Today Becky had done Nathalie’s hair in two long braids with a red feather woven into one. When Nathalie shook her head, Harper had to be careful to move out of the way because the braids were like whips.

“What, Mom?” Harper asked gently.

“This isn’t right,” Nathalie insisted. She paced her room, which was hard to do, since she’d thrown everything around in the room.

The staff had informed Harper that Nathalie had done it yesterday during some kind of tantrum. Her clothes and stuffed animals were all over the floor, along with her stereo and her beloved Justin Bieber CDs.

The policy here was that if Nathalie made a mess, she had to be the one to clean it up. She struggled with responsibility, and the staff were trying to make her understand the consequences of her actions. If her stuff got broken because she threw it on the floor, then she had to deal with it.

“Mom, everything’s fine,” Harper lied. “Gemma’s fine. She’s just at a swim meet.”

Telling the truth wouldn’t do her mother any good, at least not right now. And Harper just wanted to get her calmed down before she hurt herself.

“No, she’s not!” Nathalie insisted. “I’m her mother. I’m supposed to protect her. She told me where she was going, but I can’t remember where.”

“What?” Harper asked, and her heart stopped beating for a second. “Gemma told you where she was going?”

“She told me when she came before, and I can’t remember.” Nathalie hit herself in the head, rather hard by the sound of it. “My stupid brain doesn’t work!”

“Mom, don’t hit yourself.” Harper went over to her mother and gently touched her arm to prevent her from hitting herself again.

“I should know this, Harper!” Nathalie wriggled away from her. In her attempt to escape, she tripped over a tennis shoe on the floor and fell.

Harper bent to help her up, but Nathalie swatted at her, pushing her away.

“Mom, please,” Harper said, crouching down next to her. “Let me help you.”

“If you want to help me, tell me where Gemma is,” Nathalie said. “I’ve lost her.” She started crying then, heavy tears falling down her cheeks. “I can’t find her. Something’s happened to my baby, and I don’t know where she is.”

Harper wrapped her arms around her mother, holding her as she sobbed. She stroked her hair, and all the while Nathalie kept repeating over and over that she’d lost her baby.

Her mother cried for a long time, and when she finally stopped, she seemed exhausted. Harper helped her into bed, and Nathalie passed out almost immediately.

When Harper left the room, she closed the door quietly behind her so as not to wake her mother. Becky was in the kitchen, setting the table for lunch, and she gave Harper a knowing smile when she saw how weary Harper looked.

“She’s sleeping now,” Harper said.

“Good,” Becky said. “Maybe she’ll be in a better mood when she wakes up.”

“I hope so,” Harper said. “And I’m sorry about all that.”

It wasn’t her fault that Nathalie acted out and got out of control sometimes. Deep down, Harper knew that. But she still felt responsible for all of her mother’s bad behaviors. Whenever the family would get word about Nathalie treating the staff badly or breaking things, Harper would instantly feel guilty, like she should somehow be able to make her mother act better.

“Don’t worry about it.” Becky waved off the idea of guilt. “She’s been having a rough week anyway.”

“What do you mean?” Harper asked.

“She’s been asking about your sister a lot, which is strange because she doesn’t ask about either of you all that often,” Becky said, then instantly looked apologetic. “I know she loves you both very much. It just doesn’t occur to her to ask about you.”

“No, I understand,” Harper said. “What exactly has she been asking about Gemma?”

“Mostly just where is she and when is she coming to visit,” Becky said. “I kept telling her that Gemma would be here today, and I was really hoping that when she came today, it would calm Nathalie down.”

“Sorry. I should’ve called and told you, I guess,” Harper said. “But Gemma’s not … Gemma ran away.”

“Oh?” Becky’s eyes widened with concern.

“Yeah, she left earlier this week, but we hadn’t planned on telling my mom,” Harper said. “At least not yet. I didn’t want to worry her.”

“Of course, I understand.” Becky nodded. “But, gosh, that’s so weird. It’s like Nathalie knew that Gemma was missing.”

“Yeah, I know,” Harper agreed. “I was wondering if maybe Gemma said something to her when she visited last Sunday? Did my mom say anything about where Gemma might be going?”

Last week, they’d skipped their Saturday visit, because Gemma had been comforting Alex over his friend Luke’s death. Harper and Gemma had gone out to see their mom on Sunday instead, and Harper had planned on going in with her, but Gemma asked to visit Nathalie alone.

“No, sorry,” Becky said sadly. “The only thing your mom said after Gemma visited was that she was going to live with mermaids, and we didn’t put much stock in that. Maybe it means something to you?”

“Um, no.” Harper shook her head. She couldn’t very well tell her mother’s assisted living staff that Gemma had turned into a siren.