Scream

I sat behind Courtney with my legs on either side of her and my arms around her waist as she clicked around on the computer. I rested my chin on her shoulder. It was Monday, the first day of school.

"It doesn't look too bad, baby," I murmured in her ear.

"Because you don't have to do it," she said annoyed, shutting the laptop.

"You're so smart, you'll be fine." I kissed the side of her head. My phone started vibrating on the nightstand so I reached across to grab it.

"A number from Cali?" I said, looking at her. She shrugged.

"Hello?" I asked, answering it.

"Hello, is this Mr. Brian Haner Jr.?" a woman asked.

"Yes, this is him. Who's this?"

"This is Casey calling from Huntington Online Education. We were looking through Courtney's file and we're missing a copy of her birth certificate. Would it be possible for you to bring it in so we can xerox it?"

"Um... yeah, that's fine," I started, "but we're traveling, actually, so I'm not totally sure when we'll be back home to get that. And honestly I don't know where it would be."

"Could you try asking a family member? They may know and it's important for us to have."

"I can try that, they might. I'll call you when I figure it out. Thank you." I hung up and looked at Courtney. She looked just as confused as I felt.

"And who was that?" she asked.

"Someone from the cyberschool place, they need to make a copy of your birth certificate," I explained. "And I don't even know where that is."

"What does that mean?"

"Annoying policy bullshit. I'm gonna call Aunt Vanessa, see if she knows what Mom would have done with it."

"You mean step-mom," she said slowly.

I rolled my eyes, saying, "She treated me like her own. Aren't you happy? Like it makes all of this better."

"It doesn't really change much. And I was lied to for my whole life, that bothers me."

"I'm sorry I never told you," I said. "But I didn't think it mattered."

"I mean it kind of does, but all right."

"Don't be mad at me."

"I'm annoyed," she said, looking down. "Like all of the guys knew, and I didn't. Everyone knew. I hate being left out of shit."

"I know, I know. It won't happen again, okay?"

She nodded and I tightened my arms around her.

"Put your clothes on," Matt yelled through the door.

My heart dropped out of instinct while Courtney chuckled. "That's gross, Matt," she said. He walked in and I looked at him cautiously.

"Uh," Matt said, scratching the back of his neck. "I thought maybe we should talk."

"Nothing to talk about," I said nonchalantly. "We're good." No point in holding a grudge that won't change anything and just make shit harder.

"No, we're not," Matt said.

"Yes, we are. Seriously. You said it was a mistake and it's not gonna happen again. I said all I needed to already. What's done is done."

None of said anything as Matt thought about it and I sat next to her.

"As long as," I said, looking at Court before back to Matt, "you're okay with this."

It took a few seconds before either of them showed any reaction. They both tensed.

"I'm not okay with it," Matt said, leaning against the door frame. "But like Zacky said, it was gonna happen either way, we're just glad you told us."

"All right," I sighed. "Then let's just stop keeping shit from each other."

"Sounds good," Matt said, smiling at us. He walked out and I went back on my phone, scrolling through my contacts. I clicked Aunt's Vanessa's name and put it on speaker. She answered on the second ring.

"Hey, Brian!" she exclaimed.

"Hey Aunt V, Court's here, too," I said.

"Hey!" Courtney said.

"This is awesome, guys! What's going on?" she asked.

"Well, actually we need help with something," I said, slowly. "Courtney's school needs her birth certificate, but I have no idea where Mom put it. I know the lawyer gave you a bunch of the important documents and whatnot, so I didn't know if that was in there."

There was a bit of a pause before she said anything.

"Where are you guys?" she asked. She lost a bit of her excitement, probably at the mention of her sister-in-law.

"We're actually in Illinois, going to Tinley Park. The First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre."

"That's only about forty five minutes from here, I can meet you there with it. I have it."

"That's awesome, it'll be good to see you, too," I said as Courtney looked at me oddly.

"Of course," she said enthusiastically. "I can watch you guys play, too!"

"Fantastic!" I said, smiling. "We'll see you tonight, then. Love you."

"Love you guys, too!"

I hung up and watched Court with my eyebrows furrowed.

"That was weird," she said.

"She's probably just not used to hearing about Mom and Dad," I said. "Plus it's been a while since either of us contacted her."

"True."

I set my phone down and rubbed my eyes. "This tour is wearing me out, I can't wait to be back home."

"Me too." She kissed me on the cheek and a smile instantly formed on my face.

"God, I love you," I murmured.

"I love you, too, Bri," she said, resting her forehead against my shoulder.

"I would give anything to marry you," I said suddenly, "you know that, right?"

She pulled back and her eyes were wide. "Brian, you sound ridiculous."

"I'm serious," I said. "I would kill for it. You make me so happy and I hate that this is all we can be."

Her hand caressed my cheek. "Isn't this enough for you?"

I placed my hand over hers as I said, "I can never have enough of you."

She smiled and leaned forward to kiss me and let her lips linger there as she whispered, "I thought you wanted space?"

I grinned. "I need you more than I need space, baby."

I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her on top of me as I laid down. I kissed her again and felt her legs move to either side of mine.

"You are so sexy," I hissed, feeling myself grow harder as my hand moved from her back to her ass.

