"Therapy! I can't believe Mom and Dad are making us see a shrink! We're not THAT bad, are we?"

Sophia McMillan was sulking in the passenger seat, while her brother, Benjamin, drove.

"They kinda have a point, we've had trouble getting along for a while," Ben responded calmly, pressing his foot on the brake. He didn't particularly relish the idea of giving up an hour-plus-travel of his foreseeable Wednesdays either, but had resigned himself to it and come to realize there might be some benefit.

"Maybe YOU have," Sophia grumbled, "I'VE been perfectly fine. Why are you slowing down?"

"Because the light is yellow," Ben answered, before returning to the main topic. "And it takes two people to fight."

"You could've made it," Sophia insisted. "It had only just turned."

"We're in no rush. We still have fifteen minutes before the appointment, and we're only about five away."

"You still could've made it," she repeated.

"Listen, Sof, when you're driving, you drive the way you want, but when I'm driving, please let me drive my way." He tried to keep himself calm and his voice level.

"I will, if you don't drive stupidly," his sister shot back.

"See? This is exactly what I mean. I'm asking you nicely to back off, and you're pushing me."

"I'm not pushing! I just—"

"Please just give me five minutes of peace," he interrupted, exasperated. "We're almost there."

"Fine." The acid in her voice was unmistakable as she turned to face the window.

Though she didn't want to admit it, even to herself, Sophia knew, deep down, that her brother was correct. They'd been nearly inseparable when they'd been young, only thirteen months apart in age (though Sophia had always been quick to correct "twelve months and twenty-nine days"). For the past several years, however, their fighting seemed to have grown in intensity. She didn't know why, and it had only worsened now that school was out and summer had left little else for distraction.

Sophia reached for the center panel and twisted the dial hard, more than doubling the radio's volume, in an attempt to drown out thoughts she didn't want to confront. Ben jumped and huffed at the sudden change, but said nothing further.

----------

"McMillan, Sophia, and Benjamin?" the well-dressed woman asked gently as she entered the waiting room. "Please follow me."

Ben followed closely behind as she turned to lead them into the office, with his sister taking up the rear. He assumed the woman ahead of him was the therapist their parents had selected. He noticed the swaying of her wide hips as she walked, just like Sophia's always did. The woman was somewhat younger than their parents, he would guess mid-to-late thirties, yet, if the gaze he couldn't tear away from her ass was any indication, still rather attractive. He hoped that wouldn't interfere too much with the therapy.

He gave his head a small shake and took a deep breath, stepping through the doorway.

The office had the same wood-paneled walls as the waiting room, but unlike the rigid, thinly padded, metal-rimmed chairs out there, this room looked a lot more comfortable. A couch and two armchairs surrounded a glass-topped coffee table on three sides, while the fourth had a large gap, partly occupied by a rolling desk chair, between it and the L-shaped wooden desk.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," the therapist encouraged. "Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, tea?"

"Coffee, please," Sophia requested, "milk and sugar if you have."

"Uhh, nothing for me, thanks," Ben said, uncertain of appropriate conduct in this situation.

The woman moved toward the small sink and counter in the corner opposite the desk, as the siblings approached the sitting area. It seemed clear the desk chair was not meant for them, so Ben chose a spot on the sofa, moving in to make room for his sister. Sophia, on the other hand, went directly for the closest armchair. Ben couldn't help but notice she didn't even choose to sit next to him.

After a few moments, their host returned with a cup of coffee and placed it gently on a coaster in front of Sophia. She took a clipboard from her desk before sitting in the rolling chair.

"Thanks," Sophia muttered.

"You're welcome. My name is Meredith Lerman. You can call me Meredith, or Mrs. Lerman, whichever is more comfortable. I understand from your parents there's been a bit of trouble between you?"

Ben nodded nervously, but Sophia seemed more defensive.

