9

Betty bid goodbye to Bellamy and walked through the familiar white gates. She sighed as they opened, pausing to take in the mansion from where she stood.

It was beautiful, but offered none of the safety or warmth she craved. Betty preferred a small, cozy house filled with love.

She shook the thought away and kept walking.

"Elizabeth." Alicia was waiting in the front yard.

"So you came home," Betty replied, spreading her arms.

Alicia smiled and stood from her seat. "You did good today. If you keep this up, you'll be good to go in a month."

"Go home?" Betty asked, folding her arms.

"You know what I meant," Alicia sighed, brushing invisible dust from her dress before stepping closer and patting Betty's head. "Your friends are waiting. Something important came up, so I have to leave. I'll be back after midnight — tell the boys not to wait for me."

Betty only nodded, silently savoring the rare, gentle touch — even if it was conditional.

_

Betty walked into the living room to see all three of her friends sitting on the sofa, watching TV. "Hey."

The moment she spoke, Chloe's head snapped toward her. She jumped up and pulled Betty into a tight hug. "I missed you so much. You have no idea." Betty chuckled, hugging her back. "I missed you too."

"Hasn't it been, like, a week since you came here?" Ronan's voice came from behind. He entered the room with Andrew trailing after him.

"He's grumpy," Chloe whispered into Betty's ear before pulling away and dragging her to sit on the sofa beside her.

Andrew, lingering in the doorway, looked uneasy. "Aren't you guys leaving? It's getting late."

"I haven't even had the chance to talk to my best friend yet," Chloe replied, just as her eyes darted to the doorway behind him.

"Kai, what are you doing here? You should stay in your room." Ronan ran a hand down his face in frustration as Kai ignored him, striding in and plopping down beside the guests. "Stop bothering them. Go get the snacks and bring them here."

"Excuse me?" Ronan scoffed, offended, and took a step forward, dropping his arms to his sides with an incredulous look.

"For what?" Andrew asked at the same time.

"Glad you asked." Kai smiled brightly, waving at the unfamiliar faces. "It's been forever since I hung out with friends. I need this." He stood up and casually placed his hands on Andrew's shoulders.

"I'll bring the snacks, and let's play a game. What do you say?" He turned to face the room, eyes gleaming.

"Are you kidding me?" Ronan sighed, already shaking his head. "I'm out of here. You go back to your room, and you—" He turned to Andrew. "Make sure they leave." He nodded toward Betty's friends.

"Rude," Chloe muttered under her breath.

Kai looked at Betty, his tone light but his smile surprisingly genuine."What do you think, Betty? We don't need any grumpy brother to have fun."

She hesitated for a moment, uncertain—but then glanced at Chloe, who was already grinning, subtly nodding, encouraging her.

It had been way too long since she, Chloe, Elara, and Dean last hung out like this. A night like this might not come again soon.

"Alright," Betty said, her lips curling into a small smile. "Let's play."

If Alicia didn't let them stay the night, they could always order an Uber. For now… it felt nice to say yes.

_

Kai smiled and headed to the kitchen to get the snacks, while the others gathered in the living room and sat on the floor like he instructed.

"I thought you were going to leave," Andrew whispered to his brother, who had unexpectedly settled beside him.

Ronan didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the entrance, silent and still—just waiting for this to be over.

He figured this game might be a good excuse to observe Betty and her friends. See what kind of people they really were. It wasn't about fun. It was about staying aware.

A moment later, Kai returned—with an empty bowl.

"Where are the snacks?" Chloe asked, sounding far more at home than Betty, even though she'd only been here for hours.

"One of the staff will bring them," Kai replied easily as he sat next to Betty, flashing her a soft smile. He placed the bowl in the center of the group.

"This is for the game we're playing."

He stood and grabbed a stack of small papers from the table, handing one to each person.

"We'll all write down a moment we shared with someone here—just one. Then we toss the papers into the bowl, read them out loud, and try to guess who wrote it and about whom."

He disappeared again to grab some pens.

Chloe leaned toward Betty, grinning. "How old is he?"

"Who—Kai?" Betty blinked, then caught on. "Don't even think about it."

"He's cute," Chloe muttered, eyeing the spot Kai had just walked out from.

Betty shot her a playful glare.

"Okay, okay, I'm joking. Relax."

Kai returned and handed out pens.

The room fell quiet as everyone focused on writing down a memory.

While they wrote, a member of the kitchen staff entered quietly and set a tray of snacks down beside the bowl—then left without a word.

_

After everyone was finished, Kai reached into the bowl and grabbed the first folded slip of paper.

"I'll go first—and then we'll take turns," he said, glancing around.

