Our dad was having a conniption, or a fit of rage and hysterics, while our mom was torn over arguing about me sleeping on the couch and not in my sister's bedroom. Jenny stood there and let them say whatever they wanted, while I stood there and winced every time our dad opened his mouth.
The 'fake son' and 'imposter' accusations really made me feel like less than dirt and then I felt my sister take my hand. It was then that I realized what was going on. My parents were trying their hardest to protect my little sister.
From me.
I let my body relax and took a similar stance to my sister as I let everything they said just slide right of of me. They weren't as angry at me as I thought they were, once I listened to what they were saying and not how they were saying it. Namely, yelling and hollering, as if speaking louder would make us listen more attentively.
I felt the arguments enter a lull and let my sister's hand go, then stepped forward and wrapped my arms around my mother to hug her.
“No! You... not my...”
“I never told you how much I love you, Mom.” I whispered to her as she tried to struggle and fight free.
“No! My son would never...”
“I was young and stupid and I didn't appreciate everything you did for me.” I said in a normal voice. “I never really thanked you, either.”
“No, my... Damon...”
“Thank you, Mom.” I said and eased my hold on her to look at her face. It was streaked with tears and her face was squished up to try and stop herself from crying.
“Now you've done it.” Our dad said and pulled her away from me. “Do you know how long our family struggled with your death after you were gone?”
Mom started to cry as dad hugged her as tightly as I just did.
“I fought all these years to come back here.” I said. “I never thought you would think I was dead.”
“It was the body that did it.” Jenny said and I turned to look at her. “It was bloated and a mangled mess...”
“You SAW it?!?” I asked, shocked.
“It kind of looked like you. The hair matched and...” Jenny shook her head. “No, that wasn't you. I refused to believe it then and I was right. It wasn't you and here you are.”
“What about... fingerprints and...”
“There wasn't much that the fish hadn't eaten.” Our dad said. “After however long the body had been in the water, they said that the DNA tests were inconclusive.”
“I think I want it dug up and...”
Mom let out a wail and that shut me up.
“You can stay here tonight, then I want you gone.” My dad said. “Whether you're my real son or not is immaterial. You're wrecking this family again by being here.”
I opened my mouth to tell him how unfair it was of him to not see my side, about not even being welcomed into my own home, and Jenny took my hand again.
“Damon, let's go to bed. I think tomorrow's going to be a long day.” Jenny said.
I sighed and nodded, then let her lead me back to her room. She left and came back with the clothes we had bought and put them by the door, then she closed it.
“I'm sorry that mom and dad are acting like they are.” Jenny said, tears in her own eyes.
“I get it, Jenny. I really do.” I said and took her into my arms. “Their only concern is you, and I can't fault them for that.”
Jenny took a shaky breath and stared into my eyes. “You're really back, right? You're not going to just up and disappear again, are you?”
“Not if I have any say about it.” I said and hugged her. “I can't promise I'll be around too much, not with dad's attitude.”
Jenny huffed. “He's going to regret it when you start your own business and make tons of money.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“It's what you said you were going to do when you graduated college.” Jenny said. “I believed you then and I believe you now.”
“I was taken before I could go to college.” I said.
“So what? Don't let something that happened ten years ago stop you now.”
I couldn't argue against that, so I gave her another hug. “If you weren't my sister, I'd kiss you.”
“Just kiss, huh?” Jenny asked with a laugh as I let her go. “What did you do with my double?”
“I don't want to talk about it.” I quickly said and grabbed a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt, then retreated to the bathroom. I took a very cold shower and drove the image of Shanna from my mind. She had been physically perfect and my ideal woman in that respect. If she had even a slightly nicer personality, I would have done everything I could to help her and to keep her happy, long after I was gone.
With that thought, I realized what I had to do. I dried off and left the bathroom to see that Jenny was already under the blanket and had her back to me. Her jet black hair was tied up into a complicated hairdo to stop it from being matted or laid on and I walked over to the bed. I took the pillow and reached for the blanket that was folded at the bottom of the bed.
