When I was ten and living on the streets, I found a kid. He was eight. I made him my little brother, my sidekick. I taught him which dumpsters behind which restaurants had the best throwaways. We lived under an overpass. We got chased by stray dogs. When he got sick, burning up and not making sense, I shoplifted medicine for him. I got caught, and the store owner beat me black and blue. As I lay there, half-dead, I suddenly woke up. I realized I was the villainess of this world's story, and the little kid I’d saved was the hero. He was destined for greatness, and I was destined to betray him, over and over, selling his company secrets until he finally had enough and sent me to prison. I looked at Leo, sleeping fitfully. I thought for a minute. Then I put the stolen medicine beside him, and I walked away. 1 Leo was almost seventeen when I left. He was old enough to wash dishes, do day labor. He could feed himself. That was enough. I left him all the food I had. I didn’t wake him, didn’t say goodbye. I just needed a clean break. The next time I saw him, it was in a hospital. I was there with Nico, the new stray I’d picked up. Nico’s... sweet, but he’s slow. He kept complaining his stomach hurt, so I brought him in. And there, getting a physical for some corporate wellness program, was Leo. Five years. I knew him instantly. He wasn’t a scrawny kid anymore. He was tall, sharp, wearing a suit that cost more than my entire life. He was exactly as impressive as I knew he’d be. We were separated by twenty feet of linoleum and shuffling patients. He stared right at me. He said my name. "Tess." The way he said it felt like a truck rolling over my chest. It was too late to run, too late to pretend I didn’t know him. A beautiful, poised woman stood next to him. Skin like porcelain, hair like silk. I’d seen her on the news. Eliza Kane. His real sister. She asked quietly, "Leo? Who is that?" 2 I was Leo’s boss. That was a long time ago. Now he wasn’t a skinny rat living on scraps. He was the long-lost heir to the Kane fortune. He had a real life, a real home. Seeing him so healthy, so safe... I was relieved. I was about to smile, but then Leo’s gaze shifted, looking past me. He was looking at Nico. Nico, who I’d found two years after I left Leo. He’d just started following me, this lost-puppy look on his face that reminded me so much of a younger Leo. I couldn't shake him. Now Nico, my sweet, slow Nico, asked the exact same question as Leo's sister. "Sister," he whispered, "who is he?" Leo’s jaw tightened. The whole temperature around him dropped. His sharp, assessing gaze made Nico nervous. Nico hates hospitals, and the needle for the blood test had already freaked him out. He grabbed my sleeve, ducking behind me. "He’s scary, Tess." I managed a strained laugh. "Sorry. My brother... he’s a little shy." "Brother?" Leo’s voice was dangerously low. He repeated the word like he was chewing glass. Then he finally snapped, a vein throbbing in his temple. "Tess. We lived out of each other’s pockets for nine years. When the hell did you have another brother?" 3 The air froze. The smell of antiseptic choked me. Leo’s sister pulled at his arm. "Leo, what’s wrong? What brother?" She paused, the pieces clicking in her head. Her eyes widened as she looked at me. "Wait... Tess? You're that Tess?" I was lost. "What?" A cold, mocking smile touched her lips. "Leo, the 'sister' you’ve spent four years looking for? It seems she’s found a replacement." Leo's eyes were glistening, his breathing ragged. He’d been looking for me? For four years? He ignored his sister, his gaze locked on me, his voice tight with pain. "Don't you have anything to say to me?" I'd pictured this moment a thousand times. Pictured him crying, asking me why I abandoned him. I’d practiced a hundred speeches, but in the end, I knew the kindest thing was the cruelest cut. I let out a long breath, like I was finally unburdened. "Say what, Leo? I couldn't even feed myself back then. You were sick all the time. You were a burden. If I hadn't left, you'd have dragged me down with you." His eyes filled. "Then why did you leave me all your food?" "Guilt," I said flatly. Seeing him now, a rich heir, confirmed it. The script was real. In the years I was gone, I’d watched from afar. I saw the news when he was found by his family. I saw his rise. It all matched the script. And in that script, I’m the villain. The ungrateful, backstabbing trash. I’m destined to ruin him. And I just... I couldn’t. Maybe I am that selfish. Maybe I do have that rotten core the script says I do. I’m the person who can survive anything, and people like that are rarely good. I didn’t want to see the day it all came true. 4 Leo's face was rigid. "A burden?" he whispered. "I was a burden? Then why... why would you pick up a stray?" He didn't use the word, but we all saw it. Nico isn't right. He's intellectually disabled, stuck at the level of a young child. My hand instinctively went to cover Nico's shoulder. That tiny, protective gesture shattered him. Leo’s face went white. He grabbed his sister's arm, a cruel imitation of my gesture. "You're right," he spat, his voice shaking. "You always did have a soft spot for trash. Well, I have a real sister now. You can take your new project and... get his head checked." He pulled Eliza and stalked away. Just like that. Over. I didn't let myself cry. I turned to Nico. "Come on, kiddo. Let’s go home. I’ll make you some stew." I get by. I run a food cart near the elementary school, dodging city inspectors. At night, I sell screen protectors at the subway entrance, dodging the cops. It’s not much, but it’s ours. We have a two-bedroom apartment in a run-down building. It’s clean, it’s warm. One day, I was taking the trash out and saw the empty unit across the hall, 203, had movers. They were carefully maneuvering a real leather sofa through the doorway. New appliances followed. Who moves into this dump with that kind of money? A man walked out of the apartment. My heart stopped. Leo. I slammed my door, my back hitting the wood. "What's wrong, sister?" Nico asked. "Nothing," I panted. "Just... seeing things." But that night, the hallucination knocked on our door. I thought it was Mrs. Pena from downstairs, who sometimes gives us vegetables. Nico opened it. Leo stood there, his face a thundercloud. He walked right past Nico, his eyes raking over our tiny, cramped apartment. He saw the single framed photo on the TV. It was of me and Nico. A local photo studio had used Nico as a model for a day, and they gave us a free portrait as payment. Leo stared at it, his jaw tight. I felt a weird, cold guilt. His gaze was a knife, wanting to shred that picture. He finally spoke, his voice quiet. "We never had a photo." 5 It was an accusation. And it was true. The timer on the stove beeped. I went to kill the heat on the pressure cooker. I hesitated. "We're... about to eat. You should..." "You're not going to invite me to stay?" he cut in. The beef was on sale, but it was still beef. My life was still hard, but I wasn't that desperate girl anymore. I could afford to feed us. I thought of the nine years he was with me. Nine years of stale bread and watery soup. I called him my brother, and I’d barely ever given him a full meal. The guilt I felt for him, I’d poured it all into Nico. Leo was right. I’d given Nico everything I’d once promised him. The regret was suffocating. I got another bowl. "Fine. Stay."
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