Bradl

twelve, my world

Drawers were pulled out, closets were open. Cathleen was on th

her wa

ds, even the money she had inherited from her parents. He had cleaned her out and

. Her eyes were wild. "He's gone," she whispered, then th

claws. "This is your fault! You

my back, my arms. I curled into a ball on the floor, trying to protect myself, but the kicks and pu

r rage subsided, a cold practicality took over Cathle

old. "I can't look at you, Jane. Every time I do, I se

ns. "No," I begged, my voice hoarse.

ack to the father who abandoned you

ine. "You're all I have. You and Amiyah. You're my family." It was a l

umbling over each other. "I don't eat much. I can

on. She was a single mother now, with no money. She needed to work. Who wo

ling her hand away. "

two-bedroom unit in a bad part of town. Cathleen and Ami

ir leftovers standing over the sink. I cleaned the apartment from top to bottom. I waited up for

fourteen now, and the chasm between our lives was too wide t

ls were replaced with fashion magazines and chatter about boys. The bond fo

ed up from her plate. "Jane, get me a glass of

spoon, went to the cupboard, and got he

esperate. I would see men come and go, but one started staying. He w

ok of hope, of escape. And when her eyes fell on me, they held a dif

hone with him. "Yes, just one daugh

ical blow. I was being wri

e," I whispered, my heart hammering agains

pity and annoyance. "Jane, be rea

e said, her voice petulant. "If Jane doesn't come, who'

a complaint about her own future

. And for the first time, I felt something other than a desire to pl

irt I had sewn myself from the remnants of one of Cathleen's old ones. I trailed behi

ng ceilings. A boy was slouched on a plush sofa in the livi

hy is she dressed like a servant?" he asked, pointing a lazy finger in my direction.

ng forward. He smiled warmly at Cathleen. He seemed to have already b

Amiyah," Cathleen said

" Amiyah said, her

ng. He produced a small, beautifully

o reveal a delicat

out the other one? Doe

. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Jane.

, keeping my eyes on the fl

all pink and white with a canopy bed. I was led to a small, plain roo

years on a couch in a living room, i

tchen for a glass of water. As I passed Mr. Harve

Jane... just stay away from her. Her father was a thief who abandoned her. He

ane said. "Don't

the doorknob. M

n straight into a solid wall of a per

must have come o

"You scared the hell out of me. What ar

nding I hadn't heard a thing. I kept my

tened, that his suspicion seemed to melt into disdain. "Whatever,

y, then scurried back to my little room, the words I'd over

set. Amiyah was being tutored by Kane in th

silver, a silent, invisible serva