"Come again?"
"I'm your sister, Brooke Anderson. We share the same father. David Phillips, right?"
Kane turned away from the girl, reeling. She didn't exactly look like him.
"And before you ask, I'm not making it up. My mother's black, which explains my complexion."
"Right, " he said absorbing the news. Why would anyone pretend to be his sister? She had to be genuine. "So what's your story then, how did you find this out?"
"I found some letters from your aunt. She used to be friends with my mother when she lived back here. When she got pregnant, by your father, she left town to get away from him. They carried on writing, and when she died, my mum inherited her necklace. Your aunt mentioned you in the letters, and when I realised you were my brother, I decided to track you down. I didn't think I'd find you so quickly."
"Wow." It was a lot to take in. "How old are you?"
"Sixteen. Seventeen next month."
Kane frowned. Trust his father to be playing away while he was still married to his mother. His father probably didn't know Brooke existed.
Kirsty running towards him, with Rhys in tow, interrupted the moment.
"Kane wait!"
"Don't you dare Kirsty!"
"Kane!" Kirsty ran into his arms. "Brooke, what are you doing here?"
"It's a long story, " said Brooke folding her arms.
"Kirsty, get back here now." Rhys was out of breath. "Get off her."
"I have every right to be with her." Kane held her tighter. Brooke began to feel invisible.
"I said get off her, now, or else I will make you." His look said it all.
Kane let go. "I'll ring you in the morning Kirst."
"OK, " said a sobbing Kirsty. As Kirsty was dragged away, Kane turned to Brooke.
"Do you want to come back to my place? It's not far away. We can talk and stuff."
"Yeah sure."
Brooke and Kane left the beach, wanting to say everything, but not knowing how to say it.
***
Brooke didn't know exactly what time she'd gone to sleep on Kane's couch. It was hard to sleep when she was excited. They didn't say much the previous night, and had gone their separate ways before drifting off to sleep. Brooke sat up. His apartment was fantastic; the giant plasma screen dominated the room. He must be quite well off, thought Brooke.
Kane, instinctively knowing his sister was awake, entered the lounge. "Morning."
"Morning."
"Did you sleep well?"
"As well as I could."
"Good."
He stared at her from across the room. He could see small resemblances to his father in her; the way she squinted slightly as she spoke and the slight way she smiled. He sat in the leather chair opposite her.
"This is unreal, " he said.
"I know, " said Brooke. "Thanks for letting me stay."
"No worries. It was the least I could do."
"Nice place you've got here."
"Thanks. Bought it with my inheritance."
"Nice." She smiled nervously. "So, were you close to your aunt?"
"Quite. She looked out for me, especially these past few months. She helped me get back on track."
"What's our father like?" asked Brooke. She was dying to know.
Kane hated to even think about him. The scars were always there to remind him. "I don't want to lie to you Brooke. I hate him; we haven't spoken for years."
"Oh." Her father wasn't so perfect after all. "So what's the story with you then? You're dating Kirsty?"
"Yeah, she's great."
"Why does everyone seem opposed to you?" Brooke probed further into the mystery between Kane and the Sutherlands. "Her Dad was going mad."
Kane knew this subject would come up. "Some stuff happened between me and Dani. I made a lot of mistakes back then, but I'm different now. They just don't see that."
"Oh." Brooke wondered what the fuss was about. She relaxed. "Well I'd better get back to the Drop in Centre, all my stuff is there. I need to talk to Kit too."
"OK, well I'll see you later then? Maybe we can hang out?" Having a sister may be better than he thought. He had never had a relative that he really could talk to. Brooke seemed to be alright.
***
Kirsty had had the worst night; nobody in her family was speaking to her. It seemed like a good idea at the time to bring Kane to the party, but after agonising about it all night she wasn't so sure. The look on Dani's face would forever stay in her mind. There was no way she would forgive her. Plus, Kane seemed to be good friends with Brooke all of a sudden. Kirsty pulled his ring off her finger, and left it under her pillow. She had to see him. Carefully, she slipped out of her room, but she didn't expect to crash into Kit.
"You're up early."
"I've got things to do, " said Kirsty squeezing past. "Excuse me."
"I suppose you're going to see him."
"Yeah, but don't tell anyone."
"I think they'll guess somehow."
Kirsty went downstairs, leaving Kit to think. She thought Brooke's behaviour the previous night was strange. Why she would ever go running after Kane Phillips was anyone's guess. Kit made it her intention to visit her and get the full story.
***
The Drop in Centre was packed, as usual on a Saturday, with the young people of Summer Bay enjoying their weekend by playing pool or video games. Brooke felt happy today; she wouldn't have to live here anymore now she had found Kane. Sure, he hadn't asked her yet, but with her powers of persuasion he couldn't say no.
"Brooke!" shouted Kit from behind.
"No need to shout. How you doing?"
"Fine, look, where did you go last night? You just ran off after Kane."
"Oh that. He's the guy I was talking about. Kane is my brother."
Kit didn't give the pleased, astounded look Brooke expected. Instead she looked horrified. "He's your brother?"
"Yes. Why do you have that face?"
"Did he tell you what he did?"
Brooke sighed. "If you mean his past, he said he made a lot of mistakes but he's different now. He seems like a nice guy."
"Right, " said Kit. She had to tell Brooke the truth. Although she didn't know Kane, she knew what he'd done to Dani and how it had affected her. "Brooke, I'm sorry to have to tell you this but Kane isn't a nice guy. You know Dani Sutherland?" Brooke nodded. "Well, he raped her."
The smile faded from Brooke's face.