I’m Glad My Sister Stole My Boyfriend. He Gave Her An STD. I Found…

I looked for the manipulation in the apologies, but she only stared at me with a new expression: acceptance. “I’ve had time to reflect,” She said.

“I’ve accepted things. Will is with you. Contract expires soon; whatever happens after that…” She shrugged.

“My fight is over,” She said.

“Just that? You’re done?” I said gently.

“Just like that,” She answered.

She smiled softly, almost regretful. “Enjoy him while you can, Ella. Both of you looked delighted. After the month, we’ll assess everyone.”

She cocked her head. “Maybe Will and I can agree…”

Something about the way she said “enjoy him while you can” made my stomach spin, as if she knew something I didn’t. I felt like she was counting down to something.

“Okay,” I said slowly.

“Thanks for the apology,” I added.

“Oh, sure,” She said.

She stood and grabbed her purse. “See you around, Ella. Tell Will,” She said.

“Hey,” I said.

She left and I sat there for a long time, trying to figure out why her calmness worried me more than her craziness. When it was quiet, I felt like I was waiting for a bomb.

Olivia doesn’t lose gracefully; she never loses. So when she started acting like nothing mattered, I knew something was wrong.

I didn’t know what. Then my phone rang at 2:00 a.m.

She was crying so hard I couldn’t understand her, and what she told me altered everything for everyone.

The 2 A.M. Crisis

Olivia called in the middle of the night and I instantly answered, knowing nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m. “Ella,” She muttered out between sobs.

This was raw, horrible, gasping crying, not her usual. “Olivia, slow down,” I whispered.

“What happened? You hurt?” I asked.

“I slept with him,” She screamed.

“I slept with Luke!” She yelled.

“You what?” I asked.

“I know!” She wailed.

“I’m sorry! I was angry and heartbroken, and he kept texting me about missing someone who respected him. I just wanted to feel desired and it happened. Ella, I’m sorry!” She cried.

Olivia slept with Luke. I hadn’t slept with Will.

“When? When did this happen?” I asked.

“A few days ago,” She muttered.

“But that’s not why I’m calling. Another thing, Ella. Something worse,” She added, her voice shaking.

Better than my sister sleeping with my ex-boyfriend? I couldn’t fathom anything worse. “He told me after,” Olivia said.

“He told me he has something. An STD. He found out a few weeks ago but he was embarrassed to tell anyone,” She said.

The room spun and I grabbed my mattress’s edge to stabilize myself. “He has what?” I asked.

“I don’t know what!” Olivia sobbed.

“He wouldn’t say. He basically apologized and said I needed to be tested. His tone was casual, Ella, like he hadn’t ruined my life,” She added.

Luke and I had slept together two days before the swap. I remembered it because it felt like a last attempt to fix something broken.

I thought reconnecting physically would help; it didn’t. Now that night could have cost me everything.

“Olivia,” I whispered slowly, shivering.

“If Luke discovered something a few weeks ago, he had it when we were together. I slept with him two days before swapping,” I said.

Olivia’s raspy breathing was the only sound on the line. She was too preoccupied with her own dilemma to consider mine.

“Oh god,” She whispered.

“Oh god, Ella, I didn’t even think…” She said.

“No, you didn’t,” I laughed.

“You never do,” I added.

I hung up and called Will, who answered on the second ring, sleepy. “Ella? What was wrong?” He asked.

I rushed to tell him everything, shivering so violently I could scarcely grasp the phone. “I’m coming over. Don’t move,” He said.

He arrived at my flat in fifteen minutes, hugged me without saying a word, and we stood in my doorway for what felt like forever while I attempted to breathe. “We need to get tested,” I mumbled against his chest.

“Both of us. If I have something and we’ve been together…” I said.

“Hey,” Will said, looking at me.

“I haven’t slept with anyone else, so whatever’s happening, I’m not worried about me,” He said.

He caressed my face. “I’m worried about you and we’ll work this out together, okay?”

I nodded despite feeling bad. We arrived at the clinic immediately.

Luke arrived five minutes later, looking annoyed, like he’d been dragged out of bed for something inconvenient. “This is ridiculous,” Luke muttered as we all entered.

“I told you, it’s probably nothing serious. You’re all overreacting,” He said.

“Overreacting?” Olivia screamed, drawing attention from many in the waiting room.

“Luke, you told me after sleeping together! It’s not overreacting; that’s murder attempt!” She yelled.

“That’s not attempted murder,” Luke answered plainly.

Olivia shouted, “I don’t care what it means! You should have told me! Who does that?”

“The kind who didn’t want this exact conversation,” Will said.

“I’m not the bad guy! Found out and told people. This is more than most men would do,” Luke said.

“A medal for the minimum?” I asked.

“You had something and slept with people. Not honest, Luke. That’s reckless,” I said.

“I didn’t keep sleeping with people,” He said.

“I slept with Olivia one time after I found out and I told her right after,” He added.

“Right after isn’t before!” She said.

“Right after doesn’t protect anyone,” I added.

Luke rose up and looked at us in displeasure when a nurse called his name first. “I, not you, must endure this. Maybe wait until you get your results before judging,” He said.

He disappeared down the hallway and Olivia burst into tears again. Will put his arm around me and I leaned into him to block out my sister’s sobbing.

The nurse called my name next and led me to a small room with clinical, cold lighting. She collected blood and gave me a cup for a urine sample and informed me findings would take 48 to 72 hours.

I answered questions about my intimacy history with a distant numbness. “What else should I know before leaving?” I asked.

She glanced at me with rehearsed sympathy. “Avoid spiraling before answering. I know it’s hard, but worrying won’t change the results.”

Will followed me in, even though he stated he wasn’t worried, for solidarity, he said. Olivia went last and looked like she’d aged ten years in fifteen minutes.

The four of us stood in the parking lot in the awkward silence of my life. Luke leaned against his car with his arms crossed, looking defensive.

Olivia kept checking her phone like the results might magically appear early. Will held my hand in silence.