The aquarium was quiet except for Alice’s soft panting. Lev and I sat on the floor, waiting for Mel. His fingers twisted anxiously in Alice’s fur, and I kept my hand steady on her back, grounding myself.

“Abby,” Lev finally asked, his eyes darting up at me, “that girl from Jackson… Ellie. Why do you… care so much about her?”

The question caught in my throat. I wanted to brush it off. I wanted to say she was just… someone who got in the way. But the truth slipped out before I could stop it.

“She’s… complicated,” I murmured, staring at the floor. “We’ve both done things we can’t take back. But there’s something about her, Lev. She feels like—like a mirror I can’t stop looking into. Every scar, every mistake… she carries it, just like me.”

Lev tilted his head, curious, but didn’t push further. He only smiled faintly, and Alice nudged my knee, as if she already knew.

The door to the operating room creaked open, and Mel appeared, exhaustion all over her face. “It was a success,” she said. “Lev, you can see your sister now.”

Lev bolted up, relief flooding his features. I let him go, then asked quietly, “Will Yara be okay?”

Mel nodded. “She’ll live. She’s strong.”

The weight lifted from my chest, and I sank into the chair, petting Alice again. “They’re just kids,” I whispered. “Too young to be carrying all this.” My voice cracked as I added, almost to myself. “How did we end up here, Ellie and I? How did we change so much?”

That was when I heard it.

A voice—strained, angry, desperate. “I’m back!”

Ellie staggered through the doorway, her face pale, her clothes soaked in blood. Lev and Yara gasped, calling out her name, rushing toward her.

My heart dropped.

She was shaking, barely standing. Her green eyes burned into mine as she rasped, “Isaac—he knew about you. About Lev and Yara. I… I killed him.”

The words were jagged, tearing out of her throat. Then her legs gave out.

I lunged forward just in time to catch her, her limp body collapsing into my arms. “Ellie!” I shouted, panic seizing my chest. My hands pressed against her bloodied shirt, feeling the warmth of her wounds. “No, no, no…”

Tears blurred my vision. Alice whined at my feet.

“Why’d you do this?” My voice cracked, breaking into sobs. “Why would you throw yourself away for me?”

Her head lolled against my shoulder, eyes half-closed, but I swore I heard her murmur: “Because I couldn’t lose you…”

And that shattered me.

I held her tight, rocking her gently as tears streamed down my face. All the hatred, all the blood, all the loss—it didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was the girl in my arms, broken and bleeding, who saw me as something worth saving.