I've spent so much time avoiding arguments and smoothing relationships with the people around me, this confrontation is painful.
My history defines who I am.
Tell me what we had was real, I whisper.
We kiss all the time." I clear my throat, then add, "We just...do it in private.
Sometimes we have to prove to others we're strong even where we're not.
You once said you loved me. Do you still?" My sister is watching this exchange between us. She smiles warmly at me, giving me the strength to tell him the truth. "I never stopped loving you. Even when I tried desperately to forget you. I couldn't.