Between The Lies

Chapter 10: Distance

STELLA

It's been a week since the date with Derek.

A week since Luca and I stood in the entryway and confessed we love each other.

A week since I decided to keep pretending.

And in that week, I've barely seen my brother.

He's always gone. Always busy. Studio sessions that run late. Extra rehearsals for the showcase that's coming up. Meeting with producers. Working on new songs.

At least, that's what he says.

I think he's just avoiding me.

I'm sitting alone in the kitchen on Friday night, pushing pasta around my plate, when my phone rings. Mom's face lights up the screen.

"Hey, Mom."

"Stella, sweetheart! How are you?" Her voice is bright but tired. It's almost midnight in Singapore.

"I'm good. Just having dinner."

"Alone? Where's your brother?"

The question makes my chest tight. "Studio, I think. Or rehearsal. He's been really busy with the showcase."

"Still? He's been busy all week. I've tried calling him but he never picks up." There's concern in her voice now. "Is everything okay with him?"

No. Nothing's okay. We're both falling apart and pretending we're fine.

"He's just stressed about the performance," I lie. "You know how he gets when he's working on music."

"I suppose." But she doesn't sound convinced. "Well, tell him to call me when he gets home, okay? I miss talking to my son."

"I will."

"And how are you, baby? How's school? How's dance?"

"Good. Everything's good."

"And that boy—Derek? Are you two still together?"

The reminder feels like a knife. "Yeah. We're still together."

"That's wonderful! I'm so happy you found someone nice. Your father and I were worried you'd never let anyone in. You've always been so focused on school and dance."

Because I was too busy being in love with Luca to notice anyone else.

"Yeah, well. Derek's great."

"Good. You deserve to be happy, Stella." Mom pauses. "Listen, sweetheart, Dad and I need to take a quick trip this weekend. Just a day or two. There's something we need to handle."

"What kind of something?"

"Just... business. Nothing to worry about." But there's something in her tone. Something she's not saying. "We'll be back in Singapore by Monday. You and Luca will be okay for the weekend, right?"

We're never okay anymore.

"Yeah, Mom. We'll be fine."

"Okay. Love you, baby."

"Love you too."

The call ends, and I'm alone again in this big, empty house.

I text Luca even though I know he won't respond right away.

Me: Mom called. She wants you to call her back.

Me: Where are you?

Me: Are you coming home tonight?

An hour passes. Then two.

My phone finally buzzes.

Luca: Studio ran late. Crashing at Jake's tonight. Tell Mom I'll call tomorrow.

He's not even coming home.

I stare at the message and feel the tears building.

This is what we've become. Strangers living in the same house. Except now we're not even doing that. He's avoiding the house entirely.

Avoiding me.

Derek texts next.

Derek: Miss you, babe. Tomorrow night? Movie at my place?

I should say yes. Should play the girlfriend role. Should keep up the pretense.

Me: Can't. Have to work on my dance routine.

Derek: Sunday then?

Me: Maybe. I'll let you know.

He sends back a sad emoji and I feel guilty. He doesn't deserve this. Doesn't deserve a girlfriend who's in love with someone else.

But I can't break up with him. Can't answer the questions that would follow.

So I'm trapped in this lie, just like Luca is trapped avoiding me.

I go upstairs to my empty room in my empty house and cry myself to sleep.

CATHERINE HARRISON

The flight from Singapore to Seattle takes fourteen hours.

Catherine Harrison spends most of it staring out the window, her husband's hand clasped in hers, trying not to think about what they're about to do.

"We don't have to go," Richard says quietly. "We could turn around. Go back to Singapore. Pretend we never got the call."

"We can't do that." Catherine's voice is firm even though her heart is breaking. "She asked for us. After all these years, she finally asked to see us."

"What if this is a mistake?"

"It probably is." Catherine closes her eyes. "But we owe her this much."

They land in Seattle at dawn. Rent a car. Drive an hour north to the psychiatric facility they've been visiting for seventeen years.

Evergreen Hills Mental Health Center sits on the edge of a forest, all white walls and locked doors and carefully maintained gardens. It's beautiful, in a sterile sort of way.

The kind of place where you send people you love but can't help.

They check in at the front desk. Sign the visitor log. Wait in the quiet lobby.

"Mr. and Mrs. Harrison?" A nurse appears. Kind eyes, tired smile. "She's ready to see you. Room 237."

