Despite the risk, you feel honesty is the right move. You’re trying to fix their lives by handing the thieves of their lives to the authorities. Perhaps it was out of ignorance, but Ashley stole your mother’s life. Is it theft if she does the same? Cassandra deserves the truth, but so does your mother deserves someone who defends her.
“Thanks,” you begin, figuring out how to start. “I appreciate the offer.”
“Good.” She turns her back on you but undoubtedly feels your presence. “Something wrong?”
“Actually...” You approach her, timidly. “There’s something I’d like to ask. What... What do you think about what your father did to your mom?”
That startles her. “It’s horrible. It’s... evil.”
You sigh, but not in relief. “You know what happened, right?”
“Not really.” She pushes herself deeper into Tina’s bed, grabbing her legs. “I never met the guy. Mom divorced him as soon as I was born.”
“Why wait for so long?” Claire asks.
“Don’t ask me. Mom’s the only one who knows.”
“She never told you he was a corrupt judge, didn’t she?”
“Not until now. When I asked about Dad, Ashie told me he was a good-for-nothing that never loved her. Barbie doesn’t remember him a lot, but claims the opposite – at least, until now.”
“Well, he was – and he did terrible things. You weren’t the only ones to be replaced.”
“Ashley was going to, right?”
“Uh-huh. And what’s worse is, he was gonna replace her with... With someone he sent to prison. Your sister never told you about what happened when she was sixteen, right?”
“Oh yeah, that...” She winces in disgust. “I remember Ashie always told me, ‘be careful around boys, and especially older men’. She was always watching – like, can you imagine she vetted all my friends? Barbie’s too.”
“But you know the reason why, right?”
“Of course. Some creep tried to get fresh with her, but she told Mom and he was sent to prison.”
“Well, your dad was the one who presided that case. Then, years later, he changes his mind and joins forces with the same creep and two other guys to replace all of you, out of revenge.”
“Eww!” You see Cassandra grab her stomach. Why would Dad do that? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s twisted, Cassandra.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. How do you know this, though?”
“That’ll take some time. I can start by saying the mistake the creep made – he changed into her in front of our house.”
“Wait,” Claire asks. “He did?”
“Yeah! You were distracted on your phone, so you didn't notice. Anyways, I notice he drops a pen--”
“Pen?”
“Yeah. The one he dropped turns people into skins; it’s what we used to recover you.”
“Ah. Go on, then.”
"You can imagine the rest. I grab the pen, follow the guy and zap him. Except... I know it’s doing the same thing, but I... wore your sister.”
“Eww!” You see Cassandra looking at you with disgust, and you recoil.
“Now you see why I say my brother’s an idiot?”
“Hey - I was curious! Plus, it’s not always when you get the chance like that!”
“Still! I thought you’d... I dunno, call the cops or something. You’re disgusting!”
“He could’ve, y’know, not told you.” You’re surprised Claire’s on your side, though she’s enjoying twisting the knife while at it. “Plus, Ashley trusts him despite that, no?”
“Does she know?”
“She...” You feel its best if you get to the point. “You remember what I told you about my parents splitting up, right?”
“Yeah - that you learned your dad had an affair with Ash, you told your mom, your mom threw your dad away, then the guy that was wearing me came and zapped your dad and all that stuff. What’s that got to do with everything?”
“There’s...” You gulp. “More to that story.”
“What more?”
“For starters, it was while I wore your sister that I learned about Dad’s infidelity. But it’s even worse. I didn’t just tell Mom. I... I had her put on Ashley so that she could see it for herself.”
Cassandra opens her eyes, completely flabbergasted. “No way... Why did you make your mother wear my sister instead of... I dunno, confronting your dad?”
“Mom wouldn’t have believed me. It would’ve been an uphill battle to convince her. And by then, maybe that other guy would’ve taken Ashley for himself. If I hadn’t done what I did...”
“What did you do?”
You take a deep breath, as you may seal your fate with this confession. “I was so angry that Dad cheated on Mom with your sister, I had to take it on someone. So I took that creep’s skin and burned it.”
“Hold on,” Claire interrupts, facing you. “That means the skins can be destroyed?”
“Pretty much. Like... with any other body you burn, I guess.”
“He was gonna ruin my sister’s life, so...” You see a fiery look in Cassandra’s eye. “I guess he deserved it.”
