They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 04

They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 04

The black transport pulled up outside the neighborhood entrance at dawn.

My parents were overseas on a work project. They could only say goodbye over a video call.

My mom’s eyes were swollen from crying. “Are you sure you don’t need us to fly back?”

“The research center doesn’t allow family visits during intake.”

My dad was next to her, barely holding it together.

“Look after yourself out there, okay?”

“If anyone gives you trouble, talk to your advisor. Don’t just take it lying down.”

My throat burned.

At least someone actually cared that I was leaving.

And then there was everyone else.

The night before, they’d been at Brielle’s house decorating for the Bellhaven Five party.

The group chat had blown up all night.

Grant posted a photo of a wall covered in balloons.

[Mara, you have the best taste. Come save us.]

Graham replied right under it.

[She’s still throwing a fit. Stop babying her.]

Reid posted a photo of a cake topped with five little figurines.

[Give her two days in Westreach and she’ll calm down. We can let her watch the livestream then.]

I didn’t reply.

The intake coordinator loaded my luggage into the trunk.

“Miss Ellsworth, the confidentiality protocol begins the moment you enter the vehicle.”

“Your personal phone will be sealed and your social media accounts suspended. Is there anyone you still need to reach?”

“No.”

I got in.

A notification popped up from the group chat.

Brielle had renamed the group from [The Five of Us] to [Bellhaven Five].

Then she sent a screenshot.

My nickname in the chat used to be [Little Princess].

Now it said [Westreach Online Friend].

Brielle dropped a laughing emoji.

[Changed it just for fun. Mara won’t be mad, right?]

Grant replied right away.

[If she’s got a problem, she can crawl back from Westreach and change it herself.]

Reid sent a row of crying-laughing emojis.

Graham didn’t say anything, but he liked the message.

Nolan was the last to respond.

[Fits her.]

I stared at the screen and waited for it to hurt. It didn’t.

They had no idea.

In ten minutes, I wouldn’t even be their [Westreach Online Friend].

I left the group chat and deleted all four of their numbers.

I paused on Nolan’s name for two seconds.

His last message came through right then.

[Stop being dramatic.]

[Come to Brielle’s tonight and bring the hard drive.]

Not a question. An order.

He still believed I’d come running every time he snapped his fingers.

I didn’t answer. I just deleted him.

The coordinator handed me a security pouch.

“Power off your phone and place it inside.”

“For the duration of the program, unauthorized outside contact is prohibited. No one outside the project will be able to trace your location.”

I held down the power button.

The screen went black, and eighteen years of my life went dark with it.

The black transport pulled away from the neighborhood, slow and steady.

Through the window, the old pear tree we’d all grown up under slid past and was gone.

At the highway toll plaza, my fingers closed around something in my pocket.

The birthstone pendant. The one I’d worn since I was little.

I’d offered it to Brielle the day before.

She didn’t want it because my name was engraved on it. She’d posed for one photo with it and shoved it back into my bag.

Eighteen years together, and I didn’t even get a real goodbye.

The toll gate lifted.

The coordinator looked at me.

“Once we pass this point, there’s no coming back.”

I rolled down the window.

Morning air hit my face and whipped through my hair.

I opened my hand and looked at the pendant one last time.

Then I let go.

It hit the concrete ledge beside the toll plaza with a sharp clink.

The transport didn’t stop.

It carried me past the Bellhaven city limits and toward Westreach, nine hundred miles away.

I never looked back.