Chapter 4

The St. Jude's Group Home was transformed after Mrs. Gable's arrest. Government oversight brought in new staff, better food, and a sense of order. The kids who used to torment me now tried to get on my good side, seeing me as some kind of hero.

Mrs. Gable's sons became the new pariahs. The other children, now free from their reign of terror, dished out the same cruelty they had once endured. I watched them get shoved and mocked, and I felt a grim satisfaction. It was a good start.

A few weeks later, Jaxson showed up. He looked haggard.

"Sorry I didn't come sooner," he said, not meeting my eyes. "Brinley came down with a terrible fever. She was delirious for days. I had to stay with her."

A fever. How original. He apologized, his head bowed. The same old story. He always had a noble excuse for his failures.

"I've arranged for a new foster family for you," he said, his voice earnest. "A good one. And I've found a great private school-"

"No, thank you," I said, cutting him off. "The state has already enrolled us in a public high school. It's fine."

His face fell. "Oh. Well... at least let me-"

"I don't need anything from you, Jaxson."

And so, I ended up at Northgate High. The same school the Blakes enrolled Brinley in. Of course. We were in the same homeroom.

The moment Brinley saw me, the war began again. It started small. Whispers followed me like ghosts down the hallway. Then it escalated. Vicious posts bloomed on the school's social media page.

Orphan psycho Eva Kennedy tried to kill her foster brother. Watch out for her.

Heard she was so crazy she broke her own arm for attention.

They called me "Juvie Reject." My locker was vandalized with the words, scrawled in permanent marker. People threw trash at me in the cafeteria. I endured it all with a cold, detached patience. I just had to hold on a little longer. In my first life, my biological parents, the Kennedys, had returned from their overseas work to look for me around this time. I was just counting down the days.

The breaking point came in chemistry class.

Brinley, bored with the lecture, threw her heavy wooden pencil case across the room. It hit me squarely in the back of the head.

"Oops," she said, her voice dripping with fake innocence. A few of her friends snickered.

"Hey, Juvie Reject," she called out, her voice loud enough for the whole class to hear. "My brother feels so sorry for you. He says you're probably just acting out because no one will ever love a freak like you."

The other students watched, waiting for the show.

I stood up slowly, my chair scraping against the linoleum floor.

I walked to her desk. Her smug smile faltered, replaced by a flicker of fear.

I grabbed a fistful of her silky, expensive hair and dragged her out of her seat. She shrieked as I pulled her towards the back of the classroom, where the janitor kept a mop and a filthy bucket of gray water.

I shoved her head into the bucket.

She came up sputtering and screaming, a sound of pure panic.

"Shut up," I said, my voice dangerously low as I pushed her head back under the water. "The next time you say my name, I'll make you swallow this entire bucket."

She thrashed, but I held her firm. I listed her crimes out loud for the whole class to hear. "You lied to get adopted. You accused me of being a bully. You get other people to do your dirty work."

The students who had been laughing were silent now, their eyes wide. Some of them started whispering. "She's right... I saw Brinley's friends trip that new girl yesterday."

"Yeah, and she told the teacher it was Eva's fault."

Suddenly, I was slammed from behind. The impact sent me flying, and I landed hard on my left arm. The same arm. A blinding, sickening pain erupted from my elbow to my shoulder. I was pretty sure it was broken again.

It was Jaxson. He had rushed into the room, his face a thundercloud of rage. He helped a sobbing, dripping Brinley to her feet.

He looked at me on the floor, clutching my arm, and his face was full of nothing but cold fury.

Brinley clung to him, crying hysterically. "Jaxson, she tried to drown me! Make her leave! I don't ever want to see her again! Get her expelled!"

Jaxson looked down at me, his jaw tight. "You heard her," he said. He nodded. "I'll take care of it."

I just laughed, a broken, painful sound. "Of course you will."

He flinched, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. "Eva, I'll make it up to you. I'll find you a better school, I promise-"

Just then, the classroom door burst open. Our homeroom teacher, Mr. Harrison, stood there, his face flushed with excitement.

"Eva Kennedy!" he announced, his voice booming. "Your parents are here! They're waiting for you in the principal's office!"