“Don't you dare think about sleeping on the floor.” Jenny said without turning around to look at me. “Get in bed and have a good rest. We have to assault the government building tomorrow morning and you're going to need all your strength.”
“You really do know what I want to do.” I said and put the pillow back at the head of the bed, then stared at the blanket. I debated getting under it or sleeping on top and Jenny let out a sigh.
“It's too chilly to sleep uncovered, stupid.” Jenny said.
“Are you psychic or something?” I asked and lifted the edge of the blanket, then slid in under it. I was perched on the end of the bed and I was in danger of falling on the floor.
“Yes, and I know you're going to move in your sleep and have a nice large lump on your head.”
I looked at the side of the bed and nothing was there to hit my head on. “What would the lump be from?”
“From my fist when I punch you for being so goddamn stupid.”
I let out a sigh and moved over to properly claim my side of the bed, which took me away from the falling area. Unfortunately, it took me right to the more dangerous area that contained my sister. I laid there, my muscles stiff, and my mind went over all the bad things that could possibly happen. I heard a sigh, one filled with exasperation, then Jenny lifted the blanket and rolled over to face me.
“Move your arm.” Jenny commanded and I lifted my arm, unsure what she was going to do. She smiled and moved next to me, draped her arm across my abdomen and rested her head on my chest. “G'night.”
I just stared at the top of her head with my arm up in the air.
“Put your arm down.” Jenny said and closed her eyes. I did so and rested it on her shoulders. She took several deep breaths and I actually felt the tension in her body fade away. To my surprise, so did mine. I also didn't get a flash of Divine Sight and then I felt a wave of tiredness.
“Goodnight.” I whispered and closed my eyes, too. Sleep took me and carried me all through the night and into the early morning. I would never admit that it was one of the best night's sleep I ever had in my life.
It was suddenly morning and I actually regretted that I had to get up. I had a beautiful woman under my arm, had a great night's sleep, and I was back home.
HOME! I thought loudly as I remembered where I was and the beautiful woman tucked under my arm was really my little sister. My eighteen year old and barely legal sister. In fact, she wasn't even allowed to drink in some states. My body tensed up and Jenny felt the change, which meant she had been awake for a while.
“Good morning.” Jenny said in a not-sleepy voice, which confirmed my thought. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked into my eyes. “How did you sleep, you big lug?”
“I... it was... okay.” I said.
“Uh huh.” Jenny said with a smile that lit up her face. “You liked it, didn't you?”
“No comment.”
Jenny laughed and sat up as she pushed the blanket off,
I gasped when I saw the fancy little red negligee she wore. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“What? This old thing?” Jenny asked and got out of the bed, then did a little twirl. “It's cute, right?”
I honestly couldn't speak, because she had been cuddled up to me all night wearing the little slip of cloth and a pair of panties.
“Yep, you liked it.” Jenny said with satisfaction. “I've got to take a shower, so go ahead and get dressed in the work outfit we bought yesterday.”
I just laid there and didn't say anything.
“Yo! Earth to Damon!” Jenny snapped her fingers to get my attention. “Get dressed.” She said and picked up the bags we got from yesterday and tossed them onto me.
“Oooof!” I caught them and the boots just so happened to catch me in a delicate area. “Ugghhhh.”
Jenny laughed and grabbed her own clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.
It took me ten minutes to recover from essentially getting kicked in the balls with steel toed boots, then I changed into the work outfit. I chose the thicker shirt and had everything buttoned up. I even had my stat boots on inside the slightly larger steel toed boots and put on my fake leather jacket.
“Looking good, bro.” Jenny said as she came out of the bathroom wearing a black skirt and a red blouse that had ruffles around the arm holes instead of sleeves. She left her hair up in that same complicated hairdo and had put on glittering gold earrings and tasteful make-up. She went to her closet and took out a pair of black high heeled shoes, slipped them on, then she grabbed a suit jacket and put it on over her shoulders.
