People say I look like her—same black hair, nose, mouth—except for the color of our eyes. Hers were dark. When I was kid, I watched this movie about a shark that enjoyed killing people. Its eyes were black and soulless. It wasn’t until later when I realized the shark’s eyes reminded me of Raven’s. Sometimes, she’d have that dead look in them; sometimes, there was a gleam of danger when she was thrilled about something, as though she had scented blood and craved the kill. It never failed to disturb me.
“How did you get in?” I asked.
She crossed her legs and leaned forward, tucking her hand under her chin. Her nails were long and painted a dark color. “You still don’t lock the basement window,” she answered with a knowing smile. “I know you so well.”
I clenched my jaw.
She rose and walked toward me, her high heels clicking on the hardwood floor. The light caught the gleam of her diamond earrings. She loved to be draped in expensive jewelry and silk.
“Didn’t you miss me?” she asked.
I shrugged her off when she tried to hug me.
“Come on now, sweetheart. I missed you terribly.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, silly. Can’t I just say hi to my baby?” She placed her hand on her chest, her expression hurt. It was all an act. There were very few things that could hurt Raven, but I knew what they were. “You give such a warm reception, Cam.”
I hadn’t seen her in a year. She’d come and go as she pleased. As long as she knew where I was, she stayed relatively sane. There was one time when I ran away, and no one knew where I was. My dad had told me she’d gone ballistic. She and I had made a deal that if she stayed out of my life, I wouldn’t disappear again. No matter how selfish she was, I knew she loved me in her own way. But she was toxic.
“Now that you’ve seen me, you can go,” I said.
“All I want is for us to be best friends. Why are you so angry at me all the time?”
“Pick one. Or do you want me to find my long list?”
She gave a dramatic sigh. “You know you’re going to miss me one day when I’m dead and they bury my fabulous corpse in the ground. Just make sure they don’t touch my rings, won’t you?”
I looked at her for a moment. When I couldn’t hold it any longer, I snickered. Sometimes she could be funny.
“I heard that.” Her face lit up. “I can still make you laugh. Now am I allowed to have a drink?”
The faster I gave her what she wanted, the faster she’d be gone. She followed me to the kitchen.
“Give me a glass of champagne. I have something to celebrate.”
“Sorry, I’m fresh out.” She lived an extravagant lifestyle and she never understood why I didn’t. I opened a can of beer, and because it was her, I poured it into a glass and placed it on the counter in front of her. “What did you do this time?”
She reached for the glass. “Oh, honey, you don’t want to know.”
“It’s not money you’re after.”
“Oh, God no. I have so much money I’m sick of it.”
“What then?”
“Oh, you know how it is. Men in high positions are so demanding. They beg and I’m there.” She looked young for her age. She was tall, beautiful, and smart. Growing up, I knew men fell at her feet. It was a thorn in her side that my dad wasn’t one of them.
“And here I am, dancing like a puppet for them,” she continued. “Yachts, jewelry, and men. Oh, my life is tiring. I’m so bored.”
“You’re still playing with people’s lives. When are you ever going to change, Raven?”
“I told you to call me Mom.”
Never. “I might if you ever acted like one.”
The air around me changed.