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“It will. We have to be patient.” She leans against him. “Aria is like us. She’s showing no signs of having any magic. It won’t be difficult to leave her behind.”

I want to scream at them. Hearing their disdain for my sister is too much. I knew their desire to use me, but I never heard their disregard for Aria spoken out loud. She felt their lack of love, and it angers me to hear them discuss her as if she doesn’t matter.

“I’m sick of pretending.” He moves away from her and leans against the desk. “Gwen knows something's going on. She calls all the time.”

“We have to keep our plans a secret, so you have to act like nothing is wrong,” she insists, glancing through me toward the door. “You’ve been too harsh with her, and with the girls.”

“As if you’re any better.”

She focuses on him, rolling her eyes. “Savy watches everything we do. The kid is way too smart. It won’t take long for her to figure out we don’t care about her.”

I had no grand illusions of their love, yet the hope was buried deep inside.

“She has to learn her magic,” he grits out.

“She will, and we can take what we need from her.” She paces away. “There has to be a way to speed up the process.”

“What can we teach her?” he snorts, crossing his arms. “We call ourselves witches, but making fire is difficult.”

“Do you have to point out our lack of spells every fucking day?” she growls, whirling around to face him.

“You just don’t want to face it.” He points at her. “Accept it, we're no better than humans.”

“That’s why we have to keep this going.” She motions around the room. “All of this is an act, so keep playing the part.”

“Don’t worry,” he sneers.

“How can I not? When you refuse to do what you should?”

“I’ll watch what I say. Alright?” He stands straight.

“You better.”

I back out of the room, sick, and full of questions. I knew they didn’t want to raise us. It didn’t take long to feel their anger and desire to be away from us.

Betty storms past me and disappears into the living room. The television is turned on, the volume at full blast. Travis sighs and rounds the desk, sitting in the chair. Turning, I watch myself returning, moving as quietly as possible, and ascending the stairs. I can’t help but follow. The memory is allowing me to stay, so there must be more to see.

At the top of the stairs, we turn to the right, and I see my bedroom. Walking inside is like I'm young again. The bedding was brown, and I hated it. I always had a desire for bright colors, but Betty wouldn’t allow it. I stare at my younger self and the handful of cookies she hides under the pillow. She rushes back to the door, and I have to move quickly to keep her in sight. The room next door is Aria’s bedroom, and she walks inside. It’s startling to see Aria curled on her small bed. Mini me shoves her other hand full of cookies under her pillow, leans over my sister, and kisses her cheek before returning to our room.

I forgot about the cookies. There are many bad memories of my childhood; it’s hard to remember the good ones. Aria shares my love of sweets, and I always stole as many as I could when they weren’t looking. I couldn’t take too much, so they wouldn’t be suspicious. Travis started an argument one time, accusing Betty of eating the snacks. It turned into a fight, and they didn’t talk for the rest of the night. They must have lied to each other all the time because they never suspected me.

“Please don’t make me dream tonight.”

I focus on the little body huddled on the bed.

“I don’t want to use the knives. They hurt, and Betty will be mad if I leave a mess on the sheets.”

I cover my mouth.

“Magic, help me,” she whispers.

Crouching, I stare at her, remembering, yet it feels like the first time. Betty knew. She found out what I was doing. She didn’t stop it or try to help me find another way. Getting blood on the sheets was the only thing that caused a reaction. The few years following were the most difficult of my life. Having Granny saved me.

I want to hug her and tell her that it will get better. Which makes no sense since I lived through it.

Why did I need to see this?

Standing, I feel the pull, and I know it’s over. Everything begins to fade, and I’m sad. Even though it was painful to experience, seeing the truth of my childhood as an adult is a revelation. I want to see more and understand Betty and Travis’s actions.