Chapter 2

After I finished eating, I went back to my parents' apartment building.

I stood by the entrance and counted the floors. The third-floor window on the left was glowing.

Mom used to tell me that the big bedroom had flooded and the floorboards were ruined. That was why it was always locked and why I slept on the couch whenever I visited.

So the floor wasn't ruined after all.

I just wasn't the child who got to sleep there.

I waited until another resident let herself in with a key card, then slipped into the building behind her.

From the hallway, I could hear a little girl's delighted giggles on the other side of my parents' door.

I raised my hand and pressed the bell.

Mom opened it. The moment she saw me, her eyes went wide. "Mara? What are you doing here?"

She didn't open the door any farther. Instead, she positioned herself squarely in the doorway.

"We agreed you'd stay with Grandma over fall break. Your father and I are busy. We can't look after you right now."

"You don't have to look after me."

She was about to reply when a voice called from inside. "Mommy? Who is it?"

Mom went rigid.

I looked directly into her eyes. "Who is she?"

Mom let out a long breath. There was no point hiding it anymore. "She's... your little sister. Her name's Maisie."

Maisie ran over and gave me a curious look. "Are you my cousin? From Mom's side or Dad's?"

I said nothing.

She lost interest almost immediately. "Well, welcome to my house, I guess."

Then she went back to the television.

It felt like someone had driven a knife straight through my chest.

Looking uncomfortable, Mom finally let me inside.

The bedroom that had always been locked stood wide open.

Pink walls. A canopy bed draped in gauzy curtains. Dolls lined up across the pillows. It looked like a princess's bedroom from a television show.

And in the corner stood a glass display cabinet packed with Crispy Coop toys.

Not a single duplicate.

"Mom," I managed, my throat tight.

Maisie whipped around from the television. "Don't you have your own mommy?" she shrieked. "Why are you trying to steal mine?"

She charged toward me, but Mom grabbed her arm. "Maisie, stop it. She's my daughter, too. She's your big sister."

"I don't want a sister! I'm your only child!"

Maisie burst into tears. "I don't have a sister! Tell her to go away!"

Dad came out of the study, saw me, and froze for a second. Then he hurried straight to Maisie.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. Come on, Daddy will play a game with you. Your sister hardly ever visits, so..."

"No! No! I don't want her here!"

Maisie cried so hard she could barely catch her breath. Dad scooped her up and patted her back, again and again.

Mom hurried over and wiped away Maisie's tears. "There, there. How about I take you to the amusement park tomorrow? Would that make you feel better?"

I stood alone in the middle of the room.

This was supposed to be my home, too.

Yet I felt like an intruder who had broken in for the sole purpose of ruining a happy family's life.