Chapter Text
“Julie!” Carlos bellowed as he charged into her bedroom, Reggie hot on his heels. “Julie!”
“Oh my God. Boundaries!” Julie shouted at her brothers as they both tumbled onto her bed. Carlos was holding a large book in his hands.
“This is too important for boundaries.” Carlos thrust the book at her. “Look!”
Julie took it skeptically. It was deceptively heavy and smelled faintly musty. She eyed both boys. “Reggie, did you put Carlos up to this?”
“What?” Reggie’s green eyes, so unlike the dark eyes of her and Carlos’, went wide with innocence. “I would never!”
“You would always.” Julie scowled at him. Reggie was six years older than Carlos, but the two were bonded like they were twins. Carlos would do anything Reggie thought was cool. “Where did you find this?”
“Top of the closet in Dad’s room,” Carlos reported.
Julie looked at Reggie, shocked. “You went into Dad’s room?”
“He said we could!” Reggie defended. “We were looking for our old Hallowe’en costumes!”
Julie blinked at him. “It’s mid-June. Why do you… Never mind. I actually don’t want to know. So, what is this?”
“Look!” Carlos screeched, bouncing on his butt on the bed
Julie rolled her eyes. “Fine. I will look at the crusty old photos—Is this Mom?”
“And Dad, and Trevor Wilson!” Reggie stabbed one of the pictures with his finger.
“They’re kissing!” Carlos cried, sounding both proud and scandalized.
“Holy shit,” Julie breathed. They were kissing. And hugging, and acting like the three of them were all together. It was… Julie wasn’t sure what it was. She just knew she’d never have thought her parents, her madly-in-love, faithful, couple-goals parents would ever have had a third in their relationship. But there it was, in screaming colour. “Were Mom and Dad polyamorous?”
Reggie nodded. “If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then that’s exactly what they’re saying.”
“Trevor was really hot when he was young,” Carlos said.
“It’s weird how much Bobby looks like him,” Reggie said, “considering he’s adopted.”
“You’re adopted,” Carlos said, “and you look just like Dad.”
“Aww!” Reggie ruffled Carlos’ head. “Sweet and blind!”
“Stop it!” Carlos smacked at his hand and Reggie put him in a headlock.
“Cut it out or you have to leave!” Julie yelled at the both of them. “Reggie, you’re sixteen!”
“Going on six,” Carlos mocked and Reggie stuck his tongue out at him.
“Holy shit.” Julie flipped the page. There were even more pictures of a young Trevor Wilson and her mom and dad being together and obviously in love. She could easily tell the photos her dad had taken: they were the stunning shots of Rose and Trevor with their arms around each other, or their heads bent close, or even one shocking picture of the two of them in bed together. Nothing showed, but they were obviously naked. Trevor was clearly beckoning for the man behind the camera. “I don’t think Dad meant for us to see these.”
“No kidding.” Reggie reached over Carlos to flip a few more pages. “But it gets even weirder. There’re pictures of all of us as kids. Check it out.”
Julie boggled at the picture. “Is that Carrie?”
“And Bobby,” Reggie agreed. “And that’s me. And that—” he pointed at another small child. “—Is you.”
“Holy shit!” Julie exclaimed. There were tons of photos of the four of them. Carrie and her brother Bobby, Julie and Reggie, playing together, swimming together, watching TV and sleeping. There were photos of them being cuddled by any one or all of the adults, including one of her asleep in Trevor’s arms. “It looks like we were a family.”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you!” Carlos exclaimed. “Mom, Dad, Trevor! They were our parents. All our parents!”
“Not yours. You weren’t born.” Reggie poked him.
“But they would’ve been. If they hadn’t broken up,” Carlos pouted. “We could’ve had a helicopter!”
“They did break up,” Reggie said morosely, “and no one ever talked about any of this.”
Julie flipped through more photos. There were so many of her and Carrie playing together, looking exactly like siblings. “Carrie and I were practically sisters.”
“And now you hate each other,” Reggie sighed.
“At least you and Bobby still like each other,” Julie said absently. “Mom and Dad and Trevor were really in love, weren’t they?” It was still blowing her mind, but also not? More like remembering something she hadn’t even realized she’d forgotten.
