Someone gasped.

I looked down. Blood had soaked through my white socks.

A dull, late wave of pain twisted up under my ribs, and my stomach lurched. My teeth started chattering. The room spun, and I slid down onto the floor.

I told Mama there was a nail in my shoe. The second I said it, the red light flickered on my wrist again, and Mama's face went stiff and disgusted. She said if I lied one more time, she'd send me back to the holler.

Every step I took, my foot felt like it was being drilled into, but being sent away from Mama would be worse, so I kept quiet.

"So now you're hurting yourself for attention. Fine. Go act out somewhere else where I can't see you."

Outside, the wind was wild and the rain came down hard.

I hurt everywhere. My hand hurt. My foot hurt.

Through the bay window I could see Mama in the warm light, holding Charlotte, smiling, braiding her hair.

This time even the place inside my chest that didn't have a cut was hurting.

Mommy, am I not your kid?

How can you hold her and braid her hair, and turn your face away the second you see me?

I started shivering so hard I couldn't stop. My eyelids got heavy and slow, and my stomach felt like something had split open inside.

I bit down on my arm and curled up around the stuffed bunny, holding him tight.

I can't let him get wet.

He's the only thing she ever made for me.

She had sewn him out of one of her old dresses when I was little. One of his ears had fallen off, and I had stitched it back on myself, crooked.

Holding the bunny, I started thinking about Daddy.

A cramp ripped through me, sharp and fine, like a hundred tiny needles going in at once.

The hole in my chest was getting bigger. I hugged my knees and dug the little bottle out of my pocket with shaking fingers, and I ate another of the pink candies.

It went down my throat. There was a little sweetness to it.

It didn't hurt so much now.

The next morning, my eyes opened. My arm was wrapped in bandages.

Mrs. Hayes told me an important visitor was coming over, and I shouldn't say anything weird.

My stomach growled. I remembered that today was Mama's birthday.

Before we came here, I'd had my own seventh birthday.

But Mama always said I was going to be three forever.

I didn't really understand what "forever" meant. But three was a good age.

When you're three, you can sleep with your bunny, and eat all the sugar you want, and tug on Mama's skirt when she's sad.

I patted my dizzy head and tried hard to remember.

But my legs felt lighter and lighter underneath me. I bit my lip, concentrated, and baked her a birthday cupcake. Just one. I burned the bottom because I couldn't tell when it was done, and I stuck a single candle in the top.

Down in the main room, everyone was gathered around the long table, looking through Charlotte's photo album.

"Mommy. Happy birthday."

Then I went down.

My vision blacked out and I hit the floor. The cupcake rolled across the rug, the candle smashed, and frosting got all over the open album.

Charlotte's eyes welled up like she'd been hit. Mama's face went stone-cold.

"You did this on purpose. You ruined her photos. You're that jealous? Just because I never took pictures of you?"

"I swear, I owe you something. You were born to ruin my life."

I was scared, but I didn't know how to explain. I didn't know what to do, and a drop of blood slid down off my nose and hit the floor.

Then she stopped.

Her eyes followed the drop down.

I reached up to my face. Blood was running from my nose, fast. The cake batter on the floor was already turning into a sticky red puddle.

The collar of my dress was bright red. When I looked behind me, I saw bright red drops all over the floor, a whole trail of them.

Mama was a clean person. I scrambled to my knees and started wiping the floor with my sleeve.

The more I wiped, the worse it got.

"What is going on? Why is there so much blood?" Mama's face had gone still.

"I didn't mean to, Mommy, I—"

"So you ate the frosting. We can afford to feed you. You don't have to make this much of a scene, and now you're bleeding from your nose?"

Was she actually worried about me? I didn't know why, but the tears just started coming. Mama hadn't sounded like that in so long. I was so happy I forgot the pain.

I reached out for her. "Mommy."

Before my fingers touched her, Charlotte came out of the kitchen holding an empty bottle.

"Look, my little sister ate all the strawberry jam."

"It's not jam," I said, and the red light flashed again.

Mama stepped back. "Wonderful. Now you've figured out how to play the victim."

Mrs. Hayes grabbed my arm and dragged me, silent, up to the attic.

I lay on the floor and beat my fists against the iron door.