"There's no trouble, really. I don't even get why we need to be here. They're just making a big deal of noth—"

Mrs. Lerman gently held up a hand. "I understand. But since you are here, perhaps we should use this time to see if we can't explore how to make things smoother, even if there's no serious trouble yet."

The wind seemed to go out of Sophia's sails as she nodded tersely and sat back, skeptically sipping her hot beverage.

The therapist turned to Ben. "Benjamin, I understand you're nineteen years old, and have completed your first year at the state university?"

Ben nodded.

"And Sophia, you're seventeen?"

"Eighteen," Sophia corrected, "My birthday was in May."

"Eighteen," Mrs. Lerman made the correction on her clipboard, "just graduated high school, and will continue living at home as you attend classes at the same university?"

"That's right."

"No other siblings, just the two of you?"

"Just us." This came from Ben.

"And how long have you had tro— friction?" She pointedly adjusted her wording as Sophia opened her mouth to deflect.

"We don—"
"It's been—"
Both siblings began at once.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah," the seemingly experienced mediator chastised gently. "Benjamin, please answer the question."

"It's probably been since middle school. Definitely, once we were both in high school, it's felt like we haven't been able to have a normal conversation."

Sophia shifted uncomfortably, an agitated expression on her face, but managed to keep her objections contained.

"How do you feel when you think about that?" Mrs. Lerman questioned compassionately.

"Bad." He looked longingly toward his younger sister. "I miss when we were kids and did everything together."

"Did something happen that precipitated that change?"

"I don't know," Ben pondered, really trying to identify anything specific he could point to. "It just seemed like we got older and things started going wrong."

Mrs. Lerman turned her attention to the restless young woman. "Sophia, is that your impression as well?"

Sophia lowered her coffee mug. "We didn't... I mean... I guess, yeah. I can't think of anything specific either."

Ben was pleasantly surprised she hadn't tried to deflect again. Maybe therapy would be helpful after all.

"What do your fights look like?" She kept the question directed at Sophia.

"I don't fight. Maybe he does."

So much for not deflecting.

"Alright, let me try again. Is there any unease?"

Sophia looked ready to deny it again, then relented. "Yeah, okay, I guess there have been some times when it hasn't been easy."

"And has there been unease continuously throughout that time, or does it come and go?"

"It's only sometimes," Sophia asserted.

"Benjamin, is that also how you perceive it?"

Ben swallowed apprehensively, glancing at his sister and shifting nervously. "It's been pretty much constant from where I'm sitting."

"That's not true!" Sophia piped up. "You were so nice to me between graduation and my birthday! It's only since you started going out with that bitch Carmen that you got nasty again!"

Ben felt his anger rising. "I got nasty?! You're the one who just called my girlfriend a bitch! My god, Sofie, why do you always have to do this? Can't you just let me be happy? Every girl I go out with is either a bitch or too boring or you're sure she's cheating on me—"

"Jenny WAS cheating on you—"

"—or a bad influence," Ben powered through. "There's always SOMETHING wrong with every girl I go out with."

"Not EVERY girl," Sophia insisted. "I had no problem with Alexa. You were still nice to me when you were dating her."

"The reason you had no problem with Alexa was because you were too busy with Tyler. If you want to talk about bad influences—"

"Okay, I admitted afterward that Tyler was a mistake. Would you please let it go?"

"—besides, I wasn't dating anyone when YOU started that big fight after YOUR first date with Joey."

"I told you, I didn't start that fight! Why do you always have to—"
"You're the one who—"
"—jump down my throat about—"
"—accused me of being too stubborn for—"

"Alright, I can see there is definitely an issue here."

Mrs. Lerman's voice cut through the argument gently, firmly, and clearly.

"I let you continue for a bit so I could see the interaction for myself, but I think it would be detrimental to allow it to escalate any further. Benjamin, you say it's been all the time. Sophia, you say it's not. From the little I heard, I think I'm beginning to see a pattern. I'm going to give you two the chance to notice it first, before I say anything. Benjamin, did anything jump out at you about what Sophia was saying?"

