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The slamming of the bedroom door shook the entire apartment. Mom slumped against the door, not bothering to take her coat or shoes off. Edith hovered halfway down the hall, glancing toward the bedroom where Sam had disappeared and her mother, who showed no signs of moving. She didn’t look angry or even sad, just tired and hurt. Edith hated when they fought. It made her feel helpless and mixed up. Who was she supposed to help first?
She took a few shuffling steps toward her mother and squeezed her hand. “It’s alright, Mom. They’re just upset.”
Mom flinched at first, but smiled down at her. She knelt down and cupped Edith’s face in her hands. “Thank you, Edie, but you don’t need to worry about it. It’s my job to take care of you and Sam.”
“Sam didn’t start the fight today,” Edith said. “Josh was picking on them again. I told the teachers about last week.”
Mom sighed. “I know Sam doesn’t mean to cause trouble, but I wish they would learn to walk away sometimes. You can’t always fight back. It’s just… not always worth it.”
Edith frowned. It was true that it made it hard for Sam when they fought with other kids, but what else were they supposed to do.
Mom patted her cheek twice. “Let me worry about Sam. Why don’t you go play in the living room and let your sibling cool off?”
“Okay, Mom,” Edith said, turning toward the living room and picking up the remote for their TV, turning it on. Phineas and Ferb was playing, and she pretended to watch until Mom went to her room. And maybe a few extra minutes because she got distracted. Then it was time to check on Sam.
Edith cracked open the door and looked around, not seeing them at first. She crept in, eyes locked on the bottom bunk. It was Mom’s idea for them to be on the bottom, despite Sam’s protests, citing their thrashing at night as a safety hazard. As a compromise, she and Mom had helped Sam create a curtain around their bunk using a set of Superman sheets. It was their “secret base,” where no one was allowed to bother them.
Edith shoved dirty clothes out of the way to make room on the floor and dumped out one of her puzzles. She started putting it together. “Sam?”
There was silence from Sam’s secret base. Edith continued putting her puzzle together.
“Josh sucks and nobody likes him,” she said bluntly. “That’s why he picks on you.”
“He picks on me because I’m weird,” Sam grumbled.
Edith nodded, even though Sam couldn’t see her. “Maybe. But only because he sucks.”
When Sam didn’t respond, she added, “You should play with me and my friends. Then you won’t be alone, and him and the other bullies won’t be able to bother you.”
“Your friends don’t like me,” they said. “They think I’m weird and crazy too.”
“I like that you’re weird and crazy. At least you aren’t boring, like Taylor’s sister, or mean, like Emily’s brother,” Edith argued. “And since they’re my friends, they have to be nice to you, because you’re my little sibling.”
That got Sam’s attention. They poked their head out to fix her with a glare. “First of all, we’re twins. Second of all, I’m twenty minutes older.”
Edith grinned and shrugged. “I never said you were younger, just littler. Besides, being a big sister is a state of mind.”
“That’s stupid.” Sam rolled their eyes, but they stayed at the edge of the bed, watching her. She didn’t look at them, in case they ensconced themselves again.
After a while, she asked, “Hey, Sam, can you help me with this? I’m stuck.”
“I thought I was your little sibling,” Sam responded, still slightly miffed.
“Well, now I’m in a little sister state of mind.” Edith looked at them pleadingly, giving her best pout. “Please, Sam?”
Sam sighed and came out of their lair, sitting cross-legged on the floor. Edith’s triumph was cut short by the stuffed triceratops in their arms. She swallowed nervously and kept her eyes fixed on the puzzle between them. Thinking about Jake made her feel… bad. He’d been Sam’s friend, and they hadn’t been the same since he… passed away. Sometimes Sam had nightmares about the fire that killed Jake and his parents, and she couldn’t do anything but lie there and pretend not to hear. One time she had tried to check on them, but they’d been thrashing so much they accidentally punched her in the face. She told Mom that she tripped over a toy that morning and hit the corner of the dresser going down so Sam wouldn’t get in trouble.
“I got all the edge pieces already,” she said, trying to shake the memories from her mind. “They’re over here.”
“Okay, let’s start there,” Sam replied. They were very focused in the way they usually were after they cried.
After they’d been working a while, Sam said, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know,” Edith said, keeping her eyes and hands on the puzzle. “Mom knows too.”
They scoffed bitterly, and she flinched. “It’s true. Mom’s just doing her best.”
“You don’t get it. Mom likes you best, and she thinks I’m a bad kid.” They glowered at the puzzle piece in their hand. “But I’m not. I just protected myself, and I got in trouble for it. You heard Mom — I might get suspended.”
Edith stayed quiet, not really knowing how to respond. Finally, she said, “Well, who cares? We’re probably gonna end up moving again anyway. We always do.”
“I hate moving,” Sam said miserably.
“It’s not so bad,” Edith tried to reassure them. “Next time, I’ll make sure you have some friends.”
“Sure,” Sam said flatly.
They continued working on the puzzle together in silence, though she could tell Sam was starting to get a little bored. Mom opened the a door crack after a while. Sam didn’t see her, but Edith flashed her a smile and a quick thumbs up.
She turned to Sam after Mom walked away. “We can play something else if you want. Like action figures.”
“Nah,” Sam said. “I’ll help you finish. I’m in a big sibling state of mind, or whatever you called it.”
Edith smiled. “Okay. We’re gonna finish this puzzle then.”