brothers.

5~ Elephant in the Room

Kyle

We were all served our coffee and drinks. As we stirred and sipped from our straws, an awkward silence stretched out. Nicole glanced around at us, raising her brows. "So... aren't we going to talk about it?" she asked.

"About what?" Jack said, acting clueless.

"The elephant in the room."

There was a pause. Tommy then said, "Can we talk about the mouse instead?"

We all gave him looks, but at least we could chuckle a bit, despite the circumstance.

"She's the spitting image of her," said Amelia, finally addressing the 'elephant'.

"It was like looking at a ghost." Shirley shivered.

"I thought your parents were getting a little girl."

"We just knew they wanted to foster someone," Jack explained. "Truth is, we were already a bit upset. I mean- you remember. I complained and everything. I didn't want some kid staying with us right now."

"I would've preferred 'some kid' over her," said Tommy.

"How did your parents even find her? Were they literally looking for someone that looked just like Amy?" Nicole said.

"I don't know. They saw her, they jumped at the chance." I mindlessly stirred my coffee. "They weren't even going to tell us. I just overheard their conversation."

"I was hoping they'd change their minds. Or that she didn't want to come. Something, you know? Next thing we know, she's in our doorway, and they're introducing us, like..." Tommy trailed off.

Shirley brought out her phone, scrolling. "You can't make this stuff up. We're in a literal horror movie. Watch her kill you out of nowhere or something. Amy's dark side."

"Shirley." Tommy nudged her.

"What? I'm just saying."

"They have to know what they're doing," said Nicole.

"Duh," Shirley answered. "The whole reason they wanted to foster a girl was because of Amy. They know exactly what they're doing. Replacing their dead daughter with a freak copy. I never thought your parents could do anything so creepy." She looked at Tommy.

"Too bad we didn't bring Harry," Amelia joked. "He'd be explaining their feelings or something."

"Did you guys have to leave him like that?" Nicole said.

"Like I said, we didn't know our parents would be out," I pointed out. I sipped my coffee, which had gotten cold by now.

"But you left him alone. With her. I feel bad for him."

"He's fine. He's probably in his room, and Diana's in... well, Amy's," said Jack.

"Wait, what? Diana's in Amy's room?" Nicole exclaimed.

"Yeah, they redecorated and everything. Still her furniture, though."

"Can't she stay somewhere else?"

"We offered our rooms and everything. But no," said Tommy.

"This is why I wanted a dorm," said Jack.

"You always wanted a dorm," I corrected him.

"Yeah, and this is another reason to want one. A good reason."

"Didn't you guys notice she was wearing Amy's shirt?" Shirley scoffed. "That ugly one she always wore?"

Amelia covered her mouth. "Oh, my God."