Word Count: 5981 Summary: Kat Pangburn's best friend is the doll she found when she moved in 11 years ago. No, it's not haunted, no matter what her girlfriend says. First published in the SAPPHIC SHIVERS zine available to read for free here.
BEFORE, 2008
The Pangburn family was used to run down. They were used to small. Cramped. They were used to moving around from dingy apartment to dingy apartment. Today began a new chapter. They didn’t mind that work needed to be done around their new house. The walls could be repainted, and the hinges could be oiled. What mattered was that there were four walls, a roof, and room to grow. And it was theirs for the keeping. A home. “Come on,” Katherine “Kat” Pangburn, five-years old and high off the excitement of a room of her own, called as she ran inside. She didn’t have time for her parents to meander up the porch. Her pale white skin contrasted against the dark brown wood finishes of the house’s interior as she rushed up the stairs. The floorboards creaked beneath her bouncing steps. “I’m gonna find my room!” Mr. and Mrs. Pangburn laughed. Kat’s theatrical ooh-ing and ahh-ing filled the whole house, making the decision to buy a slight fixer-upper worth the work they would need to put into it over the next few years. They leaned against the banister and waited for Kat to drag them upstairs with her decision. The boxes inside their minivan could wait. Kat continued her journey through the unfamiliar bedrooms, checking off wants from a list only she knew. One room was covered in pretty flowers swirling across the walls, but the closet reminded her of the scary movie she watched with her babysitter. The room across the hall had a big window facing the street, but the ceiling had a crack in it and Kat knew that bugs usually crawled out of cracks in the ceilings. She saw it once in a movie. Kat darted between the rooms, ignoring the big one that faced their backyard filled with knotted trees and avoiding the one with the bathroom inside. She liked bathrooms well enough but didn’t see the point of having a smelly one in the bedroom when there was a perfectly not smelly one down the hall. “Over here.” An unfamiliar voice whispered into Kat’s ear, making her twirl on her toes to face it. The only thing there was a dead-end in the empty hall. It didn’t belong to her parents or anyone else she knew. It sounded like a little girl. Taking a deep breath, Kat stepped forward. “Hello?” she whispered. “Were you talking to me?” Bell-like giggles filled the hall. “Over here!” Kat followed the voice right up to the ladder leading up to a dark square in the ceiling. A patent leather Mary Jane disappeared into the shadows and she gasped. There was a ladder in her grandparents’ house. It led to the attic, where her grandma stored boxes filled with fluffy dresses and yellowed, curled pictures of the family. Surely, this ladder led somewhere similar. She pulled the ladder down until its feet reached the ground and she could find her footing. Up she went, thoughts of her room decision replaced with questions about the voice. Excitement bubbled up her chest as she finally poked her head up. It faded immediately. The attic was empty, save for a chest pushed up against the back wall. A small half-moon shaped window barely allowed the sun to trickle in, leaving the room cast in shadow. Kat stepped into the room, the floor creaking beneath her feet. Her eyes darted around as she searched for the owner of the shoe and voice. But there was nobody there. “Hello,” she called softly, venturing further inside. “Where’d you go?” “Over here!” She whipped around to find a girl standing by the chest. The stranger wore a long green dress covered in ruffles and ribbons that hung down to her knees. Bright white stockings encased the legs that ended in the same patent leather Mary Janes that disappeared up the ladder. Her eyes were electric green framed with smooth blond bangs and big, shiny curls. She smiled at Kat, and her stomach curdled. She was unlike any girl Kat had ever seen. Kat blinked and the girl was gone. “Where’d you go?” she whined. She spun around, searching. Nothing. She turned back to the chest. “Who are you?” This time, she spoke in her outside voice in hopes the pretty girl would come back. “I’m Kasey; what’s your name?” “My name’s Kat,” she said slowly. The voice sounded like it came from the chest. She approached it, her tummy twisting in circles as the floor creaked. “Where’d you go?” The same musical laughter from the hall filled Kat’s head. “I’m waiting for you, silly.” “Waiting?” She stopped just shy of the chest. Nothing came except an unexplainable urge to open the chest. Kat knelt and pushed the lid up. Despite its rotted frame and rusted joints, it opened easily. “Oh,” she breathed. “I see.” Inside, nestled between swaths of crinkled tissue paper, laid a doll. It wore a