“You guys are back!” Lydia said. She quickly straightened and stood. “Already.”

“Already,” Linh said with a shake of her head. “It’s dinnertime, and the Petersons invited us over. You should go…freshen up.” Linh raised her eyebrows at the two of them. On a normal day, she wouldn’t care what her children were doing and with whom, but she didn’t like for it to interfere with her plans.

“Okay, Mom,” Lydia said. She brushed her hair over her shoulder and smiled lazily.

“Yes, ma’am,” Preston said quickly.

Linh nodded at them, as if her message was clear, and then left for her own room to get ready for dinner.

Trihn just glared at Lydia and Preston. “What the fuck is this?” she demanded as soon as Linh was out of earshot. “When I left, you were screaming at each other, and a few hours later, you’re back to making out? What part of ‘he was cheating on you,’ did you misunderstand, Ly?”

Lydia looked up at Preston, and he nodded.

“Can we go talk?” Lydia asked, nodding toward the empty den.

“We can’t talk right here? Are you afraid Mom and Dad will find out what an asshole he is?” Trihn said.

All the anger that she had been feeling this week on vacation was pouring out of her. She wanted to yell and scream at the top of her lungs for everyone to hear. The man who she had loved could not be putting her through this hell right now.

“Trihn, let’s just try to be reasonable,” Preston said softly, consolingly.

Fuck that.

“Do not try to talk to me like I’m an idiot. I see what is going on here, but I don’t understand any of it.” She clenched her hands into fists. “Someone, please explain to me how this happened. What lies did he feed you for you to just ignore the facts?”

“He didn’t feed me any lies, Trihn,” Lydia said carefully.

“You don’t know him if you think that every word he says is the truth. He twists words and the truth, all so that you will believe him…so you’ll fall for him.”

“Jesus, Trihn,” Preston said. “I didn’t realize you thought that lowly of me.”

“You made me feel this way!” Trihn tried to reel herself in, but it wasn’t working. She had never thought that Preston and Lydia would stay together once Lydia had found out the truth. In fact, Trihn had been more worried about hurting her sister. It was apparently all for nothing.

“We actually both wanted to talk to you about this,” Lydia said, standing in between Trihn and Preston. “This wasn’t how we wanted you to find out that we were staying together.”

“What exactly would be a good way for me to find that out?”

“Not like this, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Trihn repeated. “Just…why?”

“I know that you and Preston were talking for a while this summer,” Lydia began.

“Talking,” Trihn said tonelessly. If that’s what you call fucking backstage at a ballet and on his dining room table and at the studio and, and, and…

“Yes, but after Preston and I discussed it, I realized I was only getting half of the story. Just your half. I didn’t realize how much more there was to it.”

“Oh, this should be a real treat. What exactly is Preston’s side of the story? And how does what we did this summer equate to just talking?” Trihn asked.

“Trihn, I know you told Lydia that I was your boyfriend this summer, but we never defined our relationship like that,” Preston said.

She couldn’t even meet his gaze. She stared firmly at Lydia. If she looked at Preston, her anger might disintegrate into tears. “I’m not sure the definition is relevant at this point. You and I both know what happened this summer.”

“The truth is…Preston and I never defined our relationship this summer either. We never talked about dating exclusively.” Lydia shrugged. “I don’t normally do that anyway. Until I invited him to come on vacation with us, he hadn’t even realized how serious we were and that maybe I would want this to become something more. We both messed around with other people before that point, so that’s why he didn’t break up with you until right before vacation.”

“What?” Trihn asked. Her head snapped to Preston. “We didn’t break up. You never broke up with me.”

“You’ve been saying all week that we broke up.”

“I said that because you showed up with my sister!” Trihn cried, pointing at Lydia.

“Well, I didn’t know that you would be here,” Preston admitted. “Lydia invited me on vacation with her, and when the rest of the family showed up, it was a bit of a shock to me. Neither of us wanted to hurt your feelings.”

“You’re joking right now,” Trihn said. Lies, all lies. Everything out of his mouth was one big lie. “Do you ever tell the truth? Did you really work all night that time you didn’t answer the phone? Are you fucking that Stephanie girl? That one morning after I stayed the night, was it really someone else who was calling rather than work? How about we just check your cell phone right now and see if all the lies are unraveled?”

“Trihn!” Lydia cried. “I’m sorry about all the stuff that happened during this vacation, but you don’t need to go accusing Preston of being a liar. You told me what happened. He told me what happened. I can’t preach free love and then be pissed when I’m not even in a serious relationship.” She intertwined her fingers with Preston’s and leaned into his arm. “I’m ready for this to be serious now.”

Trihn’s eyes popped out of her head. “You’re seriously choosing him over me?”

“It’s not a choice, Trihn,” Lydia said. “I choose both of you. We can make this work.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. You’re so very wrong, Lydia. I can’t make this work.” Trihn shook her head in disbelief. “We’re about to move in together, and you’re dating…him. I won’t live there if you’re with him.”

“Trihn, don’t make this an ultimatum.”

“It became one the minute you cared more about him than me,” Trihn said. She shook her head and backed up a few steps. “And you chose him.”

“This is a choice you’re making. You’re choosing to walk out.”

“You’re right,” Trihn said. “I am. Fuck this.”

Then, she turned and ran from the house. She ran from the bullshit that she considered her life and the torment of seeing Preston with her sister and the utter inhumanity of her own flesh and blood choosing a boy over her.

TRIHN’S FEET CARRIED HER TO THE PETERSONS’. She found Ian in his room on his computer. Before she could get a word out, she broke down into sobs.

“What? What happened?” He reached for her and pulled her onto his lap. “Trihn, are you all right? Tell me what happened!”

“She…chose…him…over me,” Trihn said between hiccuping tears.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and let her tears stain his polo. Words were failing her as her heart shattered into as many pieces as there were stars in the night sky.

“She did what?”

Trihn sniffed a few times before the tears subsided enough for her to have a coherent conversation. “They talked it out when we were gone, and she believed all his lies. He told her that he wasn’t serious with her until she invited him on vacation, and then he broke up with me, which wasn’t what happened. I just said that he broke up with me because I saw him with her. When I tried to explain, she wouldn’t even listen to me. Then, I told her that I couldn’t be around her if she was dating him, and she chose him.”

“I just…can’t believe Lydia would do this. You’re her sister.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t seem to matter to her,” Trihn said. She wiped at her eyes. “Will you do something for me, Ian?”