I didn't recognize the handsome woman in front of me and stared at her with my mouth slightly open.
“Jesus, close your mouth.” Jenny said with a laugh as she passed by me and tapped under my chin with her fingers. “Come on, let's go.”
I closed my mouth and followed her out of the room and to the living room. We were up early and our parents were still in bed, so we left the house without eating breakfast and climbed into her car.
“Do you have your old things?” Jenny asked as she hooked the seat belt. “Like your driver's license and social security card?”
“Yeah.” I said and motioned to my back pocket to pretend I was pulling it from there, then took my wallet out of inventory.
“That should help.” Jenny said and pulled out of the driveway and stepped on the gas. “It's going to be a pain getting you declared un-dead.”
Un-dead? I thought. I guess I am. I let out a sigh. “I don't know if it's worth the trouble, to be honest.”
“It'll be hard trying to live with no way to identify yourself.” Jenny warned me. “You can't work officially for anyone, cash checks, use banks, or make money transactions, just to name a few things.” She said. “You can still buy groceries and things; but, you saw the clerks. They still asked for phone numbers and addresses.”
I nodded. “It's just too bad I couldn't just adopt another identity and...”
“...be arrested for identity theft.” Jenny interrupted me.
“That's a thing now?” I asked and she nodded.
“It has to be official or completely off the grid.” Jenny said. “You need money for the second option, just so people won't ask questions and you can buy everything you need to live.”
“I thought you were only eighteen?” I asked her and she laughed.
“I watched a lot of television while you were gone.” Jenny said and her smile faded. “Damon, I... when you left...”
“I know.” I said and held a hand out to her. “I really did fight hard for the last ten years to get back here. Now I'm going to do as much as I can to make up for not being here all that time.”
Jenny took my hand and gave it a squeeze, then held on as we drove towards the city.
Our dad was having a conniption, or a fit of rage and hysterics, while our mom was torn over arguing about me sleeping on the couch and not in my sister's bedroom. Jenny stood there and let them say whatever they wanted, while I stood there and winced every time our dad opened his mouth.
The 'fake son' and 'imposter' accusations really made me feel like less than dirt and then I felt my sister take my hand. It was then that I realized what was going on. My parents were trying their hardest to protect my little sister.
From me.
I let my body relax and took a similar stance to my sister as I let everything they said just slide right of of me. They weren't as angry at me as I thought they were, once I listened to what they were saying and not how they were saying it. Namely, yelling and hollering, as if speaking louder would make us listen more attentively.
I felt the arguments enter a lull and let my sister's hand go, then stepped forward and wrapped my arms around my mother to hug her.
“No! You... not my...”
“I never told you how much I love you, Mom.” I whispered to her as she tried to struggle and fight free.
“No! My son would never...”
“I was young and stupid and I didn't appreciate everything you did for me.” I said in a normal voice. “I never really thanked you, either.”
“No, my... Damon...”
“Thank you, Mom.” I said and eased my hold on her to look at her face. It was streaked with tears and her face was squished up to try and stop herself from crying.
“Now you've done it.” Our dad said and pulled her away from me. “Do you know how long our family struggled with your death after you were gone?”
Mom started to cry as dad hugged her as tightly as I just did.
“I fought all these years to come back here.” I said. “I never thought you would think I was dead.”
“It was the body that did it.” Jenny said and I turned to look at her. “It was bloated and a mangled mess...”
“You SAW it?!?” I asked, shocked.
“It kind of looked like you. The hair matched and...” Jenny shook her head. “No, that wasn't you. I refused to believe it then and I was right. It wasn't you and here you are.”
“What about... fingerprints and...”
“There wasn't much that the fish hadn't eaten.” Our dad said. “After however long the body had been in the water, they said that the DNA tests were inconclusive.”
“I think I want it dug up and...”
Mom let out a wail and that shut me up.
