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"Well?" said Tammy

We were in her bedroo called Nintendo 3DS Whatever it was, it was little and expensive and if he ever lost it, I was going to play butt bongos on his backside until the cows came home And since there weren’t any cows in Fullerton, that ht be a while

"Well what?" I said We were sitting on her floor in the space between her bed and dresser Her back was tohair

"You know, Mom Don’t play cloy"

"Coy," I said

She sighed "Whatever, Mom Cloy, coy Either way, out with it"

"Since when did you get so de?"

"Since I realized thatto me my whole life"

"Not your whole life," I said, doing some quick math She would have been about three when I was attacked Anthony had been one I had been a relatively new mom with one really freaky secret

"So you’ve been lying for part of et so s hter That is, if you could call an ambulance chaser an attorney

She waited, and not patiently Down the hall, I heard Anthony groan and slap the floor, which sent hout the whole house

He’s getting stronger, I thought

"I will tell youmore about me," I said "But first, I want you to tell secret"

She held up her forefinger "First, I don’t think you have a secret I know you have a secret" She raised another finger "Two, you’ve always been weird"

"Thanks," I said

"I ht? A rare skin disease? I er, and a fourth and fifth as she ticked off more points "Three, you’re always cold Four, we have like no mirrors in the house Five, you never eat" She lowered her hand and spun to face me "Oh, you pretend to eat, but lately I’ve been secretly watching you sneak your food onto Anthony’s plate He’s so dumb He never notices it and just eats it Such a doofus"

"Don’t call your brother nay accepted," I said "So tell , you know, visions When did they start?"

"Last month"

"When your period started," I said, nodding

"Moht it was gross, try as Iin the world Still, at ten, she was young to have started her period She was young, but it was not unheard of I had been ten, too, when hter

"Anyway," she said, rolling her eyes, "when that started, I also started seeing things"

"Seeing what?"

"I started seeing thoughts, I guess"

"Your own thoughts?"

"No, Mo her eyes full circle "Other people’s thoughts I can already see hts Duh"

"Be nice"