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“This is your new room, sweetheart”

She held her hand out “My name is—”

“What’s your name, sweetie?”

“—my name is Ashley What’s yours?”

I couldn’t look at Raize I kneould be tormented I kneould want to come over and pick me up, take me away if I asked him to, and I wanted to ask hiave no fucks ould care, I couldn’t look at him

Though, God, I wanted to I wanted so badly

The detective hadn’t said anything, so I kept going Might as well get it all out

“You can check your database, but she’ll be in there” And now for the hard part “Brooke—Ashley looked like eted her, and she did it because she wanted me to have a sister She used the word ‘friend’, but it was code for ‘sister’”

“Sisters She’s your friend that’ll never leave You’d like a new friend, wouldn’t you?”

“She always said that loneliness could kill She didn’t wantis that I wasn’t I went to school I had friends I had Dad I had…” My voice cracked “I had her But she was lonely, so she was convinced I was lonely She didn’t want me to be alone”

“Was your dad involved?”

I shook s h I don’t know”

“You said your—the girl kidnapped was Ashley Cruz?”

Ashley Cruz I saw herposter once Doesn’t ot her

I nodded “My mom renamed her Brooke” A tear slipped down my face This one I could feel “My first naave it to her”

“Why would she do that?”

I shookto completely close up “I have no idea”

And for the rest

“Mylies Stupid lies Things about big and s, but also; she’d lie about what kind of toothpaste she used Just, stupid things and I grew up in that I got good, real good, at knoas a lie and asn’t But yeah, she lied About everything”

What didn’t she lie about?

What didn’t you lie about, Mom?

“Do you have anything else to share with us?”

God

My throat was so closed up

“After Mom died, Brooke went off the rails She was pulled in by a Rouys have her in the database She was picked up recently I don’t know if those charges changed, but you’re going to pull her and you’ll see for yourself She was a victim of “ Jesus I couldn’t even say it all “It’s not her fault, what she did, what happened to her None of it was her fault”