"Come on!" Emily shouted, her blood boiling.
Last round, she was closing onto the finish line and Stephanie was still behind her. The teen was leading by score, as usual, but she could still beat her. It was all riding on this one.
'Last corner!' she thought.
"I've got something for you!" Stephanie taunted her in a high voice.
Just as she said it, a blue shell hit Emily's kart, stopping her and giving Stephanie plenty of time to reach the finish line before her sister.
"Fuck!" Emily swore and threw the controller onto the living room couch.
"Ha! In your face!" Stephanie laughed victoriously, pointing at her sister.
Emily couldn't stand that insufferable tone. Her sister always did this when she won. And she always won. Emily hated it.
She stood up and started walking to their room.
"You mad?" she heard Stephanie following her, "You mad bro?"
She started poking Emily's sides obnoxiously.
"Fuck off," Emily swore again as she swatted at her sister's hands.
She took her backpack and picked up her pajamas from her bed.
"Get lost already!" she shouted as she shook off the grinning teen. She just wouldn't stop touching her.
She put the pajamas into the bag. Stephanie stood by the side, still smiling as Emily opened her dresser, looking through her stuff.
"What're you doing?" the teen asked. When Emily packed more clothes, she asked, "Wait, where are you going?"
Now her tone was different, finally a small victory.
"Wouldn't you like to know," Emily teased. She had the upper hand now.
"Em," She felt Stephanie touch her shoulder from behind, "Really, where are you going?"
"To Sam's," Emily relented, packing up some underwear and a sweater, "Got an invitation to a sleepover."
On Emily's first day of school since the accident, Sam invited her over. Emily was glad about the change of scenery after a week spent mostly in their apartment. She really needed to sort out her thoughts.
"Can I come with?" Stephanie said quickly.
"What do you think?" Emily replied with a scoff, letting her frustration flow freely as she shook the hand off her shoulder.
Finally her sister was quiet. Good.
Emily checked her other stuff. Laptop, phone, wallet, keys, school stuff for tomorrow.
Her gaze fell on that pamphlet Jennifer gave her last week, the one with that weird sexuality study. She had called Jennifer before the match with Stephanie, but the therapist seemed very reluctant to talk about the study. She said her inviting Emily was a mistake and it was only likely to mislead her more. By the time the call ended, Emily was even more clueless than before.
She looked across her bed, over to the night table between their beds to check if she left anything else there. That's when she noticed Stephanie sitting on her own bed, watching her with a grim expression.
"Oh come on," Emily stood up, "Don't start sulking now."
Stephanie took a deep ragged breath.
"That really hurt," Stephanie said quietly.
She was serious, almost crying. A wave of guilt swept over Emily.
"Wait, Steph, I didn't mean it that way," Emily said as she sat to Stephanie's left.
She lifted her right arm to hug her, but her sister shuffled away from her.
"You did, that's why it hurts so much," she said sadly, looking forward, "You only hang out with me when there's no one else around."
"No, that was just the game," Emily tried reasoning with her, "You know how I hate losing at Mario Kart."
Stephanie turned towards her and looked her in the eyes, a piercing glare right into Emily's soul. A second later, the older sister was forced to look away.
"I know I can be annoying, but it wasn't just the game," Stephanie concluded and turned forward again.
"You're not annoying," Emily tried.
Stephanie glared at her again.
"Maybe a little bit," Emily smiled, making Stephanie smile sadly too.
"But I definitely want to hang out with you more. I'll prove it to you," Emily stated as she got up, "I'll cancel it."
She walked over to her desk to get her phone, but Stephanie stopped her.
"Wait, don't," her sister said and Emily turned around.
Stephanie shook her head, "I won't guilt you into spending time with me."
Emily shook her head and shrugged, "So what do you want me to do?"
"I don't know," Stephanie said desperately, "You're asking like I have all the answers. It just feels like you're trying to avoid me."
After a few seconds, Emily resigned with a sigh, "OK, the truth is, I'm scared."
"About us?"
Emily nodded, trying not to elaborate, "Things are going in a really weird direction. It's not supposed to be like this."
"I know what you mean," Stephanie smiled, "I've had that feeling since the start. I mean, since, you know what."
"So, how do you deal with it?"
Her sister smiled and shrugged, "I don't. I just do what feels good and damn the consequences."
"That's so you. But I can't do that," Emily shook her head, "I don't want to hurt you anymore. That's why I need to sort my thoughts. Maybe Sam will come up with something."
"I'm sure she will. Something," the teen grinned, lifting her eyebrows, "But if she really does, maybe share the secret with your annoying little sister too?"
Emily chuckled, then nodded.
---
"I don't know Sam, last Saturday with her was so weird," Emily thought out loud.
She was looking up in the darkness, laying on a mattress on the ground.
"I thought you said it was good," she heard her friend from the right, laying on her bed.
"Yes, that's the problem. It felt like a great date, everything clicked just the right way."