It was raining. Not the heavy downpour where you know you are getting wet and rush to get under some shelter; not the sharp spring rains which cut into you and make you wish you had put on the more substantial, non-leather jacket.

It was autumnal rain. The sort that when you look out the window to check on the weather you have to look for five minutes or so at something black or dark, to be able to distinguish the fact there are water drops falling. It was misty rain and even now, years later, I can still remember how wet I got waiting on that sidewalk.

I remembered the darkening on the asphalt of the rain, and the quiet hiss of tyres on water as cars passed down the street. I watched the rows of large colonial-looking houses as their lights flicked on with the growing dark. And I remembered how her sorority house looked calm and peaceful. But I knew, if it was anything like my frat house, inside in the early evening it would be one mass of activity as the girls got ready for going out. It was Friday night after all.

Standing opposite a sorority house for a long time isn't always the most sensible thing to do, I knew that. You draw attention to yourself, and there was always the danger, in a street full of accommodation for women, that one of them would be nervous enough of men that they would call the police – or worse, campus security. So I figured I had to make myself move sooner rather than later. But my feet which would normally be dead keen to step inside any sorority house at any time, were like lead today; because today I would enter only to break someone's heart.

My hair was heavy on my head now and when I unconsciously ran my hand through it, the water pooled and ran down my neck, and my hand came away wet. I shivered, in part due to the rain and in part to the task I had to perform. I thought about the important game I had tomorrow and realised that I would get no peace from Coach Matthews if I turned up with a streaming cold.

I shook myself, straightened up from where I had been leaning against the Prince, and, locking the car doors, started across the street.

Would she know why I had come? Would I be spared having to frame the words into a sentence? Would there be some way I could impart my message and leave without it killing her? I would do anything to avoid hurting her. The little games we play…are nothing. The arguments we have…meaningless. I'm actually protective of her…in my own, irritating way. I would give anything for her to go through life with the only fly in her ointment to be gentle teasing and pranking from me.

But life doesn't work that way.

I reached the door to the house and rang the bell.

The girl who answered the door was a red-head. She was short, Irish and gifted with the Irish sense of humour.

"Blessed Mother of Jesus! I've died and gone to Heaven!" she exclaimed when she saw me.

I've had some doorstep reactions before now, but that is still one of my favourites.

Normally, a reaction like that would be the cue for me to smirk and lean against the door.

Not today.

The fiery haired girl grinned at me and then turned round to shout to her housemates.

"Okay. Which of you has been holding out on us? Who's dating Derek Venturi?"

At that the hallway behind her filled with the other "sisters" all eager to see what Red was on about. She raised her eyes questioningly at each of them, but when none of them bit she turned back to me.

"No takers, hun, but don't worry if you got the wrong house, one of us will oblige." She did a nice line in a smirk too.

"I'm here to see Casey." I said quietly, and I couldn't bring myself to smile.

"No need to look so mournful about it." She said, opening the door further to let me in. "She's in her room, studying." Red frowned. "Is she expecting you?"

I shook my head.

Red smiled. "Up the stairs, second door on the right. Knock. Casey doesn't like it if you barge in."

"I know. I live with her. At home."

"Oh?" She looked stunned. It figured Casey hadn't told them about me. I didn't elaborate, just started to move away.

"Erm…are you girls heading out?" I asked, pausing to turn around.

"Yeah why?"

"Has Casey got a particular friend amongst you?"

Red looked confused. "Yeah. Me. Why?"

"Hang around. She may need you."

The sorority house was nice and unlike my own frat house, it was clean. The girls had added homely touches and I could see that it had to be a vast improvement on the dorms; the few girls' dorms I had been in over the past eighteen months.

I'd not been in Casey's dorm though, not since the very first semester and this was my first time in her sorority house.

Which was weird, considering she was my step-sister.

I figured, even if that's all she had been to me, I still would have seen more of her than I actually had.

We'd been avoiding each other since the first year of college, by mutual consent.

The other girls had apparently disappeared, although I doubted they had gone far. I suspected there were several doors left open a crack so that the room's occupants didn't miss anything.

I wanted to go round and pointedly shut every door, because they didn't need to see or hear this.

It wasn't fair on Casey.

I wondered when that had begun to matter so much to me, and failed. There had always been something about her.

I shook myself. Now was not the time to be thinking about that.

The door to Casey's room had a picture of a dancer on it. That was nothing new. The dancer, however, was Casey, she wasn't wearing a lot and from what I could tell, the dance involved poles.

Evidently, my step-sister and I needed to do a bit of catching up.

I knocked. I like my hearing and certain parts of my anatomy too much to behave any other way.

"I'm not coming! I've got too much studying to do." A voice from the other side of the door shouted.

"Once a keener, always a keener." I heard myself respond.

"Derek?"

Her voice should have horror in it, but it didn't. It sounded excited. It should have had little or no effect on me. But it did. My heart raced. But that only made the reason I was there worse.

The door flew open and there she was.

My step-sister.

My nemesis.

She caught herself in the enthusiasm.

"What are you doing here? This had better not be a prank."

God! I wished this was a prank. That I could leave here smiling. But, it was far from it.

"Casey. We need to talk."
She stood there, blocking the doorway.

"About what? We have nothing to say to each other. We said it all a long time ago. You made your feelings quite clear."

Which was weird, because I was sure it was a mutual decision.

I couldn't allow this to go on. Apart from everything else, I would be getting a phone call shortly demanding to know if I had done what I came here to do.

I loved the person at the other end of that call too much to fail her.

"Casey. Sit down."

"Why? I've never done anything you told me to do why would I start now?"

"Casey…" Frustration made my voice harsh. "…for godssake woman! Would you just sit down!"

She sat.

She wasn't comfortable, I could tell. She was happy I'd noticed. I could tell that too. I hoped my face gave nothing away.

"Derek. I have a calculus test on Monday and I need to study so would you just get on with it already?"

I took a deep breath. I cursed our family. I cursed my dad for falling for her mother. I cursed my own siblings for accepting the new family without question when I could not. I cursed her for being everything that I wanted and nothing that I could have.

But most of all, I cursed my step-mother for making me come here tonight. I cursed her for the calm accepting way she had told me. I cursed her for the logic with which she made it my problem, and I cursed the law of nature which made the conversation I was about to have with the woman I cared about necessary.

I said nothing. I sat beside her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Don't brush me off, sweetheart. You'll need this."

And some sixth sense kicked in as she started to shake.

"Tell me."

"Princess…Your father has died."