long green dress covered in ruffles and ribbons that hung down to her knees. It wore dingy white stockings and scuffed Mary Janes. It had electric green eyes framed with kinky blond bangs and pin curls. She smiled the same painted smile most of the dolls Kat encountered in her short life wore. There was no mistake. Kasey. “Found me.” Kasey’s voice filled Kat’s head. “Found you,” Kat echoed softly. “Found who, Katie Kat?” Mrs. Pangburn’s head popped into the attic before her stumpy body followed. Her husband came up after. “What are you doing up here, sweetie? I thought you were choosing your room.” Kat hesitated, licking her lips. “This is my room,” she said matter-of-factly. The words spilled easily from her lips despite the fact she put approximately no thought into them. They just appeared in her mouth. “This is the one I pick.” Mr. Pangburn frowned. “Don’t you want… a different room? One that isn’t so…” His brain filled the blanks without hesitation. Dingy. Cold. Scary. Straight-out-of-a-horror-flick. They planned to use the attic for storage and the thought of his little girl wasting away up there like a stowaway princess twisted his head. “So… dark?” he asked finally. The bedroom with the swirling wallpaper or the big window came to mind, but the thoughts were pushed away by something else. Someone else. Kasey. Kasey lived in the attic. Kat puffed her cheeks out. “Kasey and I are gonna stay right here,” she said. “Kasey?” “My new best friend!” Kat’s face lit up and she brought the doll from the chest. She shoved Kasey at her mom, who immediately flinched away. “I wanna stay with Kasey!” Mrs. Pangburn crept back to the trap door. She hated dolls ever since her brother forced her to watch the episode of The Twilight Zone with Talking Tina when they were little. After that, she threw out all her dolls. She never even bought them for Kat. “Where… where did you get that?” “I told you. This is Kasey’s room.” Mrs. Pangburn sighed. “Are you sure?” Kat pouted, shaking the porcelain doll. “I told you,” she said. “Kasey and I want this one!” “Fine.” She turned on her heel and stomped down the ladder. She didn’t wait for her husband, who shot her an incredulous look as she disappeared back downstairs. “Do whatever you want,” she called. Her good mood curdled each time Kat shook that doll in her face. If this room arrangement kept the doll away—she would let her daughter live in the attic. It wouldn’t last. Kat would find a new hobby to fixate on; she always did. Butterfly collecting, princess movies, putty erasers. Nothing lasted longer than a few months. Mrs. Pangburn gave it one month before Kat decided dolls were boring and realized it would be better to live in a proper bedroom like a normal little girl. *** Unfortunately for Mrs. Pangburn, Kasey wasn’t discarded like the rest of Kat’s whims. Anywhere Kat went, Kasey went too, minus school. She spent hours after school hidden in her attic bedroom, whispering to the version of Kasey that only she could see. And when Kat couldn’t play with Kasey, she talked about her. All. The. Time. There was a Kasey anecdote for every situation. Swimming. Bowling. School. Dogs. Cats. Rats. If you didn’t know Kasey was a doll, she sounded like a normal little girl. But Kasey was a doll. The kids in Kat’s classes assumed Kasey was a friend from her old school and she never corrected them. Even at the young age of five, Kat knew talking about dolls all the time might be misconstrued as weird. Kasey wasn’t weird. She just happened to be a doll most of the time. Some friends were like that. Kat told Kasey stories to anyone who would listen. Most stories could have happened to anyone. Like the time Kasey fell out of a tree and broke her leg in two places. Or about her older sisters, three of them, who locked her in the attic. The usual stuff. She saved the more unique stories for her parents. There was no pretense to uphold; they already knew the truth about Kasey. And Kat’s favorite story to tell about Kasey was the one about the long pink scar across Kasey’s tummy. “She got it saving her family’s dog from a fire,” Kat would tell them every few days. “Isn’t that cool?” Then the story changed. “Kasey’s neighbors tried to kill her. They called her a witch and locked her in the house while the stove was on. Kasey didn’t know how to turn it off,” Kat said solemnly one evening over a dinner of roast beef and mashed potatoes. “Her sisters and aunt were out of town for a sale and Kasey was all alone. She had to jump through her window with little Petunia in her arms as the fire swallowed her house. The window glass scratched her when she escaped.” The Pangburns nodded sympathies to Kat’s story and dinner finished in silence. Kat retired to her room, leaving her parents in a tense quiet as they washed the dishes. Something about the revised story crawled under their skin. Just