“Yeah,” Reggie agreed. “But now Trevor and Dad aren’t even friends.”
“I remember he came to Mom’s funeral,” Julie said. “He gave Dad a hug but they didn’t talk.”
“I wonder what happened?” Carlos asked. “Mom and Dad stayed together. Why didn’t Trevor stay with them?”
“It looks like the photos end when I was about five and you were six,” Julie said to Reggie.
Reggie nodded. “I have only the vaguest memories of all of this. Like, I remember playing with Bobby and Carrie, but not that we all lived in the same house.”
“You’d only been living with us for about a year when it ended, maybe that’s why?” Julie suggested. “But I don’t have any memories of us all being together like this, either. I didn’t know Carrie and I were so close.”
“She’s been a bitch to you since Mom died,” Reggie said.
“What happened?” Carlos repeated. “Why did they break up?”
“I have no idea.” Julie looked at Reggie. “Think we should ask Dad?”
Reggie made a face. “This was in the back of his closet, Juls. I don’t think he wanted us to know.”
“Who are we going to ask?” Carlos wailed. “Someone has to tell us!”
“I bet Carrie knows,” Julie said.
Julie put the huge photo album on the cafeteria table in front of Carrie. “What do you know about this?”
Carrie made a show of putting down her book, turning off her music and taking one ear pod out of her ear. Her sneer was more eloquent than her words. “Why are you talking to me?”
Julie shoved down the familiar spike of irritation she always felt around Carrie. “Just look.”
Sighing dramatically as if it was a task of Herculean proportions, Carrie opened the album. “I don’t know why I have to—Is that Dad?”
“And my dad and my mom, too,” Julie said. “Carrie, we used to be a family.”
Carrie’s eyes were glued to the photos. “What the fuck?”
Julie slid onto the bench beside Carrie. “I know, right? It blew my mind the first time I saw it.”
“I don’t understand. How could we have been… “ Carrie let the sentence trail off.
“So close?” Julie finished for her, and then sighed. She hadn’t been vulnerable with Carrie in a while, but the album was indisputable proof of how close they once were. “Carrie, we used to be best friends.”
Carrie’s whiskey-coloured eyes rose to meet Julie’s, her mouth tight. “’Used to’ being the most important part of that sentence.”
Normally Julie would’ve bristled at Carrie’s dismissal, but this time she studied the other woman. Carrie looked harsh and angry, which was a default expression she shared with her brother. But Julie could see a flicker of vulnerability in Carrie’s eyes, and a deep hurt. Julie’s heart went out to her in a way she hadn’t felt in over a year. “Maybe the ‘best friends’ is the most important part,” Julie said softly. “Carrie, what happened?”
A flash of surprise went across Carrie’s face before it dissolved into another sneer. “What is this, Molina? You found a photo album where we played Barbies together and now you want to be besties again?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Julie said. “I mean, would that be so bad?”
“It’s not like it worked so well the first time,” Carrie said bitterly. “Or didn’t you notice me not inviting you to my birthday parties?”
“Oh, I noticed. But I’ve also noticed you haven’t had a ton of people take my place in your life.” She looked pointedly at the empty seats at Carrie’s table. Carrie was really popular and had a ton of acquaintances, but beside her brother, it didn’t look like she had a lot of real friends.
Carrie actually blushed. “And who’s fault is that?” she snapped. “Once bitten, twice shy etc. etc.”
Julie bobbed her head back in surprise at Carrie’s words. “Wait… are you saying I hurt you?”
Carrie glared at her. “Um, yes? I wasn’t the one who completely shut down after Rose died.”
“’Shut down’…? “ Julie thought back to the terrible weeks and months after her mother died. Days and days where the grief was so heavy, she could barely get out of bed. It was like she just… stopped. She stared at Carrie. “Did you take that personally?”
“It was personal!” Carrie hissed at her. “You were my best friend!” She stabbed a finger on one of the pictures. “My sister! and I needed you, Julie! I really needed you and you weren’t there!”
Julie’s jaw dropped. “Is that why you stopped talking to me?”
“You stopped talking to me!” Carrie said forcefully. “Rose might’ve been your biological mother, but she was my mother, too. And you were my sister. It was like both of you died.”
