SERAPHINA'S POV
The next time I'm conscious, I'm waking up in a room similar to mine but different in so many ways.
The amount of pink lights and glitter and paint is enough to make anyone barf their breakfast out, and yet it's recognizable.
But how did I get here?
Memories of the last few seconds before I passed out fill my mind, and I sit up too fast, being hit with so much realization at once.
The pain in my back stabs the second I stand faster than I should have, and I suck in my breath before the throbbing in my head makes itself known.
I feel like utter shit and like I could actually barf right now.
"Sera?"
I look up and meet familiar faces, Alice and Juliet. It hits me that it was Alice who opened the door before I passed out, and she had probably dragged me back here with all the blood.
Both of them run to me, forcing me to lay back down together, and I don't fight it. I'm too weak or numb to do anything. And when I'm down, they're both silent, looking at me with pitiful eyes, without saying anything.
It's awkward.
They already know what happened; Alice saw the blood and the glass shard in my hands. They know I did it to myself. They probably think I was suicidal and wanted to kill myself.
Yeah, maybe I am.
Still, what's more embarrassing than being caught in the middle of ending it all, being faced with judgement and pitiful stares of how sad and pathetic I must have felt to go that far.
I hate it.
I can't stand the silence in the air, the awkwardness I feel pinching at me
"Did you tell Olivia?" I ask, cutting through it like a knife cutting butter.
"N-no," Alice responds knowingly. "Juliet treated your... wounds, and we haven't left your side since. It's been three hours."
"Great," I say coldly.
I don't want to be cold; I just don't know what to do in this situation.
"Are you okay?" Juliet finally finds the courage to ask.
I slowly nod my head, without words. They say nothing next, sharing looks but not asking questions, which I'm grateful for ultimately. The less they know, the better.
An hour later, I'm fine enough to sit on one of their beds while they carry out their normal activities, not without passing occasional glances my way.
Alice passes me a juice, and I drink it, gulping the whole bottle down because of my thirst and handing it back to her.
"Thank you."
She nods quietly.
Juliet suddenly drops the clothes she's been folding neatly in her hands with a sigh of frustration, looking at me with impatient eyes.
"Okay, I can't do this. I have to ask!" Her outburst is sudden, taking both of us off guard.
"Okay..." I mumble lowly, bracing myself for what comes next.
"We heard, rather we know, about the engagement; everyone does."
"I'm fine," I respond before the next part of it can follow, avoiding their eyes.
"Are you?" she prods.
I can't help but scoff at the question.
"Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
"Because you love him, and he loves you, and none of this makes any sense..."
"I'm fine!" I snap suddenly.
Again, I lose my temper, hating the look in their eyes, the fear, the pity they offer as if they could, for a second, comprehend what I'm going through.
The glass in my hand shatters into tiny bits, and the room goes silent again. It's a cautious silence that only makes me feel even worse, like some monster that they need to be careful around.
"Maybe I should leave," I say, getting up from the bed abruptly, moving for the door before I can make things worse.
"No!" they say in unison quickly, before I can take a step closer to the door.
"Please stay," Juliet chimes in softer, guilt for pressing in her eyes.
I look at their desperate pair of eyes for a second before sighing and sitting back on the bed.
"We're sorry for prying where we shouldn't and asking questions that would make anyone uncomfortable," Alice apologizes, and Juliet nods too.
Their apology seems sincere, and my resolve to leave the room before I can cause any more harm lessens a bit. I guess it wouldn't hurt to just hang out here for a while and calm myself.
The truth is I had no direction in mind when walking away, and I don't want to be alone right now.
I nod my head, and their worried looks shift into happy smiles. Their apprehension fades, and they both switch over to my sides.
"Now that you're awake and stronger, why don't we watch a movie?" Juliet offers, understanding my need to change the topic and lighten my mood.
Also, the fact that I might not want to leave yet.
I smile with a slight nod.
"It's a popular rom-com that only recently came out. Alice knows a guy," Juliet adds, winking at Alice, who raises her shoulders higher in pride of her own achievement of knowing someone useful.
"I chose this movie especially because Juliet said the protagonist's eyes look so much similar to Jasper's," she winks back.
I watch Juliet stare back at Alice, wide-eyed with her jaw hanging low, just before her entire face turns red as a tomato. I, on the other hand, stare at her in shock.
