Instead of returning to school from the doctor’s office, Brielle just brought Maya home. It would be a few days before they got any test results, but it hardly mattered. Maya knew it wouldn’t be good news.

Once they got home, Maya sat down and curled up on the couch. Brielle sat down beside her and started running her fingers across Maya’s scalp, scratching gently. Maya moaned and curled up tighter.

“You’re going to be fine,” Brielle muttered, but her voice was strained. Maya thought she sounded close to crying. “We’re going to get answers, I promise.”

“I’ll be okay,” Maya lied. “Don’t worry about me.”

“Oh, Maya.” Brielle stood up. “I’ll get you something to eat. What do you want?”

“…Do we have any relish?”

“I think so?”

“Could you make me a couple of hot dogs?”

“Of course, sis.” Brielle leaned over and kissed Maya on the forehead. “I’ll get you a blanket. Close your eyes for a bit.”

Maya wasn’t actually very hungry. But she wanted to prove to Brielle that she was okay, so she ate with Brielle hovering over her. Once she was done, Brielle took her plate away, then put another episode of Renegade Girl Lucy for Maya to watch. Then Brielle sat down beside Maya and wrapped her up in a tight hug.

“Brielle… this isn’t working,” Maya muttered, tears welling up in her eyes.

“What’s wrong? What do you need? I can bring the computer down if you want.”

“No, I just…” Maya pulled away and stood up, letting the blankets fall off of her. “I’m not okay, Brielle!” She grabbed the knots of her hair and started pulling on them. “This isn’t going to make me feel better!”

Brielle stood up and placed her hands on Maya’s shoulders.

“Maya, I’m sorry. I just… want to help—”

“Well, this isn’t helping!” Maya cried, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks.

She sat back down and buried her head in her hands, beginning to sob. Brielle sat back down and started rubbing her back. Eventually, Maya stopped crying, but Brielle didn’t leave. Maya laid down and Brielle threw the blanket over her. She must have drifted off, because when she stirred her father was standing over her and checking her forehead for warmth.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said quietly, “if you’re feeling up to it.”

Maya was a little dizzy, but managed to make it to the table without any difficulty. Someone had made spaghetti and Caesar salad. She spent a lot of time poking at her salad while her parents briefly asked Brielle how the trip to the doctor went.

“Doctor thought it might be a virus,” Brielle admitted. “I thought I was going to lose my mind. He didn’t want to believe it was magical. Took forever to convince him.”

“How has she been feeling?” their mother asked.

“I’m fine,” Maya insisted.

Everyone turned to look at her, watching her carefully like she was about to break down. Maya lowered her head and scowled. She wasn’t a fragile teapot. Why did they have to treat her like this? It was even worse than before.

She sniffled and closed her eyes, beginning to cry again.

“Maya?” Brielle asked.

Maya sobbed again, once, and dropped her fork onto her plate. She pushed her food away and buried her head in her arms. She did her best to hold back a sob, but it escaped as a long whine.

She could hear Brielle’s chair move. After a few moments, Maya felt someone place their hands on her back and patted softly. A series of small, choking sobs escaped before Maya could get a hold on herself.

When she looked up, both of her parents were looking away from her. Her mother was staring down at her food, frowning. Her father was rubbing his eyes and sighed.

They wouldn’t even look at her.

Maya lowered her head again and took a deep breath trying to steady herself. Brielle took her to bed without finishing her meal and sat on the bed with her until she fell asleep.

In the morning, when Maya finished dressing and left the bathroom, she found Brielle sitting on their bed already dressed for the day in sweatpants and an oversized tee shirt.

“Are you going to take a shower?” Maya asked.

“Sure, eventually,” Brielle muttered. “Are you ready? Let’s just go.”

“Are you okay?” Maya asked.

“Don’t worry about me, Maya.”

When they got downstairs, their mother had already put some bread in the toaster for them. She stopped briefly to kiss Maya on the forehead before grabbing her purse. As she rushed out the door, she told Brielle, “Take care of her. Just try to get through the day together, alright?”

When Maya and Brielle got to school and arrived outside the library, they were immediately accosted by their friends.

“Where were you yesterday? We were worried!”

“Did you get in trouble or something?”

“Is everything alright?”