like Kasey’s mysterious appearance on move-in day. So, they did what any self-respecting parents did when their kid told an uncanny story. They marched down to the local library. The thing about small towns is that they kept miraculous records of their history. Librarians collected the data with pride. To the Pangburns, it was obsessive, but they couldn’t complain. Because the librarian knew exactly what to tell them when they asked about a fire. There hadn’t been many fires in town, apparently. In 1987, at the Rutherford house (which was now the Pangburn house), little Kasey Rutherford was alone like she normally was. Her aunt and sister were away on business selling jewelry like they normally were. But Kasey was never lonely. She was equipped with a wonderful imagination with plenty of imaginary friends and imaginary things to do. The morning started like any other; the crisp fall air bit at residents’ skin as leaves danced in spirals to the ground. Kasey played in the front yard and shouted across the street about her adventures as a witch captured by the Puritans. She had been sentenced to burn at the stake alongside her witchy collaborators that took form of Kasey’s doll collection. Nobody questioned her antics. The local school taught about the Salem Witch Hunt for the Halloween season. They played along and laughed as Kasey dragged herself inside for her “execution.” Then they smelled smoke. Neighbors crowded the street to watch Rutherford house erupt in flames. Sirens rang out down the street, but it was already a lost cause. The house couldn’t survive a blaze like this. And poor Kasey Rutherford? The last time anyone saw her, she was still playing witch. “I told them I wasn’t a witch, and they laughed at me.” Kasey’s voice rang clear over the blare of the sirens. Her neighbors turned to find Kasey Rutherford standing behind them, watching the fire. She pointed to her house. “I had to burn them. I had to,” she said. Kasey ran off before anyone could ask her to explain. The fire trucks arrived shortly after, smothering any discussion of what Kasey said. Blasts of water quelled the flames and destroyed what remained of the walls of the Rutherford house. Firefighters descended upon the ruin, searching for anything that could be saved. They found Kasey’s body beside the crisped corpse of the family dog. Petunia. Her room was the ignition point; she was dead before anyone even realized the house was on fire
AFTER, 2019
“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little ol’ attic?” Kat teased halfway up the ladder. Kat Pangburn now skirted sixteen. Her skin stayed pale, but she sprouted up to five foot nine and had the same pin-straight hair she had as a kid. Old enough to know she shouldn’t be playing with dolls anymore; naïve enough to believe there was nothing wrong with her hobby. It was only one doll, after all. Her newest endeavor, though, was trying to pull her girlfriend up to her room. Her parents still didn’t like going up to the attic, even after eleven years, so they wouldn’t need to worry about interruptions until dinner. Except Bry threw a wrench in Kat’s plan when she refused to even touch the ladder. “I’m not afraid of attics, specifically,” Bryanna Rivas said matter-of-factly. “I just don’t like yours.” She leaned against the wall and pursed her lips. Even from down there, she could feel a suffocating air hanging from the attic. “I don’t know how you can sleep up there.” “Easy. I climb up, one rung at a time.” Kat winked. “Then I sleep like a good girl.” “I’m not going up there.” Rolling her eyes, Kat didn’t argue. She knew better than to pick a fight with her girlfriend of three months. Bry was what many would call “stuck in her ways.” It wasn’t worth arguing about the smaller things in life, like the best pizza toppings (pineapple) or the best cupcake flavor (confetti with buttercream). Even something small as coming up to her room wasn’t worth it. Even if this was supposed to be something big that they could agree on. “I need to grab something,” she said instead. “I’ll be right back.” Bryanna smiled. “I’ll be in the kitchen.” She turned on her toes and started down the hall before Kat could argue. The most important thing right now was getting as far away from the attic as she could. When she reached the stairs, she turned back to the ladder. Kat was already gone. She blew out a breath and ignored the tightness in her belly. “Go away.” A sharp whisper pricked Bryanna’s ears, forcing her to stop halfway down the stairs. She whipped around in the hope of finding Kat in the middle of playing a prank. The hall was empty. She closed her eyes and didn’t stop again until her feet hit the stable ground of the first floor, her hand grasping the rail in a vice grip. She walked stiffly down a hall covered with picture frames filled with smiling pictures of the three-person