mistakes.

“Hi. I’m looking for Mindy Hills,” I squeaked, my voice rising an octave higher than usual.

He looked at me, his eyebrows furrowing as his gaze swept over me. White blonde hair, falling straight and smooth from my ponytail, blue-gray eyes with eyelashes so pale they were almost invisible, narrow face and nose slightly smaller than it seemed it should be – He knew Mindy and he saw the resemblance. The almost perfect resemblance. We had been mistaken for twins many times but I was older by 11 months and 17 days.

“You’re Josie.” It was not a question.

I nodded, rubbing my sweating palms against my jeans.

“Get out of here,” he said, waving us toward the street. “Don’t come back!” His voice was powerful but quiet. He didn’t want Mindy to hear. She was inside the house.

“Please!” I said, grabbing his hand. “Let me explain!”

“Shh!” he hissed, slapping my hand away. “We want nothing to do with you. Nothing. Get out. Out of our lives. You said you weren’t coming back three years ago. Keep your word.”

I backed away and bumped into Haley who squeezed my arm.

“Do you know what it’s like?” she said to the man.

His nervous eyes went from me to her and back again.

“Do you know what it’s like to live on the run? Constantly moving? Terrified that they’ll find you?”

“They should be finding you, or at least her. I don’t know about you. But her –“ he gestured dismissively toward me, not making eye contact with either of us. “People like her are mistakes. Problems. The government gets rid of them for a reason - to protect the rest of us. I don’t know if you’re like her but if you aren’t, get away from her. Far away as you can get.”

Haley’s eyes flashed as she stepped forward, passing me the bag so she could stand taller without its weight.

“Mistakes are we? And whose mistake? Is that our fault?”

The man shook his head and stepped farther inside, his hand on the doorknob.

Haley stopped the door with her hand.

“What if you had a baby,” she said, “what if your child was a…. mistake?”

He slammed the door in her face.