Chapter 5

I left my suitcases in our front yard while my aunt and I went out for a two-day trip. When I got back, my suitcases were gone.

I walked over to Ethan's house. Chloe was there too. They had my suitcases open on the living room floor, going through my things and making a complete mess.

"Ethan, I love this limited-edition t-shirt! It'll look so good on me for freshman orientation," Chloe squealed.

"Take it," Ethan said carelessly.

"She has so many nice toiletries here. I'm going to save so much money on college shopping."

I pushed the door open.

"Who gave you permission to touch my suitcases?"

Ethan scoffed.

"Oh, stop acting. Chloe told me you're planning to retake your SATs anyway. You won't be needing these things this year. You can just buy new ones next year."

I screamed at them.

"Going through my personal property without my permission is theft!"

They ignored me and kept digging through my clothes.

Suddenly, Chloe gasped.

"An admission letter? From Harvard?"

Ethan laughed, snatching it from her hand.

"Wow, this fake looks pretty realistic. Did you print this out to motivate yourself? Honestly, you'd be better off printing out my acceptance letter and hanging it on your wall."

I lunged to grab it, but Ethan stepped back, threw the letter onto the floor, and ground his dirty shoe into it.

The mud from his sneaker stained the words "Harvard University."

"Give it back!" I screamed, my voice raw with rage.

Ethan smirked, twisting his foot back and forth on the paper.

With a loud rip, the letter tore in half.

That letter was my late father's biggest dream for me. I hadn't even had the chance to bring it to his grave to show him, and Ethan had just destroyed it.

"Sera, I'm just trying to help you face reality. Stop living in a fantasy world," Ethan said.

He kicked my suitcase over, grabbed a bucket of dirty car-wash water nearby, and poured it over everything.

My admission letter, along with all the rare, out-of-print books my father had left me, was completely soaked in muddy water.

I threw myself forward to stop them.

"Don't go! You're going to pay for this!"

Ethan stuck his foot out.

I tripped and fell face-first onto the gravel. My loose pant leg rolled up, exposing the long, ugly centipede-like scar.

Ethan immediately spun Chloe around to shield her eyes.

"Don't look, it's disgusting."

He picked up a wooden broom nearby and jabbed the end of it right into my scar.

The sharp splinters pierced my skin, and blood quickly began to seep through.

I winced but didn't cry out.

"You don't need to keep using this scar to guilt-trip me," Ethan sneered. "It just makes you look desperate."

I stood up, holding the torn pieces of my admission letter tightly against my chest.

My phone buzzed.

A notification popped up: Your flight departs in 24 hours.

I handed our house keys to the real estate agent, grabbed my ruined suitcase, and left for the airport with my mom.