As Casey unlocked the front door, she said, "I'm home."

  Her father replied from his office, "Welcome back. How was school?"

  Her nose wrinkled in disgust. "It was okay except for the new kid."

  "New kid? Why don't you tell me about them?"

  "He's weird."

  "Casey, you shouldn't call people weird."

  "You don't get it, Dad," she said, throwing herself on the couch. "He was, like, really weird and creepy. He was following me everywhere, and we have the exact same classes."

  "Maybe he thinks you're cool and wants to get to know you better."

  "I don't think so. He just stares at me and doesn't talk much. I don't like it."

  "Well, if he really bothers you that much, make sure you talk to the teachers about it. If they don't take you seriously, I can talk to them."

  "Thanks, Dad."

  "No problem, kiddo."

  There was a brief moment of silence before a thought crossed her mind.

  "Oh, and he looks just like me. It's like we're tw—" A loud crash from her dad's office cut her off. "Dad, are you okay? What happened?" When there was no response, she rushed over to her dad's office, calling, "Dad."

  Just as she was about to rush into the office, her father stepped out. She nearly crashed into him but managed to stop at the last second. Seeing that her father was okay, she felt a wave of relief wash over her and sighed. That's when she noticed her father's expression and froze.

  Why does Dad look like he's seen a ghost?

  This was the first time she had seen her father so pale, like a sheet.

  Casey hesitantly took a step back and asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"

  Suddenly, he grabbed her by the shoulders and demanded, "What did you say?" Caught completely off guard, she stared gobsmacked into her father's terrifying expression. "Casey, what did you just say?"

  She finally snapped out of it and struggled against his strong grip, but he didn't budge a single inch.

  "Dad, what's wrong with you?" she asked as she tugged on her father's arms.

  "Casey, this is important," he said, shaking her shoulders. "What about the new student?"

  "He looks exactly like me," she blurted out, and he stopped shaking her. "It's like we're twins, but I know I don't have a twin. Right, Dad?" He was silent. "Dad?"

  He abruptly released her, causing her to stumble and fall on her butt. Then he spun on his heel and returned to his office, slamming the door behind him. Casey stared in disbelief at the closed door.

  What had just happened?

  This was the first time her father had ever treated her like this. He had never raised a hand against her, even when she got into a lot of trouble, like the one time she had managed to climb up a tall tree and got stuck at the top, so they had to call the fire department to save her.

  Could the new kid really be her twin?

  The thought gripped her in a vise, and she scrambled to her feet to bang on the door. "Dad. Dad."

  There was no answer no matter how many times she knocked on the door. Casey reluctantly stopped and instead pressed her ears against the door, hoping to catch anything. She could hear her father talking but couldn't make out what he was saying and grimaced. Pulling her face away from the door, she glared at it, but there was nothing she could do except wait.

  After some time, her father finally opened the door, and Casey demanded, "Is the new kid my twin?"

  "Casey, I don't want to talk about this right now," he said as he held a hand up.

  "Why won't you answer?"

  "Casey."

  "Why did you never tell me that I had a twin?"

  "Casey."

  "What else didn't you tell me?"

  "Casey, I said not now," her father snapped, effectively silencing her. "We need to wait for your mother to come home."

  Oh. Is that who Dad was talking to?

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Her father took several calming breaths before saying, "Casey, I'm sorry for shouting at you, but this is really important. We need to wait until your mother is here to discuss this matter."

  Casey silently stared at her father for several moments before giving a stiff nod. "Alright. As soon as Mom comes."

  "As soon as your mom comes home."

  Unfortunately, it would be several hours before her mom came home. Casey tried to work on her homework in the meantime, but she couldn't focus on it. Instead, her thoughts kept drifting to the new kid and what his connection with her family was.

  It seemed like he was her twin, but why would her parents not raise him alongside her? Why would they give him away and keep her?

  Her face twisted in annoyance. She tossed her pencil away, giving up completely on working on her homework. Casey stared at the wall blankly for a moment before stretching her arms and legs. Then she stood up. After leaving her room, she peeked towards her father's office and saw that the door was still shut.

  After he had promised to tell her everything after Mom came home, he had retreated back into his office, leaving her alone.

  She silently stared at the closed door before going to the kitchen to grab something to drink. Casey had just poured herself a cup of apple juice and was about to drink it when she heard the sound of a car being locked outside. She immediately set down her cup and rushed to the front door. As soon as she threw it open, she saw her mom walking towards her.

  "Mom," she blurted out as she ran to her mother.

  Her mother raised a hand and said, "Not now, Casey. Go inside."

