I’m getting sick to my stomach and my hands are starting to tremble.

“Caitlyn—”

“I tried to tell Ms. Hancourt, but she wouldn’t believe me!”

I start rubbing my eyes. This is a disaster.

“Caitlyn, please stop.”

“It’s true! It was Katherine!”

I take my hands away and glare at her. “You have to stop lying, Caitlyn. Katherine is not real.”

Her eyes dart towards the living room.

“Caitlyn, look at me.”

She does.

I lower my voice. “Stop … lying … to me.”

I’ve never spoken to her like that, almost menacing, but I don’t care.

“… She is real,” Caitlyn says, quietly.

The trembling in my hands grows. Bile is churning in my throat. For the first time in our lives, the thought of spanking Caitlyn crosses my mind.

“Caitlyn …”

“She’s in this house. Sometimes she comes out to play with me because she hasn’t had anyone to play with in a long time. Other times, she stays in my closet.”

“What are you talking about?! Caitlyn, where do you get this stuff? Why would there be someone staying in your closet?”

“She’s hiding from her dad … He’s in the house, too.”

I have to press her. I feel like I have to keep her going until I can point out how ridiculous this is, then she’ll break and have to admit she’s making all of this up.

“Okay. She’s hiding from her dad in your closet. Where’s her dad?”

“I … In your room,” she says, staring at the table.

“Why does she have to hide from her dad?”

“Because he’s mean. He’s the reason she’s here … She drowned in the lake … Now, she’s in the house … He won’t let her leave.”

“‘Won’t let her leave’? Caitlyn, what do you mean? You said she followed you to school, so she can leave the house.”

“No, not the house … He won’t let her leave.”

“Caitlyn, I still don’t understand. Why won’t he let her leave?”

“Because if she leaves, he has to leave.”

“Sweetheart, what does that even mean?”

She doesn’t answer.

I’m going to be sick and I’m struggling to keep a lid on my frustration.

“Caitlyn, sweetheart, what does that—?”

“Sometimes Katherine can hear Mom.”

“… What did you just say?”

“Katherine can hear Mom … She’s here, too.”

This has gone too far. The lid is off.

“Caitlyn, that’s enough.”

She continues to keep her eyes on the table as she speaks. “Mom tries to talk to Katherine, but her dad won’t let her.”

“Caitlyn …”

“Katherine says that Mom is worried about us.”

“Caitlyn Nicole Price, stop it, now.”

“Mom wants us to leave, but Katherine needs us to stay.”

“Stop it!”

“Katherine says she’s sorry, but she needs our help and Mom can’t get—”