family until she emerged into the kitchen. The smell of tomato sauce simmering on the stove sent a wave of relief through her body. Mrs. Pangburn turned away from the stove, eyeing Bryanna carefully. Her brows furrowed. “I thought you girls were going upstairs to study.” It was clear that she didn’t believe Kat’s excuse and Bry couldn’t blame her. The excuse would have only worked if she wasn’t immediately introduced as Kat’s elusive girlfriend. She managed a tight-lipped smile as she sat at the island. “Change of plans.” “Since you’re being a spoil sport, I had to bring the fun to you,” Kat chirped, turning into the kitchen with a brilliant smile stretched across her face. From behind her back, she brought out Kasey. The doll was in immaculate condition, better than it had been when she moved in. When she was twelve, she restored the doll to its previous glory with the birthday money she saved. “Bry, I’d like you to meet my best friend Kasey.” Bryanna flinched as Kat thrust the doll in her direction. Her fingers curled around the countertop until her knuckles went numb. The same suffocating feeling from the attic was back. It was worse now. Bry opened her mouth, closing it immediately. She couldn’t make Kat mad. Kat had strong opinions and Bryanna had learned long ago that it was better to remain indifferent to small things like pizza toppings (pepperoni, yes; pineapple, no) or cupcakes (whipped cream, yes; buttercream, no). She never expected that she’d need to be indifferent to something like a demonic doll. Everyone was supposed to agree to hate them. Bry swallowed her objection and pulled her shoulders back. “That’s… Kasey?” “Yes?” It felt like a trick question. “A doll?” “Is there a problem with that?” Kat asked. Her cheeks blew out as she stared Bry down. This was a mistake. She should have waited to introduce them. Bryanna didn’t understand. Closing her eyes, Bry sighed. “I thought she was, you know, a human being. Not a possessed piece of porcelain.” A spoon clattered to the ground, splashing the girls with tomato sauce. “Well, shoot.” Mrs. Pangburn gasped, kneeling to collect her utensil. “Ignore me, it slipped,” she said carefully. She forced an easy laugh as she straightened back to her feet. Kat rolled her eyes, but Bry kept her gaze trained on Mrs. Pangburn as she turned back to the stove. “That’s a mean joke, Bry.” Kat’s voice forced her to focus. Bryanna frowned. “I’m not joking. That doll is evil.” Kat laughed. “That stuff only happens in movies.” What was it about dolls that made everyone in this house so goddamn paranoid? “How could you look at this precious face and think ‘evil?’” She punctuated her question by shoving Kasey in Bry’s face. Surely, if she took another look, she would stop making that awful joke. Kasey wasn’t evil. They could all be best friends if Bry just gave her the chance. Bryanna jumped from her chair, putting the island between her and the doll. “Get that thing away from me.” Kat’s grip on Kasey tightened. “Bry—” "It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Pangburn, but I’ve got to get going. Please tell your husband I’ll meet him some other time.” She needed to get out of there. Fast. It wasn’t just heavy air suffocating her lungs anymore. The longer she had to look into Kasey’s green eyes, the more she knew she wouldn’t be the same person if she stayed. Whatever was in that doll was powerful. And Bryanna had the feeling whatever it was… it didn’t like her either. “Sorry, Kat.” “You’re supposed to stay for dinner!” She jumped between Bry and the exit, tossing Kasey to the counter. The doll slid facedown across the vegetable peels and scraps of lettuce before landing beside the cutting board and knife. Mrs. Pangburn shrieked, jumping away. Kat swallowed hard. Her mother, she understood. Scary shows scar people. But Bry? It was 2019, who still believed in ghosts? “What’s gotten into you?” Bry laughed humorlessly. “I can’t eat dinner with Evil Incarnate staring me down across the table!” She pointed to Kasey, sitting upright on the counter, watching the argument unfold with unblinking green eyes. Bry cursed under her breath. Impossible. The doll had just been facedown. She closed her eyes and brushed past Kat. “I can’t do this right now.” Storming out, Bryanna pulled her bag and shoes from the entryway. As she shoved her feet into her boots, Kat’s voice rang shockingly clear through the hall. “Don’t worry, Kasey. Bry’s not always like that; she’s just nervous.” Her laughter echoed in the foyer. “I think the two of you will hit it off if you give each other a chance.” Bry rolled her eyes. She slammed the door behind her and stomped to her car. She didn’t make a habit of making friends with evil dolls, anyway. They always had the worst intentions. *** Despite their disagreements about Kasey, Kat and Bry stayed together. Their agreement was simple. If