Stay

"Stay" is the powerful story of a young girl stunned into silence after the death of her twin brother. Set in small-town Massachusetts and on Martha's Vineyard, "Stay" is a terrifically accomplished first novel, and a redemptive tale of love, loss and perserverance.
"Few characters are as eloquent as the mute Emily. "Stay" will stay with you long after you've reluctantly turned the final, moving page." -Mameve Medwed
Mary Sullivan lives in Cambridge, where she is on the staff at PEN/New England. "Stay" is her first novel.

Chapter One

"Time for confession," my sister whispers in my ear. "You better talk to us or you'll end up like you know who.""Come on, Emily, now or never," Hope says from the top of the stairs. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, are you coming?" Elizabeth Ruth asks. Hope's my oldest sister, then Sarah, Elizabeth Ruth, and me. "We'll see who's going to heaven," Hope says, spreading the bathroom mat in front of the tub and draping a towel over the curtain rod of the bathroom window to block out the morning light. Then she stands in the doorway and nods, meaning she's ready for Sarah to come and kneel inside the tub to make her confession.

Hope shuts the door on me an