"Give it back!"

My diary fluttered through the air above Courtney's head. I perched on tip toe and lunged for it, just as she yanked it away. Raising an eyebrow at me, she shook her head and winked.

"Give it BACK!" I screamed. "You don't get to be a part of this, Courtney. You don't get to be a part of my life anymore. It's mine. MINE!"

Courtney laughed, a quiet chuckle that drew even more tension into the already overflowing room. "Oh, Allison." Her tone was almost pitying. "Ali."

I took a step towards her, but she shifted backwards towards the door with the diary carefully behind her back.

"I hope I get to talk to Ian today," teased Courtney, her voice taking on a singsong quality. With another step backwards, she was out the bedroom door and into hallway. "I think he was jealous of me and my Time Capsule flag."

"How much did you READ?" I squealed, swiping at her again in another feeble attempt to get my private thoughts back into my possession. "You BELONG in that mental hospital! I can't wait until they take you away today! I never want to see you again!"

Turning away from me, she disappeared so quickly down the stairs that it was almost like she flew. I ran into the kitchen right on her heels, but she stopped so suddenly that I almost crashed into her. Looking down, I saw my diary in the sink.

"I could destroy this all right now. Just like I destroyed your stupid time capsule flag." Courtney taunted. She pulled the flag out of her pocket and waved it at me. There was a big, ugly wishing well in the middle of it, ruining all of the artwork I had so carefully drawn. "I'll wreck the diary too. I know how much it means to you."

"Don't!" I cried.

"Do-on't!" she mimicked, almost screeching. Pushing me away from the sink, she reached for the water faucet with her free hand.

"Stop it!" I cried, diving under her arm to grab the notebook.

"Stop it!" she echoed, grabbing the back cover.

We wrestled over the diary for a few seconds before the door from the living room slammed open, crashing into the front of the china cabinet with an unsettling thud. Glass from the cabinet rained down on the floor as our brother, Jason, screamed, "Enough!" Snatching the diary and the flag away from us, he asked, "Whose is this?"

"Mine," I whispered, hurt that he would even think I might have started the fight.

"Here." He slammed it against my chest. To Courtney he said, "Just go upstairs and leave Ali alone. Now I remember why you're never home. You two are sisters. Why can't you just act like it?" Shaking his head with disgust, he stormed out the back door with my flag without even bothering to tie his shoes.

Courtney picked at the skin around her thumb. "I don't get it," she whispered. "I don't understand why they all love you more. They always have. It isn't fair."

I didn't know what to say. My left hand automatically drifted to twist the ring I always wore on my right pointer finger, but it wasn't there. "I'm going to my room," I mumbled. As I went back into my room and turned the light on. The back door opened below me, and Courtney went outside. She scared me a little, and she always had. When we were little, she would pretend to be me all the time. In fact, she had wanted to be me so much that she tried to drown me in the swimming pool. After that, our parents sent her away to a hospital where they were supposed to be helping her get better. I tried to pretend like she didn't exist, but it was hard sometimes. She was my twin after all.

I threw the diary on my bed and dug around on the dresser looking for the ring. It was silver, and had a letter A engraved on it. I wore it all the time, only taking it off when I went to sleep at night. Our parents had gotten them for us when we were younger, an A for me and a C for Courtney. I always assumed it was because they couldn't tell us apart.

"Courtney?" my mom called from down the hall. "It's time to go!"

My hand closed on a ring, and I slid it on to my finger without even looking at it. "Mom," I called into the hall. "She's outside."

My mom appeared in the door. She looked me up and down and then said, "It's time to go, Courtney."

"Mom, it's me," I corrected. "Ali. Can't you tell the difference?" I rolled my eyes and turned to go back in my room.

My mom shook her head slowly, almost looking like she was going to cry. Grabbing me by the elbow, she steered me over to the window. "I know this is hard for you, but Ali is outside with her friends, sweetheart."

I shook my head, "Those aren't my friends, mom, they're just some stupid girls from school. I don't know why they're…"

"No, Courtney." She pulled me away from the window. "No. It's time to go." She snapped off my light.

I grabbed onto the door frame, trying to stop her momentum as she tugged me out the door. "No! Mom! Listen! It's me! Allison! I promise! Look at my ring!" I thrust it into her face, realizing my mistake too late to take it back. Big fat tears rolled down my cheeks as I realized what trouble I was in.

My mother's gaze took in the large C engraved onto my ring. Sighing, she called for my father. "Kenneth? Can you come help Courtney into the car? I need to go let Allison and Jason know we're leaving."

"No!" I screamed, using all of my body weight to push back into the room. My dad appeared, taking my arm in a death grip and dragging me down the stairs. Ignoring all my protests, he shoved me into the back of our champagne colored Mercedes. "You know we have to do this, Courtney," he whispered, slamming the door in my face as I wailed and beat against the car windows. I screamed as loudly as I could, but no one would listen to me. It was like I wasn't even there anymore. In a way, I wasn't. Ali had been erased and replaced.