If Only Being Switched at Birth Was Easy

/19/ Crystal Shatters, Krystal Can Shatter

After arriving to our latest foster home, we learned that King wasn't there. It was only when a little girl named Cinthia ran into the room to ask about Krystal coming to dinner when it was also revealed that the great Krystal Whaller was back in town. So I got Connor to drive me to Krystal's new apartment downtown.

"King, stop, stop," I heard her voice giggling through the door. I still managed to knock. Moments later, she was standing in front of me.

She had the same dark brown hair. The same beautiful face and skin. The same devious brown eyes. The same small, skinny body as her hair flowed over her shoulders as she only wore a black sports bra and some short-shorts. She stood up straighter and composed herself.

"Hey AJ?" she said. I was silent, deciding whether or not to kill her, but realized none of this was exactly her fault. I rejected King so he went to the only other girl who could put up with him. It made sense.

"Who is it?" I heard King's voice say. My jaw tightened at the sound, but then I held my breath when he appeared in nothing but a pair of boxers. Once he saw me, his face dropped as well and then his eyes darkened.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come," I whispered, my gaze off of either of them. I turned and then left in reluctance because I wasn't cut out for confrontation with him. Sure, I had the intentions to admit my feelings or maybe at least question how an elderly lady scared him off enough to pack and run, but seeing him was something different. It hollowed me. And in Krystal's presence, I was further humbled.

Connor was leaning on the side of his car and eased up when he saw me walking out. "What happened?"

"He's..." What was the word? "occupied."

Connor's face held nothing but pity. I thought it was the look he first gave me when he realized I was a girl who flopped at a skating move when we first met, but no. That look had been a look of being impressed. This was true pity. That's why I didn't want things feelings getting in the way and changing how anyone saw me. But for whatever it was worth, I was glad it was Connor seeing me this way because instead of just pity, his concern elevated it to outright sympathy that I was surprisingly comfortable with.

"AJ," someone spoke my name. I stopped in my path of getting into Connor's car and then turned to see King, now fully dressed. He still had messy hair in his face and it was enough for me to think about what caused it. I still wanted to talk to him though so I shut the car door. King was looking past me and my daggers—towards Connor who had a car between them. But eventually, Connor scoffed and sat down in his driver's seat and King's gaze returned to me. "Why'd you come here?"

"I should ask you that," I said calmly. After all, he was the one who allegedly loved me. And now, he was probably here to lose his precious virginity to Krystal like other things that girl had consumed from him.

"What's he doing here?" he asked, nodding over to Connor. "I'm surprised he even agreed—"

"Don't worry about that," I whispered. He smirked, but not because of my dismissal.

"Don't tell me what or what not to worry about," he ordered.

"Right, because only Krystal can do that, right?" I questioned even though I really had no place to ask that. He pressed his hands together along with his lips.

"You left me, remember?" he recalled with a raised voice. "So don't be surprised that when you got back that—"

"I left you? Are you shitting me?" I interrupted.

"Yes. You left," he shouted. "You got on that bus and left—"

"I told you when I was leaving and I couldn't wait up for you," I reasoned. "How many days had it been since—"