Chapter 1

I stood, wiped my tears, and whispered to the dolls. "In a week, I'm leaving this place. I'm leaving you."

The dolls, of course, said nothing.

The only sound in the quiet living room was the bathroom faucet dripping.

I sank onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Cobwebs covered it, and gray mold spread through the corners.

I'd lived here for two years.

When I was first kicked out, my savings only covered the rent.

At night, I'd be too hungry to sleep, so I'd turn on the faucet and drink glass after glass of water.

All that water left me shivering, so I'd wrap myself in my only thin blanket and sit up all night.

But my family wasn't poor.

When Maria got sick, she went to the best hospital, and she had fancy steak every week.

She loved the piano, so she even had her own music room at home.

But when it came to me, Mom and Dad brushed me off.

"Adele, you've always been independent. We're sure you'll do just fine without us, so we won't give you any money.

"Once Maria's feeling more stable, we'll bring you home."

Two years had passed. They'd never once come to see me or bring me home.

I let out a bitter laugh and was about to put the four dolls away.

Just then, my phone buzzed.

It was a text from Mom. "Adele, come home tonight. Let's celebrate the new job."

My heart pounded with a secret thrill of joy.

I'd texted them to say I was getting ready for interviews.

I never got a reply, so I'd assumed they didn't care.

Now Mom had invited me home.

I couldn't help thinking that maybe they still cared about me a little after all.

I couldn't wait. I rushed out the door.

My rented room was in the suburbs, on one of the city's most remote streets.

I wanted to see my family so badly that I walked faster and faster until I was running.

I ran along the route home I'd imagined so many times.

I pictured them celebrating with me and almost cried.

At last, breathless, I reached the house I hadn't seen in two years. I smoothed my hair with shaking hands and pushed open the door.

The living room was buzzing. Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Tyler were all there.

Maria stood at the center of it all in a pretty party dress, her makeup flawless.

When she saw me, she tilted her head and smiled.

"Sis, did you come to congratulate me on my new job too?"

I froze in the doorway.

Every eye in the room landed on me.

Mom frowned at my empty hands.

"Didn't I tell you to come celebrate Maria's new job? Why didn't you even bring a gift?"

Ethan scoffed.

"You were a pain two years ago, and you still are."

Tyler took off his jacket and draped it over Maria's shoulders.

"Adele, shut the door already. You're letting the cold in, and Maria's going to get sick."

Dad cleared his throat loudly and gave me a disapproving look.

"Get in here. What are you doing standing in the doorway like that?"

It felt like I'd been hit by a sledgehammer. All the hope and joy I'd carried here shattered.

So the celebration I'd thought was for me had been for my sister all along.

I held back my tears and closed the door, my fingers still numb from the cold.

Once I was inside, I noticed the banner hanging in the living room. It read "Congrats on the New Job, Maria."

The bright red banner seemed to tell me I didn't belong there.

Just minutes earlier, I'd stood at that door, nervous and hopeful. What a clown I'd been.