Nell felt that jolt of surprise, yet again, at how quickly—and without fanfare—one’s world could change beyond recognition. She’d had a few minutes to be relieved that her parents hadn’t lied about everything. They had been high school sweethearts. For whatever reason, that had seemed like the big betrayal, more even than the rest of it. It was that love, that history of their love, that had made her their kid. It had been the rock on which her life and memories were embedded. It all might have started in a weird place, but the world they’d built, the love they’d shared was real. Who she was, that was real, too. It might be a bit out of focus at the moment, but that didn’t mean it had been an illusion.
No wonder they’d been so tied at the hip. Had they done it for her? Or was it something
