Chapter 13: The Rules
Marcey covered her mouth with her hands in utter shock. She and Grace stared at each other uncomfortably as this new information sank in.
"Okay- whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on!" Marcey demanded as Grace started the car and began pulling out of the driveway, "what exactly did you see?"
"So I went upstairs to use her bathroom," Grace began, "and I didn't see anything shady at first. But then, while I was peeing, I saw this weird second toothbrush on her sink."
Marcey stared at her in suspense as Grace explained what she saw.
"You know me," Grace continued, "of course I snooped. So I went to Shawn's room and, conveniently, couldn't find his toothbrush anywhere."
Marcey gasped quietly, imagining following Grace's steps in her head.
"Oh yeah," Grace made a dramatic face, "found the package for the same toothbrush in his garbage can and everything. But it gets worse."
"What!?" Marcey shrieked in disbelief.
"After confirming it was Shawn's toothbrush in
her
bathroom, I saw clothes on the ground in front of
his
shower."
Marcey listened in silence as their drive continued.
"
Kendall's
clothes," Grace glanced at her.
Marcey covered her mouth with her hands again, unable to believe what she heard.
"They shower together too!?" Marcey yelled, completely disturbed.
"Oh, they're doing more than showering together, Marce," Grace scoffed.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Marcey asked with a concerned tone.
Grace looked at her with a painfully cynical face.
"Oh my God, the birth control!" Marcey jolted forward in her seat, "you don't mean..."
"I asked her if she was letting whoever she's sleeping with do that thing she likes," Grace answered, "you should've seen the look on her face."
Marcey's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped to the floor as she leaned toward Grace.
"Her own brother," Grace shook her head, "she's letting her own brother-"
"
Stop
, no!" Marcey interrupted, clutching the sides of her face at the thought of such a vile act.
"I didn't wanna believe it either," Grace sighed, keeping her eyes on the road, "but we saw it last night.
You
saw it! There's definitely something going on with them."
"Oh, fuck, Kendall..." Marcey groaned, leaning on her elbow and looking out the window with a disgusted face.
Their drive became awkwardly silent as both let their minds circle this disturbing development. Reflecting on years of poking at Kendall about her brother's "crush" on her suddenly spawned new realizations and confirmations that made their skin crawl. All those times Shawn and Kendall seemed a bit too close were adding up.
"The question is, what do we do?" Grace asked.
"Um... Nothing?" Marcey responded, shaking her head, "I didn't think you would actually come back with proof. It's disgusting, but it's not our business, Grace."
"She's our best friend, Marce!" Grace yelled.
Marcey looked over at her from staring out the window.
"What kind of mental state must she be in to do something like this," Grace went on, "what if the breakup ruined her completely, and Shawn twisted her while she was vulnerable? I knew we should have checked on her more. We have to confront her on this."
"Do we?" Marcey asked doubtfully, "yeah, it's fucked up and gross, but it's none of our business who she sleeps with."
"Are you listening to yourself?" Grace demanded, "that's her fucking brother, Marcey! We owe it to her to call her out. It's not normal!"
Marcey stared at Grace, unable to find the courage to answer. She loved Kendall dearly, and her heart wanted no part in this sick game of exposing her. Yet, somewhere inside, Marcey was not entirely against their relationship, knowing what Kendall had been through and how close Shawn was to her. Grace could not fathom the concept of a deep sibling bond, but Marcey had a younger brother she cared for greatly, and her mind pondered what she would do to protect him if he had a dark secret like Kendall. Little by little, she slowly began empathizing with Shawn and Kendall's situation, realizing she didn't have it in her to play into Grace's plot. Even if they were sleeping together, Shawn was not the villain Grace painted him to be, and Marcey knew that. Her gut told her that their relationship had every bit as much to do with what Kendall wanted.
"I don't care..." Marcey suddenly grumbled.
Her response yanked Grace's gaze from the road.
"What...?" Grace asked in disbelief.
"I said I don't care," Marcey stressed, "a lot of stuff we do isn't normal either. So let's drop it."
"Would you fuck
your