Levi had been so attentive, so sweet to me that whole day.

Maybe it was because he came to pick me up at school with Amanda in tow, and he saw my expression darken when I noticed him there with my sister.

She was up to something no good, I knew it when she decided to pull one of our told twin swaps. She’d asked for my clothes, and because of everything that was going on at home, I found it impossible to deny her. I gave her what she wanted and ended up walking around in her too-tight dress all day. Levi’s expression darkened, but only for a moment, when he saw me walk down the stairs in my sister’s clothing.

“Hey, baby girl,” he said gently, pulling me in for a hug bordering on the inappropriate. “Mandy’s coming back with us.”

“Okay,” I said, a little uneasily, even though, if I was being honest with myself, I understood.

Mom wasn’t the easiest person to live with. Even before Levi came along, we’d been used to her odd habits. To all the booze, the pills she used to swallow when we weren’t looking. I still remembered finding her passed out with a drink in her hand and an empty sleeping pill bottle in her hand. Not enough to kill her, she’d claimed desperately the next day, but the damage was done, even her excuse seeming phony and deceitful. That was the night I grew up, I always thought, the night I stopped being a little girl.

I never told Levi about it, and I never knew whether he was aware of Mom’s pill-popping and her drinking habit. If he was, he never said a word.

Of course, I didn’t want Amanda living in that kind of environment. Didn’t she deserve to get away, just like I had? She loved me, I was sure of it. She would never hurt me on purpose.

Levi ushered me into the car, and I sat in the backseat with my sister. She gave me a wary look, and I noticed her disheveled appearance. Her hair was wild, her clothes buttoned up strangely. What had she been up to? I didn’t even really want to know. By then I was aware of my sister’s wild side, and sometimes, I was better off not knowing what she’d gotten up to.

“You okay?” I asked her warily, and she looked at me with glassy eyes.

Was I imagining it, or was there a hint of regret in her gaze? She looked at me like she’d done something bad, a look of guilt passing over her face so fast I could have convinced myself I’d imagined it.

“I’m good,” she said simply, and then she curled up against me, burrowing her face in my shoulder.

I smoothed down her hair and let her. It had been a long time since Amanda had tried to find comfort in me, and I felt guilty for relishing it. We used to be so close – what happened? I wanted it back, that closeness. I still knew I could come to her about anything, but over the past year, Mandy had been slowly but firmly pushing me away. I never understood it, even though I tried so hard to make sense of her actions. But maybe, finally, things were going to go back to normal.

Levi drove us home with music playing on the radio, and Amanda remained leaning on me, as if she needed me for support. When we got to the apartment building and he parked in the garage, he helped us both out and I noticed my sister was standing on wobbly legs. I didn’t even question where she was going when she left school, figuring it had something to do with a guy. I wasn’t about to stop her – she was her own person despite us being twins, and I didn’t want to cause another fight between us.

We took the lift up to Levi’s apartment, and Amanda’s mouth gaped open when she saw the beautiful flat. I was only starting to notice how luxurious yet understated it really was, fixed with marble countertops and buttery, expensive white leather. It was beautiful, and my skin prickled with excitement at the thought of spending more time there, even if I did have to share it with my sister.

Levi showed Amanda to one of the guest rooms, and told me to wait in the bedroom. The thought that I’d be sleeping in the master bedroom with him made me beam with pride, and I sat on the edge of the unmade bed with a little smile on my face.

He was back a moment later, his eyes affectionate as he came up to me. I was so short my legs dangled off the edge of the bed, and he smoothed my hair down, grinning when he saw my feet hanging like that.

“You’re adorable,” he told me simply. “And I have something for you.”

I perked up right away, my eyes shining as he pulled out a jewelry box from his jacket. He handed it over to me, and my fingers shook as I untied the pink silk bow on the top. The ribbon fell away easily, and I opened the box with my eyes shining in anticipation. He was so sweet for getting me something, so thoughtful and kind. And I couldn’t help but revel in the fact that he’d only gotten me a gift. Nothing for my sister.

The box opened and I stared at the beautiful necklace inside it.

My fingers shook as I took it out, wrapping around the silver adorned with hints of pale, baby pink.

“It’s so pretty,” I said, feeling mesmerized.

“I told you I’d get you a collar, didn’t I?” Levi said with a grin, coming up behind me. “Pull your hair up, baby girl, I want to see it on you.”

I did as he told me, pulling my hair off my back as he reached for the necklace. It was so stunning, a thin silver band that locked around my neck with a pretty pink bow in the front. The bow was metal, small and dainty, in the palest of pinks. It was perfect, and my eyes shone with pleasure as he locked it around my neck. And now I was sure of it – I belonged to Levi.

“You look stunning,” he told me, his lips leaving a fleeting kiss on the back of my neck that made me shiver.

“Thank you, Daddy,” I whispered, and he came back in front of me, kneeling on the floor.

“Kendall,” he said simply. “I want you to know how much you mean to me. How much this… between us, how important it is for me. Do you understand?”

I nodded, my heart beating with urgency, hoping he would say the words I so desperately wanted to hear. I knew I felt it, too. I knew it from long before he even touched me, if I was being honest with myself.

“Kendall,” he said again. “I just want you to know I–”

Amanda barged in the room, her eyes watery and urgent.