Guilt lanced through Julie, as deep and painful as a bullet. It had never occurred to her Carrie might’ve been suffering as much as she’d been. “I’m so sorry.”
“I was fine,” Carrie said dismissively, like she hadn’t just said she really wasn’t. “I had Bobby and dad. It was fine.”
Julie ignored Carrie’s blatant lie. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. You needed me and I let you down. I’m sorry.”
Carrie blinked. “Oh, well,” she said. “It’s not like you were in a good place yourself, though. I mean, you mom had just died.”
“No, I wasn’t in a good place,” Julie admitted. “I spent a lot of time in my room, trying to even have the energy to cry.”
“Me, too,” Carrie said. “You were, like, the only person I texted.”
Julie gave her a sad smile. “I never even checked my phone.”
“God, we were both so fucked up, weren’t we?” Carrie’s laugh was equally sad. “And… I’m sorry. I’m sorry I expected so much of you. I should’ve realized if I was hurting, you were, too.”
“I think we were both hurting too much to think of each other,” Julie said.
“Grief sucks,” Carrie agreed. A smile touched her lips. “So, the photos?”
Julie turned her attention back to the book still in front of Carrie. She moved just enough so their sides were touching, but Carrie didn’t move away. “I’m still in shock.”
“It’s so weird to think we all lived together. Oh! I remember those pajamas!” She pointed at a picture of the two of them wearing matching Ben 10 pjs, and giggled.
“I thought that was a sleepover when I first saw the picture, but that’s actually our bedroom, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah.” Carrie pointed at another photograph. It was a picture of a very young Bobby and Reggie sitting on a bed, laughing. “And here’s the boy’s room.”
“We really were a family,” Julie said wistfully. “What happened?”
“They broke up, I guess. No idea why.” Carrie flipped the page to the series of photos showing Rose and Bobby together. “Oh my God. Dad was hot! And Rose was so pretty.” She dragged out the vowels on the “so”.
Julie gestured at another photo. This one was of Ray and Bobby, heads bent together as they laughed. Bobby’s arm was around Ray’s shoulders and Ray was leaning into him, giving off total couple vibes. “Yeah. Look how good they look together.”
“Why aren’t they together?” Carrie asked. “Because these photos totally look like they should be.”
Julie nodded. “It’s a crime they broke up.”
“A total criminal offence,” Carrie agreed. “And it’s not like my dad’s found anyone better since these were taken.”
“My dad hasn’t dated anyone since mom died,” Julie said. “And I know it wasn’t that long ago, but it’s been almost two years?”
Carrie’s eyes snapped to Julie’s. “Julie, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Julie tilted her head, unsure what Carrie was getting at. “What are you thinking?”
Carrie gave a small squeal of excitement and clapped her hands. “That we should get them back together!”
“… ‘Back together’?” Julie repeated. “Carrie, they haven’t spoken in years!”
“Neither had we, but now we’re friends again,” Carrie said, and Julie couldn’t argue with her logic. “They just need some quality time together to remember what they meant to each other.”
It was incredibly easy for Julie to get behind Carrie’s idea. “Oh! We should totally do that!”
“Pool party at my house this weekend!” Carrie said excitedly. “You bring Ray and your brothers and I’ll make sure my dad is there!”
“Awesome!” Julie enthused. “Carrie, this is going to be great!”
To Julie’s surprise, Carrie threw her arms around her. She’d forgotten how well Carrie hugged. “We’re geniuses!”
“We are!” Julie hugged her back. It felt so good to be friends with Carrie again. Like something missing had slotted back into place. “I missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” Carrie said softly. “I’m glad we’re friends again.”
“Me, too.” Julie hugged her tighter.
The pool party was a total bust.
Carrie, Julie, Reggie, Bobby and Carlos were all sat around the Wilson’s luxurious pool in their bathing suits, debriefing on how it’d gone wrong.
“I can’t believe Dad had to do a shoot on the weekend,” Carlos groused. He had a white unicorn floatie with a gold horn and rainbow mane around his waist even though he hadn’t gone near the water. “He never has to do those anymore!”
It was true, Julie realized. She couldn’t remember the last time their dad had to go in on a weekend. His business was big enough he could send one of his employees to cover.
