Chapter Two

Annemarie opened the diary. On the first page was a name written in very-hard-to-read cursive. She squinted at the writing. Lucy-May Havenston, it read. Havenston? Did Annemarie have a long-lost sister? She didn't think so.

Annemarie turned the page. The writing here was in Spanish rather than English, but if you turned the page the same entry was written in English. She read the first entry with interest.

Dear Diary, January 19, 1978

Callie died today. The doctors say that she somehow got trapped in our attic and died of the cold. I don't believe that. She deserved to die. She was a bad sister. She always tried to be better than me. At seventeen, she should have known better. If only I'd died. That's what everybody wants, anyway. Mom and Dad glare at me. They wish I were dead. I'm younger than Callie at fifteen. Well, if that's what everybody wants, that's what they'll get.

I'll kill myself.

Annemarie gulped. Was this her never-known cousin Lucy May's diary she was holding? Of course not! That was impossible!

"Mom?" Annemarie yelled, sprinting down the attic steps three at a time. "Mom!"

"What is it, honey?" Mrs. Havenston replied as she walked gracefully down the spiraling staircase.

"Mom, can you tell me more about Lucy-May?"

Mrs. Havenston tapped her chin. "Wellll, I think she's seventeen. And she had an older sister, I think. She and Lucy-May have the same last name as us."

"Is the sister still alive?" Annemarie asked suddenly.

"Nooo, I don't think so. Actually, Lucy-May and Aunt Robin and the sister lived in this house about two years ago until Lucy-May's older sister died. Her name was…Callie, I think."

Hmmmm, thought Annemarie.

"How come I've never heard of Lucy-May?" Annemarie asked.

"That was two years ago, sweetie. You were only ten. You didn't really listen to Aunt Robin when she visited, did you? Two years ago, Lucy-May was fifteen and in high school. She was way too busy to come down here to Missouri from Montana."

"But why are all those girls coming here?"

"I don't know, Annemarie. But you'll have lots of girls to hang out with, sweetheart, so don't worry about being lonely."

"But-"

"Annemarie, please!"

Annemarie sighed. Well, her mother had given her enough information.

Now she just had to wait until her cousins arrived.