Ben was bewildered and just shrugged.

"Sophia, do you know what I mean?"

Sophia was too worked up to give it much thought. To stall, she asked, "Which part?"

"You said the latest round of unease began when Benjamin started dating Carmen..." Meredith prompted.

"Yeah. It's always like that when he starts going out with someone. Aside from Alexa, he just turns into a different person when he's dating."

"It sounds like there might be something else there," the psychologist suggested gently, but firmly. "Something affecting both of you."

If Sophia had been honest with herself, she would have realized what Meredith was implying, but she wasn't ready to examine it without a little more pushing. "No, they've all just been bitches and turned him into a bastard too."

"Benjamin, what do you think? You said you had a fight after Sophia's first date with... Joey, was it?"

Ben nodded.

"How did you feel at that moment?"

Ben looked down in shame and shrugged dismissively.

"How about you, Sophia? How did you feel when you first heard Benjamin was going out with Carmen?"

Sophia stared back defensively and grunted.

"Alright, let's try to frame it in a less personal context," the therapist began again. "Let's say there are two people who grew up together. They were very close. Spent a lot of time together. But under the surface, maybe they've spent a long time comparing experiences as well, judging themselves against the other. Now one has something the other doesn't. How do you think the first would feel?"

Tense silence.

"No? Neither of you?" the therapist prompted. "Well, then, I'll just tell you. I'm wondering if it's possible that when one of you has been dating someone, the other has been just a little bit... jealous?"

Sophia looked toward her brother and had an epiphany so intense, time seemed to stop. That frozen moment seemed to stretch on forever as Sophia became aware of several things:

Firstly, she realized Meredith was correct, but not in the way the therapist seemed to mean. Sophia WAS jealous, not of Ben, but of every girl with whom Ben had ever gone out. The question that had long angered her finally wormed its way out from her subconscious: Why does he want to spend time with them instead of with me?

As she recalled the guys with whom she had gone out, unable to avoid the hypocrisy that she, too, had spent time with them rather than with Ben, a second realization hit her like a train: Though she hadn't picked up on it at those times, her favorite thing about each had been whatever quality had most reminded her of Ben.

When she'd fallen in love with the goofy grin Tyler put on after making a joke, it had been the same one she often saw on Ben. Joey's toned, but not overly bulky, chest and arms were almost identically proportioned to her brother's. And despite most of the girls in her class going crazy over Brandon's blond hair, Sophia herself had actually hated it, feeling like it clashed with the bold, brown eyes she'd loved so much. The same eyes she was presently looking into, but framed by perfectly complementing brown hair.

Those eyes made her aware that Ben himself was going through a similar series of revelations. She couldn't have explained exactly how she knew, but there was no doubt whatsoever he was having the same thoughts as she was. Watching his face, she could almost see him reviewing the things he'd loved about the girls he'd dated. Oh, how Sophia had hated Jenny's smug, perfect smile, Heather's prominent bosom, and Carmen's obnoxious long brown ponytail. Even Alexa's hazel eyes. All qualities possessed by Sophia herself.

It all happened in a single instant, in the space it took Meredith to take a breath. Sophia had experienced the most profound moment she'd ever shared with another person, and that person was her own brother. That one word had changed everything. Jealous.

Meredith was speaking again.

"I've seen it so many times before. It's especially common with siblings close in age, but I've seen it with other relationships too. I once had a client who was going to be his roommate's best man. He'd been struggling with his own relationships for some time, and got angrier and angrier and more and more suspicious of the bride-to-be as the wedding approached. We worked through it, and by the time the roommate got married, he was so truly accepting of the bride that she introduced him to one of her friends. The rest, as they say, is history."

She smiled for a moment before continuing.

"There's no shame in it. Everyone wants to feel wanted. When you watch someone else, especially someone you're close to, find someone who cares about them, it can be hard to share their joy while lacking the same kind of attention yourself."

