socks still in my hands, if her gaze hadn't been so gleaming and far away.

"Maybe you're right for Ernest, but I'm far from perfect... I should be heartbroken, angry, or sad, but I don't feel anything, and if you want to know..." She pursed her lips together like a reflex to keep the words inside, and I didn't know if it was the small smile I offered her, my open palm – without the socks – or just the fact that when I sat on the armrest, she realized I was just her messy little sister, Dorothy, but something in her seemed to yield with an 'oh well!' – or as Blade would have said, 'fuck it!'.

"If you want to know... when Mom called to tell me about your getaway, I was kissing my new neighbor."

"What?!" I almost fell down from the armrest, my hands gripping the backside of the chair as if it was the only thing holding me upright, and it was. My whole world was turning upside-down.

Me, killing a man, escaping the police, and being pregnant without knowing the father, it was hard to believe, yet possible. But my sister... I could picture her baking scones, knitting, reading stories to her kids, having tea parties to gossip, everything, except kissing another man than her husband.

"Wait, I thought your new neighbor was a girl?"

My eyebrows furrowed together to try to see things clearer, but they were indeed topsy-turvy because Daisy never averted her eyes down in front of me; she never fidgeted in her seat, and the crimson on her cheeks was too deep to be her pink blush as she replied,

"She is..."

"Oh... I didn't know you liked girls?" That was the only thing I could utter, and maybe the less shocking in all of that.

"Me neither, I mean, I still don't know... I just... Taylor is always so sweet. She really listens to me, she makes me laugh, but she's also so fierce and confident in herself, and beautiful too." She widened her eyes as she realized what she'd let out, straightening herself to come back to a more familiar Daisy, although there was still that bright hue on her cheeks.

"She'd just come to give me back my grater. One moment, we were just talking, and the next... we were kissing. Then, the phone ringing interrupted us, and that's all."

"And was it good?"

"Dorothea! I just told you I kissed a girl and failed at my wedding vows, and that's what you reply?" she asked with a scandalized gasp, carefully avoiding answering my question, even if the twinkle in her eyes was giving me a hint.

"What do you want me to say?" I shrugged, turning to face her with a serious look. "Your husband failed his vows before, and if it was good, and you like this girl, then I support you. I've always thought Ernest was boring and didn't deserve you anyway!"

Girl or boy, all I saw were the changes in my sister, and I liked this new version of her, more human, imperfect, and... glowing.

"It's not that easy. There are Dennis and Darin, a divorce isn't easy, and..." And what people would think, that was the weight her heavy sigh carried. "It's not even important because she probably already hates me. I haven't talked to her in more than four months, and I've taken your getaway like an excuse to run away myself and hide at the parents'."

Messing, hiding, running... it sounded all too familiar.

"To be honest, I've thought about the cabin on the second week of your disappearance, but I only came today. Even as a sister, I've failed and–"

"No! If someone failed, it's me," I instantly protested, my gaze diving into her jade one like I hadn't done in so long, and as her eyebrows furrowed, I took in the similarities between us. "I've always thought you were perfect, and I was so tired of people comparing me to you that I didn't even try to look past that and see everything you were going through."

"I'm just good at hiding everything behind a perfect appearance. Smoothen your skirt, fix your hair, put up a polite smile, and hide your problems... until it's too much, and–"

"You run away?" We were indeed more alike than I'd believed, and we even had the same humor as she offered me a half-smile.

"I guess it's running in the family."

We both laughed, letting the light sounds ease off our confessions for an instant, though it didn't take the weight off my chest.

"But we can't get away forever..." My gaze trailed to the brown armchair on the other side, Daisy probably following the path of my thoughts as she let out a faint sigh.

"I know Mom always taught us to be perfect ladies and hide our struggles and mistakes, but in all of Grandpa's articles, it's because he faced the problems that he was able to solve the mysteries." I had re-read them a lot in the past months, and that was surely why I sounded so much like him as I turned to Daisy again.

"If you want to solve your own mystery, maybe you should face that girl, and Ernest too. You shouldn't have to hide yourself. Listen to your heart first, and if that girl is as amazing as you say, she'll understand."

"Yes, maybe you're right..." she admitted, her chest falling heavily, and I guessed it was a nice start, even if her hands quickly went to brush the corduroy fabric of her pants again. "But you have to promise to not tell anyone for now, especially not the parents."

