Chapter 3

I didn’t tell them about the MIT acceptance. Not yet. I just locked my phone, walked right past their stunned faces, and left them standing in the school lobby

I still made myself a ghost. 

I blocked their new numbers, and stayed off campus. I only returned to my villa on Thursday afternoon to grab my original birth certificate for the MIT enrollment file.

The moment my Uber pulled up to the gates, I saw them.

Xavier and Magnus were sitting on the cold concrete by my front door. 

They looked pathetic. Xavier’s designer shirt was wrinkled, and dark circles heavily bruised his under-eyes. Magnus had his head buried in his hands, his knuckles raw as if he’d been punching walls.

Hearing the car, their heads snapped up. 

"Sera!" Magnus scrambled to his feet, his massive frame practically launching toward me. "Where have you been? We’ve been camping here for three days!"

Xavier grabbed my wrist, his voice cracking with genuine panic. "We thought something happened to you. You can't just disappear like that, Sera. Do you know how terrified we were?"

Looking at their bloodshot eyes, a sudden, suffocating memory hit me. 

I was ten years old. My parents had just finalized their vicious divorce, leaving me alone in a massive, empty house. I had run away into a freezing rainstorm, hiding in a park drainpipe. 

It was Xavier and Magnus who found me at 3:00 AM, covered in mud and shivering. They had hugged me tightly, crying just like they were now, swearing they would protect me forever.

For a split second, the ghost of that ten-year-old girl ached inside me. But the seventeen-year-old who died in a moldy apartment quickly strangled her.

Contrasting their childhood promises with their future betrayals, my mind had never been clearer.

"I needed space," I pulled my wrist out of Xavier's grip. "I'm fine."

"Don't do it again," Magnus breathed out. "Look, the senior class is having a farewell beach BBQ tonight. Everyone is going. Come with us. Let’s just... go back to normal. Please."

I looked at them. A farewell BBQ. It was oddly fitting. A final curtain call before I left for Boston. 

"Fine," I said smoothly. "I'll go."

That night, the bonfire on the beach was roaring. 

Xavier and Magnus treated me like absolute royalty, putting on a sickeningly perfect show. 

Xavier meticulously peeled grilled shrimp for me, placing them on my pristine porcelain plate. Magnus took off his expensive varsity jacket to drape it over my shoulders to block the ocean breeze, glaring at any guy who dared to look my way.

The whole class was buzzing. 

"Sera is so lucky," a girl whispered loudly. "Look at them. They’re basically fighting over her."

"So, Sera," the class president teased, raising a beer. "Who gets to be the lucky boyfriend? The physics prodigy or the jock?"

I took a sip of my sparkling water. "I haven't decided."

I excused myself to go to the restroom located behind the jagged rock formations. The music faded as I walked further from the fire. 

As I passed a dark alcove, a familiar, pathetic sobbing stopped me in my tracks. 

"Don't cry, Mo. You know I can't stand it when you cry." It was Xavier. 

I stepped into the shadow of a boulder and looked down. 

Moira was pressed against the stone wall. Xavier had both hands on her waist, while Magnus was aggressively wiping tears from her cheeks.

Moira wailed softly. "Watching you two fawn over her out there... It kills me! You’re supposed to be mine. Maybe I should just disappear."

"Stop saying that," Magnus growled, his voice thick with pain. "You think I like carrying her chair and playing her idiot bodyguard? It’s agonizing. But we have to keep her happy so she keeps producing the lab data you need for your medical grants."

"Just a little longer, Moira," Xavier kissed her forehead, his tone pleading. "Pretending to court Seraphina makes me sick to my stomach. You are the only one I want. Just... give us a reward for dealing with her today. Please."

Moira sniffled, playing the reluctant victim perfectly, before leaning up and kissing Xavier, then Magnus. 

I pulled out my phone, snapped a crystal-clear photo with the flash off, and walked back to the bonfire.

