Chapter 2

Jaxson stared at me, his face a mask of confusion and betrayal as his parents fussed over a triumphant Brinley.

I turned my back on him and walked away.

The Blakes left, taking Brinley with them. Before she got in their luxury car, she shot me a look over her shoulder. It was pure venom, a silent promise of future trouble. It wasn't just victory; it was possession. She hadn't just won; she had taken something from me.

Jaxson lingered behind, trapped in the doorway. He looked lost.

He saw the truth in that moment, I think. He saw Brinley's smug smile as she settled into the leather seat, her fake injury forgotten. He saw the flicker of malice in her eyes. He must have felt a cold dread creep into his heart, a whisper of the colossal mistake he'd made in our last life, and was making all over again.

His eyes found mine, a desperate, silent plea for help. For understanding.

I gave him a blank wall to look at. I just turned and went back inside the gray, hopeless building.

"Eva!" he called out, his voice cracking.

I didn't stop.

"Are you... are you like me?" he asked, his voice lower now, full of a terrible awe. "Do you remember?"

I paused but didn't turn around. His question hung in the air, a secret that bound us together, a chain I was determined to break.

I walked away without answering.

"I'm sorry, Eva," he called after me, his voice thick with guilt. "She's just... she's been through a lot. She doesn't mean it." The old, tired excuses. "I'll get you out of here. I swear it. Just give me a few days!"

A few days. A bitter smile touched my lips. The last time he said that, it took him twenty years to come back, and only to blow his brains out.

As the heavy door of the group home closed, I allowed myself a small, cold smile. I wasn't waiting for a savior this time.

Mrs. Gable's attitude toward me soured the second the Blakes' car disappeared down the drive. My portions at dinner shrank. I was assigned the worst chores, scrubbing toilets with a toothbrush while the other kids watched.

Days turned into a week. No word from Jaxson. Of course not. Brinley was probably having a "nightmare" or "felt a chill," and he was too busy playing the hero to remember the girl he left behind in hell.

Fine. I would save myself.

I knew Mrs. Gable was stealing from the home's donation fund. In my first life, it took years for her to get caught. I didn't have years.

During my late-night cleaning chores, I snuck into her office. Under the guise of dusting, I found her ledger book, filled with cooked numbers, and a hidden stash of cash in a vent. I used a contraband cell phone another kid had, a piece of junk with a cracked screen, and took pictures of everything.

Then I called a reporter I remembered from my past life, a hungry young journalist who would jump at a story like this.

The price of my freedom was a broken arm. Mrs. Gable caught me making the call. She flew into a rage, grabbing my arm and twisting it until I heard a sickening crack. The pain was white-hot, but as I lay on the floor, cradling my useless limb, I smiled. It was done.

Two hours later, police cars and news vans swarmed St. Jude's. As they dragged a screaming Mrs. Gable out in handcuffs, a group of older boys cornered me in the yard.

"You bitch!" one of them snarled. "You ruined everything!"

I wasn't surprised. They were her sons. She had listed them as orphans to get more funding, and they lived a privileged life inside these walls, preying on the other children. They were the ones who had pushed Brinley.

They closed in on me, fists raised. I protected my head with my good arm, bracing for the impact.

The leader, a hulking boy named Mark, picked up a jagged rock. "This is for my mom," he spat.

He lunged.

Suddenly, a figure slammed into him, sending him flying.

It was Jaxson.

He stood over me, shielding me with his body as the rock came down, smashing into the side of his head.

He staggered, blood pouring from a gash above his temple, but he didn't fall. He just turned to me, a wild, triumphant look in his bleeding eyes. "I told you, Eva," he panted. "I told you I'd save you."