I did not know if I meant it. That my sister and I could no longer be friends with Gabriel. Maybe I was serious. Maybe I was not thinking straight. The only thing that I knew was that Gabriel needed to get out. Get out and cool off. I was afraid that his fury would get the best of him.

I covered my ears and looked away as Gabriel stormed out of the room. The only sound that I heard from him was the front door being slammed. I slowly uncovered my ears and wanted to cry. I wanted to let go of all my sadness. He was upset, and so was I.

But before I could cry, a person came in. It was Adalee. She had changed both her shirt and shorts. She had on her ugly green shirt. I wanted to facepalm - and puke - when I saw it. I do not know why she likes that shirt. I wish that she threw it away or at least left it back at our old home. Then again, I do not want strangers to puke.

"Goodness," I said as I ran my fingers through my hair. "Oh my gosh."

"What is wrong with you?" Adalee asked as she walked over to me. "Besides the fact that you have a bionic leg and arm."

"Would you stop calling my prosthetic limbs bionic? It is not like that I am a superhero."

Then she said the cutest thing. "You are my superhero, Allison." She wrapped her arms around me. "I look up to you always. Literally."

I could not help but smile and hug her back. "That is a lovely thing to say." I pulled away from her and placed my hands on her shoulders. "Now about that shirt..."

She rolled her eyes. "I am not up for an argument right now. Besides, you always win."

"No, I do not."

"You do because you are the superhero." She surveyed her room. "Where is Gabriel? Did he have to go?"

"Yes. But he did not go on his own accord."

"What do you mean?"

I pulled my hands away. "I told him to leave."

"You did? Why? Why would you tell our only friend to leave? You could have ended the friendship."

"I...I think that I did."

"What?!"

"Adalee, please. You need to hear my side of the story."

She took in a deep breath. "You are right."

So I explained what happened during her absence and did not leave out a single detail. What Gabriel told me. What I told him. How he got aggressive and almost put a hole in her wall. She was not happy to hear that.

"Oh, wow," she said. She sat on her sleeping bag. "The crub is his problem?" She buried her face in her palms.

I inched closer to her. "You okay, Adalee?"

She looked up at me and nodded. "Yeah. I am fine. But we cannot say the same for Gabriel."

"So you believe me?"

"Of course, I believe you. You are my sister. My hero. I will always pick you over some guy." She looked down at her fingers and fiddled with them. "But you ought to forgive him. When he returns - if he ever returns - you two can make up."

I rubbed my prosthetic arm. "I think that I blew it, sis. I think that he does not want us to be friends anymore. He was furious with me. I could feel it."

"Give him some time, Allison. He cannot be angry with you forever."

We then heard a knock on the open door and turned to the doorway. Mom had knocked on said door, and she and Dad were in the hall and smiling.

Adalee stood and straightened out her ugly shirt. "Why are you smiling?" she asked. "Unless that those smiles are supposed to be sinister."

"We have good news," Dad said. He raised two fingers. "Two good news."

"What are they?" I asked as we walked over to them.

Mom clasped her hands together. "Well..." She glanced at Dad, and then back at us. "...we have decided to stay in this house. At least for a while."

"If we have any problems with that cursed lake, we will pack up and leave," Dad added.

Adalee rocked back and forth on her shoes. "So what is the other good news?"

"The movers finally arrived with our belongings! It is a miracle!" He pumped his fists in the air.

Mom tucked a hair strand behind her ear. "Seeing that your father is not going to ask you, I will."

I tested out my bionic arm. "Ask us what?"

"Would you please help us with getting our stuff in the house? And do not fret about carrying anything heavy. Your father and the movers will handle those."

"Sure. We will be more than happy to help."

"Great. The movers are already unloading, so you girls can come down now."

"Okay."

Dad was the first one to reach the stairs. My sister and I were going to join him, when Mom said, "Girls. May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Mom," I said. "What is it?"

"Why did Gabriel slam the front door on his way out?"

I could not sleep good that night. I think that part of it was the new house. The new environment. But I knew the other part for sure. It was Gabriel.

I could not stop thinking about him. His fury and what he shared with me. They both scared me and intrigued me. Why did Gabriel say what he said? Why did he not believe that people with disabilities can be evil too?

I was in bed with the covers up to my chin and lying on my side. I was wide awake and staring at the blackness that surrounded me.

"Do you have a disability?" I asked. Nobody else was in my room. "Is that why you were mad at me?"

"Allison...Allison..."