“Trust you to fight his corner.” I sigh. “Look, can we not talk about this right now and focus on the contents of that envelope?” I indicate to the coffee table where my white envelope lies.
“If you think it will make you feel better.”
“I hope it does. I can’t possibly feel any worse,” I sniff.
Scott runs his eye over my room, taking in my many bookshelves, desk to one side of the room and a queen-sized bed next to it. A tiny sofa sits in the middle of the room with a TV in the corner, but it’s all pretty basic. I don’t want to make it too homely. This is my last year here.
“Nice place you’ve got,” he says, turning around to smile at me.
“It works.” I smile back. “Fancy a tea? I know I need one.”
“Love one.”
Filling up the kettle in my small kitchenette, I ask “How are things back home?”
“The same, except I’m working for Rosie part-time now. I’ve got to concentrate on this course I’m doing.”
“That was my next question, I wondered if you’d started yet.”
“Who’d have thought something like carpentry would interest me, but I get a real kick out of it. I don’t think an office job would suit me at all.”
“Whereas I’ll probably be the complete opposite. I can’t wait to get settled with a good company. Maybe we didn’tneed this test, after all, we’re so different.” I half-heartedly joke, but neither of us laughs as I pass over his mug and plonk myself down on the sofa next to him.
“Shall we just get this over with?” He looks down towards his mug and seems a little sad. Does he fear this as much as I do? I say nothing more and pick up the small, sealed envelope while he takes his letter from his jacket pocket.
We both take a breath before ripping the seal open and removing the contents, then we’re silent for only a few seconds. The first thing I see is a coloured chart full of figures, it’s all gobbledygook to me, I can’t make head nor tail of it. I glance up to Scott and he’s beaming.
“What? Have you found anything?”
“Read the statement at the bottom of the page.”
I do as he says and find what I’m looking for.
Based upon the statics detailed above, there is an 85.5% chance that the tests from Sibling 1 and the tests from Sibling 2 show a match as half-sibling versus no relation at all.
“Is that a yes? Are we related?” I ask with a crack in my voice. My throat is bothering me. It has been since the day Ash left.
“Excuse me? I thought you were the maths genius here. It’s over eighty-five per cent Calla, I’d say it’s a yes, wouldn’t you?”
I stop scanning the letter and look to Scott’s glowing smile instead. “Holy shit, I’ve got a brother.” A beaming smile forms across my face and my tears brim at my lids once again. I’m so over-emotional about everything these days.
“You’re stuck with me now, you know that, right?”
“Good. I’m over the moon we have some good news for once. I couldn’t lose another person from my life.” I hold out my arms for another hug.
“Fuck, I’m so relieved,” Scott says, pulling away. “Phew,” he almost whistles.
“Me too. We might not have had the best start, but it all worked out.”
“Luckily,” he laughs, but his expression soon turns serious. “Thanks for giving me a chance Calla. You didn’t have to after the way I treated you. Just shows what a good person you are. I’m proud to call you my sister.”
As if I hadn’t cried enough already. “Oh God, stop. You’re starting me off again.”
“I mean it. I don’t know what I would have done without you over the past few months.”
“We don’t have to think about the bad bits anymore. Why don’t we erase the mid-teens and pretend they didn’t happen? Neither of us needs a reminder of such a painful time.”
“But we went to school together, Calla. It’s kind of unavoidable, plus Ash and Angie were there. School is bound to come up and the horrible time I put you through.”