“That’s the problem. I did something I’m not proud of, and that almost gets us into trouble. Promise me that, until I finish, you won’t say a thing, alright?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Anyways... Mom wanted to punish Dad for what he did, so she took a drastic decision. She decided to keep wearing Ashley to prevent their relationship.”
“What!?” Cassandra exclaims, choking up.
“You promised you wouldn’t say a thing, remember!? When Quentin came with another pen – a brown one – she learned the truth about their relationship. Dad never told Ashley he was married, but she suspected. And, uh... your sister didn’t care.”
“That can’t be right... I called Ash out because she liked older men, but after what happened to her?”
That stuns you, but you push further. “You could ask your own sister – and I don’t mean Mom. She figured it was the best way to punish them. Mom decided to come clean with everyone, though, which is why my sister’s living with my Dad.”
“Technically I wasn’t agreeing with what she did,” Claire clarified, “but I thought her brand of revenge was cool.”
“So you think it’s fair that I lose a sister because of her own mistakes?”
“If you saw how she was before?” you tell Cassandra. “Listen - so Mom and I lied about her, uh, ‘breakdown’. But to be fair, Mom was well on her way to it. Divorcing Dad would leave her without a future.”
She sighs in frustration. “Listen; I know you told me not to interrupt you, but if that story was bullshit, then what’s the skin Barbie’s wearing?”
“A cloned skin, meant to be a replacement – just like your dad did to feign his death. She thought it’d be a good replacement, but it ended up... robotic. Since it wouldn’t work, we figured one of you could wear it, so we decided on Barbara.” You notice she doesn’t reply, giving you time to finish. “I know it’s wrong--”
“It’s horrible,” Cassandra states. “No, worse than horrible. I don’t even know what word to use. Your mom’s no different from my dad and the guys that wore Barbie and me.”
“Am I just like them?”
She gives you a hard, pained look, only to turn her head aside. “You’re a jerk. But you’re willing to do the right thing.” She lowers her head, sniffing. “I was wondering why Ashie had changed. Now I know why.”
“I know this must sound hard to you, but Mom’s got your best interests in her mind. She even said she loves you as if you were her real sisters.”
“That’s the problem,” she reveals. “Ashie could be harsh with me, but she cared. I know she warned me about older men because she cared. And I’m sorry that my sister destroyed your family. She shouldn’t have – it's wrong.”
“For what it’s worth, so is what my mom’s doing, but...”
“You said it. You want to see your mom happy.” Despite her pain, she still manages to flash a timid smile. “I know every kid wants the best for their family. I bet your big sister wants your parents to reunite, no?”
“She wants Mom to remake her life. But Mom’s got a point. It’s gonna be hard for her.”
“She should try. Still – what I wanted to say is, ever since I’ve been here, I thought Ashie changed. She’s less strict, more loving. It’s like...” She hisses and tears up. “She was like a second mom to me. Maybe leaning too much on the strict part. ‘Cassie, you better not flunk at college’. ‘Cassie, stop being such a flirt’. ‘Cassie, your future comes first’. And I was tired of it!”
“That sounds like Tina,” Claire says, and you snort in agreement.
“But now, she’s... Different. Kinder. More forgiving. Almost like she knew she messed up.”
“And that sounds like Mom.”
“It’s so hard to accept she’s not the real deal when she’s been... Well, not honest, but very open. I guess it’s because she sees in me another daughter. I wanna hate her, but she rescued us, and she wants to save Mom, and...”
“I guess it’s her way of apologizing for, well... 'Borrowing' your big sister’s life.” You jerk your head towards the door, telling Claire to let Cassandra take a breather. “I’ll let you digest it a little before we can talk a little more.”
“No.” She takes a deep breath, letting her anger and sorrow wash away with the flowing air. “I thought I was going mad. I had a good relationship with Ash, but not the best. But now? She’s become a better sister than before.”
“Come again?”
She looks at you, confused and in pain. “I can’t believe I feel more attached to an impostor than to my real sister.” Despite her confusion, she seems to hold no ill will towards you. “I thought I was going mad, but now I know why. Thanks for telling me.”
“So, now that you know... Will you forgive her? Because if you want her to take your sister off, maybe it’s not the best--”
“I want a talk,” she demands. “Her, you guys and me. I want to hear it from her own lips. And if she screws up? I want her to suffer the same fate as my dad.”
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