“I’m not really feeling up to…” Mittens trails off.

I watch from the carrier, knowing of only one thing that can make him look so uncertain.

“No, I mean…” he pauses as if someone is talking over him.

“Yeah… sure…” he says, then hangs up without even saying goodbye.

“My parents are a pain, Isabelle.” he remarks.

Still calling them your parents when it’s clear they know you’re an imposter?

He sighs, then frowns at the sigh, wiping his mouth as if to erase it.

“I hit my head and don’t remember my childhood. Nobody will believe that. No, they’ll believe it.” he rubs his forehead.

“Thanks to my dear sister Stephanie for giving me a way out of this.” he says, smiling evilly at me.

I hiss at him, and he laughs.

“Something funny, dear?” asks Julia, coming into the room.

“Yes- that is, …

… … …

I was spacing out.” he says finally, with a laugh. At this point, I don’t think I could tell his fake laughs from another person’s real ones.

“Oh.” she says, adding a short laugh of her own. She’s looking at me, concerned, but she shakes her head and looks back at him. I give a half hiss and she flinches, but doesn’t look at me.

Mittens spins his spiffy office chair around to face her.

“My parents are coming over, Julia.”

Her eyes widen.

“I have something to tell you, actually. The truth is, I don’t actually remember them. I lost most of my memories in an accident a few years ago.”

I let out a long, loud hiss at this. It’s a lie, Julia, look at me!

She does. She looks from me to him rapidly.

Mittens gives me a barely concealed death glare.

“He’s reacting to my voice. We’d best go to the kitchen.”

As they leave, Julia mutters,

“She.”