A ghost of a smile appeared, abruptly fading as she removed the pot, her hand shaking slightly as she poured water into her mug.
“There’s extra if you want some,” she murmured, pushing another packet of tea towards me. The giggling and blushing girl I met before the AEP party was nowhere to be found; in her place, a skittish shadow.
I smiled. “I’d love that, thanks.”
She nodded, stirring in some sugar. I flung open the cabinets: half empty bottles of liquor, a box of rice, and two baggies of weed. Hidden behind the rice I finally found another mug. Once I began seeping my own tea, I turned to Serina again. She’d settled into the corner of the couch, a blanket draped over her legs as she stared into the contents of her mug.
I recognized that blank stare, that dissociated indifference to the world while internal war waged. So many nights I’d donned the same cloak after lectures from mom.
I hated seeing it on someone as vibrant as her.
“My dad only agreed to let me attend UFWC if I joined the sorority my mom was in and found a powerful husband. How fucked is that?” she scoffed.
Had I really heard her correctly? It seemed incredibly archaic. My mind stumbled over reassurances and objections, but none of them sounded right.
I inched closer. “What madeyouwant to come here?”
She wet her cracked lips, a tiny spark flaring in her bloodshot eyes. “This is gonna sound ridiculous, but the internet fascinates me- how lines of symbols and numbers in specific combinations create access to a wealth of information. Coding is kind of my obsession. It’s like a language that opens the portal to another world.”
The wistful haze she’d slipped into dropped. “Out of all the colleges in Florida, UFWC has the most technically advanced curriculum. But my parents thought I was joking when I told them I wanted to major in computer engineering. Dad said no one would employ a woman engineer, I’d be better off finding a man to take care of me.”
I scooted across the couch, our knees bumping. “You are brilliant and powerful in your own right,” I murmured. The shaking in her hands slowed, a slight shimmer rising across her skin. “And I know for a fact that the School of Computer Engineering would shit themselves in awe of you.”
Her stuttered giggle tasted like victory, but all too soon her frown returned. She curled into herself. “None of it matters if those Institute people take me.”
“No one is taking you, or any of us.”
Both of our heads whipped to Ollie, leaning against the counter. Even dressed in only a pair of sweatpants, his intense gaze commanded undivided attention.
“Because of you,” Serina murmured.
He shook his head. “I hate to admit this, and if she were here, she’d never let me hear the end of it, but Miranda was right when she said we’re stronger together.”
“But what if-” Serina started, her chest rising and falling faster-
His eyes swirled silver, locked on hers. She sucked in a sharp breath.
A minute passed, tears shimmering on her lower lashes.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He nodded, giving me a little smile before disappearing into the room again. We sat in silence, staring into our tea until curiosity had my mouth opening.
“What did he say?”
She took a sip from her mug. “He said to call him or any of you if- if I get scared. And I can stay here whenever Miranda isn’t with me.”
As if I didn’t love that man enough, my heart exploded. I took her hand. “You’re not alone.”
34
Ollie
Unknown:Iknowwhatyou did to Isaac Fisher
I stared at the text, rhythmically rolling a pen across my lower lip in time to the ticking clock above the classroom door. Rather than wait the last two minutes for my Victorian Lit lecture to end, I stormed out, thumbs flying over my phone's screen.
Me: Then you know what you’re up against
