The sun shines through her floral-printed curtains as she tries to ignore the fact that her alarm for school is about to go off. Her luxurious, full-size bed is far too warm and inviting to leave; it is practically begging her to stay. Abigail Burgess is the luckiest girl in the world, and she knows it. The comforter covering her is so silky that she fights to take it off, and taking her heat with her, but her parents don't like it when she ignores her alarm. So, she forced that warm comforter off her and reached for her alarm before it could reach her. She got up and looked in the mirror that highlighted her warm olive skin, which featured the hickies her boyfriend Derek left as a present for her on both sides of her neck. It made her smile to herself as she felt excited just thinking about him. A goofy smile spread across her face as she remembered their passionate make-out session last night. He always told her what he liked about her, but she wished the rest of her wasn't as chubby, but at least Derek didn't seem to mind.

She started to comb her hair with her wide-tooth comb before she straightened it. Why was she cursed with this frizz? Especially, when the rest of her family didn't have thick curls as she did, and it made her wonder why she was cursed with them. Abigail wished that she had the body and hair like her favorite singer, who was on every poster in her room, that showed her love of pop. She put on a spaghetti string top, a definite win for Derek, who chose her over all the girls in her grade. He could see any girl that he wanted, but he chose her, and his dark green eyes were things of a dream when they were on her, and she loved his light brown, messy hair, and golden tanned skin. She was hoping he would forget that she was a virgin.

She covered her top with a light cable knit turtle sweater that was in her favorite color, lavender, and a cute skirt, to hide the marks. Hopefully, Derek would meet before first period. Before heading downstairs, she applied a light layer of lip gloss.

In the kitchen, her mom, Vivienne, with her signature red hair like many on her side of the family, was preparing breakfast, and her dad, Patrick loved a whole spread of bacon, eggs, and toast as he read the paper. Vivienne set a plate in front of her dad before giving him a quick kiss, which he smiled at her like she was hung from the moon, and Abigail could see why, especially with how small she was, the freckles that made her look like a model, and just... awesome.

"Here is your plate, Abigail." Vivienne placed her plate in front of her.

"Thanks, Mom," she smiled, before digging in.

"How was the meeting yesterday, dear?" Vivienne asks her dad.

"A wreck, you think that I was talking about logo blocks, and not about medicine." Her dad's short brown hair looked almost blond under the light, as he rolled his eyes like Quinn would when they complained about homework.

"Abigail, did you finish your homework?" her dad asked.

She most definitely did not; she got distracted by daydreaming about her boyfriend and making a YouTube or TikTok video.

"I'm almost done, I just want to ask my friend about the end." She gave a half-truth.

Sometimes, she wondered why she didn't look more like her parents, but then she decided it didn't matter. What matters is keeping Derek happy so he stays her boyfriend, and being cute and trendy like her friends, rather than being academic or responsible. She was going to text him when she got to her car, so he knew that she was still thinking about him, and that way, he would have time to change his mind about her.

"That sounds like a good plan," her mom smiled.

"Thanks, Mom."

Her parents fell into an easy discussion about her dad's work, as she scrolled through her friend's social media, thinking about video ideas that could make her an influencer, and if her followers would like the outfit that she was wearing, even though it was for Derek. Despite wanting to give him everything, she hoped that it didn't make her look like she was easy online, especially considering she was still a virgin.

"You'd better go off to school, Abigail, you don't want to be late," Patrick said as he set down the newspaper.

"You're right, I'd better grab my bag," she replied.

"Here's that coffee money I promised," Vivienne handed her some cash.

"Thanks, Mom." Her parents were wonderful. "See you soon!"

Abigail was so ready to take a nap and get over this day. School was so tiring and boring at the same time; her backpack was heavy with the books and homework she didn't want to deal with, and she was counting the minutes until she opened her front door. The only good part of school was being with Derek and hanging out with her friends, besides being able to drive her blue hybrid Volkswagen to and from what felt like education prison. Pulling up to her spot in the drive away, she noticed that her dad was home way earlier than he normally would be. Which was really odd, but maybe he was sick like he had been during COVID.

Opening up the front door, she was hit with the smell of peanut butter and chocolate cookies, which was something that her mom only made for special occasions. But she didn't know any special occasions that were happening, so it sounded like laughter and chatter coming from inside caught her off guard. Abigail had a feeling of displacement that she couldn't explain, and she didn't like it. So, she made her way to the kitchen, where the noise was coming from.

There was a girl her age between her parents, who both had never looked more in love than they did with this stranger, who looked at them as if they were the answer to her prayers. The girl with the same red hair as her mom sat small between them, in a dress that gave her cottagecore vibes, especially with the sunflower and daisy pattern on the dress. Whatever this was, it screamed like it was not good news for her. The stranger with her family's hair looked sweet and kind, which made it worse. And what made this devastating was that she looked more like she belonged than Abigail did.

"I'm so sorry you lost them, but we are so grateful that you are now where you belong." Vivienne brushed the identical red hair of the stranger next to her.

“And I’m so grateful that you both are allowing me into your lives, especially when you already have a daughter,” she said in a soft, musical voice that didn’t match how drop-dead beautiful she was.

"You don't need to worry about that. There is no comparison," her dad’s eyes lit upwhen he smiled at the girl.

The girl looked sad but happy at the same time, but all Abigail wanted to know was what she was doing in her house and in her spot in the family.

"What's going on? And who is sitting in my seat?" She had to know.

"Oh my," her mom exclaimed and almost looked ashamed.

"Well, it's kind of a long story, Abigail," her dad started.

"I should go," the stranger said, looking down.

"No, you're here to stay, dear," her mom said as she ran the back of her hand down the girl's freckled face.

Dear? They didn't call her dear or anything but her name. Why was this stranger so special?

"I don’t understand," Abigail questioned.

"This is April. She had been living with the people she thought were her parents until a few months ago," Patrick answered.

"Thought?" Please don't she prayed, "What do you mean by thought?"

"Well, Abigail, our dear April was switched at birth," Vivienne leaning into April as if to hold her close.

There was that word again, dear.

"What does that have to do with our family?" Abigail said, but at this point, she knew; she just didn't want to expect it.

"April is our daughter," Patrick said, and he might as well have stabbed her in the heart.

"Excuse me? What about me?" she couldn't help but ask. It was like the world fell off its axis, and everything was wrong.

"I'm not trying to replace you," April said softly as tears filled her eyes.

"Replace me?" She repeated, the word replace echoing in her mind.

Because that was exactly what it felt like, her parents had gotten someone new.

"If she’s your daughter, then what does that make me? Are you getting rid of me?" She was freaked out.

"You will always be our child, and we would never get rid of you, Abigail. We love you," her mom replied.

"Everything will be fine," her dad added, and he saying it like a promise.