“You can stay here tonight, then I want you gone.” My dad said. “Whether you're my real son or not is immaterial. You're wrecking this family again by being here.”
I opened my mouth to tell him how unfair it was of him to not see my side, about not even being welcomed into my own home, and Jenny took my hand again.
“Damon, let's go to bed. I think tomorrow's going to be a long day.” Jenny said.
I sighed and nodded, then let her lead me back to her room. She left and came back with the clothes we had bought and put them by the door, then she closed it.
“I'm sorry that mom and dad are acting like they are.” Jenny said, tears in her own eyes.
“I get it, Jenny. I really do.” I said and took her into my arms. “Their only concern is you, and I can't fault them for that.”
Jenny took a shaky breath and stared into my eyes. “You're really back, right? You're not going to just up and disappear again, are you?”
“Not if I have any say about it.” I said and hugged her. “I can't promise I'll be around too much, not with dad's attitude.”
Jenny huffed. “He's going to regret it when you start your own business and make tons of money.”
“What makes you say that?” I asked.
“It's what you said you were going to do when you graduated college.” Jenny said. “I believed you then and I believe you now.”
“I was taken before I could go to college.” I said.
“So what? Don't let something that happened ten years ago stop you now.”
I couldn't argue against that, so I gave her another hug. “If you weren't my sister, I'd kiss you.”
“Just kiss, huh?” Jenny asked with a laugh as I let her go. “What did you do with my double?”
“I don't want to talk about it.” I quickly said and grabbed a pair of jogging pants and a t-shirt, then retreated to the bathroom. I took a very cold shower and drove the image of Shanna from my mind. She had been physically perfect and my ideal woman in that respect. If she had even a slightly nicer personality, I would have done everything I could to help her and to keep her happy, long after I was gone.
With that thought, I realized what I had to do. I dried off and left the bathroom to see that Jenny was already under the blanket and had her back to me. Her jet black hair was tied up into a complicated hairdo to stop it from being matted or laid on and I walked over to the bed. I took the pillow and reached for the blanket that was folded at the bottom of the bed.
“Don't you dare think about sleeping on the floor.” Jenny said without turning around to look at me. “Get in bed and have a good rest. We have to assault the government building tomorrow morning and you're going to need all your strength.”
“You really do know what I want to do.” I said and put the pillow back at the head of the bed, then stared at the blanket. I debated getting under it or sleeping on top and Jenny let out a sigh.
“It's too chilly to sleep uncovered, stupid.” Jenny said.
“Are you psychic or something?” I asked and lifted the edge of the blanket, then slid in under it. I was perched on the end of the bed and I was in danger of falling on the floor.
“Yes, and I know you're going to move in your sleep and have a nice large lump on your head.”
I looked at the side of the bed and nothing was there to hit my head on. “What would the lump be from?”
“From my fist when I punch you for being so goddamn stupid.”
I let out a sigh and moved over to properly claim my side of the bed, which took me away from the falling area. Unfortunately, it took me right to the more dangerous area that contained my sister. I laid there, my muscles stiff, and my mind went over all the bad things that could possibly happen. I heard a sigh, one filled with exasperation, then Jenny lifted the blanket and rolled over to face me.
“Move your arm.” Jenny commanded and I lifted my arm, unsure what she was going to do. She smiled and moved next to me, draped her arm across my abdomen and rested her head on my chest. “G'night.”
I just stared at the top of her head with my arm up in the air.
“Put your arm down.” Jenny said and closed her eyes. I did so and rested it on her shoulders. She took several deep breaths and I actually felt the tension in her body fade away. To my surprise, so did mine. I also didn't get a flash of Divine Sight and then I felt a wave of tiredness.
“Goodnight.” I whispered and closed my eyes, too. Sleep took me and carried me all through the night and into the early morning. I would never admit that it was one of the best night's sleep I ever had in my life.
It was suddenly morning and I actually regretted that I had to get up. I had a beautiful woman under my arm, had a great night's sleep, and I was back home.
