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I find her name in my contacts and tap the call button.

She answers after two rings, “Hey bro, what’s up?”

“Hey,” I croak before climbing into my bed.

“Are you okay? You sound sick.” I can hear music and voices in the background.

I lay my head back against the headboard. “Sophie found Penny’s birth certificate.”

She’s quiet on the other end. I can only hear the background noise.

“Let me find a quieter spot.” I can hear her flip-flops smacking against the floor and then the click of a door. “Okay, sorry. So you told her?”

“No. She found the birth certificate.” I rub my temples with my thumb and index fingers.

She breathes heavily. “What do you mean she found it?”

I clear my throat. “The school asked for Penny’s shot records. She was just trying to be helpful. So she got them out of my filing cabinet. And all the other paperwork is in the same folder. The birth certificate, the adoption papers, everything.”

She gasps, it’s small but audible. “Oh no. What did she say?”

“She was confused and asked me to explain it, but I told her I needed more time and needed to talk to you before saying anything. Now she feels like she can’t trust me, Em. She’ll barely look at me, let alone speak to me.”

“I’m so sorry, Drew. I feel like this is all my fault,” she pauses. The phone makes a crinkly sound, like she’s switching it to her other ear. “I’ve been seeing a therapist.”

“What? Since when?” This is a surprise, but I also feel relieved. I’ve been trying to get her to see a therapist since she told me she was pregnant with Penny.

“I’ve only met with her twice. I set up an appointment when you talked to me about telling Sophie.”

I’m quiet, waiting for her to continue.

“I realized it made sense for you to tell Sophie. You obviously really care about her, and I can tell she makes you happy. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I was wrong to expect you to keep it from her. My therapist said I was probably projecting my own trauma onto you. And I’m sorry. I was going to talk to you about it, but I haven’t see you much lately, and the timing never felt right.”

“I’m sorry I haven't been around to hang out with you as much,” I tell her, realizing that my relationship with Sophie has affected the time I’ve had to spend with my sister.

“Don’t apologize. You’ve spent years focusing on me and Penny, taking care of us. I want you to be happy. I want you to spend time with Sophie. She’s really good for you.”

“Thanks, Em. But I’m not sure I can fix this. I don’t know what to do.” I shake my head and release a heavy sigh.

“Is it okay if I talk to her? I’ll tell her everything. I promise. She’s just finding out about it for the first time, so she might need some space to wrap her head around it.”

“Are you sure you want to talk to her about it? I can tell her everything, I was just worried you’d never speak to me again if I did.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have expected you to keep it a secret from her. It’s my story to tell, so I’ll be okay talking to her about it.”

“Alright, if you’re comfortable with that. Hopefully, once you explain the situation, she’ll talk to me again. I think she’s worried everything I’ve ever said to her was a lie.”

She takes a deep breath. “I can see how she’d feel blindsided. I’m so sorry I messed this up. You wanted to tell her right away, and I stopped you.”

“It’s okay. We can’t change things now. I just want to move forward.” A loud yawn comes out of my mouth before I can stop it.

“You sound exhausted.”

“I am exhausted, I’m going to head to bed.”

“Of course, sleep well.”

“Bye, Em.”

Ending the call, I plug my phone in and then fall back onto my pillow.