[ WP ] You are a malicious imaginary friend , your host is 19 . You feed off of her when she has fun with you . She thinks she 's too old for you , all her friends and family say so , change her mind before you fade forever .

Libby is standing in her closet. A suitcase lies open, half-full with tank tops and jeans. 
 
 *It's only August. Is she going back to school already? How did I not know this? * 
 
 She sighs but does n't turn to face me. 
 
 I feel empty. 
 
 I've lost so much of myself already this summer: 
 
 **1. My T-Rex Tail** 
 
 I'd carried it around awkwardly for years after growing it out during grade school. The day she arrives from her first year of college, I leap out from her closet and extend my tail like an outstretched hand, asking her to dance. 
 
 *Was this throwback too risky? It would have sent 7-year old Libby into hysterics. * 
 
 `` I'm sorry, Jane - but you know I ca n't talk to you. Please.'' 
 
 She disappears into the bathroom and I curl up in her closet. I hide for weeks and watch the five-foot, glitter-scaled tail disintegrate into a pile of lint and dryer sheets. 
 
 
 **2. My Finger** 
 
 `` Just go away!!'' 
 
 It's June and Libby is screaming at me for the first time in her life because I follow her to a friends' softball game. 
 
 She yells the same three words again and again, but I only hear it once before I'm jogging in the other direction. 
 
 I'm one block away when a breeze lifts my index finger from its place and carries it up beyond my reach. I stuff my hands in my pockets, willing them to remain intact, and watch my estranged finger float on a direct path towards the softball field. 
 
 **3. Most of my right foot. ** 
 
 On July 4th - a miracle. Libby brings me to the beach. We dance through the dunes together until we collapse into giggles, which die down as we lie back and identify cloud animals. Life is perfect. 
 
 Until the platinum blonde head of Libby's mother, Maria, appears above us. 
 
 `` Who were you talking to?'' 
 
 `` No one! Really!'' 
 
 Libby sounds terrified. 
 
 I barely have time to register what happens next, much less intervene. 
 
 Maria and Libby's dad, Jon, have stuffed her in the backseat of their car and are speeding away from me. By the time I make it back to their dock, I can barely make out the outline of their boat in the distance. 
 
 I swim for 40 minutes before I finally see them. Libby is leaning over one side of the boat, staring blankly into the water. Behind her, Jon and Maria's voices converge in a keening whine. 
 
 `` We just want what's best for you. You know that right?'' 
 
 `` Dr. Landry told you to let us know if this happened again, right? You have to let us know, or we ca n't help you stay healthy, baby!'' 
 
 I'm perched directly below Libby's head now. Red-ringed hazel eyes stare past me. She shakes her head once, then stands up. 
 
 `` Dad, Mom, can we please go home?'' 
 
 The boat speeds away and I watch it, kicking to stay above water. The moment that I lose sight of it, my big toe floats lazily past me. I'll end up with only an inch of fractured right heel by the time I make it back to shore. 
 
 -- 
 
 It has been a summer of loss. But I wo n't go down without a fight. 
 
 Libby's at her bedroom door, zipping her suitcase. 
 
 I wanted to find another way, but I'm out of time. 
 
 The fan in Libby's room is in overdrive, oscillating madly. I feel faint as I watch it. I sneak into a corner of the room, avoiding a blast of air that could end this conversation before it starts. 
 
 She steps out into the hall and reaches for her door. 
 
 `` Libby. I ca n't let you go without telling you the truth.'' 
 
 Silence. It stretches on for 10, 15 seconds. 
 
 She strides in without warning and stands in front of me. Her face is bright red, jaw grinding like she does when she's angry. 
 
 `` What are you talking about Jane? You have to leave me alone, you know that...'' 
 
 `` I ca n't! You wo n't be safe! Remember what I've always told you? I'm here to protect you. I'll always be.'' 
 
 Her head shakes violently and chestnut curls fall out of a loose braid and down her back. When she finally stops and looks at me, I meet her gaze. My cheeks are wet with tears. Her mouth quivers as she reaches for me by instinct, then checks herself and steps back. 
 
 `` Jane, I'' m sorry... I really am. You know I love you. But there's nothing you need to protect me from!'' 
 
 `` Yes. There has been since the day you were born.'' 
 
 Her eyes look glassy, in that baby deer way they do when she's trying not to cry. But she is n't looking away, she's staring at me. I'll never get another opportunity like this. I have to take it. There is no turning back. 
 
 `` It's your parents, Libby. You know those times you've caught them snooping? Listening in on our conversations? Reading your diary? It's happened a lot has n't it?'' 
 
 Her face pales instantly. 
 
 `` No... that's because.. I've been sick. You know that'' 
 
 `` Have you really, my love? Have you ever felt that you were sick? What is so wrong with the way that you are?'' 
 
 I step out from behind the fan, moving closer. 
 
 `` I'll tell you what is wrong with you - absolutely nothing. They are the ones who are wrong. They can not appreciate you because they know they can never be like you. They hate being ordinary and so they want to take what makes you so special away.'' 
 
 `` Jane - please, this does n't make sense.'' 
 
 `` Yes it does, dear. And you know it does. You know what's in your purse. The last step in their'treatment plan'. Anti-psychotic medication. Do you want to be doped up for the rest of your life, to lose what makes you you? I am the only one here who is fighting for you. It's just you and me, babe.'' 
 
 Libby turns a tear-stained cheek towards me and looks at me with eyes I have n't seen in years. They're open, unguarded, vulnerable. They're asking me to take care of her. To take care of us. 
 
 `` It's going to be fine, love. I know what we need to do.'' 
 
 -- 
 
 I stand behind her, rubbing her back as she leans over the toilet. The pills hit the water like raindrops. She reaches to flush them away. 
 
 `` That's right. We'll always be together now.''