He unfolded the note and read aloud,

"He ate my favorite cake when he was six."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Kai turned toward Ronan, looking genuinely offended. "Seriously? That was so long ago. It wasn't even a big deal. We're supposed to write something meaningful here."

Ronan didn't even flinch. He simply raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't a big deal? I made that cake." For someone else—but he didn't say that part out loud.

Kai sighed dramatically."Congratulations, you just wasted your paper." Ronan rolled his eyes, but didn't respond. Vulnerability wasn't exactly in his skillset—only one person had ever gotten through that wall.

"You're next," Kai said, nodding toward Betty.

She reached into the bowl and pulled out a note, carefully unfolding it.

"She made me realize who my real friends were—and who never really cared."

Betty blinked, reading it again silently. Something in her chest tightened.

It had to be Kai. She remembered the night she called out his friends, told him the hard truth he hadn't wanted to hear. But what if she was wrong?

"So, Betty," Andrew said casually, glancing her way just as his phone buzzed. "Got a guess, or should we take turns?"

"Kai?" she asked, hesitant, but hopeful.

He smiled, warmth in his expression. "Correct."

"When did that happen?" Ronan asked, curious but not pressing.

Just then, Andrew stood up, eyes flicking to his phone. "Where are you going?" Kai asked, ignoring Ronan's question.

"I'll be right back," Andrew said quickly. "Keep playing."

_

It was Chloe's turn next.

She picked a folded paper from the bowl and read it aloud: "It was the worst day of my life—until she showed up for me again, and reminded me why I'm lucky to be living this life."

Chloe paused, a little stunned. She blinked at the note, then looked at Betty.

She hadn't expected her to talk about that day again—ever.

"Betty," she said with a soft smile.

Betty gave her a small nod, feeling a little self-conscious under Ronan's gaze.

"It's your turn," she told him, gently nudging him to look away.

Ronan finally reached into the bowl and picked a note. He unfolded it slowly, then read in a voice calm but heavier than usual:

"I wasn't expecting to see you standing there, a warm smile on your face, even though I could see in your eyes that you hadn't slept. Still, you showed up for me—because you knew I needed you."

The room went quiet.

Everyone exchanged glances, confused—and a little curious.

Chloe and Betty locked eyes, both of them slowly turning toward Elara, whose cheeks had flushed a soft pink.

Betty raised her hand slightly. "Elara wrote it," she said, nodding in her direction.

Ronan cleared his throat. "You have to say who it's about too."

"Dean," Chloe chimed in before Betty could speak.

All eyes turned to the couple. Elara and Dean exchanged a brief glance… then both nodded silently.

Elara was next.

She reached into the bowl, pulled out a folded slip, and unfolded it — brows furrowing as her eyes scanned the words.

"The murderer is living in your house."

Silence fell like a curtain.

Elara looked up slowly, her gaze shifting from face to face. Everyone wore the same confused, unsettled expression.

"Who wrote that?" Kai asked, his voice uneasy as he stood and stepped forward. He took the paper from Elara's hand, his eyes scanning the words again, as if hoping he read them wrong.

Elara quietly returned to her seat beside Dean.

"Seriously?" Kai looked around the room. "Was this Andrew? Is that why he left? Is this some kind of prank?"

No one responded.

Kai let out a frustrated sigh, tearing the paper in half and tossing it into the trash. "Great. Real mature." He tried to recover the mood. "Okay—your turn." He nodded to Dean.

Dean stood, walked to the bowl, and reached in for the next paper but before he could take it out the lights went out.

"What the—" Kai's voice cut through the dark. "Did the lights go out?"

He stood up, fumbling blindly.

Betty instinctively leaned closer to Chloe. Both girls rose to their feet, eyes straining in the dark.

"I can't see anything," Ronan muttered. "Where's your phone?"

"Left it in my room," Kai replied, patting his pockets. "What about you?"

"Battery's dead," Ronan snapped, annoyed.

"Seriously?" Kai scoffed. "Who walks around with a dead phone in this house?"

Before Ronan could answer, a sharp crack echoed from outside.

Everyone froze.

"Is that Andrew?" Kai asked, his voice tight. "Is he messing with us?"

Elara turned on her phone, the flashlight casting a shaky beam across the room.

"Thank you," Kai said quickly, eyes flicking toward the staircase. "We should check upstairs."

"Let's just call one of the staff," Ronan said—but then—

CRASH.

The sound of shattering glass exploded from somewhere in the room.

"What was that?" Kai shouted, his voice rising with panic.

Another crash—closer this time.

Ronan didn't hesitate. He grabbed Betty's wrist. "Move."

They ran.

The rest followed.

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