"It would be complicated for me now, and I wouldn't want to kill mom anyway! It will be enough shock when she'll find out I'm pregnant before wedding, and without knowing the father."

"Yes, I can already imagine her reaction if she knew both: 'Oh my lord, where did I fail? One of my daughters, an unmarried mother, and the other, gay, two degenerates!" Daisy imitated her perfectly, yet it didn't make it easier to swallow the bitter truth in our words.

We would disappoint our parents. Well, for me, it was nothing new, but for Daisy...

I grabbed her trembling hands, which kept smoothing her pants, with my own nervous ones to reassure her the best I could. "You know I'll always support you, and believe me, the longer you wait, the harder it will be to face."

Who would have thought I would be lecturing my big sister one day? That must have been adulthood: facing problems, calm wisdom, and the pride tickling my lips as I'd left her speechless for the first time.

"Speaking of facing problems... I didn't come all the way here for sentimental advice."

Maybe I had talked too soon. She quickly found back her words and composure, while my smile crumbled down, along with my wisdom, and it was all swept away by that familiar rush in my blood.

It was easy to give advice and talk, especially about her life, her problems, yet when mine were thrown at me again, I still felt as small in front of the overwhelming shadows.

"I want to know what happened with Douglas." As if sensing the trail of my gaze and thoughts toward the nearest exits, her hands gripped mine, and she probably anticipated my next words too.

"It's a long story, I–"

"Great because I've got time. You know I don't like to drive at night." She scooted away to the opposite armrest, patting the space beside her, and I couldn't help my smile as I slid down next to her.

It was the seat we'd shared the few times she'd come here on vacation, and Grandpa would read us stories, and I had no idea how we still fitted now that we were much bigger, but it wasn't the only difference... It wouldn't be the tale of a grand adventure she would hear today.

"I don't even know where to start..."

"Start with the beginning," she suggested so easily.

"The beginning..." It meant going all the way back to the why, and my thoughts, my fingers, and my insides were twisting at the idea of this journey. "It started on the day before my birthday." The first time I'd seen Douglas again.

In spite of all the months that had passed and all the lies I was learning and rehearsing to cover the truth, the memories were still as vivid... his silhouette sneaking out of a dark corner, the belt he was re-tying, and his predatory gaze settling on me. If I had known...

Thinking about it now, it all made sense, and it made me realize how much I'd changed from that innocent and naive girl, yet I hadn't been completely clueless at the time. I'd already felt that shiver down my guts, the first spark that had slowly but surely moved along the fuse.

I told Daisy everything from then on – well, not EVERYTHING, but everything from catching Diane laying on Spencer to my encounter with Blade, their rivalry, and each of Douglas's underlying threats, every grain of powder that had led me to have that gun in my hand.

"And you pulled the trigger like that, without him even seeing you?" Daisy asked, processing my words after some time, even if I had no idea how much between the one-month-long flashbacks that I'd just replayed and my heart beating each millisecond.

My only point of reference was the crease deepening between her eyebrows and her unwavering gaze, although I could read none.

"Yes, I know it was bad, and I could have aimed somewhere not deadly, talked... But Douglas was a bad person. He was about to rape Angel, and I didn't know at the time, but she wasn't the first girl. He's raped many girls and always got away with it," I pleaded, trying to convince her as much as myself as the moment spun again and again before my eyes, at the tip of my fingers, and through my veins.

The adrenaline and shivers were as intense as that night. However, today, it wasn't a bang that froze it all.

It was two words, and they were as ear-piercing, heart-stopping, and deadly as a gunshot. "I know."

Another cliffhanger!! 🙈 Sorry, but you should be used to it by now 😅! And I think it isn't hard to guess why Daisy knows... 

In the meantime, tell me what you think of this chapter! Did you guess it was her sister who was the mysterious stalker? Daisy is full of surprises 😉 What do you think about this 'I kissed a girl' confession? She is one of the side characters I was the most excited about because she is more than a 'perfect girl'.

Also, do we need to talk about the little 'menage a trois' question? 😂😏

Let me know if you liked this chapter, and if so, don't forget to vote ⭐!

I love you my little Shooting stars!! 😘🌠💕