They walk down familiar hallways. Past familiar faces. To a familiar door.

Catherine knocks softly before entering.

The woman inside is forty-two but looks older. Brown hair streaked with gray. Thin from years of medication. But her eyes—those brown eyes that Catherine sees every time she looks at her daughter—are clear today.

"Catherine. Richard." The woman's voice is hoarse from disuse. "You came."

"Of course we came, Elena." Catherine sits in the chair beside the bed, Richard standing protectively behind her. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The new medication is working." Elena's hands twist in her lap. "I wanted to see you because... because I need to know. Is she happy?"

The question Catherine has been dreading for seventeen years.

"Yes," she says, and it's mostly true. Or it was, until recently. "She's beautiful, Elena. Smart. Talented. Everything you would want her to be."

"Does she know about me?"

"No." Richard's voice is firm. "We agreed—"

"I know what we agreed." Elena's voice rises slightly. "But she's seventeen now. Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?"

"The truth would destroy her," Catherine says quietly. "Everything she knows about herself, about her family—"

"About being related to the boy she lives with?" Elena's eyes are sharp now. Knowing.

Catherine's blood runs cold. "What?"

"I'm not stupid, Catherine. I know what you did. I know you took my daughter and raised her as your son's sister. I know you've been lying to both of them for seventeen years."

"We were protecting them—"

"From what? From the truth? From being happy?" Elena leans forward. "Tell me something. Are they close? Do they love each other?"

Catherine and Richard exchange a look.

"They're siblings," Richard says carefully. "Of course they love each other."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." Elena's laugh is bitter. "God, what a mess you've made. Two kids who love each other, who probably feel things they don't understand, all because you couldn't tell them the truth."

"We did what we thought was right," Catherine insists, but her voice wavers.

"Did you? Or did you do what was easy?" Elena sits back, exhausted. "I'm not asking you to tell them today. But soon, Catherine. They deserve to know. Before this lie destroys them both."

"We'll tell them," Richard says. "When the time is right."

"The time was right seventeen years ago." Elena's eyes are sad now. "But I suppose it's too late for that. Just... don't wait too long. Please."

They stay for another hour. Talk about neutral things. Avoid the elephant in the room.

When they leave, Catherine is crying.

"We should tell them," she says in the car. "Elena's right. They deserve to know."

"Not yet." Richard starts driving. "They're too young. It would be too much."

"And if they figure it out themselves? If they develop feelings they think are wrong?"

"They won't."

But Catherine thinks about the way Luca looks at Stella sometimes. The way Stella's face lights up when her brother enters a room.

And she wonders if it's already too late.

STELLA

I wake up Saturday morning to an empty house.

Luca's door is closed. I knock softly. No answer.

I check my phone. No messages.

He really did stay at Jake's last night.

I spend the day alone. Dance practice in my room. Homework I can't focus on. Scrolling through social media and seeing pictures of Derek with his teammates.

He tags me in a post: Missing my girl ❤️

The comments flood in.

You guys are so cute!

Power couple!

Goals!

I like the post because that's what girlfriends do.

But all I can think is: where is Luca?

Evening comes. Still no word from him.

I'm making dinner I won't eat when my phone rings. Luca's name flashes on the screen.

I answer so fast I almost drop it. "Hello?"

"Hey." His voice sounds tired. Distant. "Sorry I didn't come home last night."

"It's fine. Are you coming home tonight?"

A pause. "Actually, I'm probably going to crash at the studio again. We're working on mixing the showcase tracks and it's going to run late."

"Luca—"

"Did Mom call you back?"

"No. She's on some trip this weekend. She said it's business."

"Oh. Okay." Another pause. "Look, I gotta go. They're waiting for me. I'll see you at school Monday, okay?"

"Wait—"

But he's already hung up.

I stare at my phone and feel the tears coming again.

He's not coming home.

He's not coming home because being here—being near me—is too painful.

And I understand. God, I understand. Because being here without him is killing me too.

But at least I'm trying.

At least I'm not running away.

My phone buzzes with another text from Derek.

Derek: Changed your mind about tomorrow? Would love to see you.

I stare at the message.

Then I type: Yeah. Tomorrow sounds good.

Because if Luca can run from his feelings, then so can I.

Even if it means spending another day pretending to be in love with someone I don't love.

Even if it means slowly dying inside.

At least I'll be doing something instead of sitting alone in this empty house, missing someone I can't have.