Kat didn’t talk about her doll, Bryanna wouldn’t talk about the spirit she thought haunted it. But after that first meeting at the Pangburns, Bry continued making excuses for why she never returned to their home. She spent her free time planning dates that explored every inch of their tiny town and the city next door. There was enough to do that Bry figured that they’d be busy for at least a few months before needing to breach the topic of Kat’s house again. Bry came home from school to prepare for one of those dates when her blood ran cold; she couldn’t breathe. Both her parents worked, and her sister was stuck in a study session for the upcoming finals season. Someone was in her house. She held her breath as she inched up to her room, dread crawling across her chest when she swung her door open. One look was enough. Bry slammed the door and pulled her phone out. “What the fuck?” she screeched the moment Kat picked up. It took three calls, twelve texts, and a single voicemail. “Ever heard of answering the goddamn phone?” Kat hesitated on the other end of the line, pulling the phone from her face to ensure it was Bryanna who called and not an angry stranger. Sure enough, Bry’s smiling face filled the screen. She frowned. There had been nothing she could possibly have done to piss Bryanna off between the time they left the parking lot and now. Not intentionally. “What’s wrong?” “Your freakish doll is sitting in my bedroom.” Bry enunciated each word carefully, leaving no room for confusion. Kat couldn’t argue her way out of this one. Not this time. She was this close to figuring out the best way to destroy the damned thing when Kat deigned to pick up. “What are you talking about?” “The evil doll you call your friend. It’s in my bed.” She took a shaky breath. They’d been doing so well lately. But she couldn’t keep doing this. Someone would end up dead. Or worse. “Why the fuck is it here?” Laughing awkwardly, Kat meandered through the hall until she reached the ladder leading to her room. “Seriously? Kasey is sitting safe, sound, and not evilly in my—” Her words stuck in her throat as she emerged in her room. For the briefest moment, the attic appeared to be filled stained cardboard boxes and heavy furniture covered in white sheets. Kat blinked and the vision was gone. All that was there was her white Ikea furniture and purple bedspread where Kasey should have been sitting, propped against Kat’s pillows. “She’s not here.” “No shit.” “There has to be… there has to be a reasonable explanation. It wasn’t me, I swear,” Kat pleaded. The last thing she needed was another fight with Bry. It was too soon; Kasey told her they needed to wait before they could try to be friends again. “First, I don’t even know where you live. Second, I would never betray your trust when I know Kasey doesn’t even like you.” Bryanna pressed her forehead against the wall. She couldn’t believe it. Kat was really putting that stupid doll first. Except, she could believe it. It stung. “Excuse me?” “I mean—when I know you don’t even like Kasey.” “Nice save.” Bry rubbed a hand across her face. “I’m sure the doll itself is fine. I don’t get along with the entity inside it.” There’s no entity. Only Kasey. Except Kat didn’t dare argue. It would make things worse. Not that she was doing any good at making this better. She took a deep breath. “I honestly don’t know how she got over there.” “We’re well past that, Kat. I don’t care,” Bryanna said, her voice even. Kat missed the entire point of this stupid call. Calm. She needed to stay calm. Her eyes darted to her closed bedroom door. The air pressed against her chest, even from fifteen feet away. “I want this thing out of my house. Or I swear to God, Kat. If you don’t pick her up, I will burn her until the porcelain shatters.” “Don’t!” Kat screeched. The thought of Kasey in a fire, after everything she’d already lived through, twisted a knife in her gut. “I’ll be there, don’t worry.” “Now.” “I’m leaving right now,” Kat said. “Text me the address.” She pressed her lips together, stifling a sigh. They could get through this. Kasey would be safe. And Bryanna would forgive her. Eventually. She took a deep breath and mustered the words she knew Bry wanted to hear. “I’m sorry.” Bryanna scoffed. “Good.” The line was dead before Kat could reply. Bry shoved her phone into her pocket and marched back to her room. There was no way she would let a doll intimidate her, possessed or not. She pushed the door open. “You’re on fucking thin ice, Kasey,” she spat when she met the doll’s green eyes. “If that’s even your real name.” Unable to muster any more confidence, Bry closed the door and descended the stairs. She waited at the door, counting the minutes until Kat arrived. But as she stood in the entryway, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this doll found its way across town to spite