never organize anything,” I said.
“You just let it happen.”
He handed the phone back as though it had burned him.
Marla finally came forward.
“I can give you the bedroom back.”
Mom turned to her immediately.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“No,” Marla said bravely.
“If Xena hates me this much, I’ll sleep on the porch.”
I watched the performance unfold exactly as predicted.
Leo wrapped an arm around her.
“You’re not sleeping out there.”
Mom looked at me with disgust.
“Are you happy now?”
“I didn’t ask her for anything.”
“You didn’t have to.
Look at what you’ve caused.”
Diane stepped onto the porch.
“Xena, your flight is early.
We should go.”
Mom’s eyes flashed.
“Please stay out of this.”
Diane did not raise her voice.
“I have watched Xena sleep on your sunporch every time I picked her up for an early shift.
I have watched her bring her own laundry to my house because your machine was somehow always reserved for everyone else.
I stayed out of it because she asked me to.
I’m not staying out of it tonight.”
The color drained from Mom’s face.
I had forgotten that Diane knew those things.
I had told myself she never noticed, because admitting she noticed meant admitting that my situation looked wrong from the outside.
Dad frowned at me.
“You discussed private family business with strangers?”
Diane laughed once, without humor.
“I have known her since she was sixteen.
She spent more holidays at my table than you probably remember.
I’m not a stranger.”
That was true.
When my parents took Leo to soccer tournaments, I stayed with Tessa’s family.
When Mom forgot to pick me up after a school performance, Diane drove me home.
When I earned my first college scholarship, Tessa’s parents bought the cake.
I had spent so much time protecting my family’s image that I failed to notice another family had been quietly protecting me.
Mom changed direction again.
“Xena, at least leave your key.”
I reached into my pocket and removed it.
For a moment, the small brass key rested in my palm.
It had opened the front door but never guaranteed that I belonged behind it.
I placed it on the table.
Marla’s eyes followed it.
“And the laptop?” she asked.
Everyone looked at her.
She realized her mistake too late.
“What about it?” I asked.
“Nothing.
I just thought it belonged to the family.”
“I bought it.”
“But I use it for school sometimes.”
Leo nodded as if this settled the matter.
“She needs it more than you do.
The company will probably give you another one.”
Diane stared at him.
“You cannot be serious.”
I picked up the laptop and slid it into my backpack.
“She also needs the desk, apparently,” I said.
“And the bedroom.
And the dinners.
She can survive without my computer.”
Marla’s expression changed for half a second.
The sadness disappeared, replaced by something flat and furious.
Then she looked at Mom and let her lower lip tremble.
“I never asked to replace her.”
I met her eyes.
“No.
You just accepted everything they took from me.”
She stepped closer.
“You think Seattle will fix you?”
The sweetness had vanished from her voice.
Leo blinked.
Mom did too.
Marla seemed to realize they