HOME! I thought loudly as I remembered where I was and the beautiful woman tucked under my arm was really my little sister. My eighteen year old and barely legal sister. In fact, she wasn't even allowed to drink in some states. My body tensed up and Jenny felt the change, which meant she had been awake for a while.
“Good morning.” Jenny said in a not-sleepy voice, which confirmed my thought. She propped herself up on an elbow and looked into my eyes. “How did you sleep, you big lug?”
“I... it was... okay.” I said.
“Uh huh.” Jenny said with a smile that lit up her face. “You liked it, didn't you?”
“No comment.”
Jenny laughed and sat up as she pushed the blanket off,
I gasped when I saw the fancy little red negligee she wore. “What the hell are you wearing?”
“What? This old thing?” Jenny asked and got out of the bed, then did a little twirl. “It's cute, right?”
I honestly couldn't speak, because she had been cuddled up to me all night wearing the little slip of cloth and a pair of panties.
“Yep, you liked it.” Jenny said with satisfaction. “I've got to take a shower, so go ahead and get dressed in the work outfit we bought yesterday.”
I just laid there and didn't say anything.
“Yo! Earth to Damon!” Jenny snapped her fingers to get my attention. “Get dressed.” She said and picked up the bags we got from yesterday and tossed them onto me.
“Oooof!” I caught them and the boots just so happened to catch me in a delicate area. “Ugghhhh.”
Jenny laughed and grabbed her own clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.
It took me ten minutes to recover from essentially getting kicked in the balls with steel toed boots, then I changed into the work outfit. I chose the thicker shirt and had everything buttoned up. I even had my stat boots on inside the slightly larger steel toed boots and put on my fake leather jacket.
“Looking good, bro.” Jenny said as she came out of the bathroom wearing a black skirt and a red blouse that had ruffles around the arm holes instead of sleeves. She left her hair up in that same complicated hairdo and had put on glittering gold earrings and tasteful make-up. She went to her closet and took out a pair of black high heeled shoes, slipped them on, then she grabbed a suit jacket and put it on over her shoulders.
I didn't recognize the handsome woman in front of me and stared at her with my mouth slightly open.
“Jesus, close your mouth.” Jenny said with a laugh as she passed by me and tapped under my chin with her fingers. “Come on, let's go.”
I closed my mouth and followed her out of the room and to the living room. We were up early and our parents were still in bed, so we left the house without eating breakfast and climbed into her car.
“Do you have your old things?” Jenny asked as she hooked the seat belt. “Like your driver's license and social security card?”
“Yeah.” I said and motioned to my back pocket to pretend I was pulling it from there, then took my wallet out of inventory.
“That should help.” Jenny said and pulled out of the driveway and stepped on the gas. “It's going to be a pain getting you declared un-dead.”
Un-dead? I thought. I guess I am. I let out a sigh. “I don't know if it's worth the trouble, to be honest.”
“It'll be hard trying to live with no way to identify yourself.” Jenny warned me. “You can't work officially for anyone, cash checks, use banks, or make money transactions, just to name a few things.” She said. “You can still buy groceries and things; but, you saw the clerks. They still asked for phone numbers and addresses.”
I nodded. “It's just too bad I couldn't just adopt another identity and...”
“...be arrested for identity theft.” Jenny interrupted me.
“That's a thing now?” I asked and she nodded.
“It has to be official or completely off the grid.” Jenny said. “You need money for the second option, just so people won't ask questions and you can buy everything you need to live.”
“I thought you were only eighteen?” I asked her and she laughed.
“I watched a lot of television while you were gone.” Jenny said and her smile faded. “Damon, I... when you left...”
“I know.” I said and held a hand out to her. “I really did fight hard for the last ten years to get back here. Now I'm going to do as much as I can to make up for not being here all that time.”
Jenny took my hand and gave it a squeeze, then held on as we drove towards the city.
