And me? I was still sinking, still drowning, my vision darkening. I was too far gone to scream, too far gone to reach out for help. They wouldn’t help me. They never did.
The last thing I heard before I lost consciousness was the sound of Troy murmuring to Bianca, his voice soft and soothing as he tended to her. Then everything went black.
When I woke up, I was in my bed. My body ached, and I felt as if I had a fever. The heat was unbearable. My throat was dry, burning with each shallow breath.
Troy sat beside me, his face twisted in anger. “What the hell did you do, Thalia?”
I blinked, trying to focus, but everything felt like it was moving too fast. I couldn’t make sense of his words at first.
“Trying to kill Bianca? She’s here to help you, to make friends with you,” he scolded, his tone sharp and accusing.
I swallowed hard, trying to force my voice out, but it was strained, like speaking was too much of an effort. “She ruined… my mother’s bracelet.”
Troy’s expression hardened, his lips curling in disgust. “It was just a bracelet, Thalia. Just a piece of jewelry. I can buy you a thousand more if you want, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not worth all of this. It’s not worth trying to drown Bianca!”
My chest tightened. My throat felt like it was closing up again, the weight of his words suffocating me.
“She ruined it. She stole it. She—”
Troy cut me off, his voice sharp. “Enough! I don’t want to hear any of this!”
I flinched at the force of his words, but he didn’t stop. “Just take a rest, Thalia. Tomorrow, you’ll apologize to my sister. And then I’ll take both of you somewhere nice, so you can make it up to each other. I will not tolerate this in my house again!”
I stared at him, my mind spinning. I couldn’t process it. I couldn’t believe it. I had nearly drowned. I had been close to losing everything—and for what? For something that didn’t even matter to him.
His footsteps echoed as he walked out of the room, leaving me in the suffocating silence.
I was alone again.
And I couldn’t hold back anymore. Tears spilled down my cheeks, my body shaking with the weight of it all.
The fever had taken its toll. I was burning up, my skin flushed and clammy, but Troy insisted on taking care of me, hovering over me as if it would make up for everything he’d done.