“Levi,” she said breathlessly. “She’s at the door. Mom is at the door.”

Levi looked into my eyes, and his own spoke of things that couldn’t be said in the moment. He smiled at me gently before getting up and helping me get off the bed too. I locked eyes with Amanda, and I saw her gaze fill with jealousy when she saw the necklace around my neck. I felt smug, proud that Levi had chosen me. I reveled in her jealousy, and I didn’t even feel guilty. It was about time I got something she couldn’t have.

We walked out into the living room and that was when I heard the banging. Someone was tearing the place down, slamming their fist on the front door.

I looked at Levi, his expression darkening as he sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I’ll deal with this,” he said, but Amanda stood in front of him and gave him a rough look.

I’d seen her look like that before, but now was the first time I wondered what my sister had gone through with Mom when I wasn’t looking.

It was true they’d always been closer than I had with our mother, but at what cost? I still didn’t know what their relationship really entailed, just that Mom seemed to prefer my sister. But now I was worried, not just that she would take us away from Levi, but that she would take it out on Mandy too. My sister didn’t look scared, though. She looked determined.

She walked up to the door with Levi and me following closely behind. Levi helped her unlock the door, and just as she was about to open it, he stood in front of her.

“Mandy,” he said simply. “Let me deal with this. You shouldn’t have to.”

“I want to,” she said, her mouth set in a thin line. “It’s time.”

He stepped aside reluctantly as she opened up the door.

Mom stormed inside the apartment in a fury, her eyes blazing and her mouth shouting obscenities that were so slurred I could barely understand her.

“You fucking bitch,” she snarled at Amanda. “How could you do this to me? How fucking could you? Our plan, our fucking plan!”

She tried to attack Amanda, and Levi stepped between them, with my sister glaring at our mother. She didn’t even seem to notice me, and I shrank back, pretending I was a wallflower and not wanting to have anything to do with the mess playing out in front of me.

“Mom, it’s over,” Mandy said simply. “I’m done, done with you fucking using me.”

“Using you?” Mom cried out. “Shut the fuck up, Amanda, you were perfectly willing.”

I glanced at my sister, seeing her eyes fill with tears.

“Fuck you,” she said, and I gasped softly.

Levi stood between them awkwardly, glancing from one to the other, unsure of what to do. But I knew this face-off had to happen. It was time to end our relationship with Mom. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but over the past few years it had deteriorated into a mess of feeling guilty and dependent on her, and her using us any way she possibly could. I was the lucky one – she barely noticed me, but with Amanda, it was different.

“I’m done,” my sister said. “Done playing your sick fucking games.”

“Oh no, you’re not,” Mom snarled. “You’re coming back with me right now.”

It hurt that she didn’t even notice me, and I felt tears pricking at my eyes. She didn’t even give a shit about me, did she? All she cared about was Amanda.

“She’s eighteen,” Levi cut in. “She can do what she wants, and I’m prepared to take care of them both.”

“Yeah, you have enough money, don’t you Levi?” Mom snarled at him. “What about me? Who’s going to take care of me, Levi?”

He stared at her stoically and she returned her attention to Amanda, glaring at her with all the pent-up anger she’d worked up over the years.

“You need to get the fuck out,” Levi told her, but she ignored him.

“All I did for you,” she told my sister. “All those clothes, the hairdresser, all the fucking things I bought you. For what?”

“For what?” Amanda asked quietly. “Do I have to answer that, Mom?”

Mom glared at her.

“Was it so you could offer me up as a prize?” Amanda asked softly. “So you could offer your fucking conquests your daughter and profit off of me? Oh yes, you were taken, but had they met your daughter? Amanda, beautiful, young Amanda, so innocent, or at least that’s what you toldthem, didn’t you, Mom? Couldn’t exactly tell them you’d been whoring me off since I was sixteen.”

My hand flew up and I covered my mouth, feeling like I was watching a play.

“Yeah, it was bound to come out,” Amanda told Mom bitterly. “Our little secret, you said. Bribing me with fucking clothes and handbags and makeup. I thought it was worth it, for a second of your attention. How wrong was I, Mom? You never loved me, despite everything I did. All I was to you was a meal ticket. A fucking way to get even more money out of the men you made me sleep with. I was the fucking in-town entertainment and you didn’t give a shit. You wanted them to use me. You got a hefty check in the end and I got a nice bag and all was well, wasn’t it?”

“You should be grateful,” Mom snarled at her.

“You need to get out,” Levi told her firmly, snapping out of it as Mom tried to make a grab for Amanda. “You need to fucking leave, right the hell now, before I call the cops.”

“She’s my daughter!” Mom snarled, and Amanda stepped up, looking her right in the eyes with so much hatred my heart swelled with pain.

“But you aren’t my mom,” she said simply, then walked away from the living room.

Mom started shouting after her, obscenities flying out of her mouth, screaming and insulting her.

But Levi dealt with it quickly. He forced her outside, locked the door firmly and called the front desk, making sure they got rid of her that instant.

And then it was just us, the heaviness of the conversation thick in the air, my eyes filling with tears as Levi glanced at me.

“Did you know?” I asked him shakily, and he shook his head.

I knew he was telling the truth, from the way he stood, looking so fucking defeated.

“We need to help her,” I whispered. “We need to help Amanda.”

He reached for my hand and I took it.