Part 2Left Behind for Ten Years, I Disappear

Heather's POV

"They did?" I replied, staring at Hazel's message and re-reading it three times.

"Yeah!" she responded instantly. "They said they haven't seen you in forever, so they're taking both of us to Dreamland tomorrow!"

My fingers were trembling. "I'm going too?"

"Duh!" she replied with an eye-roll emoji. "Of course you are, Heather. We're family."

Warmth spread through my chest. I asked, "How many tickets are there?"

"Four. One for me, one for Mom, one for Dad, and one for you. Don't worry!"

After putting down my phone, I dug through my closet until I found the cleanest sweatshirt I had. The cuffs were a little worn, but there were no holes. It was the nicest thing I owned.

At 5:00 am, I caught the first bus out of town, then transferred to two different city buses. When I arrived at the entrance to Dreamland at 8:30 am, I spotted a white SUV parked in the drop-off area.

Hazel was the first to jump out, wearing a cartoon headband. Then Mom and Dad got out. The three of them wore matching gray-blue T-shirts with a cartoon castle logo on the chest.

I looked down at myself. My black sweatshirt had been washed so many times it was starting to fade, and there was even a streak of dirt on the knee of my jeans.

Mom waved at me. "Heather! Over here!"

Dad did the same. "You made it! Was everything okay on your way here?"

Hazel ran over and hooked her arm through mine. "Come on, come on! Let's go in! I already planned everything. We're going on Soaring first!"

At the entrance, Hazel tapped all four tickets against the scanner. The first three went through with green lights. When it was my turn, the machine flashed red.

The staff member glanced at it and pulled the ticket out. "This is a complimentary ticket. It's only valid for children under four feet tall. Adults can't use it to enter."

I froze.

Hazel tilted her head. "Huh? No way…"

She turned to Mom and Dad and stuck out her tongue. "This ticket was originally for Macy next door, but she had to go to summer camp at the last minute.

"I thought it'd be a waste not to use it, so I invited Heather instead… I didn't know there was an age restriction."

It was meant for the kid next door. She couldn't make it, so they invited me.

Mom and Dad stood on the other side of the gate, looking at me through the barrier. Mom tugged lightly on Dad's sleeve. He cleared his throat and said nothing.

They were waiting for me to say something. I knew that silence all too well. It was the same two seconds of hesitation from when Dad picked up Hazel to go to the movies when I was 12.

It wasn't that they couldn't take me. They were waiting for me to take the hint.

I took a deep breath. "It's fine. I'll just wait outside and—"

"She's also your kid, right?"

The ticket attendant looked up and cut me off before I could finish. "Just buy her another ticket. The poor kid came all the way in this heat. You can't seriously make her stand outside all day."

Dad seemed to snap out of a daze. "Right, right. We'll get another ticket."

Mom quickly pulled out her phone. "How much is it? I'll pay."

Once we got inside, Hazel dragged Mom and Dad toward the first ride. They quickly disappeared into the crowd. I stood there, carrying all three of their backpacks.

Soaring took 40 minutes, Minecarts took 25, and the carousel took another 10. I kept track of the time, sitting on a bench outside each ride and waiting for them to come out.

Not once that entire day did anyone ask if I wanted to go on a ride.

After we left the park, Dad took me out to dinner for once. He smiled at me. "So, Heather, how did you do on your SAT?"

I was just about to answer when Hazel suddenly slapped her cutlery down onto the table. "Ugh, why is this steak well done? I hate it when it's well done!"

Mom immediately raised her hand for the waiter. "Please bring her another one—medium well with black pepper sauce. Fries on the side, no salad."

She rattled it all off without hesitation, as though she had memorized it.

Once the new steak arrived, Dad never asked me again. Instead, he started talking about Hazel's college applications.

She happily dug into her steak, looking pleased with herself. "For my first choice, I applied to one of the state's top universities. If that doesn't work out, I still have an international foundation program as a backup!

"You know, that program requires applications two years in advance. I heard a lot of students don't even have time to prepare."

Mom smiled lovingly. "Good thing we started preparing back in your freshman year. Don't worry, Hazel. I'll always have your back."

They had started preparing Hazel's applications when she was a freshman in high school, yet Dad didn't even make it to the end of the question about my SAT score before forgetting about it.