  Even though Casey wanted to argue, she reluctantly listened and went back into the house. Her father stood not far away with a grim expression on his face.

  Once her mother crossed the threshold, he said, "We need to talk."

  Casey had assumed that when her father said that, they would immediately talk about the new kid's identity as her twin. What she didn't expect was her parents to immediately hurry to her father's office and shut the door behind them.

  She glared at the door.

  I can't believe Dad lied. He said we would talk once Mom came home, but they've been in there forever.

  When it happened, she had been too stunned to react and had stared stupidly at the door. Then when she realized what had happened, she had kicked up a storm, banging on the door like her life depended on it, but they never opened the door. She had tried eavesdropping. Unfortunately, it was just as effective as the previous attempt.

  Unable to take it anymore, she crossed her arms and paced back and forth without taking her eyes off the door, muttering, "When are they going to come out?"

  After some time, the door finally opened.

  Without hesitation, she rushed forward. "Mom, Dad, what were you talking about? Is the new kid really my twin? Why didn't you tell me?"

  Any other questions she had were cut off by her mother holding out a hand. "Casey, enough. Let's go to the living room to talk."

  The trio headed towards the living room with Casey taking the lead. She eagerly took the seat and practically vibrated in her seat as her parents took their sweet time to take their seats.

  Once seated, Casey demanded, "Well? Tell me."

  Her parents sighed as they shook their heads, and her father muttered, "She's really too impatient." Then he said in a louder voice, "Casey, I've already talked to your mom about what you said about the new kid, but can you tell her again?"

  Casey glanced between the two of them before reluctantly recounting everything she knew about the new kid. Their faces went through several different expressions as she told her story, from shock to worry to fear to several more emotions. Once she finished, her parents shared a troubled look before returning their attention back onto her.

  "Casey, we want to make it clear that you don't have a twin. You're our only child," her mother said.

  She wasn't having any of it.

  "Then why are you guys acting so weird about the new kid when I brought up how he looks like me?" she demanded. "It's really suspicious."

  "Why wouldn't we act like this? You just told us that there's another kid in the school who looks like you. That should be impossible," her father said.

  Her mother nodded. "That's right. How could they be someone who looks like your twin if they're not related? However, we've only ever had you. It should be impossible."

  She had a point. I thought the exact same thing before.

  "Then why did Dad refuse to tell me earlier?" Casey asked, pointing a finger at her father. "He could have just told me."

  "This kind of thing has to be discussed with your mother. It's a very big deal," her father said.

  Casey wasn't impressed. They had acted so secretive that she had really believed that something wasn't right.

  Her expression must have given away her thoughts, as her mother said, "Casey, your father is being serious. This kind of thing can cause trouble for everyone involved. That's why your father wanted to talk to me first privately."

  "I don't get it," Casey said.

  "Casey, can't you think of any reason why you would encounter a double? Anything at all?"

  She was tempted to just say no, but the look on their faces kept her silent. Casey tried to think of a way for them to be twins even though her parents insisted that she was an only child. As she was about to give up, an idea crossed her mind, followed by several more, with each being as unpleasant as the last.

  Could it be that she or the new kid had been swapped out at birth?

  Casey had heard stories about it happening, but she never expected that it would happen to her. She really hoped that this wasn't the case. Casey couldn't imagine her parents not being her parents.

  Then her mother asked, "Do you get it now? Don't you see how much of a big deal this is? That's why your father and I will have to go out and do damage control before the rumors run wild."

  She was momentarily stunned and about to ask why they would do that when the answer hit her. If she could think that she or the new kid was swapped at birth, plenty of other people would too. Then they would talk badly about their own family to everyone else, making it seem like the truth.

  I can't believe that I didn't think of that. No wonder my parents had talked for so long in Dad's office. They were making plans.

  However, she still felt something wasn't quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

  "I'm glad you understand, Casey. We're going to need you to stay here while we deal with things," her father said, surprising her.

  "What? You're going now," she blurted out.

  "That's right. If we want to nip this issue in the bud, we need to leave to deal with it right away," her mother said. "I trust you can take care of yourself. We won't be gone long."

  "Of course I can."

  "Good. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

  "Nope, nothing."

  "Good, good. Now we can go without any worries."

  Hearing those words, she grimaced.

  That sounded bad. Rather than sounding like parents saying goodbye to their kids, it sounded more like a ghost passing on or her mother cursing herself and her husband to death. Neither sounded good.

  "Can I come?" she asked.

  Her parents shook their heads, with her father saying, "No, you should stay and finish your work. We won't be long, we promise."