oom felt cold and unfamiliar. I didn' t bother turning on the main light, just a small lamp on my desk. I sa

eliness. I remembered all the times before, when a scraped knee would bring both Richard and Ethan running with concern, their faces etched with worry.

wasn' t the firm knock of Richard

I said, my

ure of pity and contempt. "Miss Tiffany is very upset," Sarah said, avoiding my

. Apologize? For what? For being pushed? For gett

I said

ightly. "Miss Chloe, th

ttention back to my ankle. "You can te

they' re lucky. Causing trouble right before you' re supposed to save the fa

art books Richard had bought me over the years. On my dresser was the mother-of-pearl paintbrush, left there after the disastrous e

ce I was a little girl and was the only one who saw everythi

appened?" she asked

ce tired. I held out the paintbrush to

iss, this is your favorite.

esn' t mean anything to me now. Please, take

than stormed in. His face was dark with anger. He di

in Anna' s hand. He strode over and snatched it from her. "How dare you? You get a

ever be so ungrateful. She cherishes every little thing Dad gives her. You' ve b

asn' t the Ethan I grew up with. The brother who used to defend me from bullies, who taught me how to ride a bike, who held my hand when I was scared. He