DISCLAIMER: See previous. I own nothing except Kelsey and this story.
"Kels. I have something to tell you," Jake said.
She stirred in the bed. "If it's about Matt, don't. He already told me he's going to be the donor," she said.
"No actually it's about us," he said.
"What about us," Kelsey asked, clearly confused by Jake's comment.
"The blood tests they ran on us and everyone else showed that you and I aren't cousins," he said.
Kelsey's face fell. "We aren't," she said, her bottom lip quivering.
"Wait, Kels, it's even better. You and I are brother and sister. You're my twin," he said, hardly able to keep from picking her up off the bed and spinning her around.
"WHAT! We're actually brother and sister? You're mom and dad are really my parents," she asked, unable to digest the information.
"Isn't that totally wild. Guess that explains the protectiveness I feel for you all the time," he said, smiling at her.
"Guess so. Does this mean I have to change my name," she asked.
"I don't know. If you want to keep Bradford I'm sure mom and dad will understand," he said.
Kelsey looked at Jake. The guy who was now her twin brother. She'd always felt close to him and his parents, but thought it was because the two of them had been together since they were in second grade. Kelsey could barely remember what the Bradfords looked and sounded like. It had always bothered her that she hadn't spent as much time with her parents as she had her aunt and uncle, but everything made sense now. She had a brother and a mom and dad that she had longed for since the Bradfords had been killed.
"Course this also means that Kyle is my brother, too. I knew this was too good to be true," she said.
Kelsey and Kyle got along, but Kelsey knew Kyle held a bit of a grudge against Kelsey because he had been forced to share a room with Jake before they had moved into Kelsey's parent's much larger home about a year after she moved in with Jake and his family.
Kelsey's parents owned the house and it went Kelsey when they died. Jake's parents hadn't wanted to move into the house, but with Kyle griping about the lack of space because he had to share a room with Jake and Kelsey wanting to stay at the same school, they had decided to move into the Bradford Estate.
Estate was kind of an exaggeration. Especially after Kelsey had seen Lorena's house.
The home featured six bedrooms so Kyle was able to have his own room. Kelsey and Jake were given a room with the adjoining bathroom. The home featured six bathrooms, but two of those full baths were in the furnished basement game room. There was a suite of rooms down there that had been used for the maid and cook. It had an adjoining bathroom, much like Jake and Kelsey's room. The other bath was on the first floor, near the front door. It was actually a half bath with another full bath in the hallway of the upstairs to allow guests to have a place to shower.
The master bedroom and the room Kyle had chosen had bathrooms off the rooms, but still included.
Jake and Kelsey hadn't minded, she got to get her old room back and she adjusted much better than her aunt and uncle had hoped. They were happy to have a larger place for the three kids. Jake stayed at his previous school because he hadn't wanted to leave that one and Kelsey stayed at her school because she was more comfortable there. Then Jake had his altercation with the football team. He'd come to Pacific Coast High shortly after that incident.
"Matt told me he's going to be my donor," she said.
"How does that make you feel, peanut," Jake asked concern for his sister apparent in the question.
"I don't know. I thought that I was past all that stuff with Matt, but now I don't know. I love Mark. There's no doubt in my mind about that, but I don't like the way Matt makes me feel," she said.
"How's that," he asked.
"Comfortable. Despite the fact that I can't stand him, he was my best friend for most of my life. He was the one person that I could count on after…well, I was going to say my parents, died. I didn't want to go to your parents house right away because I felt like I was being forced on your family. I wanted you and Kyle to get used to the fact that I was going to be around all the time. Then there's the fact that Matt was my first, well, everything. Now, he's going to save my life? How do you wrap your head around that one," she asked Jake.
He shook his head. "I don't have an answer for you. You know you want to be with Mark; that he's the guy you love and want to be with forever. That's not going to change. Maybe, you just need to tell Matt how angry you are," he said.
"What makes you think I didn't do that earlier," she asked.
"Because you can't be mean to him. You do care about him, but maybe you need to tell him how you feel exactly and move past it," Jake said.
"When," she asked.
"Whenever you're ready. Just make sure you let Mark know where you stand with Matt. I think he's getting a bit worried because Matt's back and he's going to give you bone marrow," Jake said.
"Oh, Mark. Will you get him in here," she asked her brother, pleading in her green eyes.
"Sure," Jake said, letting go of her hand and heading out of the room.
"Mark," Jake said, taking off the mask. "Kels really wants to talk to you."
Mark donned the traditional garb and went into see his girlfriend.
"What's up," he asked.
"Sit," she said. He sat next to her. "I love you," she said.
"I love you, too," he said.
"You're worried about this whole Matt thing, aren't you," she asked.
"Just a bit. I mean I've heard how close you guys were and how much you cared for each other. It's always been something that's hanging over my head during our relationship. Not that anyone compares us, but knowing you never got to officially end things with him had me worried about him possibly coming back," Mark said.
"And now he can donate bone marrow and get me back to being myself again," she said.
Mark nodded. He hated to admit it, but he was worried Kelsey would leave him for Matt, grateful for saving her life.
"I'm not going anywhere. Yes, I'll be grateful to Matt for helping me, but there's no one I would rather be with then you. If I could take back that night with Matt, I would. You're the one that I want and no one, not Matt, Sly or Jake can make me change my mind," she said, smiling at him.
His eyes twinkled and Kelsey knew he was smiling too. Grateful for the love she had for him. He pulled her into a hug, knowing he'd never love someone like he loved her.
Kelsey closed her eyes and hoped they'd be back to normal in a few weeks so she could tell Mark how much she missed him.