Gemma looked at her like she was an idiot. “Um, yeah, she is.”

“Maybe she was, and through no fault of her own, she had to give that up. But who’s been raising you the past nine years? Who helps you with your homework? Who worries sick about you all night when you don’t come home, and then takes care of you when you’re hungover and beat up?” Harper demanded.

“I never asked you to do any of that!” Gemma yelled back. “I never asked for you to take care of me!”

“I know you didn’t!” Harper shouted angrily, as if that made some kind of point. She let out a shaky breath, and when she spoke again, her voice was much softer. “How come you can tell her what’s going on with you, and not me?”

Gemma stared down at her lap, pulling at the frayed ends of her shorts, and didn’t say anything. There was no way she could answer the question without giving something up. She couldn’t let Harper know what she’d become.

“Fine.” Harper sat back in her seat and turned the car battery on, so she could flip on the radio. “Go on. Tell Mom I say hi. I’ll be out here, waiting.”

“Thank you,” Gemma said quietly and got out of the car.

Often Nathalie would rush out to greet them when she saw their car, but she didn’t do that today. That was probably a bad sign, but Gemma needed to talk to someone, and her mother was the only person who would understand.

When Gemma got to the front door, she could already hear the yelling from the inside. Bracing herself, she knocked on the door and waited.

“You never let me do anything!” Nathalie was shouting in the background when one of the staff opened the door. “This is a damn prison!”

“Oh, hi, Gemma.” Becky smiled wanly at her. Becky wasn’t that much older than Harper, but she’d been working at the group home the past two years, so she’d gotten pretty familiar with the girls and their mother. “I didn’t think you were coming this weekend, since you missed yesterday.”

“How is she doing today?” Gemma asked, even though she could hear how her mother was doing. From the other room, Nathalie swore and banged something loudly.

“Not so great. But maybe you can cheer her up.” Becky stepped back so Gemma could come inside. “Nathalie, your daughter is here. Maybe you should calm down so you can talk to her.”

“I don’t want to talk to her!” Nathalie snarled.