Ten minutes later, the boys returned, immediately resuming their posts at my side. Xavier poured me more water. Magnus adjusted the jacket on my shoulders. 

"So, Sera," Magnus grinned, playing to the crowd. "When are you going to put us out of our misery and pick one of us?"

"I'll give you my answer when the fall semester starts." 

Moira emerged from the shadows shortly after. Her eyes were red, but when she saw Xavier’s hand resting casually on the back of my chair, a flash of pure, venomous jealousy warped her delicate features. 

"Sera," Moira walked up to me, her voice sickeningly sweet. "I saw some beautiful tide pools down by the cliff edge. Come look at them with me? Just us girls."

Xavier frowned. "It's dark out there, Mo."

"We'll be quick!" she chirped. 

I stood up. "Sure. Lead the way."

We walked far down the shoreline. The ocean roared violently against the sharp rocks. It was pitch black, illuminated only by the sliver of a crescent moon.

"You know, Sera," Moira stopped at the edge of the water, her back to me. "I really hate how easy everything is for you."

"Is that why you stole my USNCO spot?" I asked flatly.

She turned around. Her fragile, sick-girl mask was entirely gone. 

Her face was twisted into a grotesque, manic sneer. "I didn't steal it. They handed it to me. Just like they hand me their hearts while feeding you scraps. But it's still not enough. As long as you breathe, they still look at you."

Before I could react, she lunged. 

I didn't even see the rock in her hand until it smashed into the side of my head. 

Pain exploded behind my eyes, blinding white and agonizing. I stumbled, tasting copper as blood instantly poured down my temple. 

"Die!" Moira shrieked. 

She grabbed the collar of my shirt and violently shoved all her weight against me. We both tumbled backward off the slippery rocks, plunging straight into the freezing, violent surf. 

The shock of the cold water paralyzed my lungs. Saltwater violently flooded my nose and mouth. I thrashed wildly, trying to kick toward the surface, but the current was too strong. 

Above the water, I heard Moira screaming hysterically. "Help! Help us! We fell!"

I broke the surface, gasping for air. Through the stinging saltwater and my own blood, I saw two figures sprinting down the beach, diving recklessly into the raging waves. 

"Xavier! Magnus!" I choked out, reaching my hand toward them. My heavy clothes were dragging me under. I couldn't swim. 

They sliced through the water, fast and desperate. 

And they swam right past me. 

Magnus's elbow clipped my shoulder as he bypassed me entirely. Xavier didn't even look in my direction. They both lunged for Moira, grabbing her by the waist and dragging her toward the shore.

"We got you, Mo! We've got you!" Magnus yelled. 

My hand dropped. A massive wave crashed over my head, forcing me under. 

The darkness swallowed me. 

They chose her. As I sank into the black abyss, my last thought wasn't despair. It was a cold, absolute vow of destruction.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sterile smell of hospital bleach dragged me awake. My throat felt like torn sandpaper. 

"Sera! Thank God!" 

I opened my eyes slowly. Xavier and Magnus were hovering over my hospital bed. They were drenched, shivering, and looking at me with wide, panicked eyes. 

"Sera, we are so sorry," Xavier said quickly, his voice trembling. "It was so dark, and the waves were massive. We couldn't tell who was who in the water. We thought we grabbed you first."

A lie. My trench coat was jet black. Moira’s sundress was bright white. 

Before I could speak, the door pushed open. A nurse popped her head in. "Boys? Miss Bennett is awake down the hall. She's crying and asking for you."

Instantly, Xavier dropped my hand like it burned him. Magnus took a massive step back toward the door. 

"We'll be right back, Sera," Magnus said hurriedly, not even making eye contact. "Rest up."

I lay there in the quiet room. My phone, sitting on the bedside table in a dry-bag, buzzed. 

I picked it up. It was a text from Moira. 

Did the saltwater taste good? They chose me, Sera. They will always choose me. You have nothing.