'Sparks began flying everywhere. Jayce, Erica, and Lukas were shouting. They were trying to use their magic to break the wall. But I couldn't hear what they were saying anymore.

'Starting from my feet, a burning tingle began to spread through my toes. As the sparks outside the barrier glowed brighter and erupted all sorts of sounds, sizzling against the invisible field, the burning began to work its way up to my ankles. At the same time, spreading out in a perfect circle from my feet, a plethora of flowers began to sprout from the ground. As the heat rose up my legs, the flowers continued to burst from between the blades of grass, until finally the heat was—'

A loud bang of objects sounded from the neighbouring room, followed by mum groaning, "Ah shit!"

Slipping my finger in the book to mark my spot, I shouted through my open door, "Everything okay?"

But when mum didn't respond, I dog-eared the page and set the novel on my nightstand.

Reaching for the liner I kept in the drawer, I rolled the fabric over my stump, slipped my leg into the socket, then pulled the sleeve upwards, suctioning my prosthetic in place. A manoeuvre that used to take much longer was now becoming second-nature to me.

Getting to my feet (a phrase I was still growing accustomed to), I walked down the hallway into the junk room—which was once Lexi's room, now to become hers once more.

"Everything okay?" I asked more softly, scanning the room for the source of the noise.

Looking up from a heap of objects scattered over the floor, mum blew a brown lock out of her face as she placed items into a new box. "Huh? Yeah... Some of these boxes really haven't fared well with age," she said, pointing to the broken box with one of her hands. Following her indication, I realised the bottom had fallen through on one of the boxes she was carrying out.

"Are you sure I can't help?" I asked her, walking through the room and sitting on the bed.

"This is all too heavy, Callie," mum replied, looking up at me with a thankful smile nonetheless.

"My arms are strong," I grumbled in response.

"But your leg—"

"I know, I know. It's only able to carry a certain amount. Why couldn't we have gotten the more heavy-duty one?" I asked, despite knowing the answer.

"You know I couldn't afford that," she said back, placing the last item into the new box before getting to her feet. While my leg was covered by Medicare, they didn't deem the next-level prosthetic as necessary for my living quality, so if I wanted one I could use for all sorts of strenuous activities then mum would have to pay it out of pocket. "One day we will get you a leg you can run in and lift heavy things with. But for now, it's just—"

"Walking and light-weight activities," I cut her off. "I know. And I am grateful for this, mum," I then added, not wanting her to think otherwise.

She threw me another small smile before heading out of the room with the new box, leaving me to glance around at the room. Ever since Lexi left five years ago, I avoided coming in here.

The purple walls were still the same, just less vibrant. The carpet underneath once a light grey, now aged and a little brown from the years of dust tarnishing the quality. Mum obviously cleaned in here every now and then, but with no one ever using the room, it hadn't received as much attention as those we did regularly use.

As I heard the grunt of mum echoing down the hallway as she evidently plopped the box down in the garage, I leaned down into the nearest container, pulling items out to inspect what she felt the need to keep in here all these years.

Most boxes housed old sheets, towels, decor, and so on. But the one nearest to me was labelled 'Lily's Momentos'.

My fingers collided with plastic, and I tweezed it out from its place between the other items. Holding the ziplock bag against the light, I inspected the small item in there. When mum returned to the room, I asked, "Is this a sticker?"

Glancing my way, beads of sweat now dripping from her forehead, an amused smirk spread over her face. "Yes it is."

"Why did you keep a sticker?" I then asked.

Shaking her head, mum picked up another box before saying, "Because it reminds me of a very intense parenting moment when your sister was in hospital."

"Lexi was in hospital? What for?"

Throwing me a raised eyebrow, she said, "Because you shoved a bunch of stickers up her nose. And that was the one that prevented the bleeding from stopping." And with that, mum left the room again, heaving another box down the hallway.

When she returned a couple minutes later after I was still inspecting the sticker, I said, "You sure I did it? Lexi's normally the—"

"Yup. You two were trying to see how many stickers she could put up her nose."

"How old were we?"

"Two."

Shaking my head, I sighed, "Doesn't sound like me."

"You both have changed a lot."

I dropped the ziplock bag back into the box and moved more items around, looking for something else to inspect.

"Is your book not good?" mum asked as she lifted up another box.

