PART IV

“Lane?”

“Yes?”

“We’re concerned about you.”

“Don’t be.”

“You lock yourself away for hours. And you build this …”

“Art, Mom. It’s art.”

“Art is painting the ocean. Or maybe a portrait. Have you tried those?”

“Jeez. Could you be more old-fashioned?”

“When you’re my age—”

“I’ll be all alone, eating cat food and talking to the rosebushes. Is that what you’re afraid of?”

“I’m afraid that a twelve-year-old girl knows what she wants, but not what she needs.”

“I need you to leave.”