"Alice!" she chides her for revealing a secret I probably shouldn't have found out.
"You have a crush on Jasper? Really?" I ask, looking at her in awe.
Her face turns a deeper shade of red, turning away from me and clasping her cheeks. I guess I hadn't realized just how attractive he might have seemed to them.
Along the lines of being friends with Jasper, I began to see past his features, forgetting he's on the list of the top five most attractive guys in school, or how easily he pulls girls at parties.
All that sort of washed away to the back of my mind, especially while being with Artemis.
"Since when?"
"Since the cookie sale. She's been bottling it inside all this time," Alice continues to spill the tea without being asked, while wearing a mischievous smile.
"Alice, she asked me!" Juliet yells again, feeling more embarrassed.
She looks so cute, trying so hard to seem unaffected, that I can't help but chuckle just from watching her react to it. The first bit of laughter that I've let myself have in the entirety of today.
She looks at me mortified when I do, trying to plead her cause like it's a bad thing.
"It's only a tiny itsy bitsy crush, I swear."
"That's also a lie," Alice, the menace, jumps in again.
This time, Juliet grabs a pillow and chucks it at Alice with a great amount of force, hitting her right in the face.
"Shut up," she demands. I can't help but laugh harder at their antics.
"It's okay if you like him, Juliet. He's the opposite of bad-looking after all," I reassure her.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't feel that way. He probably has a dozen girls lining up to be with him. Worse case, he might have a crush or a girlfriend," she panics, voicing her insecurities.
"I doubt if he has a girlfriend. He's not the type to settle," I say, hoping to alleviate her worries.
However, I notice her shoulders immediately slump, and I realize that my words might have unintentionally made her feel worse.
"But... I could put in a good word for you with him," I suggest, trying to lift her spirits.
Her eyes widen in surprise and hope.
"Really?"
"Yeah," I confirm with a reassuring smile.
Suddenly, she throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my small body in a hug that radiates warmth and gratitude. It's a simple gesture, but it brings a small sense of stability to my heart.
***
I spend all the time I can with them until it's late at night and everyone's passed out from the movie except me. Quietly, I shuffle across the room, careful not to wake anyone.
After giving them one final glance, I leave and close the door behind me, moving towards my own room on the same floor.
Pushing my door open, I'm immediately greeted by Olivia sitting alone on her bed, crouched like a ball. She unravels with haste the moment she hears me walking in.
"Sera?" she jumps off her bed instantly.
"Hey," I say nervously, walking into the room, bracing myself for the scolding I'm about to receive for being away so long.
Olivia sprints over, engulfing me in a hug that's a bit too tight. She pulls away to look at me more squarely, and her relief turns into something else.
She frowns, looking genuinely hurt.
"Where have you been? I was worried!" she exclaims.
"I'm sorry I left without letting you know I would be gone for long. It was... it was an emergency," I explain, omitting the details of my mental breakdown and the self-harm.
I offer a small smile to reassure her, but she's not reassured. Instead, she breaks into a heavy sigh of relief and light trembling, falling onto her bed again. Guilt stabs at me again, and I sit next to her.
"It's okay, Olivia, I'm here now. I'm safe," I say, trying to calm her.
Suddenly, she pushes my hands away, her agitation and anger surfacing in a way I've never seen before. She seems truly shaken by something more than just worry.
"You don't understand. I saw the dent on the wall and I thought you spiraled, or ran away, or went somewhere dangerous that could have gotten you killed!" she yells, her anger directed at me.
I stay silent, too guilty to apologize but growing suspicious. Why would she think I ran away?
"Olivia?" I lean forward, wanting to understand.
Realizing she's revealed something sensitive, she deflates.
"I'm so sorry, Sera. I'm sorry. If I could change things, I swear, I swear I would."
I feel a sense of dread building up.
"What happened? Tell me," I urge her, my lips pursed tightly together.
Her head is down for a moment, devastated, and when she finally looks at me again, her eyes filled with the same pity I saw in Alice and Juliet's earlier.
My heart sinks further.
"Tell me."
"The wedding... it's been moved. The announcement was made two hours ago," she manages to say.
My entire body stiffens, my palms turn cold, and I can barely breathe.
"W-what?" I stutter in disbelief.
"It's in three days, Sera. Artemis is getting married in three days," Olivia reveals, her words echoing in my head like a death knell.