"It is. But I thought I'd give you some company." What I didn't say was that—seeing this room being cleared, knowing she was going to live with us again—I was feeling anxious. And now, sitting here, seeing the room being transformed once more into one my sister would live in... how could I possibly return to the world of fiction I was reading about?

Moreover, what do I even say to the sister who took off, abandoning our life here? The one who took one look at me after I lost my leg and suddenly was unable to talk to me?

As the thoughts began to spiral, I pulled out the first thing my hand collided with in mum's memory box to distract myself.

Yanking the thick binder out, I turned the page and saw an array of photos of mum and dad when they were younger.

As my eyes scanned the page, I zeroed in on one in particular, pulling it from the sleeve to get a closer look. Dad was much younger, hair black and shaggy. Eyes vibrantly blue...

Dad was the one who named me. Callie—a C for Cory. Mum named Lexi—L for Lily. But they got it all wrong. Because Lexi was the spitting image of dad, while I looked like mum—something that would have been a blessing considering she had gorgeously curly brown hair and magnificent grey eyes. But when boys looked at me, they didn't see me. They had only seen my chair.

I hoped that this year, now that I had my leg, it would be different.

Technically I had been approved for a prosthetic a couple of years ago. After multiple surgeries and years of healing, my stump had finally reached a point where it was deemed suitable for a false leg just after I had turned fifteen. But back then I was still in my denial phase, even though four years had passed since the accident.

"When did dad work at Coles?" I asked mum as she walked back into the room.

Eyebrows raised, she came over and sat on the bed next to me, grabbing the photo from my hand to inspect it. Dad had a big smile in the picture, dressed in his red uniform shirt and high-vis vest. "He started before I was pregnant with you two. Then he was promoted after I finished the first trimester of pregnancy... He quit university to take up the job." Mum shook her head, the corners of her lips turning upwards as she stared at him with a sense of wistfulness. "We fought so much back then over the stupidest things."

"Do you miss him?" I found myself asking.

Glancing my way, her face fell before she nodded. Then she slipped the photo back into the album. "But I try not to dwell on it. Because things happen for a reason."

I heaved a sigh and turned the page, eyes glancing over the other photos.

Mum with a big belly, eyes lovingly staring down at it. Mum and dad popping blue confetti everywhere... Where they expecting boys?

An ultrasound picture of me and Lexi.

Mum with her arm around a guy with brown hair and brown eyes. He was ridiculously handsome, so I assumed he must have been a friend—no way would mum stand a chance with him.

Not recognising him, I immediately pulled the photo from its spot and turned it to her. "Who's this?"

Smiling sadly, she stared at the photo for a moment before her eyes flickered up to mine. "Tyler."

When she didn't say anything further, I then asked, "And... who's Tyler?"

Mum sighed and leaned back on the bed. "The guy I... cheated on your father with when I was pregnant with you girls."

Pressing my lips together, the vague memory of this story sprung to mind. "And the one you cheated on with dad like a year later?"

"The very one," she sighed.

"And the one you stuck around with for a year after that without telling him that you cheated on him with dad?"

"Yup. Do as I say, Callie, not as I do, okay?"

Rolling my eyes, I put the picture of the guy back in the folder. "What happened between you two in the end? Did you leave him for dad?" Because mum and dad had gotten back together when Lexi and I were in primary school, sticking together until my accident—mostly. Dad moved out multiple times and returned throughout the years after they fought. But until I lost my leg... he always came back.

Mum shook her head in response. "Tyler had a job offer down south. He asked us to move as a family but... I couldn't take you girls away from your father."

I scoffed. "Oh the irony."

"I've told you many times, Cal, your father didn't take Lexi away. She chose—"

"But he still left. He discarded his broken daughter and took the good one with him."

"Callie Peterson-Williams!" mum scolded. "Your father did not discard you. He loved you very much and—"

"The timing though, mum. I lost my leg, you two fought, then he and Lexi just moved away."

"That is not what happened. You know that—"

Rolling my eyes, I cut her off with a, "Whatever." Then I slammed the photo album shut and threw it back into the box. "I'm going back to my room. My paranormal book is more interesting than this."

With that, I got back to my feet and headed back into the hallway, mum heaving a tired sigh behind me. We were never going to agree on this topic.