Jessica
“Jessica? Melanie?”
I shoot up in bed. Mom stands with her hands pressed over her mouth, her pale face etched with shock.
Next to me, Melanie stirs, wrapping her arm around my waist. “It’s early, babe, go back to slee….” She drifts off when she lifts her head and spots my mom at the end of the bed. “Oh, shit.”
Scrambling for the sheet, I pull it up to cover my naked breasts just as the door opens with a soft creak.
“We decided to cut the trip shor—” Melanie’s dad stares unblinkingly. No one speaks. Outside, the birds sing in the trees.
“Mom—” I try, but she turns on her heels and walks out. “Mom!”
The door clicks shut with a finality that makes me flinch. Silence descends on the room, thick and oppressive. I don’t know what to say. Melanie’s dad looks everywhere but in our direction.
Sliding out from underneath the sheet, Melanie hurries to get dressed.
Her father finally finds his voice. “What? When?” Turning his back to us, he puts his hands on his hips. “Jessica, get dressed and find your mother. I need to speak to my daughter in private.”
I search the floor for my scattered clothes, then throw them on. I don’t know how I feel. Numb? Scared? Embarrassed? Maybe a little bit of everything? I didn’t want our parents to find out this way.
When my clothes are on, I slink past Melanie’s dad on my way out. I shut the door behind me and make my way downstairs to the living room.
Mom stands at the window, clutching her pearl necklace. The floorboards creak under my weight, but she doesn’t turn around. She knows I’m here. I can tell by the stiffening of her shoulders.
“Mom?” I walk deeper into the room, past the couch and the glass coffee table where one of Mom’s knitting magazines lies unfolded.
“When did it start?” she asks quietly, staring through the window at something in the distance.
Wetting my lips, I lean against the back of the couch, fighting the urge to fidget nervously. “It happened at the cabin.”
“Hmm.”
I’ve never seen her like this, so in her head. I don’t know what she wants me to say.
“It’s a phase,” she whispers to herself.
“I’m in love with her.”
Mom turns slowly, her glassy, pained eyes finding mine. “We never talk.”
Before I can utter a word, she continues. “She’s your stepsister.”
“I know. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.”
“How…” She swallows. “I don’t know what to say or how to feel about this.”
With my gaze lowered to the floor, I nod solemnly. “I understand.”
“Do you? Because it doesn’t look like it from where I’m standing. I found you naked in bed with your stepsister! What do you want from me, Jessica? It’s inappropriate.”
My teeth grind as I look up. “I don’t want anything from you, Mom. Well, actually, that’s a lie. A little bit of acceptance would be nice. I want you to love me forme.This is who I am. I’m into girls. Not boys.”
“It’s a phase.”
“It’s not a phase!” I shout, exasperated.
What will it take for her to understand? How can I get her to listen to me?
