And I had unknowingly become part of that burden.
I picked up my phone.
I called Paul.
He answered almost immediately.
“Rachel?”
“Daniel and Lily are here.”
Silence.
I continued.
“Come home.”
“Rachel, wait—”
“No.”
My voice was shaking now.
“You can explain everything when you get here.”
Then I hung up.
Part 5 — What Paul Had Hidden From Me
That evening, Daniel and Lily sat in our living room.
Nobody knew what to say.
When the front door finally opened, Paul stepped inside and stopped.
He saw his brother.
Then Lily.
Then me.
His face collapsed.
“You brought her into this?”
I stood.
“She was already in it.”
Paul looked toward Lily.
She was sitting rigidly beside her father, her hands clenched together.
Then he looked at me.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“Rachel—”
“When, Paul? Because your brother has been living here for three months.”
He flinched.
