Chapter 3

Early the next morning, Chloe invited Aunt Margaret and her boyfriend to join us at the Aspen lodge.

By sunrise, we were packed tight into one car.

Mom sat beside Vanessa and said to me, with a little guilt, “About last night. I didn’t understand the situation. But your sister can’t help herself, Claire. Don’t take it to heart.”

Aunt Margaret immediately leaned in. “What happened last night?”

Chloe whispered the story to her.

Aunt Margaret slapped her thigh. “Poor Vanessa. When an illness hits, who can control it?”

Then she turned to me. “Don’t be so harsh. Boyfriends can be replaced. Adrian is handsome and rich. If he can’t be your fiance, he can be your brother-in-law. Either way, he stays in the family.”

Vanessa blushed. Her eyes kept drifting to Adrian.

“Adrian is wonderful,” she said softly. “But he’s Claire’s boyfriend. I’d never have done that if I weren’t sick.”

Mom gave me a look. “See? Your sister is so considerate. Honestly, she and Adrian seem better matched.”

Aunt Linda rolled her eyes at me. “You’ve been sulking since we got in the car. It was one little thing. You’ve always been petty. Nothing like Vanessa.”

Everyone nodded.

I stayed quiet and felt grateful I had given Adrian headphones before we left.

Vanessa always worked like this. She only had to hint at what she wanted, and someone else would fight for it. Afterward, she would play innocent and guilty.

In my last life, her first “episode” happened with her college roommate’s boyfriend.

She cried afterward and claimed she had blacked out. The next day, she produced a diagnosis for touch-starvation disorder.

Adrian was her second episode.

When she walked into his shower naked, she looked just as fragile and pitiful.

She had not expected Adrian to break down too. He covered his ears and curled up on the floor.

My parents blamed me.

“Look at the man you brought home. He looks normal, but he’s autistic? He scared Vanessa.”

I broke down and said Vanessa had been the one to walk in on him.

Mom snapped, “What was she supposed to do? She was sick.”

Three years later, I brought home another boyfriend, a gentle university lecturer.

Vanessa had not had an episode in three years, so I let my guard down.

That night, while I was in the bathroom, she climbed into his bed and touched him.

Aunt Linda said, “At this point, why not let them be together?”

Chloe said, “It’s just a man. Be generous. Find someone better later.”

That night, my boyfriend became Vanessa’s boyfriend.

Mom even smiled and said, “They look good together. Now Vanessa has someone to care for her.”

After that, even when Vanessa had a boyfriend of her own, she still found excuses to get close to mine.

She kept taking until I died.

...

When we reached the lodge, Adrian arranged the whole place for us.

There were nine bedrooms.

My parents and Vanessa took rooms on the second floor. Aunt Margaret had one room. Chloe and her boyfriend took one on the third floor. Aunt Linda and Richard stayed in the far-left room on the first floor.

Three rooms were left.

Everyone went to unpack.

Only Vanessa lingered, watching which room Adrian and I would choose.

We picked the middle room on the first floor.

Before going in, I said loudly, “By the way, none of these rooms have locks. We’re all family, so it should be fine.”

Everyone agreed.

Vanessa’s eyes flashed.

After lunch, we all went to the hot springs.

Aunt Linda said, “Vanessa, don’t have an episode later. If you touch Adrian, Claire won’t let it go.”

Vanessa glanced at Adrian and bit her lip. “Don’t worry. I’ll control myself.”

Mom immediately comforted her. “It’s okay if you can’t. Claire won’t blame you.”

I smiled as I wrapped myself in a towel.

“Of course. If Vanessa loses control, we’ll all understand. She can’t choose when it happens.”

Then I looked at the men around us.

“But there are a lot of men here today. Make sure you open your eyes before you have an episode. You wouldn’t want to walk into the wrong room.”

Richard’s gaze slipped over Vanessa’s body.

Mom snapped, “What nonsense. Can’t you say something nice about your sister?”

Aunt Margaret glared at me. “You’re heartless.”

Aunt Linda laughed. “So what if she walks into the wrong room? If Vanessa is sick, we’ll accept it. We’re not as petty as you.”

Richard nodded. “Exactly. Young people are too rigid.”

They spent forty minutes attacking me in the hot spring.

Then Dad suggested we wash up before dinner.

As everyone headed back, Vanessa slowed down on purpose and watched Adrian and me enter the middle room.

Only then did she go upstairs.

Adrian and I pressed ourselves against the wall and waited.

When the shower started in the room next door, we looked at each other and smiled.

The show was about to begin.