her. Taunt her. Or whatever evil dolls did. Bryanna shut her eyes and waited, ignoring the muffled laughter wafting down the stairs into the foyer. *** The girls stayed together, hiding their animosity. Kat, determined not to lose her girlfriend or her doll, was careful never to discuss Kasey in public. Even when people asked, still under the impression she was from Kat’s hometown, she shrugged and changed the topic. It was hard not talking about her best friend, but sacrifices needed to be made. Bryanna, determined not to get Kat or herself killed by the evil doll, smiled through all of it. And prayed. A lot. It was a catch-22: if she stayed with Kat, the doll would inevitably return. If she left Kat, the doll would retaliate. It was easier to keep Kat happy and hope happy-Kat equaled happy-Kasey, So, when Kat suggested a sleepover at Bryanna’s place, she quickly agreed despite the voice in her head telling her to decline. She hung a crucifix outside her room for the occasion. Just in case. Kat hummed, twirling across her room as she packed her overnight bag. This was the closest to normal they’ve managed since she first tried to introduce Kasey. Sure, things became stiff when Kasey ran away to Bryanna’s house. But Kat knew now that it was Kasey’s way of approving her relationship with Bry. Which was exactly why Kat decided it was time to take things to the next step. Obviously, Bry agreed by letting her stay over. Kat’s cheeks flushed as she folded her new pajamas. They were the silk ones she scrimped and saved her allowance for, picking ones with lace edging and indecently short shorts. Her parents would freak if they knew she brought these with the intention of sleeping over at her girlfriend’s. Especially since they didn’t know Bryanna’s parents were out of town, touring colleges with her older sister. “Kasey, it’s going to be amazing.” She giggled, looking over to the doll. Kasey smiled at her like she always did. “By the time this weekend is over, Bry will be ready to accept you. Then we’ll all be such good friends.” A chime interrupted her gushing, making Kat frown. Bryanna. No pretext or cursing or call. Only three words that couldn’t be true. She’s here again. Kat turned to her nightstand and sure enough, Kasey was gone. Like she was never there. She cursed, dropping everything, and rushing down the ladder. She was in the car and on the way to Bry’s in three minutes. Her overnight bag remained on her bed in the attic, forgotten. The view blurred past Kat as she sped across town. Safety wasn’t her top priority; Kasey was. Kat cursed under her breath. No. Bry. Bryanna had to be her priority. Then Kasey. She pounded on the door when she arrived, praying she wasn’t too late. “Bry, one minute she was with me and the next…” The door swung open under the weight of her fists. Kat held her breath, peeking in. “Bryanna?” She stepped inside, finding the foyer empty. “Mr. and Mrs. Rivas?” Their car hadn’t been in the driveway when she pulled in but there was no harm in checking. “You’re here!” Turning to find an attractive girl bouncing down the stairs, Kat gasped. Her skin was pale and her eyes were a brilliant green that struck a chord deep in Kat’s brain. She blinked. Bry told her that her sister had a different father, but she never expected her sister to look so… not like Bryanna. “Are you Adrianne?” Kat held her hand out. “I thought you already left. Did you forget something?” The girl’s face twisted as if she bit into a lemon. “Adrianne?” She pulled Kat into a bone-shattering hug. “Kat, it’s me!” Her arms wrapped hesitantly around the beautiful stranger. She was never one for open affection with strangers, but she could hardly say no to someone so pretty. Especially to someone who seemed to know her. Except Kat swore she would have a cute girl like her. “Hello?” “Kasey!” Kat ripped herself from the girl’s arms. Her heart caught in her throat as she looked the girl up and down. This was a joke. An elaborate prank put on by… Bryanna. Not possible. “Excuse me?” “You don’t recognize me?” She pouted. “I thought we were best friends.” Looking closer, Kat was clueless for thinking this was Adrianne. Her clothes were nothing from this decade. A beautiful green dress fell to her knees, covered in ruffles and lace. Her hair was coiled into smooth curls, tied back with a thick ribbon. It was her eyes that stole Kat’s breath away. They were the same ones she had stared into the past eleven years. Of course. “It’s you,” she breathed. “Now we can finally be together!” Kasey twirled, her skirt floating up. Kat couldn’t peel her eyes away. “Just like we always talked about!” The more the she spoke, the more Kat recognized the voice as unmistakably Kasey. How? She never believed Bryanna’s spiel that Kasey was more than a doll. Kasey was supposed to be just a doll. Now she was right there. In Bry’s