The Other Half ✓︎

F i f t e e n

"Sweetheart?"

I opened my eyes to see my mom standing under the doorframe.

"Camellia is here. Would you like to see her?" she asked.

I nodded.

My mother left, and I heard footsteps running up the stairs a moment later.

"Oh, honey," Lia's voice came through.

I looked at her expressionlessly.

She came over and got under the covers, pulling me in close to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

I shook my head, closing my eyes again.

"It's scary, isn't it?"

I nodded.

"Do you think you have to do this alone?"

I leaned back to look at her in confusion.

"C, you're not alone. This whole thing, getting justice for your brother, making sure he pays for what he did to Lucas, all of it—we're here with you. Nothing is going to happen to you because we won't let it. This isn't what happened last time."

I felt my face scrunch up in pain as tears pierced my eyes.

"I'm scared," I whispered. "I'm so scared of losing my brother."

"We're going to make sure he's okay," Lia assured me.

"How, Lia? I saw him. He looks so close to being gone for good, to being d-dead."

"About that. Aster has a theory."

"Your sister?"

"She decided to surprise us with a visit and overheard us talking about the situation."

"She's here, isn't she?" I asked.

"Yes, she is. Get showered, miss. You stink. Meet us downstairs when you're finished. I think you're going to want to hear her theory."

I groaned but nodded.

"I'll be out soon," I told her.

She grinned cheekily at me, and I rolled my eyes at her energy.

I rolled out of bed and made my way to the bathroom to get cleaned up.

I caught my reflection in the mirror and grimaced. My eyes were bloodshot, dark bags adorning them. My hair was untidy sticking up in odd directions, and my clothes were rumpled.

I really did need a shower.

As promised, I went through my routine quickly, wanting to know what Lia's sister could have that she came over to the house to tell us. She was older than us and was working on her master's program along with an undisclosed internship. She was better at reading people than most others and had decided to pursue some kind of career combining psychology and criminology.

I had never really gotten a direct answer out of her.

"Hello, Cassandra. How are you?" Aster greeted me politely.

I smiled politely in response, internally groaning. I couldn't get a read on her because she was closed off entirely. In the back of my mind, I made a mental note that she had to have had training to learn how to make herself hard to read, if not unreadable.

"About as good as I look," I replied, only partially joking.

"I put your sheets in the wash," Lia chimed in.