“Maya, are you okay? What did the doctor say?”

Brielle and Maya exchanged a glance.

“Eric, Jason, Amelia,” Brielle said, “come with us.”

The other few members of the group watched in puzzlement as the five of them huddled together in a corner.

“Alright,” Brielle said, taking a deep breath. “It’s not good news. Maya is really sick, and might… might become seriously ill.”

There were murmurs of concern from their friends.

“Are you going to be okay?” Amelia asked.

Maya shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Brielle bristled and replied, “She’s going to be fine—”

“Don’t lie to them,” Maya muttered. “I’m… I’m dying, guys.” There was a stunned silence, so she continued, “The spell didn’t work right, and my body is degenerating. We don’t know if there’s any way to stop it.”

“Oh, honey.”

Amelia leaned in and wrapped Maya in a hug. Eric and Jason shared a worried glance. Brielle started looking around, worried that someone might overhear them.

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Maya said. “I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Of course.”

“No problem.”

“Absolutely.”

Brielle added, “We’re here for you, Maya. We’re going to take care of you.”

“How do you feel?” Amelia asked.

Maya shrugged. “Some days are better than others. But I’m getting worse. The witch said that if nothing happens, in a few weeks I won’t be able to get out of bed.”

“Oh, Maya.”

Maya lowered her gaze. She didn’t want to see the way they were looking at her. The way her parents looked at her now. As if a stern enough glance would cause her to shatter. She wasn’t a person anymore, she was just a delicate object now.

She took a deep breath and turned away, trying to hold her tears in. Maybe she couldn’t blame them for looking at her differently if she couldn’t hold her composure for more than a few moments at a time. Why couldn’t things just go back to normal?

“Why did the spell affect her so differently?” Eric asked softly.

“We don’t know why—”

“I know why,” Maya spat, closing her eyes. “It’s because she’s the real one, not me.”

“Maya!”

“You know it’s true,” Maya continued, pulling away from Amelia when she tried to hug her again. “Even the universe knows it, and it’s trying to correct for things.”

“That’s enough,” Brielle said. Maya opened her eyes to see that Brielle was crying too. Brielle placed her hands on Maya’s shoulders and locked eyes with her. “It’s not true, you hear me? You’re my sister. You matter. We’re going to get through this and you’re going to be fine. I’m not going to let go of you. Do you hear me?”

Maya nodded, burying her head in Brielle’s chest. She felt her other friends hands on her back. They were close to her. Despite everything, they were beside her.

The bell rang, and Maya’s heart sank.

“Come on,” Brielle said quietly. “Let’s get you to homeroom.”

“I can walk myself.”

“Please, Maya.”

“Amelia can walk me,” Maya insisted.

“Do it for me?” Brielle asked. “I don’t want to let you go just yet.”

Maya sighed and nodded. Everyone let go of her and she adjusted her backpack. With Amelia on one side and Brielle on the other, Maya started heading for her homeroom class.

“How do you feel?” Amelia asked.

“I’m okay. It’s getting hard to focus in class sometimes. I got in trouble the other day for nearly falling asleep.”

“Oh, Maya,” Brielle said, “why didn’t you tell me about any of this?”

Maya replied, in a small voice, “I didn’t want to worry you.”

“Well, look who it is!”

Brielle muttered, “Oh, fuck this guy.”

Lucas was in front of them, leaning up against the lockers with his arms folded. He was smirking. Maya looked away. What more did he want from them?

“Get out of here, Lucas,” Brielle said, stepping in front of Maya to block her from Lucas.

“So I have to know,” Lucas continued, “why were you out yesterday? Bladder infection from not getting to use the restroom anymore?”

Brielle took a step forward, but Amelia grabbed her arm and held her back. Maya groaned and tried to make herself look smaller. Lucas’s grin widened.

“Maybe you should have just pretended to be new students,” he said. “It would have been easier to fool people into thinking that you were really girls that way.”

Amelia snapped back, “Shut up, Lucas! You don’t get to talk to them that way.”

“Amelia, I thought so highly of you. Guess I dodged a bullet.”

“You—!” Amelia’s eyes were bulging. “You wouldn’t leave me alone, you piece of shit!”