foyer. “Where’s Bry?” she asked, her voice thick. If Bryanna didn’t like doll-Kasey, there was no way on this Earth she’d like person-Kasey. Actual Evil Incarnate, she would say. Kat didn’t know if she could disagree anymore. “Don’t even worry.” Kasey grinned. “She’s waiting for us upstairs.” Kasey wrapped her cold fingers around Kat’s warm hand and dragged her upstairs. Her laughter filled the hall like soft bells, easing Kat’s anxiety. They stopped outside the first door after the stairs. A name plaque with Bryanna’s name written in cursive hung outside the room alongside a rusted crucifix, welcoming them as they entered. Kat’s jaw dropped as she took in the atmosphere. It wasn’t anything extraordinary. Her grey room was filled with pristine furniture with moody twinkle lights strung across the ceiling. Everything was neat and organized—the opposite of Kat’s room. Hell, her room even smelled like Bryanna’s sugary body spray. The only thing missing was Bry herself. There was only a doll sitting in the center of the gray bedspread, mouth gaping. That didn’t make sense; Bryanna hated dolls. “Bry?” “Here she is!” Kasey skipped across the room and pulled the doll into her arms. She patted its forehead and smoothed its skirt, passing it to Kat. “Bryanna looks so lovely, don’t you think?” No. No. Swallowing her horror, Kat inspected the doll in her hands. The doll shared Bry’s light brown skin, her unruly curls, and sparkling brown eyes. It even had the same beauty mark Bry had under her left eye. She even wore the same thing Bry wore at school today: a strappy black sundress with a sheer blouse over, paired with her favorite combat boots and rainbow socks. This was a trick; it had to be a trick. “What did you do?” “I needed a body. Someone compatible with you.” Kasey’s lips stretched into a thin smile. She rubbed a cold hand down Kat’s arm. “Someone who loves you as much I do.” Oh, God. Bile scorched Kat’s throat. Bryanna was right. The whole time—she was right. Kasey wasn’t a doll. Stepping away, Kat hugged doll-Bry to her chest. “Change her back,” she said, choking on the words. “I don’t want to.” Kat took a deep, shaky breath. Kasey looked at her as if this was a simple mistake instead of a case of a stolen body. Anger filled Kat’s veins as she dropped her voice. “Change her back, or…” “Or… what?” Kasey laughed, caressing her face. Kat would never hurt her, no matter what cruel thoughts were running through her pretty little head. Her hands dropped and grasped Bryanna’s body. She tugged, prying the doll from Kat’s embrace. Kat resisted and held on tight. Kasey sighed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “You only need me. Not Bryanna. Not anyone else.” Finally, doll-Bry sprung free from Kat’s grip, flying from Kasey’s hand. They watched in silent awe as the doll sailed across the room and landed by the door with a sickening crack. Kat cried out, falling to Bryanna’s bed as she watched the impact. Bryanna laid on the ground unblinking with fractures running across her still smiling face. Kasey pulled her hand to her lips as she investigated the broken doll. “Oops,” she drawled. “Looks like Bryanna has a boo-boo.” “Not funny.” “Not joking.” Kasey turned, slamming her heel into what remained of Bryanna’s head. A disembodied scream rattled the house and Kat doubled over. Bry. Kasey gasped, looking at the powdery porcelain encrusted to the bottom of her Mary Janes. “Look what you made me do, Katie Kat! Oh, we’ll never be able to fix her now.” I hate you. Tears streamed down Kat’s face, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words out loud. She couldn’t believe it. Part of her hoped she was stuck in a nightmare. But Kat knew Kasey better than that. Kasey wasn’t a doll anymore. Bry was. And Kasey just ruined any chances of saving her girlfriend. All she had left… was the girl who killed Bry. A girl who supposedly loved her. If Kasey loved her, how could she have done this? “Don’t cry, Kat,” Kasey whispered. She wiped Kat’s tears and pulled herself over her body. It would take time, but Kat would realize this was for her own good. Nobody understood her as much as Kasey did. Which was exactly why she could take Bryanna’s place. Now they could be together without any interference. Her mouth pressed against Kat’s ear. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” she murmured. Kat squeezed her eyes shut, bunching the comforter in her fists. She tried to ignore the soft skin of Kasey’s fingers running down her face to spread across her chest. The memory of Bryanna’s broken body burned itself into the back of her eyelids as Kasey brushed her lips across her cheek. Bryanna. Bryanna. Bryanna. Kat choked on a sob that melted into a strangled moan as Kasey slipped her hands under her shirt. When Kasey finally kissed her on the mouth, she tasted like Bryanna’s favorite cherry lip gloss.