“He’s lying,” Bobby said flatly, eyes narrowed like Ray’s absence was a personal affront. “Just like our dad lied about needing to go to the studio.”
“He lied too?” Julie asked Carrie.
“Oh yeah.” Carrie nodded. “He does this squiggly thing with his forehead when he makes stuff up. Thinks we don’t notice, but we do.”
Reggie slouched further into his chair, arms crossed and looking totally disgruntled. He was wearing red swim trunks and nothing else, and his pale skin was already going pink from the sun. Reggie constantly forgot he was a white boy and didn’t put on sunscreen. “They really don’t want to see each other, do they?”
Julie raised her eyebrows at her brother. “You think?” She tossed him a bottle of sunscreen and looked at him pointedly when he caught it. He scowled at her but dutifully started spreading it on.
“Makes sense though,” Bobby commented. He got out of his chair and took the bottle from Reggie, making him sit forward so he could spread some on his back. “They’re exes. Why would they want to hang out?”
“Um, did you see those photos?” Carlos demanded. “They totally should be together.”
Bobby shot Carlos a mild glare. “That was then, dude. No way to know if they should be together now.”
“Not if they won’t spend any time together!” Reggie threw up his hands. “How are they going to know if they should get back together if they won’t even talk?”
Bobby started coating Reggie’s ears. “Stay still,” he commanded, and Reggie sat up straighter.
“We really need to get them in the same room.”
Carrie nodded at Julie’s words. “So, what are we going to do?”
Reggie snapped his fingers. “Bobby and I can get into a fight at school!”
“Oh yeah, that’s brilliant.” Bobby nodded. “Monday before lunch?”
“I’m there.” Reggie grinned. He raised his hand and they bumped fists.
Carlos wriggled on his chair in excitement. “You guys fighting would be so cool!”
“Wait, what?” Julie said, just as Carrie frowned. “No Bobby. You know Dad’s rule about violence.”
“But it’ll work!” Reggie whined. “We’d be sent to the office, and then Principal Covington will call our dads!”
“Okay? And?” Carrie asked archly. “You’re terrified of Covington.”
“Am not,” Reggie muttered.
“You both are.” Carrie’s gaze took in Reggie and her brother. “If you fight, you’ll get in trouble with him, and then Ray and our dad. What’s that going to accomplish?”
“He’d call our dads to the office,” Bobby said, like his sister was particularly dumb. “They’d totally meet up.”
“See? Genius!” Reggie grinned. He and Bobby fist-bumped again.
Julie rolled her eyes. “Stupid, you mean. You’ll get in trouble and get hurt. How does that make any sense?”
“To get our dads together? Duh.” Reggie made a face at her.
“The pool party is a bust,” Carlos said, pointing out the obvious.
“That doesn’t mean the second try should be a fight!” Julie exclaimed.
“It does feel a little extreme,” Carrie said.
Bobby sat back down in his seat, having finished slathering Reggie in sunscreen. He frowned at his sister. “You got a better idea?”
“Oh! Oh! OH!” Carlos bounced on his seat, making the unicorn floatie squeak. “Maybe a barbeque?”
“Dads love barbeques! That’s a great idea!” Reggie cried.
“Dad does like showing off his grilling prowess,” Carrie said sagely. “It shouldn’t be too hard to convince him.”
Reggie’s enthusiasm dimmed. “But… what if our dad skips out again? If he didn’t come here for a pool party, he’s not coming for a barbeque.”
“Have it at your house. Invite Luke and Alex and Willie—”
“—And Flynn, too!” Carrie added quickly.
Bobby shot her a look for interrupting. “—But we don’t tell Ray we’ve invited Trevor.”
“Ooh, subterfuge,” Reggie said admiringly. “I like it!”
Clearly, now that she and Carrie were friends again, Carrie’s long-standing crush on Flynn was back in full-force. Julie grinned at Carrie. “Inviting Flynn and your brother’s band is a great idea.”
Carlos was brimming with excitement. “Can we invite some of my friends, too?”
“Sure,” Bobby said, even though it wasn’t his house.
“Okay, barbeque at our house next weekend,” Julie said. “And we’re not telling Dad Trevor’s coming.”
“And we won’t tell Dad Ray will be there,” Carrie said.