Brielle snorted and asked, “Are you just bored, Lucas? Is that it? Or are you so afraid your father is going to beat you that you’re just always going to be his lackey?”

“Brielle…” Maya muttered. That seemed like it was too far.

Lucas scowled and took a few steps forward.

“My father taught me to stand up for myself and take care of others,”  he said darkly, “I’m not going to stand by while you force everyone to play along with this sick perversion.” He raised his hands and curled them into fists. “And looking like a girl doesn’t mean I’m not going to let you walk all over me.”

Brielle cracked her neck and loomed forward, but Amelia grabbed her tightly and hung on.

“Lucas, you’re a coward! You’d never have the balls to stand up to me if I still looked like I used to. If we fought, I’d give you about thirty seconds before you pissed yourself and begged for mercy!”

“Brielle, stop!” Maya cried, grabbing onto her other arm.

Lucas’s face was red with anger.

“You know what, Jackson?!” he asked.

“My name is Brielle!”

“That’s enough!” someone cried.

Everyone turned to look at the teacher who had just arrived. She was scowling and tapping her foot. There were several other students still around watching the scene unfold.

“You two,” she said darkly, pointing at Brielle and Lucas, “to the principal’s office, now. You two—” She glanced at Maya and Amelia. “—go to class.”

Brielle pulled away from Maya and Amelia, muttering darkly under her breath. She and Lucas followed the teacher, standing far apart from each other. Maya watched Brielle go, sighing in frustration.

They all learned at lunch that Brielle had been given detention for what happened. Lucas had spun himself into looking like a victim and weaseled his way out of trouble. He claimed that Brielle had discovered he was one of the students who had signed the petition and was singling him out for harassment. Brielle spent all of lunch muttering obscenities under her breath.

At the end of the day, Amelia offered to drive Maya home.

“Everything will be okay,” Amelia insisted when she pulled up outside of Maya’s house.

“I hope so,” Maya said, shaking her head and trying to get the dizziness out.

Maya finished her homework, and then the homework for the day she had missed. By the time she was finished, it was almost time for her mother to get home. She wouldn’t have the house to herself for much longer, and then she’d need to explain what happened at school today.

Returning to her room, Maya curled up in bed and tried to get some rest. Occasionally a bad coughing fit would overtake Maya and leave her shaking. She heard the front door open, which would be her mother. How long before Brielle got home? She had the phone, so Maya had to log onto Discord and send her a message asking.

She still didn’t even have a phone for herself. Her parents hadn’t gotten her one yet. The thought stung. Not that it mattered much anymore. In a few weeks she wouldn’t need one.

“I need some time to myself,” was the reply she got.

Maya sighed and forced herself down the stairs. Her mother was sitting in the living room, watching the news. Maya sat down next to her. Fortunately, her mother didn’t ask about Brielle.

Her father got home soon after. He put his briefcase away and took off his shoes and coat, then returned to the living room to sit down on the couch beside Maya. Nobody spoke to her until she started coughing again.

“Are you alright?” her father asked.

Maya nodded and swallowed a lump of mucus.

Her mother added, “Don’t worry, honey. When the test results come back, the physician will refer us to a magical doctor and they’ll find a way to fix this. I promise.”

Maya continued to nod. Her father looked tired. Her mother was watching her with a sad expression. She thought briefly to what she’d overheard a few weeks before. “What are we supposed to do with her?” they’d asked.

Did they even really love her? Did it matter? Whatever Maya was to them, she was sick and dying. They had to put up with a terminally ill child even if she wasn’t really theirs. She was putting them through one of the worst things a parent could face.

A pit formed in the bottom of Maya’s stomach. This was all her fault. She was hurting them and they didn’t deserve it.

The front door opened and slammed, causing Maya to jump in surprise.

When Brielle walked into view, their mother jumped to her feet.

“Brielle, I got a phone call from your school earlier today. You’d better have a good reason for getting detention, young ma— lady.”

Brielle either didn’t notice the slip up or chose to ignore it, and just replied, “I got detention because this bastard wouldn’t stop harassing us and I defended myself.”

“Language!” their father snapped.

Brielle rolled her eyes and continued, “Whatever. I’ll be up in my room.”

“Hold on!” their mother cried, “We’re not done here!”

Maya groaned and sank down further into the couch.