Okay, Sophia thought, Meredith was good, at least at identifying hidden feelings. Thankfully, she'd missed the mark on the true source of their jealousy. Sophia certainly wasn't going to correct her, though. What to do about it was a different issue.

Ben remained silent as well, which wasn't surprising if he'd just had the same realization.

Mrs. Lerman was quick to pick up on it. "It looks like maybe something I said resonated with you both?"

The siblings nodded.

"Then I'd say you both have some thinking to do. In the meantime, I'd like to try some exercises. Benjamin, would you please face Sophia?"

----------

They'd spent the next forty-five minutes being instructed in various modes of communication, directed to address each other as if certain imaginary scenarios were being played out, or asked whether the one had anything they wanted to say to the other. None of it had seemed to resonate much or feel very relevant, but perhaps there was some magic Ben was missing.

He was staring through the passenger-side window, reflecting on the parts of the session that had been revelations, trying to ignore his sister's rougher style of handling the wheel. They'd been silent for most of the ride.

"Fucking jackass," Sophia muttered, swerving as another driver cut them off. "Why do people like that think they own the road?"

Under normal circumstances, Ben would've responded with some comment about how the other driver wasn't the only one acting like they owned the road, but knew it would only serve to rub Sophia the wrong way. He'd suddenly realized upsetting his sister was the last thing he wanted. Perhaps there had been something to Mrs. Lerman's exercises, or perhaps it was because his apparently long-standing and deep-seated desire to rub Sophia in a very different way had finally roused itself from his subconscious.

"What?" Sophia asked irritably as Ben looked at her.

"Oh, uh... nothing," Ben muttered, looking away guiltily.

He realized he'd been admiring Sophia, his own sister, as a woman. He couldn't deny noticing how the perfect swell of her breasts pushed the fabric of her green tank top lazily outward into a gentle curve, or how smooth the skin of her thighs looked where it emerged from her white shorts. He wondered if she'd caught him looking, and whether she'd have minded, even if she did.

It was clear to him that she'd come to the same realization he'd had in that same moment, but they could never act on, or even discuss, the feelings they'd uncovered. Of that, he was certain.

The antagonism had given him an out, he realized, a way of interacting while also keeping her at arm's length to avoid any awkwardness. Now, even that didn't feel comfortable. He wondered what it would mean for their relationship.

----------

That evening, Sophia stood before the full-length mirror in her room, wet hair partially wrapped in a towel, naked skin still slightly damp. Though she'd seen this view of herself a thousand times, she was looking at it with a completely new perspective. She examined all of her details thoroughly: Long brown hair. Prominent cheekbones. Slightly hooded, hazel eyes. Strong, angular jaw. She was especially fond of her narrow, hourglass waist, framed by ample bust above and generous hips below. All were Slavic features, inherited from their mother.

Even if she wasn't a perfect ten, all in all, she'd never considered herself ugly or unappealing. Yet those same features had repulsed her whenever she'd seen them on Ben's exes. She recalled again how much she'd hated the similarly sized breasts on Heather, loathed Jenny's smile, flanked by a similar jawline, and despised Alexa's eyes, the same color but less shadowed than her own. She just wanted to tear those features off of every last one of them.

Mine! her jealous subconscious growled, though whether it referred to those features or her brother's attention, she couldn't tell. Mine! Not theirs.

Sophia reflected again on what had happened at therapy. It had felt so profound, and she'd been so sure that he'd been thinking the same things during that moment. In the few hours since then, however, the certainty and gravity had faded, and doubt had crept in. Ben certainly hadn't mentioned it, nor much of anything else, she realized, on the ride home.

Of her own feelings, however, there could be no doubt. Whether the mutuality of the moment had been extant or imagined, the realizations she'd had about herself were unquestionable. Sophia was lusting for her own brother, and had...