“And then they’ll see each other again and fall in love,” Reggie sighed.
“And then we get a new dad and a helicopter!” Carlos said, stary-eyed.
Bobby glared at all of them. “If you guys move in here, I’m not sharing my room.”
Julie, Reggie and Carlos found Ray at his desk that evening.
Julie poked Ray in the shoulder to get his attention. She smiled brightly, going for excited instead of as nervous as she felt. “Hey, Dad?”
Ray looked up from… whatever he was doing on the computer and smiled at his children. “Hola niños. what’s going on?”
Carlos bounced on his toes. “Can we have a barbeque this weekend?”
Ray blinked. “A barbeque?”
“Yeah!” Carlos was still bouncing. “We could invite Steve and Kinesha!”
Reggie gave Ray his trademarked puppy-dog eyes. “And the band? And Carrie and Flynn?”
Julie saw her dad’s resolve instantly melt. Reggie’s puppy-dog eyes were almost impossible to resist. “So, you mean Luke, Alex and Bobby?”
“And maybe Willie, too?” Julie asked hopefully. “Not too many people.”
Ray leaned back and crossed his arms. “So, eleven kids. That sounds like a lot of adult supervision.”
“Not really! Bobby and I could handle it!” Reggie grinned. “We’re both almost eighteen.”
“In two years,” Ray smirked. “But you are very competent… what about the grilling?”
“We were hoping maybe you could do it, Daddy?” Julie said. Calling her father “Daddy” was equally as compelling as Reggie’s puppy eyes. “You know, as the grill master?” She bopped her dad in the shoulder.
He chuckled. “Well, I do grill a mean hamburger. But Julie, you’re suddenly spending a lot of time with Carrie. I thought you guys hated each other?”
“We made up,” Julie said. “We’re friends now.”
Ray’s eyes lit up. “You and Carrie are friends again? Mija, that’s great!”
“Yeah!” Carlos exclaimed. “And you could be friends with Trevor, too!”
It was exactly the wrong thing to say. Ray’s expression clouded over and Julie winced. “No, you don’t!” she said quickly, “there is zero reason for you and Trevor to be friends.”
“Oh yeah. It’s not like we even invited him,” Reggie said, far too casually.
Ray’s expression darkened. “Did you invite him?”
Reggie looked desperately at Julie. “No?”
“You did invite him!” Ray said accusingly. “What is this? Now that Julie and Carrie are friends, Trevor and I need to be as well?”
“We just want you guys to talk!” Carlos wailed. “You need to talk to him, Daddy!”
“Talk…?” Ray rubbed his face. “This is why Carrie invited me to the pool party last weekend. Isn’t it?”
“No!” Reggie said again, then cringed at the way Ray’s eyes narrowed. “Yes?”
It was time to change tactics. “Why won’t you talk to Trevor, Dad?” Julie asked.
“Look, kids. I get how you, Bobby and Carrie are all friends, but my relationship with Trevor is none of your business,” Ray said. “If you want to have the barbeque, that’s fine. But I’m not interested in a relationship with Trevor.”
“But why not?” Carlos whined. “We saw the pictures!”
Julie saw the exact second her father figured it all out. His expression closed down, shuttering like windows before a storm. He inhaled sharply through his nose, clearly getting his emotions under control. “I’m not interested in a relationship with Trevor,” he repeated, his tone brokering no argument. “And I expect you to respect that. Just like I respected Julie and Carrie not being friends.”
There was a beat of silence as they all absorbed his words. She was annoyed their plans had been thwarted and a little guilty for upsetting her dad. It was all Carlos’ fault. Julie spoke first. “Fine.”
Ray eyed the three of them. “Don’t you guys have homework?”
The dismissal was obvious. The three of them slunk up the stairs towards their rooms. “We’ll have to invite Trevor without telling him,” Reggie whispered.
“And do not invite Trevor without telling me!” Ray bellowed from the main floor.
Reggie, Carlos and Julie all jumped. Who knew their dad had such good hearing? “Fine!” Julie bellowed back.
“This sucks!” Carlos kicked at the carpet in front of his room. “How are we going to get them together now?”
Reggie’s eyes narrowed. “Guess I’m going to have to punch Bobby in the face.”