They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 05

They Bet I Would Leave, I Proved Them Right Chapter 05

Once we hit the restricted route, the coordinator collected my phone.

“From here on out, you’re just a project ID.”

“Your identity, personal relationships, and communication records are all suspended until further notice.”

I nodded.

“I understand.”

Outside the window, the city thinned out and turned to empty land.

I leaned back against the seat. For the first time, no one was texting me to drop something off, or edit a

video, or fix a problem that wasn’t mine.

The quiet felt strange.

Meanwhile, back in Bellhaven, life went on without me.

Brielle’s party had already started.

Grant was up on a ladder, hanging the last string of lights.

Graham was fiddling with the projector.

Reid sliced into the cake with the five figurines on top.

Nolan checked the time.

7:05 PM.

I still hadn’t shown up.

He texted me.

[Where are you?]

A red exclamation mark popped up: [Not Delivered].

He stared at it, then typed again.

[Mara, quit playing around and unblock me.]

Another red exclamation mark. [Not Delivered].

Grant looked over his shoulder.

“Is she still being dramatic?”

“She blocked me.”

Reid rolled his eyes.

“How childish can you get?”

“Give it a day. She won’t be able to help herself; she’ll add you right back.”

But Graham went still.

“Where’s the hard drive?”

Brielle blinked.

“Wasn’t Mara supposed to bring it?”

Before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang.

Nolan was on his feet in a second.

But when he opened the door, it was just a delivery driver.

“Mr. Lawson? Local delivery for you.”

They opened the box.

Inside: the external hard drive, a stack of competition prep packets, Grant’s basketball medal, and four

unsigned letters.

Reid plugged the hard drive into the laptop.

The folder was empty.

No footage of our first camping trip.

No footage of my sixteenth birthday.

No photo of the five of us at the coast.

Just one file, newly created.

[You wanted a past without me.]

[Now you have one.]

The room went dead quiet.

Nolan grabbed his jacket.

“We’re going to her place.”

Grant frowned.

“Is that really necessary?”

“Something’s off this time.”

They got to my house. The front door was locked.

Every curtain was pulled shut.

Brielle’s voice was small.

“Is Mara hiding from us?”

Nolan pulled out the spare key.

I’d given it to him when I was ten.

I told him that if I ever got locked inside, he could come rescue me.

They opened the door. The emptiness hit them before they’d taken a step inside.

My room had nothing left but a bed and a desk.

A few bare hangers swayed inside the open closet.

The competition trophies were gone from my bookshelf.

I’d taken my passport, my ID, and my medication.

The grin finally dropped off Grant’s face.

“She actually left?”

Graham pulled the binding Early Decision agreement out from under my desk leg.

The same one Nolan had wedged there the day before.

He opened it.

The first line was stamped in bold.

[Federal Special Research Fellowship: Early Entry Agreement.]

[Intake date: June 28.]

[Location: Classified, Westreach Research Center.]

[Upon enrollment, all private communications, visits, and external inquiries are prohibited.]

My signature was at the bottom.

I’d signed it the same night we played Truth or Dare.

Graham’s grip tightened on the page.

“She wasn’t leaving for college in August.”

“She left today.”

Nolan ripped it out of his hands.

He flipped to the last page, and every trace of color left his face.

One more line at the bottom.

[Initial classified assignment period: five years.]

Grant opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

“Five years?”

“She’s not coming back for five years?”

No one answered.

Brielle hovered in the doorway, voice thin.

“Maybe Mara’s just trying to scare everyone.”

Nolan turned on her.

“She killed her phone.”

“Does that look like a bluff to you?”

He had never once spoken to Brielle like that.

The hurt on her face locked into place.

Nolan’s phone sat on the table, the group chat still open. The name Brielle had picked glowed at the top of

the screen.

[Bellhaven Five.]

This time, there really were only five.