"You up? I need a favor" read the text.
It was past midnight, and my younger step-sis Holly was evidently awake too. I'd been lying in bed chatting with my college girlfriend Sam, who I was missing dearly over the Christmas break. I'd come home to have a family Christmas. It might be our last together as a family, as Holly had just turned 18 and graduated, and was about to leave home to spend some time in Prague, and at 20 I had already been gone a couple years at NYU doing my engineering degree. Being back in my old room was nostalgic, but I sure missed the perks of independence, which Sam was doing her best to remind me of.
Holly's room was through a shared bathroom, which I could have easily walked through to talk to her, but I was feeling lazy and didn't appreciate my conversation with Sam being interrupted, so I texted back abruptly.
"Can't it wait until morning?" I tapped.
"NO IT CAN'T" came the reply.
I didn't feel like responding. She was always asking me for favors, to do little tasks and errands that she thought only her big step-brother could do, but she was old enough now to do stuff herself, I figured. Ever since Dad moved in with her mom, she had treated me like her provider and protector, with a side-order of personal servant. To be fair, I loved her for it anyway.
A minute later she texted again.
"Please? I need you to go downstairs," read the next text.
"What for?" I wrote, rolling my eyes to myself.
"I need you to get me the tongs from the kitchen."
Huh? I thought.
"Huh?" I wrote.
"PLEASE, just do it, and be quiet! You're the best, Chris, will you please just do me this one favor?" she replied.
A classic line, that one.
"OK but WTF? Why do you need the kitchen tongs?" I wrote back.
Another minute passed.
"Look, please, will you just sneak down and get them? I'll explain in the morning," she pleaded.
With a sigh, I rose out of my bed, standing in my boxers with a stretch, and tiptoed out into the corridor, trying not to wake our parents. Although, they'd had a lot of eggnog so I figured it would take something catastrophic to wake them. I went downstairs, rummaged around in some drawers, and went back upstairs holding what I thought she was looking for.
I knocked gently at her door, and went inside.
We shared a converted loft space, so the only light in the room was the moonlight streaming through the skylight. Holly was curled up on her side under her blanket, with just her face showing.
"Thank you so much Chris!" she whispered. "Just put them on the desk please."
I wondered if she cared that I was standing there in my underwear, or whether she could even see me clearly. I placed the tongs down as instructed.
"No! Chris, no, not those!" she said suddenly, when she saw them up close. "The ones with the smooth ends!"
I thought for a moment then realized what she was talking about.
"Uh, these are the only ones we have. I tossed the others a couple weeks ago. Remember, the handle was broken?" I explained.
I could see clearly enough in the moonlight that she looked crestfallen.
"But those ones have sharp skewers on the tips!" she said, becoming more agitated.
"They sure do!" I commented. "So?"
Holly broke down crying.
I immediately moved to her and sat on the side of her bed.
"Hey, Hol, what's up? What's going on here?" I said, trying to provide some comfort. She was sniffling and trying to keep quiet. I put my arm on her shoulder, and she initially recoiled, but then relaxed and accepted it.
"I can't... I... it's just..." she stammered, trying to compose herself.
"Holly it's alright, whatever it is, we can talk about it. You want me to get your mom? I mean, mom?" I offered.
"NO!" she said instantly.
"No, you mustn't... no..." she said enigmatically.
I was becoming more and more confused by the second. Had something happened to her? Had someone done something to her? What were these damn tongs for?
"Holly, it's OK. If you don't want to talk, that's OK. I can sit here with you for a while, or I can leave if you'd prefer. But I think I should stay, Hol. This isn't like you," I said, worried about her.
I sat for some time, my arm still on her shoulder. She hadn't moved position. She was still on her side, still hugging the blanket tightly and exposing only her face. Gradually she relaxed and stopped sniffling.
"Chris, I... oh, Chris, I don't know if I can..." she started.
"Hol, you can. I'm worried about you. I want to help." I said.
She stared at me intently, considering her next move.
"If I tell you, you have to promise you won't judge me," she said seriously.
"I swear it Hol," I said, truthfully.
"And you've got to swear you'll never tell another soul," she continued.
"Hol, I want to promise that, but if you're in trouble or hurt or something I might need others to help me help you," I said, cautiously.
"Swear it, Chris!" she insisted.
I thought for a moment. This sounded serious. If I didn't agree, she seemed likely to shut me out completely.
"OK, Holly. I swear it. Whatever this is, it will just be between me and you," I promised.
She stared at me. I was sure she was considering whether to trust me.
Finally, she opened up.
"I've lost something, Chris," she began.
"OK, go on?" I prompted.
"I've lost a... a toy," she said, with expectant arched eyebrows, as if I was supposed to know what she meant.
"Uh, a toy?" I said.
Her face morphed into exasperation.
"Yes, a toy! God dammit Chris, a sex toy!" she blurted out.
Holy shit, I thought.
Not in a million years did I ever think my little step-sis would acknowledge to me the existence of sex toys, let alone that she owned one, let alone that she needed my help finding one. Don't get me wrong, she had a stunning body and flowing blonde cheerleader hair - any red-blooded man could acknowledge that. Even though she was my step-sister, there was no denying reality. But she had always been my little step-sis, and despite her now fully-grown adult body, I had never for a moment thought that she could be a sexual being. My mind had always just put a polite "no entry" sign up in front of that thought process.
"Um, wow... huh. OK," I said, trying to stay neutral and non-judgemental. "So you want some help finding it?"
Holly stared at me again.
"In a manner of speaking..." she said, choosing her words carefully.