Chapter 3

The car got off the highway and rattled its way toward our hometown. I drifted into the car in a daze.

Beanie, the little dog, seemed to sense my presence. It kept sniffing in my direction and barking furiously.

Mom was getting a headache from the noise. She had never been an animal lover. Once, I'd tossed a sausage to a stray cat, and the cat ended up following me home.

Mom had grabbed me by the hair and scolded me harshly. "How expected. Trash like you attracts filthy animals. If it shows up at our door again, I'll throw you out with it."

But her principles meant nothing when it came to Amanda.

Amanda had merely mentioned wanting a puppy for company. Right away, Mom spent a fortune at a pet store to buy her one.

Even when Amanda had giggled and called Beanie her son, Mom had smiled indulgently and said, "Sure. Then he's my grandson."

Just like now.

Mom was clearly so annoyed by the barking that she rubbed her temples, but she still asked Beanie gently, "What's wrong, Beanie? Are you hungry? Want some treats?"

Amanda glanced toward where my soul was. The moment she spotted my little backpack, she frowned with irritation and disgust.

She sneered, "He must have smelled Addie. Gross."

Mom looked at the backseat.

Amanda threw my backpack on the floor and stomped on it twice like she was venting her anger.

"How many years has she had this piece of junk?" Mom said, sweeping a disdainful gaze over my worn, patched-up backpack. "She treats every piece of trash like a treasure. She even brought it back to our hometown. What an embarrassment. Throw it away."

As her words fell, she opened the rear window.

Amanda grinned and tossed the backpack out gleefully.

If I'd still been alive, I would've cried and begged Amanda not to do that because that was the backpack Mom had given me when I started kindergarten.

Even though it had only been a freebie that came with Amanda's expensive backpack, and even though it was covered in cheap cartoon doodles, it was priceless to me.

Inside that backpack was my most precious kitten plushie. Mom had sewn it for Amanda, but Beanie had chewed it up. Amanda had thrown it into the trash in disgust, but I'd secretly retrieved it and hidden it in my backpack.

I'd seen with my own eyes how Mom's needle and thread had moved back and forth under the dim yellow light. The warm light had softened her features. She'd looked so incredibly gentle and tender that only words weren't enough to describe it.

That was exactly what I imagined a mom should look like.

The plushie had Amanda's nickname embroidered on it. At night, when I hugged it to sleep, I would often pick at the letter "M" with my little fingers, wishing I could scrape it away. As if doing that would make the plushie truly mine.

I had wanted my own name on it. But my name was "Addie" because I was the additional member my family didn't need. My name didn't carry a beautiful meaning like Amanda's did.

"Maddie, sweetheart, wake up. We're home."

Mom's voice interrupted my thoughts.

We'd arrived in our hometown. Amanda was so sleepy she could barely keep her eyes open. Dad carried her out of the car lovingly.

Kingston Starr, Dad's older brother, had cleaned the old house thoroughly in anticipation of our arrival.

He smiled and looked into the car while saying, "I cleaned up both of the rooms upstairs. One's for Maddie, and the other is for Addie. Say, where's Addie? Didn't you say you were bringing her with you this year?"

My parents didn't answer him.

Instead, Amanda opened her eyes and said, "Perfect. Beanie and I can each have one of the rooms upstairs. Addie isn't here anyway. Let's go check out the rooms first and let Beanie out."

Kingston froze for a moment.

He watched the little dog run out of its cage and tentatively called out, "Beanie?"

Beanie got to its feet excitedly, but Kingston stiffened.

He asked, "You're letting Beanie sleep in Addie's room? Where's Addie? Did you leave her alone in the city again?"