Prologue
I crouched on the stairs, listening to my stepmother as she spoke on the phone in the kitchen. The house was old, the walls thin enough that I could hear her speak clearly from where I perched. The linoleum creaked slightly as she paced the floor, I could practically feel her wringing the cord to our landline in her fingers.
"Something's not right with her. She hardly eats, stays in her room all the time, screams and thrashes in her sleep at night. I don't know what to do," Renee sounded so concerned, guilt filled me as I dropped my head into my hands.
"Bella too?" I lifted my head, unsure of what Renee meant by that. Bella was my stepsister, we had been extremely close until she went through puberty. After that we seemed to drift apart to the point that Bella just saw me as her annoying little sister, even if we were only two years apart.
"Maybe..I don't know if she'll agree to that," I could picture Renee sitting at the bar, running a hand through her hair as she sighed tiredly.
"I'll talk about it with her. Yeah, bye," there was a resounding click as Renee hung up the phone followed by another sigh.
I tried to get to my feet, moving to scramble up the stairs only to fall down the last few steps after catching the toe of my sock on a loose nail. With a groan I pushed myself to my elbows, looking up to find Renee standing over me with her arms crossed over her chest.
I shot her a grin, hoping to worm my way out of a lecture about how wrong it was to eavesdrop. Renee only shook her head disapprovingly, tutting in exasperation.
"Karma's a bitch," Renee muttered, gesturing for me to follow her into the kitchen. I chuckled under my breath, pushing myself up without any further hazards.
I settled across the bar from Renee, climbing up onto one of the stools and letting my legs dangle. Renee reached out, taking my hands in her own. She looked so tired that I couldn't help feeling a lump in my throat which I quickly pushed down.
"I know you heard me on the phone with Charlie so I'm not gonna keep it from you. We're both worried and frankly I'm not sure what to do for you, Gracie," Renee implored. I nodded as she glanced up at me with tears in her eyes.
"I don't want you to think I'm doing this because I don't want you here or don't love you. I'm sending you to live with Charlie and Bella because you two need each other. Something's going on with Bella and Charlie is scared to death," Renee explained.
My brows furrowed, feeling as if I had been slapped. My hands went limp in hers. "You're sending me away?"
"Baby, this is for the best. I can't help you and you refuse to see anyone. I'm worried about you. Maybe being with your sister will help," Renee came around the bar, pulling me into a hug.
I found that looking at Renee, I couldn't refuse her. She looked so stressed, I had probably taken thirty years off her life with all my problems. I nodded in resignation.
"I'll go live with Charlie. Maybe a change of scenery will do me good." Those two sentences would change everything.