Jessie Kensington thought she had escaped her troubled past when she faked her death and started a new life as Violet Arrowood. But three years later, she finds herself at Vanguard University on a scholarship, trying to build the future she always d...
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It's been three weeks since Josie took me in. In that time, I've grown closer to the girls here and learned more about their pasts. Haylee and Izzy, I discovered, are sisters. They left home as soon as they turned eighteen, fleeing a life they could no longer endure. Their mother passed away when they were children, and their father was far from kind. They haven't shared many details, and I haven't pressed them.
Rin—short for Mirinida—fell in with the wrong crowd when she was younger. She ended up in a marriage she never wanted but was too afraid to refuse. Unlike Haylee and Izzy, Rin has opened up more about her struggles. She spoke of how, once married, her husband treated her like property, reducing her to merely an object to serve his needs. The punishment for any perceived disobedience was harsh. Hearing their stories, so different yet echoing my own experiences, made me realise the pervasive darkness in the world. It didn't offer the hope I desperately needed, but it provided a different kind of solace—knowing I wasn't alone. It's a bitter comfort to share this pain with others, but it's the truth. It feels like I'm not the only one cursed by fate.
Josie has been like a mother to me these past few weeks. She welcomed me into her home with open arms. I continued working at the bar, and she ensured I was picked up every night, with a warm meal waiting for me when I got home. She bought me clothes despite my protests and refused to accept any rent. It still feels surreal to be surrounded by such generosity and kindness. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the world to slap me with a cruel twist, but it hasn't happened. Josie has been a beacon of light in my life, and I've grown dangerously attached to her. That's why what I'm about to do tears up my insides.
This isn't real. It feels like a dream, like I'm living someone else's life.
I scan the bedroom to make sure I have everything. I don't take anything that isn't mine—not even the clothes and personal items Josie bought for me. I tidy the bed, put the books I read back on the shelf, smooth the cushions on the window seat, and close the curtains. I know I'll miss this spot the most. I return to the bed and start stuffing everything into my bag.
I hear Rin getting up for her morning run, which we've done together at 5 a.m. every day. I told her I was going to sleep in today because I have a long shift tonight. I peek through the curtains and watch her put in her headphones and run down the path away from the house. I turn back to my bed, but then I hear something from inside the house and pause.
My stomach drops as the bedroom door swings open. My duffel bag is open, and I'm holding a pile of scrunched-up clothes, about to shove them into the bag. Josie walks in, draped in a black silk gown. Her glasses, which she only wears indoors, rest on her nose. She looks at me, then at the bag, and back at me.
"You're leaving," she says, her voice a mix of disappointment and hurt.
The rancid thing in my chest cracks. I didn't know it was possible to break even more, but her pain tears me open.