"I'm aware," she chuckled, "but now is really not the time."

"Why not?"

"Our aunt is coming to see us later, and the guys know about us, and the door is open," she said very matter-of-factly. I glanced at the open doorway.

"Exactly, they know so it shouldn't be a surprised if they walked in and we're fucking."

"Brian!" she exclaimed, slapping my arm.

I laughed. "What? It's true!"

She rolled off of me onto the bed and shook her head. "You really are ridiculous."

"What can I say?" I asked. "I'm in love."

She bit her lip, fighting back a smile and went into the bathroom. I heard the shower turn on a couple second later.

***

Aunt Vanessa got here right after our set started, so I wasn't able to say until we were done. Matt didn't pull Court on stage tonight, knowing it probably wouldn't bode over well with me at this moment in time. As soon as we finished the last song, we ran off and I found Courtney with Vanessa.

"Brian!" she shrieked, hugging me. "Jesus, you've gotten huge!"

I chuckled. "And you shrunk!"

She playfully punched me in the arm as she back away, looking at the two of us. "You guys have grown up so much, I'm glad you guys had each other through everything."

I glanced at Courtney. "Me too."

She looked around before stepping closer, looking at Courtney. "Do you think we could talk alone for a bit, Court? About stupid legal stuff."

Court held her hands up. "Be my guest, lord knows I don't understand any of that."

I patted her hair and said, "Go hang out in the bus, do some homework."

She stuck her tongue out at me but turned to our aunt. "Make sure you see me before you leave!"

"It shouldn't take too long," Vanessa said, smiling. Courtney went back to our bus as the guys came over and said hi; they remembered Vanessa from a while back, but then she led me away to where she had parked.

"Is it stuff with their will?" I asked, referring to what she told Court.

She shook her head. "No, I just wanted to talk to you alone for a bit." She leaned against the trunk of her car and I got a good look at her. She really aged since I last saw her at our parents' funeral. She wasn't even that old, she was younger than Dad.

She rummaged through her bag until she pulled out an envelope and handed it to me. I opened it and saw the blue frame around the paper.

"Oh, Court's certificate," I said, looking at her. "Thank you-"

"Don't thank me yet," she said quietly.

I cocked my head at her. "What do you mean?"

"Read it," she whispered.

I looked back down, confused. It's her birth certificate, what could she want me to see?

"Courtney Isabelle Haner, 7 pounds 12 ounces, November 28, 1994..."

"Keep going."

"Mother is Suzanne, father is..." I looked up. "This isn't right."

"Yes it is," she said.

I looked back at it. "It says her father is someone named Michael? It should be Brian."

"No, it shouldn't."

"What do you mean 'no, it shouldn't'? Our dad's name is Brian."

She didn't say anything and I felt my heart racing in my chest.

"Who the fuck is Michael?" I asked, my voice raising a little. She looked nervous.

"Suzy's ex-husband. She was pregnant with Courtney when she met your father."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't think I would have to, that maybe it didn't matter." She sighed, "but then you needed her birth certificate, and I knew you'd find out."

"She would've needed it eventually."

"I was hoping she wouldn't. Or that you'd find the copy with your dad's name on it after he adopted her. But I knew you calling was a sign that it was time you knew."

A million things were running through my head. I didn't even know what to say to her, and I couldn't tell what I was feeling. Was I angry? Was I happy? I sure as hell was shocked. I didn't say anything for a couple minutes while I let myself process this.

"So... technically, she isn't my sister," I concluded.

"Not by blood," Vanessa said. "But your parents didn't want you to treat her like she wasn't, so they never told you. They were planning to, they just never got the chance."

I stared at the certificate but I wasn't reading anything.

"How does she look so much like me?" I asked, questions starting to form in my mind.

"That was just luck. Suzy looked a lot like your real mother, and Michael looked like your dad."

I put the paper back in the envelope and stuck it in my back pocket. I ran my hands through my hair, letting them rest on the back of my head.

"I'm sorry they never told you," she said, watching me.

"It's not that," I said, but stopped myself. She had no idea why this was such a big deal, and she couldn't know. I cleared my throat and said, "How am I supposed to tell Courtney?"

"I can, if you want," she said quietly. "Maybe it'll be easier-"

"No," I stopped her. "It should be me."

Neither of us said anything for a while, we just stood there. There were so many things I wanted to say, but I didn't know how. I couldn't believe everything we had gone through because we thought it was something it wasn't. She was never my blood sister, she was my step-sister. The only thing illegal about it was the age, but that was it.

"She's not my sister," I whispered to myself. I felt something in my body release, but I'm not sure what it was. Was it a weight? Was it hope?

"Please don't let this change anything," Vanessa said. "She is your sister. They raised you as siblings, treat her the same as you did before this."

I had to stop myself from laughing.

"Believe me, I will."

Notes

Chapter title credit: "570" Motionless In White
And there it is. Big chapter, lots to digest. This also means this story will be ending soon. It could be within the next few chapters honestly so that's heartbreaking. But there is always room for a sequel if y'all are up for that. Let me know what you're thinking.
As always, thanks for reading.
PS: If you're into poetry, please consider reading this, this, or this, that would be amazing. I'm entering stuff into my old college's literary magazine and I need some feedback.