"Mommy, it's dark in here. Daisy is scared."

It was cold, too.

I curled up around my bunny and shook, tears just rolling down. I pressed my face into him and tried to smell the jasmine on him, which was Mama's perfume.

A memory came up.

Charlotte had a whole playhouse stuffed with toys Mama had bought her.

Mama wore a silver locket. Inside the locket was Charlotte's school photo.

One time I'd just wanted to peek at the photo. Mama had shoved me away and pulled Charlotte close.

"Do you know how much time I've spent on you these last few years? I haven't been able to be there for your sister. And you're still going to compete with her for it?"

I had stood there listening, and it had hurt so much that I couldn't say anything back.

Mama, you don't even have one picture of me.

Even my hand, when I reach out, you don't want.

Up in the cold attic, I felt around in my pocket and found the bottle. There was only one pellet left.

I looked at the bracelet.

The light was red.

I hadn't said a word. I was just sitting there, curled up around the pain in my stomach, and I still hadn't said anything.

The bracelet stayed red.

Maybe it could read what I was thinking, too. I was thinking Mommy over and over, and it was lighting up.

Then I'll stop thinking it.

The candy was almost gone. I didn't want to use the last one.

But it hurt so much.

Outside, the sun was up, and I could hear party noises and music starting.

I dragged myself across the floor to the window.

Colored balloons were bobbing in the wind. Down there it looked like another world entirely.

I pressed my hand to my chest where it hurt.

"It's just heartbreaking, really. Ma'am got separated from her family, lost her memory, suffered out for years, and now on top of all that she's got this slow one to deal with."

"If you ask me, she has a kind heart even bringing her back. I would have left her where she was."

"Today's the gala to introduce the daughter. We need to keep an eye on this one. She can't make a scene."

My eyes stung. I patted the bunny's torn ear.

It's okay. It's okay. Don't cry now.

I lifted my hand and my fingertips came back wet.

I scrunched up in the corner. My sleeves were soaked through with crying.

So today is the day Mama tells everyone Charlotte is her daughter.

But I'm her daughter too. Why won't she say it for me?

Charlotte was in a princess dress, and Mama had a soft smile on her face I'd never seen before.

Mommy, is there no room for me in this house?

Then the door flew open.

Charlotte snatched the bunny out of my arms, threw him on the floor, and ground her shoe down on his face.

His face crumpled. One of his ears tore off.

My chest seized up. I scrambled after her, all the way down the stairs.

I bent down to pick up the ruined bunny, and when I looked up, flashes went off all around me, blinding white.

Voices everywhere.

"Look at her. She has the same eyes as Mrs. Ashford."

"Didn't they say Mrs. Ashford had another child, before they found her?"

Everything was strange and loud, and my body was burning. I looked across the room for Mama.

Her face was steel. Her eyes were full of disgust.

My chest squeezed so hard I couldn't get air.

"No. No."

Mama doesn't want them to figure out who I am. She doesn't want anyone to know I'm hers.

"She's not my mommy. I don't have a mommy."

I started screaming. "Please, stop talking about her. Please."

"She wet herself. Look."

The whole room went dead silent.

I went rigid. I stared down at my legs and started yanking at the hem of my muddy dress, trying to cover the dark wet patch.

I caught Mama's eyes. She was even angrier than before.

I was sobbing. "Mommy, I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it in."

"I am not your mother. And what are you doing carrying that filthy rabbit around? Haven't you embarrassed me enough?"

Mama stalked over and tore the bunny right out of my hands, then ripped one of his legs clean off. The cotton stuffing burst out of the rip and spilled.

Something inside me ripped open at the same moment. Fine cold needles drove into my bones. This was worse than every other time.

"Don't, please. Mommy gave him to me, please don't."

Then I tasted iron.

Black blood came up out of my throat. I tried to keep my eyes open as I grabbed handfuls of cotton off the floor and tried to stuff them back into the bunny.

The little bottle hit the floor with a small sound. I lunged at it and got the last pellet into my mouth.

I swallowed.

As I swallowed, I looked one last time at the light on my wrist.

It went dim. Then dimmer. Then it went out.

I don't lie anymore. I don't talk anymore.

It's all the same.